2/183 - Getting strong

[haggis]

This is a quick post because I am almost falling over with tiredness!

Went to the gym for strength training.  I find it really tiring but also I also really like the achievement I feel as I get stronger.  I also like that it pushes back against the idea that exercise for women is about getting smaller - this is about being more powerful, not less.  It's hard to see progress because I am always lifting to the point where I almost can't but I know the weights are going up and other measures of my energy and fitness are increasing.

It is also training my endurance at putting up with being physically uncomfortable, feeling sweaty and looking silly.  I am doing a 'Colour Obstactle Run' in about a month, which is a 5k race with inflatable obstacles all along it and people through coloured powder at you.  I did it last year so it's going to be an interesting benchmark given that I am much fitter than I was.  Last year, I fretted about the running but actually that wasn't an issue - you have to queue at each obstacle so you can run or walk and you get round in the same time.  But I found the inflatable obstacles much harder to clamber over than I expected.  I am hoping that I am more able to scramble across them or haul myself up them this time.

I have spent most of my life hating exercise and feeling "like my body is a station wagon in which I drive my brain around" to quote Microserfs.  I've exercised before but rarely stuck at it long enough to see a change.  I know it won't last - this is all driven by the need to lose weight to have IVF and I don't expect to be able to keep up this much exercise after that but it's an interesting experience.

Comments

[otter]

Even though you say it won't last, your body will still have the experience of being more fit while it does last. That counts. I used to bike 70-100 miles a week,and took weekly yoga classes until the year I broke my ankle at a climbing gym. That was 6 years ago. The ankle is finally better this year, after I had a new therapy last summer. Still haven't been on my bike more than once, but I am getting out walking more than I was. Building endurance and flexibility and strength are my goals. Reading about your training is encouraging to me.

I hope you sleep well

[haggis]

*nods* I am gaining knowledge and confidence which will stay even if the actual physical changes don't. Good luck with your training!