As a kid, I was not the most athletic person. I had asthma and used that to get out of doing almost anything that required running in gym class. My inhaler was my constant companion since any physical activity led to an asthma attack, leaving me gasping for air if I didn’t have my inhaler close at hand. It has taken most of my life to finally have my asthma well controlled where I might only use my inhaler once or twice a month instead of at least twice a day. So four months ago, my husband and I decided to get healthier. We both aim to work out five days a week and usually succeed at that goal, with the occasional week where it might only be four days. With my asthma well controlled, for the first time in my life I’m not avoiding physical activity.
I have been doing a combo of cardio videos, kettlebells and dumbell workouts. My husband loves the treadmill and the rower along with his dumbell workouts. I had started initially with only doing cardio but had found that I had reached a plateau in my weight loss. In doing some research, I learned that women in their forties should incorporate some weight training to their workout routines for numerous reasons such as helping regulate hormones, helping prevent osteoporosis, reducing heart disease risk and boosting metabolism. Now even though I am not avoiding working out anymore, I still think people are liars when they say they get some enjoyment out it because I swear all I feel is sweaty and tired afterward.
For a couple years now, my husband has enjoyed watching weight lifting videos on YouTube. To be honest he will watch anything on YouTube, being the kind of person that ends up down the rabbit hole having started watching a video about traveling to Prague and ending up hours later watching animal fail videos. He really enjoys watching the World’s Strongest Man competitions and even the videos that the athletes who compete in those competitions release. One of the athletes, who is a four time winner of World’s Strongest Man, Brian Shaw, has started his own competition called the Shaw Classic or Strongest Man on Earth. He and his wife Keri have been putting on this show for a couple years and it’s getting quite a following. You can imagine my husband’s excitement when he scored tickets for the final day of the competition, which was yesterday.
For someone like me, who only exercises because it is making me healthier, I really don’t understand these athletes that have dedicated countless hours in the gym lifting weights. I really didn’t imagine that I would enjoy watching these men grunt their way through lifting heavy objects and fully expected that I would be bored most of the time and end up playing on my phone. Well that wasn’t the case. It was very entertaining.
Sixteen men were competing for the title this weekend. These men are truly massive but they have to be because they are lifting some incredible amounts of weight. They squatted 800 pounds. They pulled a tractor which weighed over 7400 pounds. They lifted dumbells weighing from 220 to 285 pounds over their heads with one arm. I mean, come on, I use a fifteen pound dumbell and do a set with twelve reps and my arms feel like noodles. They raised the Fingal’s fingers up and then had to carry 550 and 600 pound weights up stairs. I don’t even like having to carry laundry up or down the stairs.
My husband had been rooting for Hafþór Björnsson, who most people would recognize as the Mountain from HBO’s Game of Thrones. He did well and came in second but lost out to Mitchell Hooper aka The Moose. In watching some of the videos the competition released on YouTube, there were also some incredible women who competed this weekend. Awe inspiring because I sure couldn’t lift any of what they did.
For me fitness will most likely always be something I only do because I have to. I sincerely doubt there will ever come a day that working out would be an enjoyable activity for me. However, there are obviously people who feel very differently than I do and I had the privilege of watching some of them this weekend. Surprisingly I enjoyed the show and really that’s the point. You never know what you might find fun if you don’t try it.