In its purest form, working out is a way to change how the body looks. With time and consistency, a body can be sculpted with muscle. That idea is what brings in more and more individuals to gyms every day, but is changing the shape of one’s body the only benefit from consistent training?
I contacted my younger brother, Jack Oilar, who is a certified trainer, with over two years of experience in the weight room, to ask the question via telephone, “What are the greatest impacts you have noticed from working out?” I asked this question to see if the improvements of the body were the only noticeable benefit of lifting.
Oilar responded by saying, “Working out gave me a new sense of pride. I can look in the mirror and see the body that I built from the scrawny twig that I used to be. It all stems from that,” Oilar said.
My brother and I have similar origin stories when it comes to our respective journeys within fitness. It has changed both of our perspectives on how we look at ourselves and the world because we know that we built these bodies ourselves. That reality is what changed the way I think about myself and how I act. Alongside gaining muscle, I also attained a new outlook.
Self-Confidence
Viewing the progress made in the gym day by day is too slow to help to increase motivation, but as those days turn to weeks and months, eventually the effects of consistency start to show themselves.
It is different for everyone, but whatever that point in time is when the results of the gym begin to show on the body, self-confidence is gained. The reason is that you are the one who built your current body. There is no one else to give the credit to.
As an outcome of those constant efforts, it is impossible to trick oneself into believing that nothing was accomplished because of the fact that it is possible to look into a mirror and see the results. Since the effort was not faked pride follows, and that creates a degree of self-confidence that can never be taken away.
Discipline
Any gym veteran knows that consistency is the reason why their body looks the way it does. It is built through consistent actions over a course of a long period of time. There are no shortcuts, which is why discipline can be built.
Going to work out, wherever that may be, day in and day out gets exhausting. It is one more thing to do in an already busy schedule, yet is still completed nonetheless.
The action of pushing one’s limits over and over is an example of what discipline is, and if that habit is built, discipline is gained and can be used in any other facet of life.
Mindset
One of the biggest benefits of lifting is the mentality that is created. Once the accumulation of efforts is seen through the changes in the body, a new mindset develops. Have a mindset that doesn’t want to quit and will continue to push through regardless of the challenges.
The phrase, anything is possible, shifts from an idea to reality through working out. The fact that a 120-pound kid soaking wet can turn into 150 pounds of pure muscle is a true story of the impossible becoming a reality. After accomplishing something like that, it becomes very hard to believe that effort won’t create results.
Conclusion
“I make sure to record my lifts so that I will know the exact weight and repetitions I completed so that the next time I do those same exercises I can beat my past records,” Oilar said.
“Every time I enter the gym, I try to push myself a little harder, whether that means increasing the number of repetitions by one or slightly increasing the weight. The gym is a place where I am constantly improving and following my own progress. It is a beautiful journey.”
On the surface, working out physically changes the body, but what comes as a result of those changes is too important to overlook. Mindset, discipline and self-confidence are just some of the ways that working out has changed my life and my brother’s life. We share the same feelings when it comes to working out, and we have only just begun to see the changes.
First image source: verywellfit.com
Second image source: pixabay.com
Third image source: independent.co.uk
