Four lessons resistance training taught me about life.

by

i

I found my voice in the weight room.

Resistance training, for me, is bigger than something I do to stay fit as I age.

It’s taught me more about life than any other experience and, paradoxically, helps me remain laser-focused on whats important to me outside fitness.

I advocate resistance training for health—but am a resistance training evangelist because of what Ive learned from it about living fully.

1. If you wait for the perfect facility opportunity you’ll always find an excuse not to start.

Ive trained in less than ideal conditions.  Central American gyms stocked with rusty dumbbells.  Dilapidated college weight rooms.  Outdoors in Oakland with homeless on one side & muscle-bound men on the other.  These experiences taught me to expand my definition of “perfect gym.”  They also sparked me to realize when I claimed to be waiting for “perfect timing” in life it was really paralysis by analysis.  It was merely an excuse.

2. Change is how we grow.

Initially I did the same weights routine day after day & plateaued quickly.  I knew what I was doing wasnt working—but the pain I “knew” felt better than the painful risk of change.  Eventually I realized I required a new routine to grow & Ive applied this notion to my life.  Change in routine.  Change in perspective.  Change–in fitness and life—is the only way we wont stagnate.

 

change. perspective.

change. perspective.

3. To succeed you need mind/body connection.

If you’d asked me to flex my biceps 20 years ago–Id not have been capable of making the muscle contract.  After months of lifting Id have struggled to flex on command.  It took time, patience and focus to formulate the mind/muscle connection crucial to successful resistance training.  Only after acquiring that skill did I began to live *in* my body in all aspects of life.  I started to eat intuitively.  I learned to exercise intuitively.  And, very very slowly, I tapped into my ‘gut’ and lived intuitively.

4. We create ourselves and our lives.

I dont have good physical genetics.  My body prefers to be soft/not muscular.  I watched women with better genetics gain muscle swiftly and easily. I came to a crossroads where I could either grow jealous or grow focused.  I chose the latter.  Resistance training taught me I am the sculptor of my body and my life.  I may not achieve goals as rapidly as some— but if I work tenaciously & tirelessly I’m ensured of progress.

MizWorkInProgress

MizWorkInProgress

 

  • What surprising life-lessons have you learned from fitness pursuits?
  • Did you, too, discover your voice in the weight room?

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Comments

  2. I love #4 because it’s such a good life lesson. I happen to have good genes that like muscles but my running mechanics leave something to be desired…and I’m 5 feet tall so gazelle running is not in my cards. I have to work really hard for speed and endurance and, to me, that’s the best part – the training! As my regimen has grown stronger, so has my mind and the mind/body connection. Love it!!! Thanks for sharing this. SO important!

    • I agree! #4 was as well stated as it could be. You create yourself. Even with good genes you still have to put in the effort. For the rest of us it just takes a little more determination.

  3. #1 reminded me of one of the Rocky movies where he goes to Siberia and trains the “natural” way – no fancy equipment just down and out working hard! It’s exactly right! You don’t need state of the art, you just need to show up!

  4. From weights I’ve learned that I am stronger than I think and that hard work really does pay off.

    P.S. I’ve been to a few college gyms lately and I think the days of dilapidated college weight rooms have gone the way of the Princess phone.

    • I KNOW!! even my little division three school hath been fancied up!!
      Im not sure thats a good thing 😉

  6. I would love to learn these lessons, too, before I’m too old BUT I can’t seem to start lifting and keep at it.
    Tips????

  9. I know this will surprise you but I found my voice out on the road running! 🙂 Weights make me feel very badass…like I can feel myself conquering what I need to!

  10. I learned so much more & gained so much more than my voice in the weight room – I gained me – and what I love to do & how I like to feel….

    I got to say that the mind/body/muscle connection which you & I talk about a lot is so important! Much more than people ever realize!

    I learned that I am a lot stronger than I ever knew but I have yet still to take some of how I feel in the gym to out of the gym endeavors.. I always feel accomplished in the gym but beyond it, the disappointments have sometimes set me back & I continue to crawl out of them.. so I have not given up.

  11. I’ll be honest… when I”m at the gym I avoid the free weight room and for a few reasons. 1) it stinks in there. 2) it’s intimidating. 3) I’m not sure how to lift correctly so I don’t hurt myself (or others).

    I’d rather spend a little more time in there but…. I don’t.

    • Hi Jackie!! I know you’re not alone in any of those 3 points! I’ve had many friends ask to come with me to the gym to teach them basic exercises. Do you have any lifting friends that could give you a beginner course?

      I can’t help you with the stink, but totally get what you mean!

      And with intimidation– that goes away once you’re familiar with the exercises and where things are located. Don’t let the meatheads scare you! You have just as much right to be there as they do.

      We are women, hear us ROAR!!!!! 😉

  13. I learned a lot of life lessons on the road, running. Such as perseverance will get you to the finish line. And if you go out too fast sometimes you’ll blow up. Life’s a marathon, pace yourself.

  15. Wow, all of this is like a Monday morning wake up and smell the coffee, smack in the face. I LOVE IT. I’ve learned that I can push myself farther and harder than I ever thought possible. I’ve learned that I am capable of way more than I give myself credit for. And most importantly I’ve learned that if I want to progress and grow as an athlete and in life, I can’t be afraid to try new things.

  16. I get nervous seeing you headstand on a wheely chair! If I tried that it would not be pretty…
    It is amazing what we can do when we put our minds and bodies to it!

  17. Number 4. Yep, that’s me, too. I know what my limitations are in that dept. and I just accept them and plow on. What I’m doing is good for me, whether or not I grow muscle easily!

  18. I have learned that I’m capable of anything if I just put my mind to it.
    It is just in the past few years that I really started trying to push myself to become stronger – I just assumed that I was a runner and would always have scrawny arms – no more!!!

  19. I love the quote “I am the sculptor of my body and my life”. Such a powerful way to think!

    One of the lessons that strength training has taught me is to be patient with the process. I’ve been accused of being impatient at many times in my life. Between children and strength training, I’m learning to be less so 🙂

  20. LOOOVVVVEEEEE weight training!! It was my first love at the age of 16! Talk about feeling empowered!!!! And I equally love when I see a fellow female in the gym not afraid to lift heavy! Girl power!!!!

    I definitely have fallen “out of love” with my gym environment at times. I’ve found going in the early morning hours the environment doesn’t feel so much like Match.com

    haha!

  25. One thing resistance training has taught me is to:

    1. Always have a back up plan. This comes from when you need a flat bench but they’re all taken. Or you specifically need a 35# weight but they’re all taken.

    You’ve got to adapt. There are other ways you can do an exercise. Create a back up plan in case your original plan didn’t work out.

  26. It’s a good thing I didn’t discover my voice in the weight room or I’d be a constant chorus of “this sucks I hate this please just shoot me now!”

    Fortunately I love the magic combo of cardio plus music, and when I’m doing that my voice is loud and strong and happy! And yet… still off key. But I don’t care, I love it. 🙂

  32. Love, love, love! I adore weights and have learned a TON from them. BUT the biggest life lessons for me have come on the track. Probably because I am not a natural born runner. I love how running has brought out various ‘qualities’ in me that I allowed to get squashed in the corporate world.

  33. very cool post as usual, miz carla. i definitely especially agree with the first point you made. waiting around for the perfect environment before you try to make change is often an excuse. change will be more effective, meaningful, and strength-building if you just GO for it no matter what your conditions…beat the odds!

  35. I agree with all of this post but I am having a really terrible time with number 3. The past few weeks have been filled with “maybe I should give up” but I am still working out so the body is still going, I just need the mind to connect again.

  36. OH. you made a really great point, too, Nellie.
    Sometimes life simply calls for that auto-pilot and it’s ok.
    It’s far far far better than tossing in the town until the mind and bod are ready to collaborate again.
    we’ve all been there.

  37. “live in my body”…I love that.

    Patience is what I’ve learned through this lifestyle. Patience in all things and in myself as I progress through life and towards my goals (in and out of the weight room)

    xo

  38. I discover my voice in the gym no doubt — especially in CrossFit when I can push more than I thought possible. There are SO many great examples of REAL LIFE found in the weights we lift or the resistance we measure. It’s all about opportunity, hard work, belief in yourself. I love how FITNESS is representative of life!

  39. Change in routine. Change in perspective. —> love!!
    and love this posts!! doing more weights and strength training has helped us in sooooo many ways!!! xoxo

  40. Awesome thought-provoking post!
    Resistance training has taught me that we are always a work in progress. You are never “done” – you can always get fitter or stronger or faster or more flexible etc. This is just like in life – you can always keep improving yourself to be a better person, employee, wife, sister, friend, mother. I really enjoy the fitness journey (and the journey of life) so I find it oddly satisfying that I’ll always be able to find ways to keep improving.

  41. I love that last item – some people are natural athletes, the rest of us work our butts off! 🙂 Most of the time, I’m glad it takes effort, because we wouldn’t appreciate it as much if it was easy. It’s a choice though and I choose to make progress, even if it’s slower than I’d like at times. 🙂

  42. As always, love this post and you! I often get stuck in the comparison trap and your last point really speaks to me. My genetics definately lean toward the softer side but I just need to focus and I know I’ll be able to do it.

  43. So many lessons learned…it has been a bumpy road, and not easy, but also very rewarding, because it was through hard work, being persistent, learning what works/doesn’t work, what feels good, in my fitness journey that led me to where I am today. I LOVE it all and LOVE who I have become.

  45. Love this. So many great lessons here. Mind/body connection is a big one for me. But it amazes me what lessons we learn from fitness and health and how they can apply to life in general. I’d have to say that surfing and yoga have been biggest sources of insight for me lately.

  47. From my fitness journey I have learned that I can be who I want. I grew up skinny and lazy and thought of myself as one of those girls who’ll eat whatever I want and hate working out forever. But as I grew up I realized that was a childish lifestyle. Vanity got me interested in fitness, but that way I feel now is keeping me moving towards living healthy.
    kendrrat
    http://heyyber.blogspot.com
    (health and fitness motivation blog)

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    The researchers point out that 97 million Americans are overweight and obese, which can put them at higher risk of developing chronic conditions like osteoarthritis.
    While many people may simply want to lose weight to look better and to be more attractive, there are many others who are doing it for more personal reasons; they are looking to turn their lives around, to become healthier, strengthening themselves and decreasing their chances of tragically dying of some kind of condition or disease. As you can guess, when people try to go through weight loss with the latter goals they aren’t looking to lose weight just for the summer… they want to make a complete transformation, often changing their habits and lifestyle completely. The only true way to achieve that goal is to take the healthy weight loss approach to the problem.
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  49. I haven’t been doing any resistance work of late. Indeed, since moving a year ago my workout routines have been sporadic at best.

    I’ve started yoga though so feel I’m doing SOME strength (core anyway) work. I do hope to get back into it again though. I did enjoy my Pump classes!

    Deb

  52. Love these life lessons, and your illustrations. I have learned most of these outside of my exercise life. I’ve been thinking about #3 a lot lately. Thanks for sharing this.

  53. Great post! I’ve learned so much from my strength training. It’s transformed my life, and its the reason I chose the path I did.

    Mostly though, I’ve learned that how my body looks doesn’t depict the strength it has. I love being able to do pull-ups, heavy bench and squat with the best of them and surprise those around me.

    Its the same in life.. I might be small but don’t mess with me. ha

  55. Working with kids that have disabilities taught me all the life lessons I need to know.
    I did however have running pull me in 1970. (10ks to marathons to Ultras)
    The weight room called me in 1978. (To supplement my running)
    Cycling and swimming said “hey you” in 1980. (Cross training before it was “cool”)
    Triathlons started around then too.
    Open water events made a long distance call from California in 2002.
    Mountain biking offered it’s hand in 2003.
    I played on an obstacle course high in the trees (40 feet up) and zip-lined down for my 60 th b’day this weekend.
    The only lesson from all of this is work hard. Play hard. Life is wayyyy too short! Do your best.

  56. CHANGE – that’s so important and I am such a creature of habit!!! LUCKILY I have been BREAKING out of my routine more and more these days, and I am actually QUITE PROUD of myself! 🙂 Now if only I could CHANGE UP my work out routine! LOL!

  57. We are the sculptors of your body and life. How true indeed. You chose to be focused on your goal rather than grow jealous. This is so empowering. Nice post Carla!

  58. I’m the worst with paralysis by analysis. I overthink everything, weight training included! I love exercise but lifting is… not my fave part of it. So I have a really tough time motivating myself to do it. I love your meta take on it. If I think I can get a life lesson out of something I so for it!

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