Apparently this is my first blog post in 2017 and in more than 6 months. Certainly a lot has happened over that period of time but today I’d like to write about getting back to going to gym once again which is something I haven’t done since mid of 2014. Hopefully I can have better progress this time and achieve things I was not able to 3 years ago.
A little bit of back story first, I started going to gym beginning 2013 after a partnership was agreed between my workplace and Gold’s gym which is a large chain of fitness center worldwide. My main goal was different than most people and that was to gain more weight by adding more muscles. I was going 10-12 times a month (it wasn’t consistent though) and considering it’s not something I have too much knowledge prior, I just followed suggestions from my colleagues with a little of bit whatever I think I should try. In short, I didn’t have any program that I’m following and understandably that result was so-so. That thing as I said ended, mid of 2014 and completely just got fed up with the idea of going to gym.
Last December, another big franchise called Anytime Fitness stormed the country and lots of branches started pre-selling. I was initially not interested or convinced until I learned that the gyms are open 24-hours, 7 days a week. My work is mid-shift so that gives me flexibility to go either before i go to work or late after finishing work.
That alone is not enough to convince let alone the slightly pricey membership fee however let’s just I got into the peer pressure as lots of my colleagues started joining and I guess there’s no harm to try it again.
Strength Training
My physique hasn’t really changed a lot. I’m neither underweight nor obese and judging from my BMI I’m just completely normal. Except that I want to gain some more strength.
So I started last December and began just feeling myself out and preparing my mind for the grind. In the past I’ve always relied with machine isolation exercises and only did deadlift and some dumbbell work. It wasn’t too different when I started again. I would normally perform chest press, lat pulldown and leg press, and then end with dumbbell front raise or what have you. It was pretty good as I increased weight that I’m lifting day after day. I knew though that if I want to be more serious, I have to do less of these and do more of just plain dead weights.
I knew a program called Starting Strength since 2013 and I really didn’t do it because I was scared of barbell falling on me and injuring me on the process. I still am but I’m now doing it overcoming my fear little by little.
I won’t discuss the program in full length as the link would do that for me. But the workouts are mainly consisting of squats, press (overhead and bench) and deadlift so that’s what I’m mainly doing right now. I wasn’t quite comfortable doing squats and bench press at the beginning but I am getting used to it now. It’s still tough though.
Aside from the actual weight lifting, I’ve also taken an initiative to cut down on fastfood, and consume more protein (bought some protein shakes) and carbs. Remember I’m trying to gain some weight still so I need to have some calories left after I do my workouts so I can gain muscle mass.
Overall, I’d say that it’s not just getting strong but also getting more fit and having a more sound health by eating the right food as much as possible. Another is avoiding not having any activity which is quite common for someone working on a desk. So if I don’t gain much muscle, maybe I can still say I improved my health? 😉
Let’s see if I can have better progress and result this time. And don’t forget to wish me luck!
Thank you for sharing your story!
I started to go to the gym because I wanted to lose some weight and only then gain some muscles. I was so lucky because there was an intern who created a workout program for me. And then I just started working out..
It was so hard at the beginning. But I’m really thankful for my trainer. He kept me motivated all the time… Ok, maybe not all time.. Because it was pretty tough time sometimes.. And I wanted to stop.. But yeah, I didn’t because of him. 🙂
So after about 3 months I felt really good and went to gym with a smile on my face 🙂 It was like my second home 😀
What did I do? Well, after these first 3 months when I was working to lose weight, I started to gain muscles, as we planned. I started to work out more with dumbbells. And now I absolutely love exercises with them. And as I got pregnant, I can now work at home, of course not as intensively as before. I do just basic, easy workouts.