Fitness in the pandemic

Since a young age I’ve been a skinny person. My high metabolism mixed with poor eating choices left me with a slender physique that I thought I couldn’t do anything about. Participating in long distance running sports didn’t help either. When I was introduced to weight training, things started to change. 

During sophomore year at Central I enrolled in weight training for the same reason as everyone else: to miraculously turn into superman and get a 6 pack in 8 months. But after reading a few articles and researching online about how weightlifting helped the body, I realized I could make a change for the better. 

After attending weight training class, I would fill up my water bottle, eat a protein bar, and inhale a thick peanut butter sandwich in hopes to gain weight. I gradually started to eat more throughout the day and maintained a schedule for what I wanted to work out each time I went to weight training. I had a cliff bar for breakfast, took extra vegetables during lunch and even had a second dinner every night. 

But then the pandemic hit, and school went online. I completely abandoned my healthy lifestyle after I was just starting to make improvements. I fueled my addiction to fast food and hot fries for around two months and then realized that I should use this time of struggle to advance rather than retreat. 

I started to cut sodium filled chips and soda from my daily eating habits and move towards salads and chicken. I drank 3 large water bottles every single day. I dragged an old weight bench out of my basement and into my garage where I lifted five days a week, getting help from my little sister when I needed someone to spot me. I even started taking supplements like protein powder to boost muscle growth. 

As the days of summer went on, the weights got heavier and heavier until I needed new ways to challenge myself. Instead of squatting with low weight dumbbells, I put my sister on my back and carried her up a hill a few times. 

When the school year begun, I weighed myself and realized that I had gained 20 pounds more than I did the year before. Weightlifting had helped me achieve a healthier lifestyle and healthier mindset. Thanks to making one simple choice to take a weightlifting class, I am going to live a healthier and better life.