7 THINGS I LEARNED WHEN GOING TO THE GYM
I have always been a genuine bookworm. I can sit for hours, even days to write, study, read books, or research or learn about a problem without getting bored.
But on the contrary, when it comes to exercise or physical activities, that is something I have absolutely no interest in. When I was in school in the US, schools often had a physical education subject called Physical Education (PE), and to be honest, those were the subjects I hated. I just have to study, but I really don’t like it at all.
But recently, I decided to set a challenge for myself: I have to go to the gym, at least 3-4 times a week. Just a few months have passed. Today, I want to share with you 7 things I have learned from this gym journey – a journey that I never thought I would be able to do until today.
1. I'm not really as strong as I often think
Up until now, I’ve always felt like I don’t have any major health problems: I rarely get sick, don’t have incurable or serious illnesses, and don’t have to take much medicine.
I eat, drink, sleep regularly, keep my weight at a moderate level and also supplement vitamins regularly. Therefore, I always believed that I was healthy and had very good physical fitness.
But these thoughts completely changed when I started running.
It’s only been a few minutes but I’m already breathing heavily, feeling out of breath, wanting to install an oxygen tank to relieve my fatigue. At that time, I realized my physical health was not really what I thought it was. It’s like a slap in the face, waking me up and making me pay more attention to my physical health, instead of deluding myself.
2. Exercise not only trains health but also willpower and effort
Honestly, every step I take is a challenge, nothing more, nothing less. As a bookworm, I could count the number of times I went to the gym in the past.
Now, even though I’ve been exercising more often, with every step I take, every time I push the weight, a voice rings in my head: “Stop resting, you’re too tired, that’s enough practice today, skip anything that’s too difficult.” That voice kept ringing, tempting and urging me to stop and choose easier, more comfortable things.
Therefore, I realized that going to the gym is not only a physical challenge but also a test of my will and limits.
There are days when laziness arises, it whispers: “Okay, don’t go to practice today, stay home and sleep, it’s very rainy, very sunny, very cold outside…” Or times: “Today I’m tired from work or play, it’s okay to miss a day, I can make up for it tomorrow.”
I believe that anyone who starts a good challenge for themselves, like going to the gym, for example, must face similar temptations.
That makes me admire people who practice sports and athletes even more. To achieve today’s results, they had to spend thousands, tens of thousands of hours overcoming themselves, overcoming their own limitations and temptations.
3. Overcome seemingly impossible limits
When I first started, I was out of breath after just running for a few minutes. I still couldn’t lift the light weights, only a few kilograms, and I was so tired that I just wanted to quit.
I was so weak and discouraged.
But after a period of practice, I gradually felt changes in my body, becoming stronger, more durable, able to run farther, and lift heavier weights.
Instead of only running for 1-2 minutes and then stopping, now I can run for 5 minutes, even 10 minutes. At first, I couldn’t lift the lightest weights, but now I can lift 50 lbs (~23kg).
To other people, these things may be very normal, not noticeable. But for me, it was a long, trying process.
Sometimes, there are things that seem impossible, but as long as you persevere, believe and give yourself a chance, you can completely make it come true. Overcoming limits like that gave me a lot of motivation, faith and hope, when practicing in particular and in life in general.
4. “The grass is greener where we water it” – Wherever energy is concentrated, there it will grow
When I go to practice, I usually start with 10-15 minutes of cardio like jogging, walking or cycling. Next is the part to practice specific muscle groups such as arm muscles, shoulder muscles, back muscles, buttocks, chest muscles…
Initially, I want to focus on the buttocks and leg muscles – parts of the body that I feel are weak and make me easily feel self-conscious. That’s why, before each workout session, I go online to find specific exercises, plan what to practice today, how long to practice, which machine to use, how to use it – all carefully prepared.
I realized that when I set goals and focus like that, those muscle groups develop faster than just jogging without focusing on any part. Even though my body is still healthy overall, I am not achieving quick results in the area I want.
It’s the same in life: when we focus our time, energy and have a clear and effective plan, everything will be much better than if we act aimlessly and aimlessly.
5. To make the journey sustainable, we need to find joy in it
This is what I learned after many times challenging myself.
Before, in high school and college, I forced myself to practice many times, but every time I got discouraged and gave up. There was a time when I practiced for 1-2 weeks, at first I was very enthusiastic, I even practiced for several hours in one session, but the next day I stopped. One time, I even bought a membership for a whole year, but after practicing for a week, it didn’t work.
This time it’s different. Surprisingly, I have been practicing for 2-3 months with no signs of giving up. The difference is: this time I exercise for myself, because I want to be stronger and more beautiful, instead of going to the gym just because my friends invite me without a clear goal. More importantly, I realized that for the process to be sustainable and long-lasting, I must find joy in the process of working out.
When I associated gym training with joy and positivity, procrastination and negative voices in my head were greatly reduced.
I also learned to reward myself after each practice session, telling myself: “I did it, great, I tried my best today and I’m very proud of myself.”
Or sometimes, I also share that joy with my loved ones: “Today I ran for 10 minutes straight without stopping!”
Those little things help me balance the fatigue and pain during exercise, and turn the journey at the gym into a journey worth looking forward to, and a place I eagerly want to go every day.
6. “Trust the process” – Believe in the process
When I first started practicing, even though it had only been a few days, I looked in the mirror and was disappointed because I didn’t see any changes: my muscles hadn’t expanded, my legs weren’t beautiful, and my body wasn’t stronger or more durable.
I was bored and thought to myself: “I keep practicing but I can’t be as beautiful as other people, why stop practicing?” That’s also the reason why I gave up so many times before.
But this time, I put myself in a completely different mindset: always reminding myself to persevere and trust in the process, in what I am doing.
People with beautiful bodies don’t have to work out in a day. They also have to persevere year after year, overcoming temptations and negative voices within themselves.
Me too, I’ve only been practicing for a few days so I can’t expect immediate results. Furthermore, even though I don’t see changes on the outside, inside my body is definitely progressing day by day – from my cells to my muscles, tendons, and bones are all having positive changes from the inside.
Those advances are constantly happening until one day enough quantitative changes will lead to physical and appearance changes, and that’s when I can have the body I’ve always wanted.
7. Always challenge yourself
In life, we should not and cannot always stand still in one place.
Similar to gym training, you should not stay at one level forever but have to lift heavier weights, run farther, and gradually increase speed.
After a period of practice, I can easily feel a level that was previously very difficult for me. me, but now it has become a lot easier.
And just when I feel like pushing a 10, 20 Ibs dumbbell or jogging for 5, 10 minutes becomes easy, that is a sign that I need to increase the level.
Only in this way will my body develop, my muscles will become bigger, stronger and my endurance will increase.
In life too, I realize that when I am doing a certain job or in a certain position and feel that there are no longer many challenges or it is too easy, that is a sign. This is a sign that you need to set a bigger goal, to challenge yourself more.
And vice versa, there are times when we are doing something and find it difficult, it is not necessarily a bad thing or a sign that we are going on the wrong path, but it can be a sign that we are developing, going up (growing pain).
Above is the journey and lessons I learned from working out at the gym. Hopefully my story will be somewhat useful to you.
And you, what have you learned from your challenging journeys? Please share with me!
