Preamble
This blog post comes as a launch for a
series of monthly posts about fitness and dieting that I will be writing under
the supervision of Jeff Hanna*. Jeff is one of the best personal trainers I have worked with and my fitness mentor for the past year. He is known to work with complex cases and has a vast experience in fitness training, body building, injury recovery,
healthy dieting and dancing (oh yes! We’ll be posting about dancing too!).
Highly motivational and full of positive energy, Jeff has taken his student
to places no one has expected to reach before (moving lazy me to the gym
regularly is the biggest proof of all!).
Now let me tell you why I
exercise!
1. I exercise because it is
healthy:
Counting the physical benefits of
training would never be fair; training reduces back, neck, knees and joints pain.
It also helps strengthen your heart and bones, reduces your allergies,
increases your immune system, etc… On a more serious note, training helps in
maintaining strength when fighting diseases such as HIV and Cancer
(which treatments attack the muscle mass – the more muscles the patient has,
the more strength he will have while fighting), it helps fight osteoporosis (by
creating mass muscles and protecting the bones), it promotes healthy prenatal
preparation and postnatal recovery, and, above all, training minimizes the
effect of irreversible diseases such as scoliosis, disc problems,
osteoarthritis, etc…
2. I exercise because I want to
live longer:
After all who doesn’t want to
live long? And what’s better than living longer and healthier with full
energy and full strength? Training gives your bones strength, promotes heart
health and reduces disease risk related to age and bad lifestyle habits. It
also helps control blood pressure and helps your body naturally secrete the Growth Hormone
(GH) which is known for its anti-aging benefits.
3. I exercise because I feel happier and more energetic:
That’s a simple equation: when
you exercise you sweat. When you sweat your body produces a hormone that makes
you feel good. Let’s keep it simple and call it the Happy Hormone. The Happy
Hormone makes you feel happy (like its name indicates) and more energetic!
Now to be honest, I’ve read a lot that exercising works as an antidepressant,
reduces anxiety and stress and makes people feel relaxed and happier. I’m not
sure if I’m feeling better because of the results I’m seeing in the mirror and
feeling in my daily life, or because of the hormones my body is now generating.
But who cares? I’m happier and that’s all that counts! Also, I must admit that
since I started exercising, I sleep less (my 6 to 8 hours of sleep are enough
now), I feel energetic, I work better, focus longer, I train harder. In fact,
now I can hold a very busy schedule, I need less sleep and rest, and above all
I still have energy to go out and catch-up with my friends after a long day. La
belle vie!
4. I exercise because it helps me
in my daily life:
Modern training whether classes
or bodybuilding (and yes, girls can do bodybuilding without bulking up!) are based on
functional moves that mimic our daily activities. Such exercises work on
each and every muscle in the body, facilitating daily tasks, and making daily
activities easier and less tiring!
5. I exercise because it boosts
my metabolism:
The more I train, the more
muscles I build (that will be a whole other post that Jeff will guide me through).
And the more muscles I build, the more fat I burn. And the more fat I burn, the
more I can eat without gaining weight. Not exactly but you know where I am
going here right? Chocolate! I train for the love of chocolate!
6. I exercise to lose fat:
Of course I train to lose weight
and fat! After all I am human and if training came without physical benefits I
would feel demotivated. But to be honest, I started training correctly
when I learned that training had many benefits and that I should not hit the
gym only to look skinny. Actually, I do not even like skinny! Curves
rock…
7. I exercise because it makes
the body look good:
I personally believe that the
first impression counts and the first impression is mostly based on what a
person looks like. I do not call everyone to work on his physical appearance
and run for the beauty pageant but there is nothing more repulsing than looking
round and chubby at 30 in 2015. Hate me all you want but if you do not have a
health issue, then you have no excuse to be round!
8. I exercise because it helps me
eat healthy:
Unconsciously, when I hit the
gym, I start eating healthier. It is like I want to preserve all the effort I
have done at the gym and do not want to waste the result my training will be
getting me. As such, the combination between exercising and eating
healthy helps me reach points 6 and 7 above faster… which can lead me to tolerate
more cheat meals and thus…. More chocolate!
9. I exercise because of the
power:
Who does not like to feel strong?
Guys crave it. Girls dream of it. I dreamt of it… until I lifted the first 80
kgs on the Leg Press the first time. Then I started craving it, wanting to lift
more and do more reps. One more. A new record to break! What a good feeling!
10. I exercise because of the
discipline:
Attending courses, joining
classes, reaching on time, respecting your coach, following instructions on
exercises and reps… it feels like “good-old” school days again but hey! With
the lifestyle we follow and the lack of organization I have, exercising sure
helped me boost my sense of discipline!
11. I exercise because it helps
me socialize:
Socializing has nothing to do
with adding new friends to your close circle. But for a people’s person like
me, seeing new faces every day, chitchatting over a common area of interest
(here being the gym, exercising and healthy dieting), learning from experience
and sharing stories and anecdotes has never been more fulfilling. I can’t deny
I have met interesting people who have added value to my work, my life and my
friendships. Oh and my lovely coach with whom I will be collaborating on a
training and health related blog post on monthly basis!
12. I exercise because it’s
educational:
Education has nothing to do with
degrees. It all revolves about one’s thirst to learn about a certain subject
and add this general knowledge. Since I started going to the gym
regularly, I know more about exercises, classes, fitness, healthy dieting,
proteins and vitamins, etc… It’s a whole new world and I still have a lot to
learn but hey! At least I learned something new and benefit my mind not only my
body.
How did it all start?
Oh well…
I woke up one morning with a
terrible back ache. Too early to feel such morning pain in my early 30s, isn’t
it? Moving out of bed, it was cold outside, my knees were hurting and I had no
energy whatsoever to move. I felt sick. My bones were sick. My body was telling
me something. Could it be the same thing my friend was telling me the other
day? Could I be turning into an old lady a 30, starting to look like one, and
starting to gain weight to an extent my body was hurt?
Slapping myself back into
reality, I registered myself at the gym later that day and started to exercise.
Exercising felt good but I was not seeing any major changes, except some weight
loss. So I started to obsess over sculpting my body. And this is when my friend
put me in contact with Jeff, a trainer who started following-up with me with
training techniques and dieting tips, helping me shred the fat that is too
obvious to everyone who know me, gain confidence and above all, fall in love
with weight training.
During that time, and while I am
no fitness guru, and I do not have a wide idea what fitness and perfect healthy
dieting is about, my friends started mocking me for being fitness obsessed and
a gym addict. In fact, I would easily cancel and/or delay plans because I
cannot miss my training! Training became part of my routine; just like
going to work, doing my nails, catching-up with the girls, going to the
beach, etc… on my to-do-list, there was training.
