A Change In Life

Physical Fitness is a key to a healthy life. I was always off the chart for the average height for my age. This upset me because I was big into sports. I was very competitive, but I was never too successful because of my height and everyone had a competitive edge over me. I felt like I was cheated out of life. I wanted to do something about this but there was not much for me to do. I decided if I signed up for a gym I could gain size and be physically fit. The first day I walked into the gym, my life was changed.

Walking into the gym for the first time, I did not know what to expect. I did not know if I would see people that I knew, or if there would be people smaller than me. I scanned my ID card and it all began. I was a little boy and the gym was huge. I didn’t know where to begin. I decided I was not ready for anything but machines.  I sat down at the machine that was known as the chest press. I pulled the pin out of the stack of weights, it was at 130 pounds, more than I weighed.  I dropped the pin into the 40-pound slot. Rep one felt like I was attempting to lift an elephant. I quickly lowered the weight to 20 pounds; this was a lot more reasonable.

I went from machine to machine working on my chest. I didn’t know too much, so I always had to read the directions on the machine. I felt like everyone was watching me. I was in fact right; someone was watching me, a trainer. He came up to me and told me I looked clueless. My face turned bright red like I was sun burnt, I was completely embarrassed. The trainer was about in his 30s and every single muscle on his body was showing. I was amazed at the definition he had. I didn’t think such thing was possible; it was like he was a machine. We went on and chatted about things I should do, and how to go about them, and the technical aspects of it so to prevent an injury. My ears were open to absorb as much information as I could. My eyes were glued on him.

I went home to research more. My parents asked me how my first day went as soon as I stepped into the house. I looked at them and just went straight to my room. I did not respond. The next day at school I was unable to concentrate. All I wanted to do was walk back into that gym with complete confidence because I felt that I knew what I was doing now, only to discover that I was wrong.  I was performing the movements wrong and the trainer helped me out again.  I didn’t think anything could have gotten worse until I dropped a weight and everyone looked at me like I was a fool.

The week finally was over and I had a better understanding of different workouts I could do. Things were only getting better from here on out. Weeks turned to months, and months turned to years. I was able to reach my goal of gaining strength and becoming physically fit. Friends who were a lot taller than me were now weaker because of my strict and gruesome workouts. I was now a machine. I had definition on my body and was proud to take my shirt off. I had a six-pack that all the females loved. This motivated me to never give in.  It has been 5 years since that first day I walked into what changed my life, the gym.

I accomplished many great achievements in these 5 years. I was able to bench 250+ pounds, run a half marathon, compete in a triathlon, and gain quickness and strength for the sports I play. I now focus a lot on DVD workouts. I completed Insanity, Asylum and am now in the process of P90X2. These are some of the best I have ever done. They push you to your extreme limits. Today I woke up early to get my workout out of the way. I perform these in my dorm room.  As I look back to where I began, I can sure say the gym changed my life. I am now in shape and feel confident about myself. I learned a lot from weights over the years, lessons in restraint and self-control. If you try and lift something that you are not ready for, It will not budge. If you do get it up, the chance of it coming crushing down on you and causing injuries is high. I spent a few months not able to lift anything over 10 pounds because I was foolish and tried to lift something that I was not ready for. Gravity taught me the lesson of self-control. I cannot wait to influence others to start working out and becoming physical fit. If fitness came in a bottle, everyone would have a great body. It's the hard work and persistence to fight for your health and achievements that makes being physically fit an accomplishment to be proud of.