Start wherever you are. Don’t overthink things, and don’t find excuses.

I was not a young man the first time I set foot in a gym for weight training. In fact, I was well into my forties at the time and had no previous experience lifting weights. I had always had some vague interest in it but never felt compelled to do it until that point in my life.

I started noticing how other people around the same age as me were beginning to deteriorate physically. The forties are not old, so it seemed a bit premature to me that so many in that age bracket were showing clear signs of going downhill. Distended bellies, hunched shoulders, a few too many pounds in the wrong places, rickety gaits—you name it, I was seeing it among people in my age group. More concerning, however, were the health problems I saw creeping up on people. Thankfully, I was still in decent shape for a guy who did not exercise regularly and still looked fairly young for my age. But I realized it couldn’t last if I didn't get intentional about upping my fitness game.

The main problem I had physically was that I had never been very strong. I was an ectomorph, with long limbs and a rail-thin frame. I knew I couldn’t allow nature to take its course and make me weaker than I already was, so I set modest goals of gaining 5 kilograms in weight and building some visible muscle for the first time in my life. I immediately hired a personal trainer, and the rest is history.

Even today, I’m not completely sure why I was hooked on training after my first session, but I was. All I can say is that my first session felt like the start of a transformation. I went into it thinking it would become a new habit, but a transformation I had not anticipated. It wasn’t merely physical. There was a psychological boost that I perceived immediately. I sensed I was going to grow into a different person.

But none of this is really about me. I’m giving you my story because it may be something you can relate to. Perhaps you’ve noticed the same things I did or had some of the same concerns. You might be skinny or perhaps a bit chunky. You might be younger than I was or older. Whatever. Just start where you are.

There are no advantages to not exercising regularly, and if you do weight training, it’s all the better. Continue doing it until it becomes a habit, until you become anxious about missing it, and until you begin looking forward to your next opportunity to do it. Squeeze every bit of vitality you have out of this life.

Sayonara until next time.

Discover Yourself | Ideas for a Fit Future