I need to do the weights. For me coming to the gym and training is a necessary
physical stimulus and a mental health benefit that I need to incorporate into my life.
So coming to the gym I get to work out, I get to put away thoughts
about studying, thoughts about work, I get to train with my friends and this
helps not only with my body but also my mind and I when I do
go back and start working I can hit the work harder
and just help balance the two different aspects.
So I make sure I plan out my week, plan when I have lectures,
plan when I should be working, plan when I should be training and I think it keeps me really
efficient because I have to train at certain time, I have to do my work at a
certain time, there's no room for error I guess.
Just try to get my work done so I can come to the gym. Yeah still working on that balance thing.
Some would say I don't. In all honesty and it doesn't feel too difficult often. I find one you
really enjoy doing something it doesn't feel like a task that you have to organise
yourself to do, it kinda feels natural, to take the time out, it's a nice break.
The fact that you can come train at your own time and follow your own program is
something that really helps your work. If you're a bit stressed you can
always come to the gym, have a session and come back to work with a better attitude.
If you've had a really stressful day you can come and chuck some weights around,
it makes you feel a lot better about yourself and definitely a social aspect.
Everyone's really supportive and it's just a nice environment to come and chat and train.
It's also great that if you've got a competition coming up at the end of term
it will get you through the term kind of thinking:
'I'll come to the gym, I'll train and I've got this other goal outside of Uni work at the end of it.'
As a medic, in the hospital sometimes you have to move around heavy patients
that kind of thing it's pretty useful for that. Other than that generally it just
makes you feel healthier which is always useful, keep a clearer head.
I started lifting coming back from glandular fever and other complications
and during that time I also fractured my spine. I just wanted to just get stronger generally
and started just lifting at the gym, found The Powerlifting Club when I got back here
and did my first competition, got absolutely hooked and ever since then just feel a lot
better in myself so very good I started.
Similar for me as well I had a knee injury and had to have my knee reconstructed.
so had to learn to walk again and through physio I started coming to the gym
and learnt how to squat, lift weights. It really helped my recovery.
A second goal as well I wanted to be healthier get stronger, put on a bit of weight
and Powerlifting Club has helped me do that.
I been with the Club for seven years, so I'm one of the longest-serving members and in that time I have
been president for two years and captain for one year and I've seen a huge growth
from a tiny little gym where only six people could train at a time to now a
club that has over 50 members and champions and record holders.
Initially when I joined the club it was actually the information that I was able to get
from the people around because I was quite a novice lifter, everyone else was
way more experienced than I was and that helped me progress a lot more in those early years.
A lot of people will hit the weights really hard and
they do make progress but then they burnout, they get injured, then they can no longer train.
For me like training is not just about lifting weights, it is also;
the community, the progress, the journey and I just know I couldn't deal with myself
if I burnout next year. I need to be training for a long period of time.
So my advice would be to try and lift consistently and over
a long period of time and then you'll make progress.