Learning to enjoy weight lifting - 1 month in
Better than resolving to get strong or muscly or whatever, I expect to be much stronger in the long run if I commit to learning to enjoy weight lifting. I've probably got 50 years of life ahead of me, so a few months to learn to enjoy it is much more important than any short term effects.
Last year I learned to enjoy yoga. Largely by training as a teacher, and finding a way of thinking and feeling about it, plus a format, that works for me.
So this year it's weightlifting.
How's it going after 1 month? Pretty great.
Things which helped:
- Steady 2 sessions a week. Not too many.
- Pick 3 exercises and do them every time. The same sequences, the same sets. I know myself - I really like the repetition, the lack of thinking.
- None of the exercises are complicated: dumbbell row, chest press and lunge. Nothing too fancy requiring coordination or technique
- Learned to tell if my form is ok by physical sensation - interoception - rather than visual feedback. I don't know if it's perfect. I also really enjoy paying attention to the physical feelings as I go - dare I call it mindful?!
- Do yoga in the breaks between sets. This not only makes me more flexible, but keeps the flow of the activity going. There is no waiting to start again, it's just seamless movements from weight lifting to asanas and back again. The sense of flow is greater. And the mindlessness too: at no point do I need to decide when to start the next set, I just go when I've finished asanas
- Move with the breath. Breathe in for the easy bit, breathe out for the hard bit. As with yoga, this can increase performance a surprising amount without feeling unpleasant.
- Have gyms within 5 minutes walk of my living or office space.
I found I consistently enjoy even the hard bit. Due to a combination of the breath-movement synchrony, focus on internal sensations and asanas in the breaks.
Things which could improve it:
- Personal trainer or teacher. My very first session was with a much more experienced friend at a Bangkok gym, who showed me how to do the chest press and where I should feel it. I've used a book and videos which highlight where one should feel things, but I should really invest in a few lessons
- Learn to do weighted squats and deadlifts. I gather these are more efficient routes to strength. So I'm probably missing out.
Results-wise I am definitely stronger, having gone from carrying 20kg during lunges (which wasn't too challenging to be fair) to 50kg. And I'm enjoying the energy that follows sessions.