What is your favorite kind of exercise or workout and how did you get into it?

I started weightlifting seriously from August of 2023 and have been going to the gym consistently 4 times a week. I’ve always wanted to go to the gym but was always worried about how people would see me and if I would be judged. In August of last year, I had finally lost 30kg from the year before and my body was starting to look skinny and weak. I have always admired people like Arnold Schwarzenegger and characters like Son Goku, so I finally worked up the courage and joined my local Gold’s Gym.

I started with a program recommended by my trainer called 5x5. It is a series of 4 exercises: bench press, squat, deadlift and overhead press. At first, I could only lift 20kg, which was the bar by itself without any extra added weight, but within 2 to 3 months I started reaching 80 to 90kg. However, after that initial increase I made absolutely zero progress for 6 months. I asked my trainer for advice, and he offered me supplements, personal training sessions and also the fitness classes at the gym, but I was suspicious of him and felt that he was just trying to sell me things rather than see me improve.

Because of that, I decided to take it upon myself and do research on my own. I discovered a method by Mike Mentzer. He was a popular bodybuilder in the 1970s and 1980s and was one of the first people to achieve a perfect score at a very popular bodybuilding competition called “Mr Universe”. Mentzer’s philosophy is that you need to prioritize rest over training. He said that if you don’t get enough rest then your body will not be able to recover, and you will not get them sweet sweet gains. Also, he said that you should only do one set of 6 to 8 reps as heavy as possible. It was the complete opposite of what my trainer was saying. On top of that, Mike Mentzer was jacked and my trainer wasn’t so I decided to trust Mike.

Thanks to Mike Mentzer’s methodology my strength and my gains exploded. I went from 65kg on the bench press to 110kg and 105kg on the deadlift to 170kg. My goal is to be able to deadlift 400kg because if a small car were to annoy me when I’m out and about I just want to have the knowledge that if I wanted to, I could pick it up and move it. Of course, I wouldn’t do it (…maybe)  but it would feel so good to know that I could do it if I really wanted to. Another positive byproduct of this methodology was that my injuries decreased. Every month one part of my body would get injured, and I wouldn’t be able to train that part for around 2 to 3 weeks. Since changing methodologies, I haven’t had any injuries at all. Take that Sugiyama-san! Ha!

I’m really glad that I started going to the gym and I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to do the same. I’ve gotten stronger, my body has changed drastically and also my confidence has gone through the roof. I believe the reason for the boost in confidence is because of having weekly successes and also knowing that if anyone makes you angry or disrespects you, you could easily pick them up like Simba from the Lion King while singing the main theme from that movie. That kind of power really helps you to feel like you could handle any situation that life throws at you. There is one downside, and that is my clothes don’t fit properly anymore, so good luck with that.

George

Vocabulary
take it upon oneself to (idiom) – to do something without being told to or ordered to

them sweet sweet (something) (colloquialism) – something that you really enjoy and must have, like an addiction

gains (noun) - progress you make from weightlifting

jacked (adjective) – to be incredibly muscular and strong looking

take that (common phrase) – to express the feeling “Haha! I was correct and you were wrong.”