I have been thinking of writing something about exercising for a while now. No, I will not share my topless pictures or show off my quads (yet). Below you will find only a couple of gym equipment photos. My current gym. So here is the story.
I restarted going to the gym roughly two months ago. After being tired of seeing belly fat each evening and while taking a shower, I decided that enough was enough. 150.00 EUR for six months sounds like a good deal. I went with my lovely wife, who also goes to the gym by the way, to SportsDirect to buy new gym clothes since my old ones are, as you guessed it, old.
Currently, I go three times a week before work. I wake up at 05:30 each morning. On Tuesday and Thursday, the gym is open from 07:00, whereas on Friday at 08:00. I like going in the mornings. Not only because the gym is empty, but also because I like to start my morning early. Before going to do my workout, I drink black filter coffee and eat either cereal or leftovers from last night’s dinner. I do not drink any pre-workouts; essentially, my pre-workout drink is coffee. Only after my workout, do I eat a high-protein sports bar, but that is it when it comes to sports supplements. Of course, I also drink a lot of vitamins, but I did even before going to the gym.
You may ask why go in the mornings. As the title of this article suggests, the CEO of Apple does it. Also, from what I have read, Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Group founder), Jeff Bezos (ex-Amazon boss), Jack Dorsey (ex-Twitter boss), and various other company leaders tend to work out during the morning. Mostly, they tend to do it because during the day, they are busy with meetings and other commitments; therefore, the morning is the only time when they can squeeze in a workout. Also, because it shows your character. Anyone can sleep a bit longer, especially during the winter when days are shorter and mornings are colder. So it takes a good amount of determination to take yourself out of bed early, go to the gym before most people leave their warm homes, and work out. Do I wish to become one of the men above? I want to become an AD during my career if that is what you are asking.
And if it takes time, then so be it. If it takes determination and small steps to accomplish this goal, then I am all for it. The long game is my cup of tea.
I do not follow any diet. I like pasta, cheese, beef, and chicken. Luckily, my wife does as well. Would a special diet be beneficial? Should I drink protein cocktails or something similar? I’d say no on both questions. At least for now. Who knows. Maybe in a year or so, I will change my mind.
Roughly ten years ago was the first time I stepped inside a gym. It was in Ventspils, a city in Latvia with access to the sea. It was also where I obtained my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. The gym was nothing fancy. It had all the usual stuff – barbells, cable machines, and two squat racks. Luckily for me, this gym had a fitness trainer who spotted me as a newbie. He gave me a free first class and offered to create a training program for a complete beginner (for a fee, of course). I accepted. Thus it all started. I started with roughly 65 kilograms, and at one point, I was almost 72 kilos. Not long after, I unfortunately found CrossFit and high-intensity workout programs. When I graduated, I was around 67 to 69 kilos with a somewhat decent understanding of how not to injure myself during a workout.
Yes, I know what you are thinking. To get from 65 to 72 kilos with only chicken and rice is quite hard without taking supplements. I took some. I drank protein shakes after workouts, but before I took one scoop of creatine with water. Let it be known that I took those only for about a year or so. Come to think of it, maybe I should buy some protein to add to my current regular meals. I will think about it.
So is belly fat the only reason why I am going to the gym? No, sadly not. Like most humans, I am becoming older as well. Thus, I need to look out for things like cholesterol and being overweight. Even though I think that being overweight would not be a huge problem for me, the other issue might be. I have not checked its level in almost a year, but during my last check-up, I was almost in the red. Meaning that it was much higher than I and my doctor would have liked it to be. Let’s see. I will keep going to the gym until my next medical check-up, and then we will see if my workouts have been useful or not.
Workouts. Do I follow any specific program? Not currently. As I mentioned earlier, I used to follow more or less ten years ago. Luckily, I still remember most of the programming from back then, and I have been reading and watching a decent amount of content concerning exercising. Thus, I would like to believe that I somewhat know what I am doing. Currently, I do see some gains. Furthermore, my wonderful wife sees them as well.
As long as my wife sees that my body is changing, I am in the clear, and I do not need to look for an expert opinion. That does not mean that I will not look for one down the line. I would like to have a workout program specially developed for my body and needs. Maybe in a year or so. Who knows.
Keep the gains coming!
Kindly,
Olaaf
