My fitness journey so far
A few stories and ideas from my almost 2 decades of hanging out at the gym
Until the beginning of 2023, I’d only wished and dreamt of being regular at the gym. To be honest, in the last 5 years, I kind of stopped dreaming about it and accepted that it was just not going to happen for me. I blamed the busy work week and the insurmountable desire to “do nothing” on the weekend.
First stint - School days in Ajmer
This was not always the case though. Way back when I was in the 11th standard (2005), I started going to a gym in Ajmer for the first time. I had to. My weight had increased to 72kg at the age of 14! Even though I was one of the tallest kids in my class at 5’10’’, it was clear that I needed to do something to get fit. The summer vacation after the 10th board exams, a good 3-month stretch, was the perfect time to get started. I had the company of 2 close friends who were my classmates and lived nearby. In retrospect, more than being about getting fit, it was a place to hang out with friends for me. I never thought of it then, but it was the first such opportunity for me to socialize with people of various ages - my classmates, college students, young working professionals, and even an uncle whose son was my classmate! By being around them and talking to them, I learned a lot about how to workout but also about the world out there, that I’d not yet been exposed to.
The owners of the gym, two brothers, were also the trainers. The elder one, called “Pappu bhaiyya”, was a favorite of everyone. He’d talk to almost everyone at the gym. He had more of a “Pahalwaan” physique and a large mustache, a look that suited him well when he’d go out to deliver milk in the mornings on his Bullet bike - two milk cans hanging on either side of it. He’d guide beginners like us on the basics of workout and diet. I’m listing a few of those here -
The role of protein in the diet for building muscles - He used to suggest we buy and consume “dabba”, referring to the large jars of whey protein that he used to help procure. However, I was still under the impression that the “dabba” is a hack like steroids and causes side effects, therefore it isn’t sustainable or healthy. I once asked him if eating “bajre ki roti” (pearl millet flatbreads) would be effective in building muscles. He found it amusing.
Relying on cardio for losing weight and resistance training with weights for building muscles - I once asked him why despite coming to the gym regularly and lifting weights, I’m not losing much weight. He took me to the steps and asked me to do ‘Quick Step Ups’ for 10 mins. I didn’t last 5 mins and realized how bad my stamina was.
Maintaining proper form in resistance training - I learned how to feel the strain on the targeted muscles when lifting weights and avoid jerks to use momentum instead of the muscles.
Every evening, I’d come back home in a T-shirt that was soaking wet. It used to feel considerably heavy when taking it off. I used to go to the gym almost every day and was regular for 2 years. While I didn’t grow any muscles (thanks to the lack of protein in my diet), I did lose weight. So, my time in the gym led me to achieve my original goal.
Second attempt - Archaic college gym at Surathkal
I was forced to take a break for a year in Kota. With all the unpleasant ragging scenes at the engineering college, avoided any place that was infested with seniors in my first year. Some of the seniors were kind and nice, but overall, I just didn’t want to socialize with them if I could help it. My second year was spent enjoying the “luxury” of a single room, for the first time in my life, with my new laptop and high-speed internet (another first!). I watched a ton of movies and TV shows that year, and discovered the whole genre of hip-hop, rap, and R&B. So, I just couldn’t be bothered to hit the gym.
Finally, in the third year of college, I started going to the gym. The gym instructor asked new members to run around the playground for 15 minutes before starting the workout. I felt it was completely unnecessary and stopped doing it after less than a week. The gym felt like it was under a hut - most buildings in the college had darkened slanted roofs because of the extremely rainy climate there. The machines were older than me. In such a humid place as Surathkal, the gym with its combination of body heat and poor ventilation, just didn’t make for a place you’d look forward to hanging out at. I also didn’t have much company this time - both of my closest friends were not keen on spending their time lifting weights.
I gave up within a few weeks, and after a few more false starts, I parked the idea for later - when I’d start earning and would be able to afford to go to a much better gym in Bangalore.
More attempts - Early Bangalore days
When I started working, I was excited to learn that even my office building had a free gym. I visited it and even tried to go there for a workout for a few days. However, workouts give you sweaty clothes, and I could just never get used to the step of changing in and out of gym clothes at the office. I tried out a gym near my PG and then the in-house gym at a very nice apartment complex where I stayed. Just couldn’t stay regular though. One reason was work timings and the other was that I’d get fatigued due to poor recovery, thanks to low protein intake, which I realized much later.
By the time I left Bangalore for 1 year at B-School in 2017, I’d tried 4 different gyms in 4 years but never for more than 3 months at a stretch. The year at ISB was no different. Visited the gym at the campus for a few days in the initial terms and then stopped.
Making amends - Bangalore again
I made another attempt at the society gym in 2018, after I got back to Bangalore. This time though, I made two changes to how I approach my workouts -
Open to whey - I finally did some research and learned that it’s not possible to grow muscles without providing the fuel your body needs for it. Another factor was that I was now earning enough to not worry about the high cost of buying imported protein powder. A 2.4 kg jar of Optimum Nutrition would cost about 7k back then.
20-minute workouts - I needed to fight procrastination. I wanted to keep the hurdles low. Going to a gym that was a 1 mins walk from my door, made it easy. The other thing I had to fight, was the boredom of a long workout. As I was going to the gym alone, and society gyms usually wouldn’t have anyone I’d know, my workouts were more efficient but also a tad boring. I’d usually target 2 muscle groups in a workout, e.g. biceps and chest, and finish 3 exercises each in ~20 mins.
I was not very regular still, but it felt better than before. I continued this method of light gym workouts even after getting married and moving to a new house. Then COVID hit, and of course, I had to stop again.
Finally, in 2022, I decided on a whim that I needed to try something else. Maybe it was rooted in my fond memory of the first gym I started with, back in school. So I bought a Cult.Fit subscription, and started going to group classes with my wife. We tried all types of classes - dance, yoga, strength and conditioning. It seemed like this might stick. We may be able to keep going, for at least two days of the weekend.
However, the rigid schedule and the general repetitive nature of group classes soon crashed our plan again.
A New Beginning - 2023
In April this year, I visited Gurgaon to attend a college friend’s wedding. This is where I met another friend who inspired me to get back to the mission of building muscles. He used to be my roommate in Bangalore. I saw him trying to go to the gym and eat chicken breast and whey for protein but didn’t think it was sustainable with work. I just didn’t believe it would lead to any results. This time, however, I was surprised! He’d made quite some progress. He told me he’s been regular for the last 2 years.
This was it! I wanted it too, and now that I’d seen someone I could relate to make some progress, I rediscovered the belief and desire I was lacking. A few more things that helped me get back to the gym -
I’d learned driving - I didn’t think that the society or office gym could get me the results I was looking for. I had to go to a “serious” gym. The commute was always a challenge though. Not anymore! I’d learned to drive last year. It was time for my newly acquired skills to pay off.
YouTube University - Unlike before, we now have a lot of niche genres and Indian content available on YouTube. I started watching a lot of videos about workouts, protein, and the whole science behind how muscles grow. I was obsessed! Spending hours watching all these videos helped me create an intrinsic drive to go to the gym. As opposed to going to the gym as a chore, I was now looking forward to going to the gym and applying what I’d learned.
Better Gyms - I visited the Gold Gym near my house for the first time. It was part of my existing Cult-Fit membership, which I’d bought around 8 months ago. I was amazed to see the quality of the machines there. I’d never been to such a gym before. I now go to Cult Gyms which are equally good. Going to gyms that have high-quality equipment and much better facilities made the visits more appealing.
I started in April and set a goal of growing my biceps only in the next 6 months for myself. The reason I picked biceps is because it’s the go-to muscle people flex, after making some progress. It was my “MVP” of sorts. If I could grow my biceps in 6 months, I thought, I’d get sufficient motivation to keep going to the gym regularly and do more. So I started hitting the gym once or twice on the weekend and lifting dumbbells at home 2-3 times during the Mon-Fri work week.
Over time I have changed my approach to how I work out and continued to do workouts on my own despite not achieving a significant peak in my biceps. Though my primary motivation is building muscles for aesthetics, and my secondary goal is to improve overall health, over time, I’ve started enjoying the workouts also as a hobby. I hope that I continue to keep making progress and stay regular in the coming years.