Monkey Blog

I had one of those days in the gym yesterday where everything just comes together.  I felt strong, my lifts went great, and the pump I got was just fantastic.  I know there’s such thing as a runner’s high, but what about a lifter’s high?  I sear when you have a killer session of lifting it is just the most amazing feeling.  I felt so alive, so energized, so frakking good.  I’m closing in on age forty and lifting has made me feel stronger, better, and more alive than I’ve even been in my life.  I started lifting to change how I looked on the outside, but I didn’t count on how much it would change me on the inside.  I LOVE lifting!!!

There’s no point to this.  I just felt like contributing a positive rant.  :)

Lifting is something that I always suspected that I would enjoy but for a myriad of reasons I never made a real attempt to do it.  I let fear hold me back for so long.  Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of what I assumed would be a hostile environment, etc.  One of the best thing I’ve learned in the last two years is nothing feels greater to look one of your fears in the eye and not only facing it, but squashing it.

I remember watching an episode of Battlestar Galactica (frakking LOVE that show) where Apollo (Jamie Bamber) gets interviewed by a reporter when he had just exited the showers and was only wearing a towel.  I remember that watching that seriously pissed me off.  I was mad because that is exactly what I wanted to look like but I never made a real attempt to try and do it.  I was mad because I thought I might have missed my chance to get into the shape that I wanted.  I was 35 and everyone I knew who is that age was woefully out of shape.  Who the hell starts training at that age?  Now I know that it’s lots of people but I didn’t realize that then.  There comes a point when you realize that you can continue to wallow in doubt and unhappiness or you can start doing something about it.  I didn’t know if I could make the changes I wanted but I said "Screw it" and decided to try my damnedest anyway.  I am so happy that I did.

Jamie Bamber on the left.  My progress on the right.

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I’m always looking to try new exercises in the gym.  On arm day I tried something that I read in *cough cough* magazine.

Hold a DB in each hand with your arms bent 90 degrees and your palms facing the sky.  Curl one arm ten reps then return it to 90 degrees.  Curl the other arm ten reps and do the same.  Then curl each arm ten reps.  That’s one set.  Before my first set I thought "I wonder if 25 pounds will be enough?"  OMG at the end of the first set my arms were on fire!    This is definitely going to be added to the rotation of things to possibly hit on arm day from now on.
If I had a nickel for every skinny guy I saw using WAY too much weight flinging their bodies around while doing dumbbell curls I would be a rich man.  Train smart!

It was two years ago that I signed up for an account here.  I lurked for a little while before that but I finally pulled the trigger on this day.  When I first found this place I assumed it would be just for jocks and people who had been into athletics their whole lives.  I was extremely surprised when I not only found out that wasn’t true, but when I found profiles of guys with similar backgrounds.  There were the guys who were never into sports but discovered that they fell in love with lifting.  There were the guys that didn’t start lifting until their thirties (or later).  There were the guys that had my starting weight and looked like I wanted to look.  I found all of it unbelievably motivating.

I’ve always said that there were two things that were critical to any success that I’ve had.  The first was signing up with a fantastic trainer.  He helped me eliminate the crushing fear I had about working out in a gym.  He taught me how to use all the machines and of course the free weight section.  The best thing he taught me, however, was what hard work really is.  I really learned that you have to push yourself.

As important as my time with him was, it was only for a few months.  When my trainer wasn’t a part of my life anymore BodySpace still was.  I don’t have any friends that lift.  What’s great is that my friends on here not only can relate to what I’m going through, but they can provide knowledge and encouragement from someone who’s been there.

I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on here and I truly appreciate all of it.  When I first signed up I was extremely hesitant to post any pictures (oh the irony).  I thought that I wasn’t anywhere near the level of some people on here and that I would look silly (but I did it anyway).  When I did I started immediately getting positive feedback.  I definitely found it surprising.

This place has given me a lot of laughs, encouragement, and some great friends.  I’m looking forward to many future BodySpace birthdays!

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I was thinking about this today when I was annoyed that the dumbbells I wanted were in use. Just for fun I imagined what I would change about my gym if I could.

• I’d rip out all of the treadmills to make room for more weightlifting goodness.
• My gym is really good about squat racks, benching stations, etc. So no changes there.
• I’d at least triple the amount of dumbbells.
• I’d put the poor, unused “butt blaster” in the back corner out of its misery.
• A bod pod or something to measure bodyfat instead of the Sharper Image piece of junk at the front desk.
• I’d love to try pushups on gymnastic rings.

What would you do?

It feels so great to be able to say that.  I’ve got two years of lifting under my belt now.  I definitely have noticed a different attitude with the second year.  The first year I was happy with my progress but I still had some doubts.  The first year I had to overcome a lot of built up fear and doubt to make myself even start.  I felt more like a person trying to be comfortable with the gym and a new lifestyle but not 100% sure I could do it.  The second year is when I really started to feel differently.  I now feel like lifting is a part of me and I’m excited to continue doing it for a long, long time.  It’s hard to explain but I feel that lifting has made me into the person I was always supposed to be.

"Retrofitness currently has 50 locations with another 100 in some stage of development. Their neon-colored facilities feature New Wave-heavy soundtracks."
Their phone number is even 867-5309!

LOL!

Seriously, what the hell?  They had a mannequin with one of these bad boys on it.  I could not believe it.

http://www.squeem.net/product_info.php?products_id=41

Can you spot him in this clip?  And OMG at the girl in the black/pink/purple outfit.  LOL!

Up through high school I had a huge hangup about my height. I hate, hate, H-A-T-E-D how short I was. My buddies that I hung out with were almost all at least six feet tall. They all just towered over me and it drove me nuts. As I got older I found that life has a way of teaching you what is and isn’t important and being tall isn’t one of them. Now I could care less about my height, which is great.

I was looking at the front page of BodySpace and I noticed something interesting. Four of the top six guys are around my height. That kind of blows my mind a little even though it shouldn’t. What other athletic endeavor is there where being "shorter" is actually helpful? I never would have guessed it when I first started. It never ceases to amuse me at how many misconceptions I had about lifting before I started.

• I’m the most unathletic person in the world.  I’m not sure I’ll be able to do this.  WRONG
• I’m concerned that I might be too old to make any real progress. WRONG (I actually did think this BUT I was never let it going to stop me from trying. I just took a “screw it, I’m going to try anyway” attitude!)
• I’ll stick out like a sore thumb and be uncomfortable in a gym full of fit people.  WRONG
• I don’t like to eat much and I’ve never been over 145 pounds.  I doubt I could get any bigger than that.  WRONG

I could go on all day.  I’m just thankful that none of them kept me from starting!