Weight Lifting: Positively Uplifting

Weight Lifting: Positively Uplifting
Deciding to exercise can be a major leap in one’s life, I mean working out is hard, and sticking to it is even harder. I have seen countless amounts of people prep themselves for a future body falling under the guise of a new year’s resolution. How many people actually stick to these goals, live by their dream to be bigger or smaller, sadly not many, most will run forever, attempt yoga or even dance but few choose to lift weights. Weight lifting is only for men, or body builders, meat heads and small egos! This could not be further from the truth yet why is it that so many believe this negative stigma. People tend to dwell on the negatives in life, and it seems just as true of weight lifting. Lifting weights
is often tied to use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs, but just like everything else a few bad apples may ruin the bunch.
There are quite a few benefits to weight lifting; however I would like to highlight some of the more important aspects such as natural physical enhancement, positive mental attributes and the introduction of self discipline from my own personal experiences. In this day and age it is all about appearances, how tall someone is or skinny, short, fat the list goes on. We live in such a judgmental society and because of this people feel the pressure to get in shape, look good, and typically attract a mate or even just a boost in self confidence. It should be familiar to most some of the better known benefits of weight lifting larger muscles, increased strength, even improved endurance but did you know lifting weights also speeds up your metabolism. I began seriously weight lifting roughly a year and four months ago, in this time I have made dramatic strides in my goal of a bigger, fitter, healthier lifestyle. I remember
looking down at the scale reading one hundred thirty-five and thinking to myself happily that I was in shape and not fat. I should point out I had and still have quite an ego so to me I looked good better than most, not the best, but up there. All my life I have always been the small one I am a fairly short statured man, that is just a fact nothing I can do about it, and during this time friends would call me out on it, mostly my fault as I would point out their flaws. This is just the thing guys do joke about each other, and personally I was not bothered by it however I have the mindset that I want to be the best me that I can physically, mentally, socially …etc that I can be. Being small just was not cutting it, I wanted to be stronger, bigger, and I wanted to push any limits I previously placed on myself. Skip a year and some later and here we are forty pounds heavier, significantly stronger, and noticeably larger. In the gym I would push, sweat, break down, sometimes even lost motivation, but I never quit and the results came. Oh I feel I should point out that all these results came without the added use of steroids, insane isn’t it. Not focusing too well, getting tired, maybe forgetting a few things try lifting weights! I can personally say my sleep has become significantly better; often I would have restless nights, sleep too few or too many hours. Now I have a steady average, I am not as inconsistent as before and maintain a full night’s sleep without waking in the middle of the night. Focus is no problem either; try lifting weights while being distracted. You will not accomplish much, and you will learn to focus your attention quickly otherwise lose out on possible progress. So lifting weights can make someone go from fat and flabby to fit and fabulous, but that is all just outer beauty it could never affect inner could it? From my time in the gym I have met people who were just disrespectful, rude, and ridiculously inconsiderate. They would walk in acting like the big shot yet they were typically the smallest, few were quite large, most however were not. I have seen some of these people gain an appreciation for the work and dedication put towards physically changing one’s lifestyle, in the end they have become much more understanding and even help people from time to time. Physically robust and mentally sound what more could their possibly be? Ever set a goal and achieved it?
Remember that feeling. It is almost blissful, that sense of accomplishment, well why not have it more often. Weight lifting is all about self discipline and one of its greatest strengths is setting daily goals, an example is the first time I attempted to bench I was able to lift about one hundred thirty five maybe five times well the second chest day came around and I increased to seven repetitions. Often people jumping into the lifting scene complain that it may be time consuming. Set up strength number two, time management. People usually have time to spare but make excuses in what they value with that time, some would rather watch a television show that lasts thirty minutes to an hour, if you replace that time with the gym then one can easily make time for lifting. This brings up the most important aspect of self-discipline, the one that generally makes or breaks people’s willpower, learning to sacrifice. There are just not enough hours in the day to watch every show, go to all the stores, read all the books, hang out with all your friends and make time for the gym. Learning to sacrifice is learning to place what one value’s the highest at the expense of something they can do without; failing to meet goals because someone did not make time for the gym can be a harsh
lesson. In conclusion, weight lifting has had just so many benefits for me that have helped in almost every aspect of my live. Whether it has been being physically active, becoming more mentally acute or teaching myself discipline, lifting has become immensely worthwhile. Hopefully with the experiences I have shared, I hope that I may have helped alleviate the blemish that stained the feared idea of weight lifting. One final piece of advice when lifting weights remember it’s a game of patience, it is not a one day transformation, take your time, the results will come.