Here's the coolest thing about working out for the past several years. Not only have I seen differences in my body but I also saw differences in my mindset. I was no longer training for aesthetics. I was no longer training for weight loss. I was no longer thinking about what I was eating all the time. I was training because I loved it and because I was seeing so many benefits from training.
My passion was just growing and growing and quite frankly I was driving my friends and family crazy with how much I was ranting and raving about my love for the gym and for fitness in general. I started working on new skills, and from there my strength and passion grew even more.
As you know, eventually I was actually able to do one unassisted pull up. I can't describe to you the feeling of accomplishment. I worked so hard, and all that hard work had finally paid off. I saw improvements in my other exercises as well. But the biggest change I saw was in my happiness. I was so happy doing my exercises and was training because I loved it not because I had to or for the way it made my body look. Losing weight was just an added bonus. I was losing body fat and replacing it with muscle. I was starting to look leaner and stronger and that's when all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle just seemed to come together.
I now understood that nutrition, exercise, and sleep were working together perfectly to give my body exactly what it needed. And the best thing about it all was that I was loving it. I have experienced the benefits of training in all aspects and I truly believe it was one of the best things I could have done after retiring from fulltime teaching.
And the good news is that anybody can do it. Overweight people can do it. People who have never been able to do a pull up can do it. I feel like I am a testament to that because I've been through all of these experiences myself and I've come out on the other side with the best hobby and the best passion and hopefully with the ability to help others achieve the same thing. I really think the journey I've been on is the one thing that's kept me moving forward in my older years and to strive for. I am a living testament to the fact that you can lose weight and get fitter and stronger regardless of your age. I've learned so much about myself on the journey here. You'll learn about your own preferences and about what works for you and that might change in the future. But that information is invaluable in creating the freedom you want in the future.
Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you found this post useful in some way.
(All photos from today's workout.)