How did exercising assist you in redefining yourself?

[Sunyata]

At 30, I'm figuring its now or never for me to start clearing my head and sharpening my ability to control my own destiny in whatever ways is possible. At very least, I should no longer waste my days underneath the weight of my mind and self-imposed limitations, y'know?

 

So anyway, I'm hoping putting on muscle and getting things shaken up neuro-chemically will help me process and integrate a lot of the psychological changes I've been going through the past five years. I'm hoping it will provide some extra fuel to the fire of starting something new for myself socially and everything else.

 

Has anyone had luck with this type of approach?

[dichotomy]

exercise has helped improve my emotional and mental outlook. Not 100% but enough to make a positive difference. Of course it just plain helps with daily life and movement as well.

 

But diet plays a big part too.

[Robert Z]

Changing my diet, and exercise, changed everything about my life.

 

 

Added benefit - your testosterone levels are naturally starting to drop. Muscle produces or stimulates the production of testosterone, which will not only help keep a healthy sex drive and add confidence, but will also help with your energy levels, concentration, and delaying the effects of aging generally. It's a win, win, win.

 

Muscle also helps to burn fat more efficiently, making it easier to keep off the extra fat that we tend to acquire as we get older.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Robert Z

[Emilia]

Strong, fit, lean.

 

But most importantly, it's the time I can push everything else out of my mind. Just focus on the bar and form and power. The challenge, conquer the challenge

[thefooloftheyear]

OP touched on it....

 

For me, I like being strong and solid...And what is a great thing for me is so many things in life are out of our control, or reliant on others to be fulfilled/completed..My training is about me and my own personal goals...I can see results and know that I had full control over it...

 

It's not life or death, but it puts me in a good place...

 

TFY

[introverted1]

I echo Emilia and TFY. Lifting is all about me setting goals for myself and focusing on achieving them. The only other activity that comes close in terms of being able to shut out outside thoughts and purely focus is reading.

 

Plus, it's a huge stress reliever, and less stress means more focus for other endeavors.

 

p.s. My diet is also very clean, which I think also helps with mental focus.

[loveweary11]

I've always been very, very active:

 

Hiking above treeline regularly

Avid snow/skateboarder

Rode centuries on road bike

Mountain biking

Sailing (hauling up anchors and chain and stuff)

Hauling every drop of water i use, groceries.

Walking or biking almost everywhere (no car)

Currently kayaking a mile and a half in to walk for said groceries while waiting on a head gasket for the outboard on the little boat.

 

But... that's just for fun.

 

Exercise changed my life when I added weight training for cosmetic purposes.

 

Literally tripled my ability to attract women. lol

 

Been eating local/organic since (cough old man... cough) since... 2001.,

Edited January 26, 2016 by loveweary11

[fitnessfan365]

Some very good posts in this thread! Will add :

 

1) Make sure to get into fitness for yourself. Not to attract women. Attracting women will be a by product of the confidence and well being you gain in yourself.

 

2) I'm an ex powerlifter. So I'm all for heavy lifting. But you can also get in GREAT shape w/body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, dips, lunges, squat jumps, etc.. Plus, other athletic performance training like burpees, hill sprints, jumping rope, bleacher/stair runs, etc.. I actually find body weight and athletic based training to be more rewarding and challenging.

 

Just the other day my GF and I were doing hill runs. Towards the end of our hour, we're walking back down and a biker starts to race up the main road. From road sign to road sign we're talking 200 yards and the hill is at least 25% incline. At that point, he already had at least 30 yards on me. So I said "I am gonna beat that biker". Went full sprint and not only did I eventually catch up and pass him, but I beat him to the top by a good 50 yards! So actually being able to move like an athlete is very empowering.

 

So remember that general fitness, athletic performance, and flexibility/mobility is just as important as lifting weights.

[loveweary11]

Make sure to get into fitness for yourself. Not to attract women. Attracting women will be a by product of the confidence and well being you gain in yourself.

 

 

Everyone agrees with this. Without a doubt. It's an interesting part of the topic though.

 

I was already extremely fit (beyond) and just as strong (large muscles don't indicate strength). Possibly with a little too much confidence...

 

I used lifting like a girl uses fake boobs. To improve my body image as viewed by others.

 

I changed my body shape to be that ideal "V" shape without getting too huge, but having a good amount of lean muscle built on my upper body.

 

Never needed to work legs from all my other exercise and forearms look like popeye without exercising. So I built things to change my body shape.

 

I feel it was ok to do this, given I already had possibly too much confidence, no?

 

I mean, is it so wrong to get fake boobs, lift for cosmetic purposes, lose weight for purely cosmetic purposes, etc?

 

People always like to say they are doing it for themselves, but really, these changes are for the outside world to see, unless like TFY, he just likes being a certain size...

 

No?

 

An interesting part of the topic...

[hasaquestion]

Some very good posts in this thread! Will add :

 

1) Make sure to get into fitness for yourself. Not to attract women. Attracting women will be a by product of the confidence and well being you gain in yourself.

 

2) I'm an ex powerlifter. So I'm all for heavy lifting. But you can also get in GREAT shape w/body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, dips, lunges, squat jumps, etc.. Plus, other athletic performance training like burpees, hill sprints, jumping rope, bleacher/stair runs, etc.. I actually find body weight and athletic based training to be more rewarding and challenging.

 

Just the other day my GF and I were doing hill runs. Towards the end of our hour, we're walking back down and a biker starts to race up the main road. From road sign to road sign we're talking 200 yards and the hill is at least 25% incline. At that point, he already had at least 30 yards on me. So I said "I am gonna beat that biker". Went full sprint and not only did I eventually catch up and pass him, but I beat him to the top by a good 50 yards! So actually being able to move like an athlete is very empowering.

 

So remember that general fitness, athletic performance, and flexibility/mobility is just as important as lifting weights.

 

Absolutely. Powerlifting is great but if you want to build a sustainable foundation you need to pay attention overall athletic performance.

 

Personally I'd say self-esteem comes from accomplishing things. When you work out and you get closer to your goals, you see yourself accomplishing things. You believe in your ability to accomplish things. Having that self-belief will improve the quality of your life in all areas.

[hasaquestion]

One more note - athletics is one of the few places in life where you can make improvements just through sheer effort and strength of will. Do an extra set of hills because you want it more. Do an extra mile, a few more laps. Athletics are empowering because (short of injury) you can will yourself forward in a way that doesn't translate to most real life pursuits; in life effort must usually be tempered with intelligence and subtlety.

[losangelena]

At 30, I'm figuring its now or never for me to start clearing my head and sharpening my ability to control my own destiny in whatever ways is possible. At very least, I should no longer waste my days underneath the weight of my mind and self-imposed limitations, y'know?

 

So anyway, I'm hoping putting on muscle and getting things shaken up neuro-chemically will help me process and integrate a lot of the psychological changes I've been going through the past five years. I'm hoping it will provide some extra fuel to the fire of starting something new for myself socially and everything else.

 

Has anyone had luck with this type of approach?

 

I used to weigh twice as much as I do now, so yes in a very broad term, exercise has without a doubt helped redefine myself. More specifically, and more recently, exercising has really helped me move on from my last relationship. I'm sure it's partly the endorphins, but I think too, experiencing my physical strength helps me to realize my mental and emotional strength, too.

[fitnessfan365]

One more note - athletics is one of the few places in life where you can make improvements just through sheer effort and strength of will. Do an extra set of hills because you want it more. Do an extra mile, a few more laps. Athletics are empowering because (short of injury) you can will yourself forward in a way that doesn't translate to most real life pursuits; in life effort must usually be tempered with intelligence and subtlety.

 

Exactly. It's all about will and persistence. Once you can get comfortable with being uncomfortable, the sky is the limit. For example, I was pretty tired after hills yesterday. But I said "f**k it" and went outside to do 100 full push-up burpees. Not that Crossfit crap either where you lean over and immediately drop your hips/chest to the ground. I'm talking ten sets of ten with a squat, full push-up, and full jump out of the bottom on every rep. Definitely one of the most brual strength/conditioning exercises. I mean I feel more tired after 15 minutes of burpees than a hour of regular exercise. Then to add insult to injury, I did a 100 leg lits. All of it was based on sheer will and the fact that I'm kind of a masochist. I'm guessing that the Devil has the worst of the worst on the lowest level of hell doing burpees for eternity. haha

Edited January 26, 2016 by fitnessfan365

[Buddhist]

Has anyone had luck with this type of approach?

 

Absolutely. Changing the look of your body is one of the easiest and quickest paths to some level of success you can mentally cling to. Once your body starts to move in a direction you admire, you feel that sense of achievement, pride and control that's presently lacking in your life. It's something that doesn't depend on anyone or anything except yourself. And of course higher levels of physical fitness and attractiveness just make you feel better overall.