Introduction:

This is my perspective on lifting. I read before that it could be helpful to the community, so here's me contributing back in the only way I can.

I'm 37 and I have never had motivation or persistence to exercise. It all changed one year ago, today.

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Main:

My step-father passed away 365 days ago. And that was the last great lesson he left me. Realizing first-hand how fragile life is for the first time in my life, I went into youtube and found a bodyweight exercise routine that I felt was doable and started to exercise daily.

If you have read Heathcliff's "Now I am become Chad, the destroyer of pussy" (http://archive.fo/57xo8), I'd say I'm a 4 at the moment. The entire thing describes me to a T. My posture is already much better, diet/haircut/wardrobe are the next easy targets. And, obviously, I still have iron to lift and belly fat/bitch tits to lose. I have a lot to accomplish.

I work at home and I do my exercises early in the morning, "paying myself first." Sometimes life happens and I can't exercise -- it's usually a business meeting that needs to be scheduled in the morning. However, my average throughout the year is 22.5 days out of 30, which is a normal Mon-Fri schedule with 8 days off for weekends.

I started the year and I didn't know what was a crunch, a push up, or a squat. After 9 months of daily practice, I have seen some improvement in all 3 of them, but I am still far from understanding them fully -- my muscle growth is asymmetrical. I have not injured myself other than some knee pain in the very beginning, so there's that. But I definitely need to improve my form.

Still, I'm the most motivated I've ever felt in my 37 years of life. I sleep better -- 6 to 8 hours a day. I think better -- as if I unleashed a new depth in my creativity and concentration each new week. I am more focused in my work. I can sit on my ass the entire day after working out early in the morning. In fact, my posture improved a lot. It's still a work in progress, but I feel better standing and sitting. I haven't felt this way in the past 10 years.

It is still fucking challenging. I immediately feel the effects after a single day of not working out. My back bothers me during the day. My sleep suffers at night. On the plus side, working out became a no brainer.

My highest priorities at the moment is to:

1-) keep my lifting habit due to all the well-being benefits I am already experiencing, and 2-) make some money to get me out of my current mess*

  • Pro-tip: Remember about my step-father's death? Well, when you don't sort your shit before passing away, things get even messier after your death. Get your paperwork in order if you want things done in a certain way.

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TL;DR: lift.