Love training my back...
Lifting does a lot more for me than give me nice biceps. If that was the primary benefit it simply wouldn’t have been enough to call me back to the weight room again and again all these years. I love the physical benefits, I love being able to lift heavy things. I love the muscles and curves where there once was nothing but bone, however the more important results are something that can’t be seen. I call my workouts active meditation. That’s how they function in my life. Lifting is a discipline, a regulating force. It serves to narrow my focus, force my mind to quiet and release that which is extraneous to the task at hand. It frees me….
My perseverance with lifting reinforces character traits I want to underscore. It tells me I’m reliable, I’m accountable, I can commit…only to myself, in this case but isn’t that where it begins? Not another person in the world would know if I didn’t show up, if only went at it in a half-hearted way. Nobody would know if I quit…..but I would know…and that makes all the difference. You have to be able to keep promises to yourself before you can be depended on to keep promises to others…and that is the one thing I’ve wanted most since I was a little girl, since I first gained the power of self-reflection. I want the fortitude to stand when others cannot, In a critical situation I want to be able to help myself and still have enough in me to extend a hand to help another who may be failing. I want to be strong. Lifting is just one way of honing, sharpening and feeding that desire. It’s practice…. and for that I love it most of all….
Life In The Gym 
I wish every woman could feel what we feel when we lift. They would never stop. There is a sort of “zen” about it. What it has done for me ON THE INSIDE, is so much more important to me than what it has done on the outside.
Amen! It’s got so many dimensions…it’s physical of course, but mental, and spiritual too. It keeps me calm and serene (well, more than I would be without it).
Amen… lifting is like meditation. If i don’t get a work out, then I get real pissy.
I understand…it keeps things on an even keel, that’s for sure!
In all the years i’ve been training, you’re the first person to validate the meditative value i’ve placed on training. Often times, I find the spiritual reflected in the physical activity of a good workout. I call it my therapy. Very nice blog!
I agree I too love the physical benefits of training hardcore and seeing the results. You my dear friend set the bar extremely high as your physique is nothing short of beautiful perfection.
Ah…I know you understand. It’s one of those things that is difficult for some outside the lifestyle to get…and thank you for the wonderful compliment!
Very good example and analogy Dr. Lynn….Nice pic by the way…definitely can see the curves are at work my friend…LOL
Thank you! I honestly used to look like a little skeleton with just a bit of skin over my bones. Yay for the weights!!
Very well said…couldn’t agree with you more!
Hi Jay!! I’m always having to explain to my relatives that my interest in the gym isn’t solely an exercise in vanity. Those who don’t share the lifestyle often just don’t understand…
Oh and by the way, if you didn’t show up or went half-hearted…I would know! 😉
You probably would! Plump spider monkeys look funny!
The pictures are kind of distracting but worth it. I don’t know if I just want to read, or just want to look. hmmmmmmmm.
Ha! Made me smile…
No wonder you were able to help me get through a bad marriage, this is great stuff..
Yay…you came to see me! So happy about that…and glad you enjoyed the post!