It Felt Like I Had Been Given Superpowers

RosyTea · January 2017

Happy new year!

I had an interest in weight lifting for about 2-3 years but never committed to it until October of 2015. What varied work I had done before then was a good effort but lacked the proper knowledge of human kinetics to carry out my routine safely and effectively. I have been working with a personal trainer for the last few months and have learned how to perform exercises that actually activate my muscles properly while keeping me safe from injury. This has been a huge success for me, I am now two months into my program and I am starting to see the physical changes in my body. It's great to look in the mirror and notice I am toning up, and that things are being lifted, shaped and better defined. All of that is great but the best feeling I have experience yet, happened to me last night when I decided to carry out a cardio-based workout on my own. It had been over 3 months since I stepped foot on a treadmill, back when I could only run very poor intervals for about 15 minutes before I had to call it quits. Last night I ran intervals for 30 minutes and I ran so fast and with such ease it almost felt like I had been given superpowers. I felt like Jesse Quick with my muscles propelling me forward in the absence of of fatigue and poor strength that once held me back. It was such a rush and felt so good! It was amazing!

While I did get into personal training and weight lifting to gain strength, I never knew getting stronger would feel like this. Other than my primary goal of gaining strength and kicking *kitten* I have overcome a lot of anxiety and pursued other activities I had only dreamed of. I have now started boxing and muay thai classes that I go to several times a week for cardio, in combination with weight training. I have wanted to box for over 8 years and finally stopped doubting myself and just went ahead and did it. I am so grateful for that confidence and I am proud to say that these are my hobbies that I look forward to and thoroughly enjoy.

I don't have any major goal that I am aspiring to, other than being the best version of myself, but small goals seem to come up along the way.

1. Perform 3 push-ups (full body, legitimate tricep push-ups) by March 20th. It seems like a small task but for me it will be huge as I have never been able to do a push up in my life.

2. Start sparring by August.

3.Do non-assisted pull ups, climb across monkey bars and do a handstand.

4. Take an aerial silks class and learn more acrobatic forms of strength training/fitness.

5. Take Krav Maga classes for self defense.

What are your goals and successes? Have you ever felt like you were given superpowers due to your accomplishments?

Thanks for reading and all the best in your journey!

MrsBeia17 · January 2017

You can absoulutely do it! Stay focused and encouraged!

shaun823 · January 2017

That's awesome! What a great feeling! Stay at it!

I've definitely felt that way before. I've done martial arts my whole life and used to be an elite level athlete. When I was 22 years old, I had the opportunity to move and begin training full-time with the top athletes in the country (or the world in some cases). Training along side them and in the program that they trained under made me go from feeling like I was a great athlete to feeling like there couldn't be anybody better. I felt like there was nothing I couldn't do. It's a great feeling. I'm happy for ya!

Syneea · January 2017

Way to go, phenomenal progress!!
I Definitely feel that way as well... my friends and I from the gym joke about our self-created "powers" all the time for sure! Like if people only knew our "old selves" could climb poles, do hand stands, headstands, push-ups whatever like women half our ages!!
Shooo, We in this MFP community are definitely not your average Joes/Janes either, that's for sure! The inspirational stories that I read regarding weight loss and fitness progression in such Short periods of time are NOTHING short of amazing.

RosyTea · January 2017

@shaun823 @MrsBeia17 @Syneea

Thank you for your encouragement and awesome stories! It is so wonderful to hear about others sharing such feelings!

lindarpolk · January 2017

When did you start feeling like you had more energy? I must be doing something wrong because when I work out and/or lose weight, I don't notice having more energy.

RosyTea · January 2017

lindarpolk wrote: »

When did you start feeling like you had more energy? I must be doing something wrong because when I work out and/or lose weight, I don't notice having more energy.

@lindarpolk I wouldn't say you're doing something wrong since there are so many factors that can cause a lack of energy: drinking too much coffee, poor sleep, hormonal imbalances, thyroid issues, other imbalances in the body. etc. I had blood work done a few months ago to make sure everything was okay at the beginning of my routine because I was tired, and I found out that I am in perfect health. Which is great.

With that being said, I gained better stamina after about 4-5 weeks? My best advice for energy definitely focuses on diet (also managing stress and getting 8 hours of sleep a night). After getting the blood work done and having no issues there I realized I had to start eating more calories because of the work I was putting in and that helped. My energy levels are always good as long as I am eating properly. I eat 7-12 servings of fruit and veg a day, with 4-5 of those servings being leafy greens (I love broccoli, spinach and spring mix). Carbs make up only 20% of my calorie intake, with protein at 35% and fat at 45%. I have been a vegetarian going on 12 years and the biggest challenge I've had strength training is ensuring I get enough protein to maintain the muscle I am gaining. This is why I use my fitness pal to track my macros. I eat intuitively and make the majority of my meals at home. I eat anywhere between 1200-1700 calories a day depending on my routine and focus on having my carbs early in the day as they can make me sluggish in the evening (which is also why I also eat less of them).

I hope some of this helped. Good luck in your journey.

lindarpolk · January 2017

Thank you for all your information, RosyTea! I have high blood pressure and hypothyroidism. I've been telling the doctor I have sleep apnea, but the first sleep study said, "Everything's fine. Nothing to worry about." They called with the results from the second study today and said I have mild sleep apnea. Since I have high blood pressure, they want to do more testing.

I have a lot of stress because I work with Special Needs kids with behavior problems in an elementary school, but I hardly get paid anything. My bosses are great, but the system is messed up. I have to literally chase kids around the room and restrain them if promising rewards and telling them to behave doesn't work. I had to help break up a fight just this morning. I wanted to go to bed as soon as I got home every night last week.

Years ago I was getting closer to being a vegetarian until it was a struggle to get enough iron.

RosyTea · January 2017

It sounds like you have a very demanding schedule. Good on you for making it to the gym to workout regularly, that's amazing on top of all that you are doing. I imagine that the hypothyroidism is the major contributor to you feeling tired, are you taking medication for this? I've known several women who saw incredible differences in their bodies and energy after taking thyroid medication. I hope further studies find that you are not suffering from sleep apnea.

If you are ever interested in trying a vegetarian diet again in the future, try cooking with an iron skillet and eating leafy greens like spinach and broccoli as they not only have a high iron count but also high levels of vitamin C to help with iron absorption.

Be proud of what you have done, I'm sure you're doing a great job. The energy will come in time!

It Felt Like I Had Been Given Superpowers

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