Working Out

Investigation

I have allways been extreamy skinny, and reletivly week my whole life; I had gone to my condo’s gym a little bit beforehand and had some body weight training on and off over the years so it's not like I was a complete stranger to working out, but I wanted to get into a body building style of training properly. From my readings in the book “Atomic Habits” I knew that I needed to have a physical space that my brain would be able to associate with the activity, and only the activity, and that I needed to surround myself with people who were already achieving my goal. I also knew that having others to help keep me accountable would go a long way, so I found out what gym my friend was going to and used a free trial to join him for one day, exercising.  This allowed me to explore the gym and its equipment, as well as get a feel for the vibe of the space and determine if I would be comfortable and get into the right mindset. It all checked out.

Preparation 

Prior to everything, I had also consistently watched many videos about working out, how to do various exercises, all the things outside of working out that go into building muscle, etc. At times it got confusing because there were different philosophies on training and eating styles, some were talking about how a certain eating style is absolutely necessary, while others would say that the same style would only cause you harm. 

Eventually I collected all of the documents I needed, as well as the consent of my parents (as the gym required it for minors like me) and bought a subscription. I got the workout plan of my friend and made some of my own accommodations to it, then would go on to join him.

Action

Every school day, after school, we would walk to the gym together, stopping by a 711 on the way to grab a quick snack to stop us from getting hungry while we worked out. We would change at the locker rooms then head out for the exercises. Mondays we did arms, Tuesday was chest, Wednesday was back, and then Thursdays and Fridays were largely un scheduled days where we worked on anything that we felt needed working on, such as another round of arms, or a leg day. It also wasn't uncommon for us to go boxing on the rooftop after our workouts. 

I initially joined around mid November, and have continued through till the end February thus far, however, during December, I was unable to consistently attend due to a Sinus infection.

Reflection and Demonstration

I performed many exercises that I had never done before, and initially I needed a lot of guidance from my gym partner on said exercises. But now, apart from when we spot each other during chest exercises for safety reasons, we are able to operate mostly independently of each other now that I learnt the exercises. I have definitely noticed myself not only physically growing thanks to the gym, bigger muscles and growing slightly taller, not to mention getting stronger, but I've felt more confident. Just something about finishing a workout and walking home, the way I feel walking home is something else. I've also noticed that I feel more active, more alive when I wake up in the mornings; the moment I wake up I just immediately want to go sand start the day and get stuff done, where as on the weekends when i'm not working out, I feel extremely tired and slow in the mornings. Going to the gym has also made me enjoy playing games less. It used to be the only thing I did for fun, and it would at times take up my entire day, just playing games. It would not be uncommon for me to log maybe 20 hours of a particular game over a week, but now I hardly have 5.  I've also noticed that I just enjoy things more, I appreciate things more ever since going to the gym. When I eat a nice doughnut or a cookie, like I really eat it slowly and take in the whole sensation. Small things like that. I've definitely felt indirect, positive impacts in my life ever since getting consistent at the gym; even my lungs, they just feel like I use them more fully, when I breathe in, they feel more filled up, like I'm breathing deeper. 

Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.

Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process. 

Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS project.

Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.

I also gained wieght from 48KG - 51KG