Usually, we wake up, shower, do devotion and get the day started but today was Ife’s second day switching it up. Yesterday, after devotion he decided to head to the gym before getting to work. Even if I have not been to the gym since November and had been fasting, I kept up with my work out routine at home but for some reason I decided to go with him today.
As we walked into the gym, I realized that Lindsey (My trainer) had enough reasons to be mad at me and there was a very high chance that she would be there. There were texts I had ignored and as far as she knew, I had just dropped off the map without a warning. So the moment I saw her I began… “I know, I know; you can yell and scream at me. Serve it however you like, I deserve it, I’m so ready” lol.
My guilty conscience just kept spewing and all she could do was burst out laughing as she tried to focus on the lady she was training. She asked to give her some time to wrap up and 15 minutes later she came by while I was on the treadmill. She was awesome. In 3 minutes, we laughed, caught up on life, talked about what I had been doing fitness-wise and then decided to get a session in right then and there.
What was most interesting about our session was the reiteration of a simple lesson I learned earlier in my journey. Of all the 6 exercises we did, I had done 4 of them frequently over the last few months but when I did them with her, I could barely keep up and felt like I was a month behind from our last session. The difference? 8lbs and 10lbs weights.
By the time I was done, my legs were weak and my arms were sore. Yup, that healthy ache! I definitely realized that I had gotten too comfortable with the exercises I was doing at home and need to get some weights to add in. See, the muscles are built from an overload not fatigue. They will not grow if they are not forced to and in the same token, they won’t grow if you overdo it. So the priority isn’t doing a million reps but instead ensuring that the muscles are being challenged with each rep done.
Depending on the exercise and what point you are in your journey, your body weight may be enough of a challenge but once your muscles get used to it, adding weights gives that extra push to keep your muscles challenged and get visible results. As usual, it’s all about a lifestyle change, not a crash diet. So keep learning how your body really works and make changes that make sense to you. Let’s do this!
