Powerlifting Changed My Relationship To Working Out
I used to spend upward of 20 hours a week at the gym, now I lift weights 3 times a week in 30 minutes sessions. Back then, I wholeheartedly believed that a workout meant pushing your body through endless hours of cardio and high intensity exercises. This was the only way to increase your fitness and achieve any intentional change to your body composition.
How wrong I was.
Going to the gym for a few hours each day, every day meant that my body never fully got to recover. It meant that I would be exerting my muscles and cardiovascular system even when I wasn’t feeling recovered or recharged. Instead of making me stronger and fitter, by forcing myself through full body workouts, I was limiting my body’s full potential to get fit and strong.
I had created a cycle of pushing through my checklist, without real goals and statistics to track my progress. If anything, the act of moving my body didn’t make me more attuned to my body and it’s needs, it actually become part of my daily motion. I’d listen to endless podcasts, watch shows while I finished my rounds. Not a productive use of my brain nor improvement of my body.
The Turning Point
At the end of 2021, I had moved back to Australia and by this point Covid (1.0) was on the decline. Gyms were opening back up and I had flexibility between job transfers to join my husband at the gym. He’d been a serious Powerlifter many years earlier and was picking it back up as an efficient and effective workout amongst all his work duties. We’d discussed me trying a program for many months, so this time, I bit the bullet, enlisted his expertise and risked the stability of a harmonious relationship by having him be my Powerlifting coach.
Thinking about my first few sessions now, I felt awkward, the big compound movements themselves (Squatting, Chest Pressing and Deadlifting) felt unnatural and I found it frustrating to constantly having my hus-coach correct my form (haha). Even with all my years going to the gym, these movements required a level of form and intentional breath I had never required in the past.
Beyond the movements, it was also foreign to me to log my workouts, including the reps, sets and weight that I was moving around the gym. We’d religiously log each rep in our chosen notes app, with a corresponding exertion rating scale (0-10, 10 being forced to failure). Each time the log got longer, I could scroll back to see how I was tracking, how much my weights had increased as well as the exertion I was feeling at each workout.
It felt intentional, motivating and more importantly, my body felt respected and strong. The program I followed required 2 of each of the compound lifts in a given week. Depending on my time constraints, I could fit in two lifts over 3 visits to the gym or go 5 times and simply lift one or two lifts each visit. For the first time in years, I was in and out in under one hour each time - and as I kept consistent and my strength continued to increase my body began to change. My quads and thighs have grown and match my bigger booty. My arms are bigger, shoulders more toned, ribs no longer protruding out. I’m here for all of it. My aim is to continue to be strong, healthy and able to move my body (and a bunch of weights) for as long as time will let me.
The Reflection
Working out used to be the activity that allowed me to live my life. I wouldn’t be able to enjoy an evening in with indulgent food, if I hadn’t had my visit to the gym or attended a super high intensity workout class that made me sweat bullets. I wasn’t tracking my progress, and the fulfilment came from doing the most over the largest amount of time I could allocate to the gym. It helped me overcome a lot of stress and mental chatter, but it made me miss out on a lot of living, connecting and experiencing.
The gym is still a place I feel safe and therapeutic. But add ‘strong’ and ‘empowered’ to that mix. I enjoy the fact that Powerlifting gives me the ability to get stronger and receive tangible results, without encroaching on my life by making me a slave to the gym.
I’m also happy to report that despite taking on the role as my Powerlifting coach, my marriage continues to thrive. As I’ve been at Powerlifting for 2 years now, going to the gym with my husband has become a great bonding activity. As critical as I was at first about his (well intentioned) feedback, he was and always is supportive of my progress and change in physique. For that and changing the way I workout and relate to my body, I’m grateful.
