Life Lessons You Learn from the Gym
By Emma Woodhead
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1: Everyone starts at the bottom. It’s all about moving up
Don’t worry about starting. Everyone has started at the same point. Not everyone walks into the gym knowing what to do and not having a bunch of weight on the bar. Don’t worry about not knowing what you are doing or asking questions when you first come to the gym. Don’t worry about people ‘looking’ at you. No one is, I promise you. It really is just you overthinking. Everyone has started where you are. Everyone has had their first time at the gym, and we’ve all be there. Don’t worry about starting at “the bottom,” even though I don’t think there is a “bottom.” Just start where you are, and the more you work, the more you will grow and move up in weight.
This goes for every point in your life. School? Just start. Work? Tackle it. Just go for it, don’t worry about being at the bottom of the food chain. You will move up the more you work.
2: Always have someone stronger than you spot you
When you struggle, make sure you don’t ask someone weaker than you to help. When you weightlift and ask for a spot, you always ask someone who is strong than you when you can’t do it yourself. Same with life.
If you need help, make sure to ask someone stronger than you. Someone who has already been there and done it. They can help you more than someone who is not as strong as you. And these people who are stronger than you are willing to help because they have overcome the same challenges.
3: Remember to stop and breathe
It should not be a surprise that breathing is one of the most important things to do here. When working out, it is pretty straightforward- if you don’t breathe, you aren’t going to be successful like in every other aspect of life.
But this means more than just breathing. It means to stop and take it all in every once in a while. Stop and celebrate your successes. Stop and reflect on your failure. Stop between the events in your life to take a deep breath.
Stop and take a break every once in a while. It helps you to replenish and regroup before you go headfirst into life again.
4: If it is too heavy, bailout before it crushes you
Sometimes when you realize you can’t get the weight up, you have to bail out before getting hurt. It’s okay to bail out. It happens all the time when people try too much weight. When things in life get too heavy to carry, it’s okay to let go and bailout. Not saying it’s good to quit all the time, but if someone or something is weighing you down and you can’t succeed because of it, it is okay to bail out and let the weight go.
Everyone has done it, and it’s a part of growing.
5: It doesn’t matter how slow you move as long as you keep moving forward
Like everything in life, the gym takes time to meet your goals and to grow.
Just keep working and don’t give up. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it. As long as you keep moving forward, it doesn’t matter how slow you go. Don’t go backward. Keep moving forward; no matter how hard or how slow it is, just never move backward.