Just as impressive
To improve my running form, my physiotherapist sent me to the scary part of the gym. The place where the strong girls and guys move heavy iron. I was terrified of looking like a fool, lifting tiny weights and not really knowing how to even do that properly.
Today at the gym, took all my courage and went there anyway. My fears of humiliation were, of course, greatly exaggerated. Nobody stared, nobody laughed. People were busy with their own thing.
When I did my barbell squats with my modest plates next to someone lifting three times as much, a thought struck me: I am lifting the maximum my body can handle right now – and that's exactly what they're doing.
Sure, their plates are heavier. But they started out just like me and kept progressing as their bodies adapted. Right now, we’re putting in the same effort.
Seen from that perspective, what I’m doing is just as impressive.