I've decided I want to stop swearing so much. There was never a time in my life where I just started swearing more, it just became part of my regular speech gradually. This is a problem and I'd like to learn how to stop.
Did anyone else ever accomplish this? What was your method?
So about 2 weeks ago we were involved in a crash where the other party was at fault. After 2 weeks, we've been told the car is now a write off as advised by the repairer. This is fine, it probably works better as the car was getting on, but it was still a very good quality car.
My question is, when dealing with the insurers, is there anything I can do to increase the amount I receive from them? We'd just paid for new tires for the car before we were hit, and from what I can see, most cars seem to be between 14k-16k and we're probably looking at around the lower end from the insurer. Can you haggle with insurers or are they generally draw a line in the sand and say too bad/tough luck? Just trying to arm myself before I deal with them directly.
so i am wondering if i should cut or bulk i am 5 feet and 9 inches and around 170 pounds but i am really skinny in the arm and chest section but got more fat on the legs and stomach area its not super much but it is still points outwards if i stand lateral in the mirror, i hope that made sense if not i will try to answer better in the comments but so back to the question should i lose that belly fat first before i weight train or should i just go with weights? thanks for replying ( i could post images if neccesary)
Saying "thank you you are so helpful and pleasant" cost you nothing and will make that persons day and keep them in a good mood for the next person.
A trainer I know told me that for everyday strength, front squats are superior to back squats as they more closely resemble the sort of lifting people actually do. But on the other hand, people like Mark Rippetoe say that back squats are absolutely essential. Opinions seem to be plentiful, but I haven't found any actual research on this question. Can anyone perhaps refer me to any studies that bear on this question?
I've been using those Clearasil pads to remove dry/dead skin from my face. It's been a fast and convenient solution. Fast enough to do it before I head out in the morning. But people say Salicylic acid actually makes the problem worse by producing sebum. So, I'm trying to move away from it. Is there a easier/better way that's not harmful?
I see the dry skin primarily on and around the nose area.
Bonus question: Best way to remove black-heads from nose?
I just bought fancy makeup you can only get online so that takes time to arrive for example.
Prepare now and avoid falling into hasty, expensive clichés at the last minute.
Also makes you look thoughtful and we all know ladies love that shit.
And I expect some "commercial construct" type replies and fair play if you and your partner eschew the day, this is post is directed at other people.
Hi,
Is it possible to develop stronger lower body muscles (lower back and below) without doing squats such as barbell squats? So doing lunges for example instead or would I be losing out?
Every time i drive and traffic is though i get really stressed. I swear a lot about simple mistakes i do (putting 4th gear and shouldve put 3rd and so on), other drivers do, or simply because someone did an unpredictable manouver 1 block away from me. When i get out of the car on though days my legs shake a lot and im all sweaty, like if i had just finished climbing mount Everest. Holding a conversation is a monumental task i can barely accomplish. I know this may sound silly but can i have some tips? Been drivjng for a year or so and it never got any better. Its just very demanding and im beginning to hate it.
My father (62) is in Virginia and is adamant that he should pull out a ladder and go shovel the flat roof over his porch. If I lived closer I'd just go do it for him, but in lieu of that I was curious if there are any statistics on the likelihood of roof collapse vs. number of people who injure themselves while trying to shovel a roof that can change either of our minds on the subject.
Title.
Will they always be a given make/model of a car? Only certain colors? Any habits they have that makes them stand out?
I figure there has to be some consistencies in their patterns that would make them identifiable. Thanks for any responses.
I'm very short on time, and I've put together what I hope is the best 'bang for my buck' 4 movement routine. Maybe the more experienced lifters here might be willing to weigh in on whether or not it maximizes my potential gains in the shortest amount of time. (I should also note that I can't deadlift or clean - or at least I can't seem to, even with training, without doing bad things to my low back.) - Thanks
MWF Schedule Workout A: Front Squat 3x5 Military Press 3x5
Workout B: Rear Squat 3x5 Bench Press 3x5
I have never had issues with dandruff in my life until I grew a beard, and now my face flakes off like I'm in an Indiana Jones movie.
The simple solution would be to shave it off, but I like it, and want to keep it. I've tried conditioning/shampooing, and it still doesn't work. Should I moisturize my face? Skip washing for a day or two? Does anyone have a recommendation for me?
Hello EMSK,
My SO is about 2 hours away from me, and since VDay falls on a Sunday this year, it would be difficult to have dinner, since she has work the next morning. Is it ok to have dinner the day before, or should we just go for lunch on VDay? Also while I'm here, any general tips for VDay? (Bear in mind we haven't been dating for very long) Thanks!
Hello EMSK,
My SO is about 2 hours away from me, and since VDay falls on a Sunday this year, it would be difficult to have dinner, since she has work the next morning. My question is, is it ok to just have dinner the day before, or should we just go for lunch on VDay?
Also while I'm asking, any general tips for VDay? (Bear in mind we haven't been dating for very long) Thanks!
Hey, I'm starting a new gig that requires wearing a visible belt, but that also puts me in direct contact with a lot of higher-end vehicles. I don't want to worry about scratching paint, and i've managed to eliminate most harsh objects from my wardrobe, except... belt buckles. Any ideas?
This post touches on three different things, from eating cheap and healthy, gaining or maintaining weight, and meal preparations.
It first starts with your game plan. Mine is to save up for a down payment on a house by end of 2016.
Here's what I did:
For week one, I spent $40 on groceries and had a lot of food for one week.
For week two, I spent $50 and still had a lot of food.
Determine where your week "starts." Start now or start on Sunday.
Plan your diet. Do you want to gain weight, lose, maintain? For me, it's more maintain and eat less takeout to zero takeout.
This is what I bought for $40: 5lbs of chicken tenders, 5lbs of broccoli, 5lbs of potatoes, 1 gallon of whole milk, 18 eggs, 1 container of oats.
This translates to: 4/5 tenders a day, 2/3 crowns of broccoli and eggs, 1 cup of quick oats, 2 potatoes, 1 cup of milk.
By cooking everything at once in 1 hour, I was able to quickly clean up and free up time the rest of the week. I separate the food into vented plastic containers and leave them in the fridge. I only put enough food for one day into a lunch container and that's it. I'll eat eggs and oats for breakfast or dinner if I'm in a rush to go to work.
As a result, I've kept two entire pay checks and couldn't be more happier with the results.
Hi all,
I've started the beginner routine from aworkoutroutine.com and have some questions. It seems like it's so little. I'm in-and-out of the gym in less than 30 minutes! I like that it's "easy" as far as time commitment, but I'm tempted to do more. I'm already guilty of mixing in crunches.
The site specifically says not to mess with the routine: "But, you see, I know that no matter how many times I explain that this routine is totally ideal for beginners as is, many people are just going to ignore me and add more to it as they please.". Why does the author stress this so much? Why is less more? Totally ideal? Shouldn't I do more if I have the will and time?
Thanks!
So basically I have been doing PR for a short period of time, but I want to move that expertise to the sporting world. I have been meaning to do this for some time now but I don't know where to begin, or what the first step should be.
I guess some others have this issue, they are on a certain career path and want to keep doing that but on a different field or industry.
Sometimes you just wanna skip work and stay in bed, what is the easiest illness to fake at the doctor's ?
For some reason I am a pretty sweaty guy in the arm pit region. I am neither unhealthy or severely overweight. I've tried multiple anti-antiperspirant deodorants but nothing seems to work for me. Even shaving my arm pits doesn't help much.
For example, a trip to Walmart in 32 degree weather wearing a coat left sweat stains on my shirt by the time I got home. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Recently I got a nice set of Fiskars kitchen knives. They may not be top shelf, but they're not some cheap crap. At first they were razorblade sharp, but I'm starting to notice they're getting duller.
I've got an IKEA Knife Sharpener, but my dad told me not to use it. Then again, he always sharpens his knives on a ceramic pot, which makes them sharp, but I tjink might be bad for the edge in the long run.
How to properly sharpen (and keep sharp) kitchen knives, without going all Benicio Del Toroin The Hunted about it?
Dandruff had been something that I battled with unsuccessfully since I was a child. And we're talking decades, since I am middle-aged today. I'd used Head-and-Shoulders and prescribed Nizoral like a lot of other people and they would relieve the symptoms for a day, but my dandruff would inevitably return if I did not wash my hair the next morning.
About 15 years ago, I searched around the web and found people recommending using apple cider vinegar to alleviate dandruff symptoms. I mixed some of this in to my shampoo and this seemed to alleviate my dandruff symptoms for about...two days, now. Better, but not a complete fix. Still, the vinegar did seem to clean the hair well, which was good.
But I still had dandruff, and that bothered me. "Why can't control this," I said.
One day I stopped eating peanut butter. It's something that I had been eating pretty consistently since I was a kid. And I also took a break from cashew butter, almond butter, and frankly legumes in general. Reason was this was I had been a vegetarian for about 6 years and eating peanut butter and the others had become an everyday thing and had gotten old.
Didn't really think about it but some months later, I noticed that my desk chair wasn't covered with the usual dandruff flakes. And then I noticed when I scratched my head, I didn't get flakes on my dark shirts (and all else in my life had seemed to remain constant -- other aspects of diet, my vitamins and medication, exercise, personal care)
I went through my routines trying to account for this, and realized that cutting peanut and other legume butters out of my diet had been the only changes I had made. So I said: "Perhaps the oil in these foods is -- I don't know -- somehow internally making its way to my scalp? Or perhaps I am having an allergic reaction to these foods and dandruff is a symptom?"
I don't know the answer to the above. But I do know this: I reduced my consumption of peanut butter, legumes and other legume butters and oily foods down to once every few months. And my dandruff -- something I have battled with unsuccessfully for decades -- seems to have disappeared.
SO, if you have been struggling with dandruff for a long time, have used every shampoo product you can imagine, have combed the web for tips, talked to a half dozen doctors and specialists and still no results, then take my advice: Cut-out or minimize your consumption of peanut butter. legumes and other vegetable-oil type foods from your diet.
Doing so will very likely solve your dandruff problem like it did for me.
P.S. And dandruff is a problem that has probably given me, easily, a 100-thousand-dollars worth of stress and embarrassment over the years. I consider this post, above, a public-service of sorts -- certainly wish it had been around for me to read in 1985 lol.
I was laying in bed last night trying to sleep when my mind rolled over to think about the leather strop that somebody bought for me that I never used. I thought about the trashed leather shoes that I just had to replace. I thought about how I use my leather goods but I do not know how to really maintain them for the long haul. So, in the interest of sparking a conversation about the manliest of materials, what should every man know about maintaining and using leather?
Also:
How to break in brand new leather/suede boots?
How to use a strop to gain a fine point on a sharp knife?
Do you need to 'deep clean' your leather jacket?
How about the deep creases and folds or worn away parts?
How do you clean a leather belt?
&tc.
Don't but a ticket.
The odds are stacked against you; put your money towards your gym membership and actually show up.
There's so many movies I've seen the 10 first minutes of, and then nothing else. What are your tips on how to put myself into the best conditions to appreciate a movie ?
So I met this girl a few days ago and got her number now we're texting and all that but after coming out from a 3 year relationship,I've kinda lost my touch on how am I supposed to start and mantain a conversation with a girl.
I mean what kind of questions should I ask her,I freak out when we're texting because I'm afraid our convo will stall
Just curious if there's anything we should know, from making conversation to tipping, etc.
I usually don't go to barbershops in the first place, but cut my own hair at home with clippers. However, I like a nice beard trim every now and again.
My wife and I, are starting to get back in shape and are looking for a good activity tracker. We've both used Up24s in the past but I get a discount on Fitbit through my place of employment. my question is how well do they work and is the Fitbit scale worth getting? I would love to have all this tracking automated as we do use myfittnesspal to track our meals and like to keep things running as smoothly as possible without tons of extra work.
Hello guys
Ran SL 5x5 sometime back, got to 5x5 330 deadlift, 245 squat, 185 bench @ 185 lbs bodyweight. Have been out of the gym and I'm now weak as fuck again (legs are killing from 135 squats yesterday lolol). Right now I'm 175 bodyweight.
Was considering ICF, but while I like the accessories, I'm not a fan of all the core work or barbell shrugs. I also want to fit in some olympic lifts. While the gym I'm at right now won't allow me to drop bars so I don't think I can max out on the overhead lifts, I'd like to keep in practice as well as fit in exercises that will help me condition for when I can practice them properly again (e.g. front squats, overhead squats). Full cleans without the jerk are also a ton of fun. My clean & jerk 1 rep PR was 185 @ 185 lbs bodyweight and I would like to be able to pass that when I switch gyms in the summer as well as bring my squat/DL/bench above my previous PRs.
Routine -
A 5x5 squats 5x5 bench 5x5 pendlay rows 3x8 overhead squat 3x8 skullcrushers 3x8 pull-ups (overhand) B 5x3 heavy cleans 3x5 squats 5x5 overhead press 5x5 bent over row 3x8 close grip bench 3x8 front lever raise C 5 x (hang power clean, power clean, clean & jerk) complex 5 x (hang power snatch, power snatch, snatch) complex 3x5 deadlifts 3x5 front squats 5x5 incline bench 3x8 facepulls 3x8 chin-ups (underhand)
Progression plan would be standard 5x5 linear for most movements. Unsure about the complexes.
Won't be able to hit reps on the pullups/chinups/lever-raises to start. Once I do I'll start adding weight. Not sure if the volume is realistic, but its comparable to ICF.
Really want to get in incline bench cause I feel that I don't use upper pecs much otherwise.
Not sure on the order of days B/C. I want heavy cleans before deadlifts, but the complexes which involve overhead movements would ideally come before the overhead press (i.e. more technical lifts when less fatigued).
overhead squat and front lever raise are the main core exercises.
traps are hit every day either with rows or facepulls. No rows on day C cause my back will be already fried from cleans, front squats, deadlifts.
lats hit everyday A: pullups B: front lever raise C: chinups
triceps A: bench, skullcrushers B: close grip bench, overhead press C : incline bench, facepulls
biceps A: pendlay rows, pullups B: barbell row C: facepulls, chin-ups
squats and deadlifts for lower body.
Let me know if you have any feedback :)
My wife & I recently realized that there were no where near enough good books about dads, specifically dads as primary caretakers. So she wrote a book about it, and it got published. It's getting positive reviews on Amazon so far, and I figured this would be a great place to share it with the community!
I left the workforce to be a stay-at-home dad 3 years ago, and we've only been able to find a handful of representative books. This one focuses on the things that any good dad can teach his kids. The illustrations are of a dad and his daughter, but nothing in the book is daughter-exclusive.
The Book: Just Like My Daddy Taught Me, by Nadia Monroe
EDIT: Removed Imgur link
Hello Reddit. Here's a picture of my arm: http://ift.tt/1JuQ63g I haven't really cared about my muscles or body at all, but my biceps keeps growing. And it's starting to look ugly. And I was thinking, even if it's all biceps, it just doesn't look right anyways, but I'm no expert. Does it look like this only because I lack triceps, or is there something else? I'm also skinny, approx 18,5 BMI. 175cm tall and somewhere around 58,8kg. If it is because of the lack of triceps, what would be the best way to train your triceps at home? Left arm looks very similar to my right arm, just slightly less "muscular" or whatever, since I don't use it as much. Any help is greatly appreciated :)
This one is embarrassing for me because it seems so basic. I have health insurance through a parent's work and don't think I've ever set my own checkup appointment.
Overwhelmed at all the options and all the plans my insurer has, and which doctors accept mine and which don't. I'm in the bay area and it's Aetna PPO, I believe. I don't have a doctor I regularly see.
Please check out my blog. I need criticism. My grammar is more than likely, really bad. It's been a while.
Thelibdad.com
Thanks in advance.
My (grand/great?) aunt sent me a really nice leather duffel bag. I don't know much about how to prevent cracking and wear other than to not let it get wet.
Hi strong people,
I have never used SARMS (like LGD-4033), but I am reading a lot about it everywhere lately. Something just occurred to me; This could actually be one of the biggest marketing/placebo supplements out there. What I mean is, that I have never seen any evidence for its effectiveness, but I have rarely seen an anabolic supplement being marketed so aggressively. Web sites like Evolutionary.org, wich I usually see as a somewhat trustworthy source of information, are not just giving a lot of positive reviews of it, they are also advertising for it. And Reddittors on other subreddits are saying everything from 'it's a miracle' to 'it's a scam'.
Does anyone have any insights or thoughts on the subject? If it really is legit, then is seem like an extremely great supplement, right?
It was a place where I knew I should be going, but I wasn’t. The laundry list of reasons was long and convincing. I wasn’t in good enough shape. I would start tomorrow, or next week, or once I picked up some new workout gear.
On the days I promised myself to go the excuses were Dark Side of the Force strong: You deserve a day off. Take it easy today. Why strain yourself when you can workout tomorrow?
Things only changed when the girlfriend left. The reasons why are unnecessary to delve into here.
But let this be said: it was all her fault.
After two weeks of drinking myself to the point of not being able to feel feelings, the urge to get a little workout in—nothing crazy, just a toe-in-the-water type of workout—bowled me over as I nursed the latest in a steady stream of hangovers.
I dusted off the gym wear, which had grown snug from neglect, and drove to the local gym. Filling out the forms I couldn’t help but feel good about myself signing up for the membership. So good that it registered a “good enough for today” thought.
Tomorrow I would come back, the voice in the back of my mind said. Tomorrow was going to be the day. Tomorrow it would really happen. For real.
And as I walked out the doors of the gym, she drove past, with her new boyfriend in the passenger side. Laughing with that fully belly laugh. The one I hadn’t seen her do in months.
I turned around, pulled out the shining gym membership from my wallet, and buzzed myself in.
*
The first week I worked out twice. I made a point of taking it easy with the weights, but it seemed like no matter how “easy” I took things, the following couple days were spent nursing the soreness bombs that had detonated across my body.
The rust, as it turned out, was deep.
The runner’s high that people experience after their workout was foreign to me during those first few weeks. The soreness, the difficulty finishing workouts I had once easily been able to breeze through over-shadowed everything else.
The only glimmer, the biggest thing keeping the commitment steadfast was that the gym was a clean break from the rest of my day, where my thoughts, experiences and people in my life seemingly served only to remind me of her.
The gym was my thing.
It was a place to escape her. Everywhere else I went in town there were things that beckoned memories of her. Restaurants where we’d celebrated. Parks where we’d read. Streets we’d walked.
The gym, and the complete lack of connection to her was a refuge. Even though I wheezed through my workouts, and pumped myself full of Ibuprofen to be able to sit on the toilet some days, the pain, the sweat, and the walls of the gym were mine and only mine.
After two weeks I begin the process of coming to terms with the realization that getting in “hilariously great, put the gears to the ex-girlfriend, shape” is going to take longer than I thought.
Much longer.
Looking in the mirror I see little has changed. I flex from different angles, convinced that with the proper angle and lighting I will see some insane indication of progress.
I rather grimly understand that I won’t be getting into fitness model condition any time soon.
I suspend all expectations. For now the goal is making it to the gym next time. And then the time after that. And so on.
As it turns out, this is probably the smartest thing I have done to date.
*
On week six I made it to the gym five times.
Two of the workouts consisted of little more than the lightest cardio work imaginable, along with some stretching, but in my mind making it to the gym and doing a workout, regardless of intensity, counts for everything.
Getting out of bed had become easier even though I was drinking quite a bit still.
The first few drinks always glossed over the pain. Numbed it. The combined high of being with friends and the potency of a handful of doubles made me feel like everything could be getting better.
But then there was that one drink that always sent things spiraling back down, with every subsequent drink carrying a policy of diminishing returns, until I was laying in bed at 3am looking at old pictures of us on my phone, bombed on gin and melancholy.
Seeing her friends out on the town didn’t help. They were nice—she had great friends—who all gave me the same store-issued tilt of the head.
“Are you doing okay?” they would ask, which only made me feel more strongly about being wronged.
I decided that I needed to stop drinking. Completely. For how long? I wasn’t sure. But I knew that it wasn’t helping things. The anxiety and loneliness I had on the hungover days left me vulnerable enough that I nearly texted her a few times.
I simply didn’t trust myself to not text her.
When I wasn’t physically at the gym I was usually mentally still there. I thought about the workouts that lay ahead, the things I had done, spent time on the web reading more about working out, diet, technique.
Visualization was a great help while I was working out as well.
If I was tired, or feeling the familiar surge of excuses beginning to rise up and try to take the wheel, I would simply think about her.
How happy she was. How she had hurt me.
The anger would help my fingers close a little more tightly around the bar. The frustration powered the tail ends of grueling cardio sessions. The unquenchable pain she was causing me sustained my workouts.
Not drinking turned out to have a bigger impact than I realized. It gave me back a sense of control. Alcohol had robbed me of that, and while booze wasn’t a part of my life at the moment, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it again at some point. But for now, no.
I was also eating better, a symptom of not standing in drunken, disheveled line-ups at 2:30am to get two dollar slices of pizza.
I marked day 100 in my log book with little fanfare. I wasn’t as far along as I would have liked, but progress was progress.
*
I don’t remember when it happened. I don’t recall the exact moment that the gym became an irreplaceable part of my life. But I do remember the day it hit me.
Day 132.
I had planned a day off for myself, but was feeling so good—the better sleep I’d been getting was a big part of this—that I decided to go to the gym anyway. That evening, looking in the mirror in the bathroom I saw some creases and bulges I hadn’t seen…well, ever.
I allowed myself a weak grin. I knew what had gone into those tiny creases.
Later that night I went for sushi with the boys. Floating on progress and improvement I ate sashimi and we talked about the stupid things that boys talk about. They commented with disbelief at my newfound appearance, and even though I didn’t feel like I had changed that much, I accepted the kind words.
As life has a fond way of doing, it opened the door to the restaurant and ushered in her and the new boyfriend.
We connected eyes for a brief moment, and without missing a beat she smiled to the other guy. To the new guy. To the guy who had a better car, a better smile, and a better life.
I exhaled slowly through my nose, heart blasting against my chest, stomach churning in that nauseating way that only the love of your life can effect.
I finish my meal in silence, wishing that the gym was open.
*
Going to the gym regularly you see the same people over and over. The guy who uses the chin-up bars like monkey bars, swinging back and forth wildly like Tarzan. The power walker crushing miles on the treadmill. The Crossfit guy who is training for something Crossfitty.
You get to know them without ever talking to them. You wonder where they have been when they disappear from the gym for a couple weeks.
You learn their routines and machines and can see how their day is going by the intensity which with they left. You know their workouts almost better than they do.
With nothing more than a nod behind the curtain of blaring headphones I can indicate that I am down to share the squat rack with you. I will unrack my weights to your desired weight, and you will do the same for me.
I don’t let anyone inside the walls that the iron and the headphones provide me. Here I can be myself, whoever that is without her. Here I can challenge what I think is possible, here I find my mettle and seek to bend it little by little.
The gym had started as a refuge, but now it is home.
*
It had been a particularly cold day. Raining, spikes of winter spattering down, a quarter of a degree colder and it would be snowing. Jacked up on pre-workout and ready to rock and roll I made my way down to the gym for my morning session.
The previous month I had graduated to doing two-a-days. Not every day, but twice a week I was working out twice a day. It was simply the next step in an ever-escalating series of progressions. Now I was looking at competing, and doing so would require leveling up the work.
I parked in the usual spot, hopped out into the cold rain and threw my bag over my shoulder. As the door swung shut I caught sight of the keys, still dangling from the ignition.
I stood for a stunned moment, locked out, the December drizzle piercing my sweatshirt, stinging me. My cell phone, naturally, was tucked away in the glove compartment.
Futilely trying to shelter myself from the rain I ran into the gym, leaving shattered puddles in my wake. Shaking the water off my face I realized that after six months of being there nearly every day that I hadn’t ever stopped to talk to anyone at the front desk. Reason being that when I walked into the gym I was strapped with a “I am here to do work” snarl on my face, loud music blocking out any possible niceties.
I asked to borrow the phone, and a brunette behind the counter who I had noticed over the months but also not noticed was kind and helpful.
As I stood there on hold (“Your call is very important to us”) with my roadside service we joked about the winter. The rain. And people doing bicep curls in the brand new squat rack.
She was pretty. And her smile was bang on.
These things hadn’t stirred anything previously. Maybe that had changed now.
We trade smiles as I walk out.
Something interesting happens after an extended bout of consistently working out.
It becomes a part of your identity.
Whereas at one point people might identify you as the person who is a complete and utter hoot to get piled up with, now you are the person who has the gym as an over-riding priority.
This causes some friendships to fade. Not because of any particular transgression or disagreement, but because my new identity doesn’t fit in with what they have going on. Without the bridge of alcohol, I realize that I have little in common with a lot of the people from my old life.
I like my new identity. I like what it represents. I realize that I can’t remember the last time I liked myself this much.
*
Along with the workload, expectations progress.
You expect a certain measure of leveling up with each week, and after six months I had finally hit my first real plateau.
Monday and Tuesday had produced frustrating sessions, and instead of engaging in some contrast training, or taking rest, or switching things up entirely, I tried to train my way past it.
A training plateau was nothing compared to the heartbreak I was enduring… Or had been enduring. I couldn’t tell the difference anymore.
I realized that I hadn’t thought of her in a couple days. Possibly longer. Even though it had been another frustrating workout under the bar, this brought a smile to my face as I walked out into the springtime air that afternoon.
*
“Have you mastered the art of not locking your keys in your truck?” she asks me as I am renewing my gym membership.
She not being she, but she being the brunette from the gym.
I smiled sheepishly.
“Have a good workout,” she says.
I will.
*
As time progresses, and my one-year anniversary of going to the gym, semi-regularly at first, religiously soon after, begins to approach, it’s hard not to feel nostalgic about where I once was.
I wince a bit when I see old pictures of myself on Facebook or on my phone. I wonder what excuses I had then that were so convincing as to keep me from feeling this wholesome and this good.
Falling in love with the gym, with the routine of going every day, is the best thing that has happened to me in longer than I can remember.
While I am still not where I want to be, nor do I feel the apex of what I can do, I sense that irreversible momentum that comes when you have passed halfway to a destination. To turn around now would take longer than it would to just keep going.
And so I do.
I need the gym more than I ever realized I would ever need anything.
I am grateful for it. For the non-judgemental way it receives me. For how it is always there when I need it most. For being the place where I can unload the worst parts of my day.
In more ways than I can count, I know that working out has saved me.
*
Yesterday I walked in the gym without the headphones blaring. I slow my pace until she emerges from the stockroom so that I can catch her for niceties.
We talk about sushi. About working out. About going for a drink on the weekend.
She smiles.
I know that I am going to have a good workout.
This was originally published at YourWorkoutBook.com