Sweating In My Sleep.

Folks if you are being used and you don’t know then that’s not a good thing yes? What if I tell you that I plan to use you for my gain and then proceed to do it? is that using you or simply seeking consent? I’d like to use you as my accountability partner in my strength training journey. When we make something known in public then it has a way of binding us. Social contracting of sorts takes place and it becomes harder to backslide.

Though for some it’s not that huge a struggle. They will make a promise or declaration in public and deny it the next day in broad daylight feeling nothing. We hear of, ohh I was misquoted, I was taken out of context etc etc. It is best to maintain shalap (silence) if we aren’t sure we will follow through on what we say. Let us do the work in silence and let success make the noise. Good work cannot be misquoted. It speaks for itself.

So, this is week 3 of going to the gym and it’s still not fun. But I must admit I like the ka feeling I get after I work out. My trainer seems to be on a mission to maliza me. In my workout last week, she said we’ll switch gears kidogo. I welcomed it hoping that some variety in this gym thing would make it fun. She signed me up for a session at 6 am on Tuesday called Circuit. I have never done such a thing let alone going to the gym at 6 am. Running or hiking I have done at that hour gladly but not jumping and bending with weights.

I woke up at 5 am that morning. Everything in me was hesitant and resistant to driving in the dark to the gym. It was a mind-over-matter thing. Yaani I even woke up sweating and I hadn’t even left my bed to go and sweat at the gym. To get or be where most people will not get to, we have to do what most people will not. That’s the self-talk I was giving myself as I drove under the Nairobi street lights. I know my WHY it’s just the WHAT to get there that’s not enjoyable yet.

I got to the gym on time and found a few folks already there working hard on their bodies. My trainer then came with a wicked smile and ushered me into this room with a wooden floor and glass mirror walls. I was a bit anxious being the new guy here. Or maybe seeing myself in the mirror whichever way I turned made me more self-conscious. I went on to do the exercises with the loud music being a welcome distraction from the hard labour. Pressure mounted when the lady next to me seemed to do all the exercises with ease. After almost one hour of intense endurance and strength training exercises, I was proud of Lucas though I had been short-circuited a good one. It was a start on variety at the gym in the hope that I would start enjoying it.

I came across a quote on LinkedIn that may speak to this situation. “There’s a level where only the bold survive. A place where playing small no longer feels safe.” There used to be a popular soap many years ago called, The Bold and The Beautiful. Going to the gym at night (early morning hehe) was a bold move on my part, now I await the beautiful (more muscles and a six-pack hehe) part to show.

I’m doing this for my future. I was told by a guy at the gym that men lose 4% of their muscle mass every year after 40. That’s alarming if true, especially for skinny guys like me who don’t have much to lose. Playing small would be quitting the gym and that would not be safe for my future. What would be the point of finally being able to play (achieving financial security) but you can’t because you’re paying to buy back your health? Folks we can’t leave our dent on the universe through living significantly if our bodies and minds are dented already.

I hope I have convinced you guys to prioritize physical health, especially those not doing much about it. Some of us have been blessed with good health and have come this far without giving it much thought. But now at half a century, our bodies (and even minds) need our support to perform optimally. Remember with advancement in medicine we at 50 could be staring at another 30 years of active service. We just might be getting into the longest and most fulfilling occupations of our lives. If that doesn’t convince you to work on remaining (or getting) healthy then I don’t know what will.

I feel good that I’ve transferred sweating in my sleep to sweating in the gym. It’s often awkward, tedious and sometimes even stressful but I’ll kazana and trust that my body will thank me later. Let me leave you with this quote I’ve just seen on Instagram. “most people go for what’s easy, what’s close, what feels comfortable. But the ones who win? They go for what’s farther, what’s harder, what takes more effort.” Maybe I should add, what makes them sweat.

 May the year be a sweaty one for you folks, apart from Kesho. It’s Valentine’s Day hehe.