Casper the Friendly Ghost

Male

38

Nerf Herder

Jul, 2007

Growing up I pretty much would have been in the running for the title of “Least Athletic Person Alive”. I never played any sports whatsoever, was always the last person picked in PE, smallest in my class, etc. I was a whopping 113 pounds when I graduated high school. During my last year of college a buddy of mine (also out of shape) talked me into going to the school's weight room with him. The two of us fumbled around not having a clue what we were doing. He dropped out after a few weeks and I stuck with it. When I graduated I moved to another town, but I began using the exercise equipment provided by my apartment complex. When I look back now I see I was pretty much doing everything wrong. I wasn't lifting enough weight, wasn't doing it often enough, was doing the same exercises over and over again, wasn't eating enough, and didn't get enough sleep. Other than that I was golden! :-) I wanted to join a gym but I fell back into a mindset of fear where I just couldn't do it. I thought a scrawny, clueless punk like me would stick out like a sore thumb and be a laughingstock. For way too many years I just kept myself on a cycle of maintaining the modest gains I had made on my own. I wasn't getting overweight like many of my friends did over the years, but I also certainly wasn't gaining any muscle. Finally I decided that I wasn't getting any younger and I needed to face my fears. I forced myself to join a local gym and hired a personal trainer to teach me what the heck I should be doing. I'm starting this way later than most people but I'm really happy with the progress I've made so far (even though I've got a long, long way to go).

I love that it's hard. I love that I'm able to do it. I love how it makes me feel and makes me look. I love no longer wondering what it would be like to be in shape. I love not feeling mad at myself for not trying to get in shape. I love feeling better than I did when I was in my twenties. I love no longer having the baggage that comes with being unhappy with a skinny body. Should I go on? :) Once you reach a certain level of fitness O-M-G the pumps you get just feel amazing. Seriously. It's something that the majority of people will never experience and they're really missing out.

Weightlifting makes me feel good mentally and look good physically. I don't need motivation to keep doing something that has those benefits. The pump and the compliments don't hurt either! I can't say I always love the idea of going to the gym. Everyone has days where they would rather be doing something else. I just remember that I always love how it makes me feel. Any stress or problems that are bothering me just melt away for an hour while I'm working out. Going when you don't feel like it is one of the things that shows whether you really want it or not. The feeling of accomplishment every week from working hard makes me feel great also. I've noticed a few people say that when they started noticing results they got hooked and there was no going back. That's pretty much me. I actually think it's dangerous to think in terms of needing motivation. If you can think of a list of reasons why you should be doing it you can just as easily make up a list of excuses. Just decide that nothing is going to stop you from getting the body you want. The end. That's what I did.

I was at a Christmas party and saw someone I hadn't seen in a long time. She came up to me and grabbed my arm to say hello. She got a really confused look on her face and asked “Have you been working out?” :-) My picture is on the wall at my gym as one of my trainer's "success stories". I learned to not hate leg day (took me a year and a half to do that).

There will come a day when I tire of listening to 80's music. That day is not today. It's hard to explain but I feel that lifting has made me into the person I was always supposed to be.