To me, a gym is more wonderful the more weight machines it has. Treadmills, ellipticals, and stair masters are useless to me (as I mentioned, I prefer strength exercises to cardio) so I completely ignore that part of the gym. Instead I go straight for the various weight machines that can work out my upper body, lower body, and core. Free weights work too, but they’re not nearly as fun. I feel a lot more challenged when I can use these machines. I’ve started using the gym in our new office building and I love it! There are enough weight machines to cover most muscles and before I know it, an hour has flown by. I certainly never get that feeling with cardio exercises. Plus, I don’t like to sweat much when I work out, so I take it slow and work on my control over heavier weights. Afterwards, I always feel great because I feel stronger!
Posts Tagged ‘strength’
365great Day 333: weight machines
365great Day 321: strength
I love feeling strong (and being strong). It’s rewarding when I can surprise people with how strong I am and what I’m capable of. Growing up, I was pretty good at picking up athletic skills. I sprinted well, climbed most things, and learned to swim with little effort. I remember back in 8th or 9th grade when I could do the flexed arm hang for ages. One of my favorite parts of track practice was when we did weights. Cardio has never been my thing. As a voracious reader, I learned to carry 30+ books to the car on a weekly basis. As a good Chinese kid, I always helped my mom carry most of the groceries in the house. My personal challenge was to do it all in one trip, which usually meant a good 5 bags per hand. When I went back to China for a year in 3rd grade, I was able to outrun even the 6th graders. In more recent years I just like the confidence I get when I can do something that people doubt my body is capable of, like carrying my 6-foot something friend pictured here. I’d rather be able to do that than run a marathon, personally. I think it also gives me more confidence to travel alone, since people never think I can hit/punch/kick as hard as I can, so I can surprise them if I needed to defend myself. One thing I love about yoga is that it builds my strength. My favorite pose? Plank! And overall I think your body just feels better when you’re strong, which is a great way to live.
