Gyms Build More Than Muscles. They Build Character.
Visiting or training at a gym can take time and effort, especially if you are not 25 years old and gorgeous. Most of us are older and out of shape. And gyms are just for building enormous muscles, aren’t they? Not so in my experience. I’m heading towards 66 years of age, with a club foot disability, seven back discs damaged, stents in my heart, and now, prostate cancer. My coach, Kelvin Hinde, at Peak Physique in the UK, is an International
Body Builder and a fantastic teacher. His gym “is a training and testing ground for the body, mind, and soul . . . and a source of learning . . . [where we] attempt new things.”
What are the other, perhaps more important, life skills you will acquire by consistently attending your favorite gym or coach? According to Michael Matthews in The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation, there are many. What are your thoughts? I’ll leave mine til the end.
Working Out Builds Character
— They teach us how to have the courage to commit to goals.
— They teach us how to create purpose and meaning.
— They teach us how to stop making excuses and finding reasons to fail.
— They teach us how to stop being a victim and take responsibility for ourselves.
— They teach us how to stop chasing magic bullets and quick fixes and embrace the process.
— They teach us how to get gritty and push through the pain and adversity.
— They teach us how to value long-term satisfaction over immediate gratification.
In learning the above, Matthews posits, “If we have the power to change our bodies, we have the power to change our lives.”
He also points out that you “can’t buy, steal, or fake” fitness. “There are no rewards for complaining or failing, and fitness doesn’t care about your opinions or feelings.”
“You have to give something to get something. You can’t slide by on bullshit. It’s called working out . . . You either do the work . . . or you don’t.”
“This makes the gym a lot more than a place to move, grunt, and sweat.”
It’s a place where we can see and feel our “convictions, fears, habits, and anxieties.”
It’s where we see how we respond to “adversity, pain, insecurity, stress, weakness, and disadvantage.”
Matthews states, “The gym is a training and testing ground for the body, mind, and soul . . . and a source of learning . . . [where we] attempt new things.”
What are your thoughts or experiences? For me, the gym is my man shed. I don’t have a shed, bar, or a large TV to watch the big game. I have the gym. There is no hiding at the gym. No hiding from yourself, that is. You get out what you put in. I would even say you get way more out than you put in. But . . . you do have to put in. I learn new things about myself each time I work out. And more importantly, my body, mind, and soul are thankful!
© Stephen G. Arrowsmith 2024
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