I just finished working my quads on a weight machine. My head races and my body hums all in an attempt to lose weight. Only moments ago, my legs worked so hard that they began to fail. They worked so hard that my muscle tissue cried out in pain and began to tear. Now having just finished, my body sweating with the effort, I can rest for a couple of minutes before doing it again.
Each day this week I will have targeted a different group of muscles. Each day I will work them, stretch them, and tear them. Each day, I will work so hard that my heart beats a new rhythm into my metabolism. Each day, my body will set to repair the damage I have done in such manner that it does not happen again. Each day doggedly break my body down and force it to improve itself. This is working out, this is getting fit, this is what it takes.
As I sit and stretch between sets, my quads still reeling, I scan around the gym. I take in those around me. At this hour, there are few people willing to brave the cold mornings to make the run to the gym. There are two people working with some free weights near by. They are within earshot and while I am resting I listen to them complain about, work, relationships, their bosses, clothes, their bodies and their friends. The conversation flows from one topic to the next seamlessly and it is clear by their candor that they know each other well; that they have been friends and work out buddies for a while. What grabs my attention however, is not the meandering topics of their conversation, but the fact that conversation is occurring at all.
I ponder this until I start on my second set. As my second set starts, all I can focus on is exercise; flexing my muscles against the weight. During the relatively short time it takes for me to run through my set and completely exhaust my quads, every action, every breath becomes an exercise in methodical control and economy. Every action I make is geared to the exercise at hand.
When I finish and I reengage with the world, I come back to the two people and their on-going conversation. As they chat, they work through a routine of exercises that look habitual and ritualized. When they work their muscles, they go through the motions; intent more on the conversation and company then their bodies.
There is a point to this. There is a myth, an urban legend if you will, that says going to the gym will make you lose weight. It is a logical extension of the same myth that says I need to go to the gym, I am out of shape. These two ideas have become synonymous with healthy lifestyles and fitness. For the two people I observed, simply being at the gym was enough to assuage their concerns for their physical health. The bottom line is that this is an illusion. To make yourself fit, you need to break your body down and force it to rebuild. The idea being that after the rebuild, you will be stronger and fit. This cannot occur by merely being in a gym, or as in the case with the talking pair, this cannot occur by going through the motions of working out.
Before I get accused of being a fanatical meat head just understand that I carry an extra few pounds around my waist. All I know is that to really make progress, to have physical and visible results, you must have an impact on your body. The kicker is that they almost have it made. These people are at they gym early on a cold morning. They are committed to their weight loss goals. They go through the motions of their exercises like a well rehearsed dance routine. Clearly they want to achieve something with their bodies. If they just focused, and worked their bodies just a little more; enough, say, to deny them the ease of conversation, then the results would be tremendous.
The whole point is that you have to be clear about what it is you want to accomplish. I know with every fiber in my being, that I will burn off the extra weight around my waist and that I will firm up my desk loving muscles. But I won't do it by talking.
The Icon Diet offers a step by step weight loss program to help people lose weight quickly, naturally and effectively. Visit the site by going to...
Mercedes Benz s500 rentals Salem ..One-size-fits-all diets don't work....but then you probably know that already.... Read More
All Diets Are Based on the Same Premise: Eat Less... Read More
Liposuction works best with people who are a normal weight... Read More
We, as a society, are always trying to lose weight.... Read More
As if you needed another reason to hit the snooze... Read More
Calorie burn can be really enhanced if you follow a... Read More
RISING POPULARITYGastric bypass surgery has become a popular surgical procedure... Read More
Do a little people-watching, next time you're in the grocery... Read More
Every regime has its supply of useless folk lore and... Read More
World Health Organization has observed that obesity has now reached... Read More
Our bodies only require a small amount of salt for... Read More
Losing fat in my opinion is not all that difficult.... Read More
If you are like everyone else who has hit rock... Read More
Close kept secrets to weight loss: Give me 9 days... Read More
Metabolism is the process by which your body changes food... Read More
Weight loss is never easy. Although this is stating the... Read More
Twenty years of health club consulting, 50,000 hours of paid... Read More
Sometimes it's good to just let the feelings flow. Take... Read More
In today's bustling world we are constantly surrounded by media... Read More
I wonder how much it is generally known that the... Read More
Yes, my healthy diet has at times suffered at the... Read More
There are all kinds of fad diets and quick fixes... Read More
In this series of articles, you will learn exactly how... Read More
Why was the FDA trying to hide the facts about... Read More
If only there were a 'better body boot camp', we'd... Read More
Dowagiac cheap limo service ..I learned about gaining weight when I heard the question... Read More
Supporters of the Atkins Diet claim that a low carbohydrate... Read More
Patrick Henry once said, "I have but one lamp by... Read More
I have put off writing a motivation article because of... Read More
Burn fat while you sleep! Eat whatever you want and... Read More
The Order of Energy UtilizationBack to our table of stored... Read More
If you've been working out with weights for any length... Read More
America is getting more obese every year. Even our children... Read More
Do you have a big event coming up? Perhaps you... Read More
With millions of people aiming for successful weight loss, many... Read More
If only we could solve this question, the world (for... Read More
Many of us have tried losing weight in the past... Read More
There are many books and internet articles written about weight... Read More
Most of us are aware of the AA axiom of... Read More
It's definitely no fun to lose weight -- put it... Read More
IntroductionThe history of The Atkins Diet goes back to the... Read More
Water is an essential component of the human body and... Read More
I asked my sister to come to my gym with... Read More
These treadmill weight loss tips are a great way to... Read More
There has been a recent surge in the experts weighing... Read More
Humanity is always in search of a wonder drug that... Read More
Ok... If you are reading this is because you do... Read More
Remember there's more to you than meets the eye. You've... Read More
One of the worst things you can hear in life... Read More
One way of recognizing a fad diet is... Read More
Weight Loss |