My fitness journey somehow came out of the blue. It was nothing I was planning for, it was not on any of my new year's resolutions or anything of the like. It just happened that about a year and a half ago, I met with a childhood friend after quite a long time.
He had been going to the gym for over a decade, and you could see that by the looks of his body. When he asked me to join him, I hesitated, but a few days later, I called him and said that I wanted to join the gym, but I needed professional assistance. He offered to help me out.
I had a short-lived similar experience when I was in high school, but somehow, I was more motivated to stick with this way of life because, to me, fitness is a way of life, not just an hour a day, four days a week experience.
I was 35 when I got back into the gym, and when I looked at the physiques other folks had around there, I felt really ashamed. As you can see from the first picture, it's meant to serve as a comparison between my current shape and the one I had before going to the gym.
I had man boobs, a quite big belly for a short guy, almost no chest or arm muscles, and believe it or not, but I think my shitty physical shape was also influencing my mental state too.
One and a half years of going to the gym on a constant basis is not much. I know guys who've been doing it constantly for two decades or more, but you gotta start somewhere, right?
So, what's the aftermath of this whole time, effort, and passion dedicated to fitness?
Well, first of all, seeing your body recomposition month after month, especially in the early stages of training, sure feels orgasmic. I have not reached my peak, and I believe there's more to work on my body, but I sure love the healthy dopamine I get during the process.
In that old picture, taken right on my first day going to the gym, I had something like 30% body fat, which is a lot for a man, especially for someone who's not tall, and now I am rocking something like 20% (I assume).
You won't move mountains in a day or weeks; you gotta be Jesus to do that. But consistency sure pays the efforts put in, and that, my friends, applies to blogging on Hive as well.
Dieting is like HODLing. You will eat za bugs (chicken breast, steak, etc.) and you will like it, and if you cheat (like I've done plenty of times), you're not going to see the results you're aiming for. Sacrifice is bodybuilding's middle name.
Fitness is a body-mind connection and effort. If you're not able to lift "that weight" with your mind, you won't be able to do it with your muscles either. Hence, getting fit will have an immense impact on your overall well-being and will undoubtedly change you as a man/woman.
It's a lifelong journey, and there's no room for rushing anything. Otherwise, you will find yourself getting injured all the time or filling your ass with steroids. Delayed gratification and progressive overload are what will keep you on track for decades.
Personally, I plan on doing this thing for my entire life, same as it goes for my blog. It's already been one and a half years since I started my fitness journey, but it feels like it was yesterday when I started "hitting the barbells." There's more to learn, and even more to get in better shape.
Taking the journey step by step and enjoying every part of it...
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian