resistance to persistence

at the end of january, i joined a local gym. i was tired of sitting on the couch for the winter without any regular exercise. our ultimate frisbee team hibernated for the winter and i needed activity. i’d joined a gym in 1999 and managed to go there for about 3 months and went about twice a month until my year membership died out. i hoped i wasn’t making the same mistake again, so the best way not to waste money is to spend even more money. i signed up for a trainer to make sure i was getting the fastest results possible and keep me attending regularly. i go directly after work so i don’t go home and fall asleep on the couch instead.

my goals were 1) gain weight (20lbs) - i’m very light for my height 2) build muscle - i may need to lift a car in an emergency some day.

after reviewing my eating habits with the trainer, it’s clear why my weight is low and why my previous gym attempts didn’t give me many results. i’m not eating nearly enough. i’m a picky eater and i don’t enjoy eating. i’ve always said i just wish i could take a ‘food pill’ that would give me everything i need for nutrition in a pill without having to take a half hour of eating, along with time to cook & clean. all that stuff just interrupts stuff i’d rather be doing. some people enjoy eating food just to taste great flavours - i’ve never been one of those people. give me a steak & potatoes pill i can wash down with water and i’ll be glad to return to other interests.

since i can’t eat massive quantities at each sitting (i just can’t eat a lot) and i burn it off so fast, i have to eat every 2 hours. i eat 5-6 meals a day now and it should probably be more. breakfast, 10:30am, noon, 3, 7, 10 I eat. and i record everything i eat for the trainer to inspect - it keeps me honest and commited. and just to make sure i don’t have to eat additional, i don’t do long cardio run sessions at the gym as that just burns extra calories i’d have to replace.

my trainer steve showed me the great way to properly repeat exercises (2seconds flex, 4 seconds release) and it’s had results. all of this has contributed to me now being in the best shape ever. i’ve gained a decent amount of muscle mass and in the past 6 weeks, i’ve gained 8.5 lbs! i’ve never been able to gain more than 3-4 lbs and i’m at my heaviest weight ever. i’m very pleased with the results.

i’ve signed on for another month of training with steve and we’re now starting more serious weight training to increase the results. nothing fanatical, just healthy. i’m hoping for 20lbs by end of summer and i should be fine then. and if so, my best friend bet me a nice steak dinner. i’ll make sure to take the time and eat that one for as long as possible.

gotta go…time to eat. again. my stomach is rumbling.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 21st, 2006 at 11:42 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.