Why I Lift.

I was teaching myself to type before my first official “Word Processing” class in 6th grade. Not that it’s revelant information, but it serves as an openning sentence.

Whenever I was introduced to a new word or name, I’d find myself mentally typing it in my mind. Picturing a keyboard and pressing each letter. I did this for years, years, without really wondering why. I guessed it was something nobody else did, but I obviously saw nothing wrong with it, nor did it ever come up in conversation. This serves as a bridge to the present day.

I’m not sure what I expected from myself when I started lifting. The decision, the flow of thoughts was rather fast. The realization that I’d lived a lifetime with the identification statement I am weak, then realizing all of the fears and doubts surrounding physical activity and exercise itself stemming from this one identification. So in one swoop of a statement I decided, “I am going to get in shape!”

Part of me thought I’d get all excited about it, be a little obsessive, and then I’d lose interest somewhere along the way. Typically how I tend to cycle. But here I am, months later, still at it. Not necessarily obsessive anymore, but definitely far more focused than I was initially. I’ve taken “I want to get in shape” and turned it into more manageable, reachable, concrete goals. If you don’t define your goals, you’ll never reach them. This is something the Bush Administration and past governments have never learned.

For the record, I’ve already reached one goal. I can squat my own weight. I reached another goal: I can bench 95 lbs. They are my goals, not everybody else’s, and I’m glad I reached them. It says to me, “Hey, I can do that”, so I make more goals and keep going.

I haven’t done the mental typing thing in a long time. Can’t tell you the last time I actually looking at my keyboard, let alone pictured one. But something else has evolved in months past. I find myself rather self-aware of my body. Every movement, I’m more aware of the motions involved. I understand the agonists, range of motion, flexibility.

When I’m completely bored, I imagine myself doing overhead presses.

I’m not kidding.

Lifting is meditative to me. I’ve said the same thing about peeing and downing water. A rhythm, an awareness of the body. Inhalation, relaxation, exhalation, exertion. A mental count. Sometimes I get nervous before workouts, wondering if I can match what I’ve done the previous workout. The trick is to not cheat yourself. Use good form, and you can usually do a little better than your previous workout, whether it’s one rep here or that magical day when you increase weight. Self-improvement is masturbation, and we know how much I love that.

That’s as simple as the explanation needs to be. It’s good to feel good about oneself.