Saturday morning.

As I enter, the smell of iron and sweat hit me.

The heavily tanned woman at the reception directs me to the entrance around the corner.

Her curly blonde hair covers half of her face.

"One entry, please," I mutter.

The woman behind the counter doesn't even look at me. She hands over the ticket and throws the coins onto the table.

I enter the brightly lit room, illuminated by fluorescent lights. I sense a slightly tense atmosphere.

The silence is interrupted by groans, whispers, and cries of pain and joy. It's both threatening and fascinating.

Around me, a group of men parade with their oversized pants and loose tank tops, barely covering their giant torsos.

I move to the side, pick up some small dumbells, do a series of bicep curls and glance around.

I still need to get the courage to approach the bar.

Everyone seems ten times stronger and bigger than me. And those tribal tattoos, signs of belonging to the criminal world, are scary.

On the walls hangs posters of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Everyone has the same plan: chest, back, and arms. Legs are covered, they don't matter, and no one sees them anyway.

That's what my first visit to the local gym in the early 90ties looked like.

My first teachers were bodybuilders.

Only they knew how to train. Everything was geared towards building muscle and appearance. Isolated exercises for individual muscle groups. Lots of sets and repetitions.

No stretching, mobility, speed, or endurance.

And the diet consisted of a massive amount of rice, canned tuna, and protein powder if someone could afford it.

It was only much, much later, that I learned that strength training should be an integral part of any sports training and that everyone, regardless of age and gender, should lift weights.

Leszek

PS.

Would you like to push harder in the next couple of months? Would you like to go ‘’ all in’’ and achieve the results you have never dreamt about?

Maybe personal training or small group personal is for you!? :)

Find out more about Fitness Soul Personal Training