My mother used to berate me with the question “how can you possibly take care of others if you can’t manage to take care of yourself?” This would always come up when I was younger and left my room messy or other things children tend to overlook. I’ve taken that question to heart in some of the ways I live my life. Take exercise for example. Physical health is important for people to live a healthier lifestyle and studies have showed that regular exercise is also beneficial for mental health, the chemicals from the brain that are sent through the body makes us feel good afterwards. Recently, I’ve found this to be true after working out.
Growing up, exercise was used as a punishment and the pain associated with it was something to be avoided ever since. However, the need to change aspects of my life have made me reexamine many of the things I do or rather do not do. During this period of reexamination and prompting of my friends, I started to take on a healthier diet and an exercise routine. Initially, for several months, I made it a point to go to the gym and use the machines. Sure, it made me feel good, but I didn’t get much result and of course, it was boring! Not knowing any technique, I mindlessly ran one a machine and pulled or pushed heavy objects on other machines with few noticeable results. It wasn’t until I met Steve who was able to help me isolate specific muscles and make the whole exercise experience positive and more interesting did I really start notice anything.
Since working with Steve, I’ve noticed that I have a lot more muscle control and stamina in my day to day activities. I have noticed that I am getting trimmer in some areas. Sure, I still look relatively the same as I began, but my muscles are getting stronger and that has helped me maintain better posture. Better posture has helped me look more confident and thus feel more confident as well. Because of the added energy and confidence, I’m able to improve the way I do my job and how I interact with people in my personal life. Overall, I am beginning to feel that things are moving in the right direction in my fitness as well as other aspects of my life. So, once again, my mom was right, I need to be able to take care of myself in order for me to take care of other things. It is now my goal to continue to improve and keep fitness as a part of my life routine.
Jason Chen