Monday, October 21, 2019

Today at the Gym

I was at the gym today and had just got done doing some bent bar squats and hack squats and was walking up the steps to the second floor to ride the exercise bike. Three young ladies, I'm guessing that they were between 20-25 years old, came into the gym. They seemed like relative beginners to me, and they seemed very happy to be there. They probably had a program off of the Internet or that a trainer had written them, and they all went over to the lat pull machine and started performing front lat pulls.   I was watching them and I thought, isn't that great? Isn't it great that they are all together, and are all just getting into it?

They have so much to look forward to in this weight training lifestyle that they are beginning. They are probably injury free and can pick and choose any exercise in the gym to perform without pain. They will experience that deep muscle soreness that they haven't experienced before and they will wear that soreness like a badge of honor. How do your legs feel? Mine are smoked! They will wake up in the morning and feel the muscles that they worked the day before, and the muscles will feel harder. Weight training transforms you and they are discovering that magic. They will get up and look in the mirror and see the roundness in their muscles that they haven't seen before. They will start reading about what to eat to gain muscle and what supplements that help keep them healthy and on the right path to gaining strength and muscle. 

They are going to have to wade through all of the bull crap that is out there, the marketing schemes from the food industry and the supplement industry, and from the "know it alls" in the gym (usually weak men or men in matching sweat suit outfits), who feel the need to tell them what they are doing wrong.

But here is the key: As long as they keep training, the consistency of going to the gym and not missing workouts and at least getting their protein in, they will succeed. 

Because it's simple if you really break it down: Get your ass to the gym and work very hard and you will transform yourself even if you make mistakes along the way. 

When I was done with the bike, the girls were still working. They were encouraging each other and pushing each other to get another rep.They were working hard and having a good time doing it. 

I was envious of them because they had all this great stuff to look forward to and I was also so pleased that that they had started a lifestyle that they could continue forever. They were now a part of the "secret club" of weight training, and whether they realize it or not, had discovered one of the essential ingredients to a healthy life. 

All About Being a Lifer

What's a Lifer? Someone who isn't in to something for just a day, a month, a year...it's for life. Whether its training or your family or your job...it doesn't matter. You work at it, you build on it, you see the big picture . You don't miss workouts because it means something to you. You are like a Shakespearean actor- no matter what is going on in your life, you block it out when it's time to train. You walk into the weight room and all else disappears. Worry about it later.