As a Instructor, when chasing up members and clients we often get told ‘well its easy for, you work in a gym’ and to be honest that sometimes is the case. However, with any repetitive action, we sometimes wake up in the morning and think I cant be arsed to do 100 sit-ups or run 5km. Well this weeks email is going to be about why I train and what got me into it.
I first entered a gym when i was about 15 years old weighing at around 65kg and I was around 6ft. I grew up playing football at a decent level and also ran cross country for Lincolnshire as well as play various other sports. It got to a point when I started to notice I was getting out-muscled when playing football and it got to the point where I thought that something has to change. I’ll never forget walking into this old school style gym with a bunch of bodybuilders all throwing around weights as big as me. What the hell was I doing here??
At first I was terrified, luckily one of the lads I was training with had been there a month so it was made easier and before I knew it I was going 5 times a week after school as well as football training. Obviously, starting off, progress was rapid and I started to notice it in my football as well as receive compliments off my friends which is always nice.
My fondness of training continued and when I was 17 I got my personal training qualifications, went to university where I studied sports, health, exercise and nutrition and got myself my first job at the university gym. Throughout the years I continued to progress gaining weight steadily. At start of university I weighed 78kg at 6ft2 and left weighing 91kg.
At this point, I wasn’t training for anything in particular just because I enjoyed it and also because I understood the health benefits from regular physical activity.
Fast forward to 2021, We had just come out of lockdown and I weighed in at 100kg, this was down to lack of training due to gyms being shut but I did still maintain running as I had a different goal to run 5km in 20 mins which after a year of doing it 3 times a week i was achieving it on a regular basis. I felt I had achieved all that I could do in this area and wanted to build back all the muscle which I had lost over lockdown. I remember the first day back in April 2021, I was so up for a chest day but left disheartened. My previous 1 Rep Max of 120kg was a distant memory and 80kg felt like an effort to move. I set myself a goal in 1 year ill be the strongest I have ever been.
At the start of April this was achieved, My 1 rep max is at 140kg and I have never felt stronger. I weigh slightly heavier than when I came out of lockdown at 103kg but that is down to not concentrating on that part of my diet and working on getting my strength back but now I have a new goal.
As I am best man to my mates wedding, my new goal is to get to that weight of 91kg in 4 months. Not impossible but not easy!! Wish me luck!!!!!
I suppose the reason why I am sharing this story with you is for a reasons. First of all, you can see the progress I have made in various aspects of exercise and how my goals have changed throughout the 10 years. Secondly, IT TAKES TIME, it took me a year to get my happy point in relation to strength and will take me a long time to know off them 12kg (hopefully 4 months). Finally, enjoy the ride, the best part of training is seeing the difference in your body. Many of you look at the scales but I was running 5km at 100kg faster than my mates at 80kg so sometimes that number can irrelevant!
