What I Learnt in the Gym

You do much better when you do things for fun, instead of for results.

I have seen so many people drop out of the gym because they thought they’d look like Hercules in a month or have girls fighting over them.

Results came when I stopped caring about them – and then I applied that to academics and then to everything else I did.

Everyone always tells you that you’ll never have time to do things you want to

Be it exams or the “rigour” of IIM-A or UPSC prep, or a job – I’ve always made time for it.

You can lose everything you worked years for in a day, and come back stronger

Stitches in the hand, a back injury, a fracture on the foot, surgery for appendicitis, dengue, and now lockdown – if you only do things for the results you’ll never get back up when you fall.

If you attach your identity and get your self-confidence from your abs, your biceps, your physique or whatever – you’ll always remain insecure

The weights will always tell you if your ego is out of control – usually with a major injury.

And even if you think you’re the best in your gym… when you move beyond your narrow horizon you will find a gym where you’re just average.

That some things aren’t possible, for reasons beyond your control – especially genetics

Eyesight, bone structure and other similar constraints aren’t in our hands.

Learn to differentiate between the things you can change and the ones you can’t.

Life is never fair in all aspects; some people start from where you might not even reach

I’ve met people who weigh 100+ kilos (not obese) – more than double what I was when I began; they benched more than I do the first time they stepped into the gym

But these factors aren’t a reason to accept mediocrity or give up

You can still do the best with whatever material you’ve been given

Or you can whine about how everything is unfair and remain what you were

That you don’t need to compare yourself with anyone; it makes no difference to you – you’re both on different paths

It only takes away your focus from what you’re doing.

That many people don’t think clearly, copy others and walk straight into unhappiness when they could avoid it easily

So many friends have tortured themselves at the gym for no reason because they hate it; yet when they found a sport they enjoyed with similar benefits they could spend hours on it

That people can ruin something fun by thinking of it as “productive”

That people find it difficult to grasp that lifting weights can be among the most fun things for someone else

Many people can’t seem to look at things from any viewpoint other than their own.

That you can choose your own values, your own fun – which is different from everyone else, and not give a damn if others find it weird

Someone can leave junk food, sweets, anything – not because of a “sacrifice” or “determination” but just because there’s no craving.

What has positive utility for others can have negative utility for you.

That it’s possible to have a decent physique without trying to impress others or show off your pictures to strangers

You can meet a Russian pro bodybuilder wearing loose baggy clothes without knowing what he did until later because he didn’t feel the need to mention this.

That mind-muscle connection is real;

Only when I truly learnt to lift did I also truly learn to learn

Bodybuilding and mind-building are the same

That excellence and mediocrity are contagious, they pervade everything you do

The same excellence, energy carries over into other fields – if you stop caring about the results

That so many people don’t have a clue what they’re talking about – but they’ll be the first to tell you what you should be doing in the gym

That the world sets the bar so low

Just going to the gym can be an achievement

That fifty men will come to help a girl pick a dumbbell even if she doesn’t need any help; a guy might be lucky to find one

“Helping” isn’t really helping, few are those who give freely

That some people will consume anything and lie about it to impress others and make money on the internet selling trash

That there’s no shortage of those who will believe them and spend their money

That short-cuts and the easy way out will always attract people – because they only have eyes on the results

That ideas are always worth spending more time on than people

Fat-to-fit stories, transformations are just one specific way to get something

Understand how things work and find your own way – you’ll be far more successful

That you don’t need anyone’s validation / admiration – it makes no difference, you can get by without it just as well