7 Valuable Life Lessons I Learned from Working Out For 10 Years
#5: Pain is temporary, pride is forever (unless you herniate a disc)
I was lucky enough to be born into a family in which all members were sporty — mum, dad, grandma, grandpa. As I grew up to be a sporty kid as well, I fumbled around quite a bit and tried lots of different sweat-breaking activities. Swimming, running, soccer, tennis, basketball, skiing — you name it. Although all of them were fun, I never stuck with anything for too long, besides swimming, which I did for a couple of years.
That was until I first stepped foot in a gym. I was 17, too cool for school, with a face full of acne, mind full of dumb ideas and, thanks to bad eating habits and puberty growth, the body of a prisoner of war. (I’m not exaggerating. I was a scrawny kid.)
Now I’m ten years older and about 30 kgs heavier. During this time, I have been working out rigorously. I have had good workouts and bad ones. I have dragged myself to the gym at 3 a.m. and done double sessions until I puked and passed out. I have seen people come and go. I have built my self-esteem and I have been humbled by the weight, often within the same workout.
To me, the gym and lifting are more than picking up heavy weights and putting them back down. It’s the one place…
