I love lifting weights. I really do. It’s a way I’ve found to build power, intentionality and light-up into my body. When I complete a session, I walk out of the gym taller, more alive and more on purpose.
It hasn’t always been this way.
I tried eight different gyms before I found a match. One was too cold, one was too crowded, another was too loud, another was too yellow… When I finally chose one and signed up, I felt intimidated and lost. I didn’t know what I was doing. I was awkward and self-conscious.
But, I had a secret weapon. I’d been inspired.
I’d met a former Special Forces Operator with an imposing physique. More striking than his sculpted torso and powerful shoulders was the energy he carried. He rarely spoke of what he had endured during his 15 years of service, yet mastery and survival were built into his body. I watched the focused way he lifted weights at the gym. His movements were honed and precise. While those around him exercised, he trained.
I wanted what he had, or at least my own modest version of it. And so I decided I would “train” too.
A few months into my training the awkwardness fell away. I began to know what to do. I claimed my space and wasn’t intimidated by the grunting body builders around me. I grunted back. I knew when to push myself harder and when to ease off. I created playlists to enhance my enjoyment. One day I noticed I no longer had to force myself to get to the gym – I wanted to go.
If you hate exercise and “should” yourself into it, please don’t. Find a form of movement that calls to you and begin in a new way. Train. Train for a fresh start. Train for sass. Train to heal. Train to set yourself free. Find your own powerful why and train for something. There’s magic in it.
