weight lifting progress is ridiculously fleeting

note: if you're in a rush, only read the red text. that's why i made it red.

for the past 4 years, i've been trying to live healthily by eating decently and exercising regularly. i started weight lifting casually 12 years ago, but it was only during these last 4 years that i consistently went 4-5 times a week and tried to make it part of my lifestyle. notwithstanding, during the prior years i definitely had my share of roller coasters of going and not going, just like everyone else. with this, i've noticed how insanely quick muscles can deplete.

i once gym'ed consistently (4-5 times a week) for 2 years straight -- gladly gained about 12+ lbs -- then, after 8 weeks of not going to the gym, all progress completely disappeared and i also lost all 12 lbs.

i resumed gym'ing and went for 1.2 years. due to a weight lifting accident (see previous post), i had to take a break from gym for 8 weeks. once again, all progress was completely lost, and my body weight immediately dropped 12 lbs! :-( moreover, i could lift no more than what i started with before the 1.2 years. oh well, no biggie. my ear drum has re-sealed and is in place, so i've started back at the gym again.

in this writing, i aim to express:

1. healthiness is a lifestyle; whether if you care to be healthy or not, it's the long-term, holistic direction of one's habits that should be considered
2. yet, any muscle progress should be taken lightly. it's insanely fleeting, and not much stock should be put into it
3. don't feel bad if you don't look the way you want. physical appearance is somewhat of an indicator of how healthy one is, but it shouldn't be the primary focus.

disclaimer / why i work out:

before i go further, i must state that in no way am i trying to assert that i'm in great shape, or that i'm strong, or anything like that. at every single gym i've been to, there have been many people stronger than i. plus, i accept that i'll likely always be considered skinny and will weigh less than my recommended healthy body weight. although it's fun for me to see the slight progress that forms, my main joy in the weight room is from the mere pursuit of trying to out-do my former personal lifting records.

ever since i was little, i've had a strange obsession/joy from keeping track of trivial personal records. for example, i remember being 10 and keeping track of how many consecutive basketball lay-ups i could make without missing. even if the task at hand is completely menial and trivial, i've sometimes played this little game. when i was 9, my dad once brought home stilts from a yard sale. i pointlessly kept track of how many consecutive steps i could take on them before getting tired or falling. bizarre, i know.

1. demonstration of muscles quickly depleting:

high school days:

i casually worked out at times but never really had a routine and i didn't know much. i graduated high school at age 17, weighing a measly 130 and bench pressing only 185.

undergraduate days:

every summer i worked out 5 days a week for 12 weeks, but then would completely stop as soon as the school year started. i simply couldn't afford the time commitment. so, any progress i made would be completely gone within 2 months of school starting. that's fine though, cause i enjoyed working out, and i learned a lot. but, it's an odd and interesting situation to really commit yourself to something for 12 weeks even though you know ahead of time that you will not continue beyond week 12 and thus all of your work will be fleeting.

the explicit pics below depict the seemingly pointless game i played every summer.

junior year

age: 20, weight: 143:

that summer, after 12 weeks of gym. i got in decent shape.

age: 21, weight: 153:

2 months later (start of senior year), and woops, back to my old body and 3am studying until i fall asleep! all muscle and strength was gone.

age: 21, weight: 143:

this see-saw happened every summer for 4 years.

graduate school days:

before; completely out of shape. before i started to gym again.

age: 22, weight: 145

then, worked out for almost 2 years straight, starting 9 months before grad school started. i got in okay shape.

age 24, weight: 152:

i then took about 5 months off due to working on master's thesis and vacationing after graduation. so, once again, i completely lost all gains and was back to my old body. notice how i'm wearing the same shirt in this pic and the previous. in the previous, it fits snuggly. then, after no gym for a while, i lost 10 lbs and it's baggy on me.

age 25, weight: 142:

post graduate school:

i then started full-time work and figured i'd have no distractions to keep me from lifting.

after 1.2 years of gym'ing, i got in decent shape.

me awkwardly trying to document any progress i've made.

age 25, weight: 155:

(yes, i had on shorts in this picture.)

then, the weight lifting medical injury forced me to stop weight lifting.

so, after just 4 weeks of no gym, my body had already started to deplete;

age: 26, weight: 145

by week 7 of no gym, all 14 months of progress was gone, and i had lost 12 lbs;

age: 26, weight: 142

the doctors gave me the okay to return to the gym at week 8, and the amount i can now lift is remarkably low. specifically, i can lift no more than what i could before 14 months ago. it's as if the 14 months never happened. how crazy is that? based on atrophy and de-training statistics, it should take me roughly 3 to 6 months to get back my full strength, at best.

after 3 weeks of returning to the gym, i've slowly started to gain back some of the mass;

age: 26, weight: 151

think about it. is there any other area of our body that takes this long to strengthen yet depletes so fast? the brain is much better; it can learn things pretty quickly, takes a while to forget things, and it's really quick on re-learning.

2. healthiness is a lifestyle, not a binge activity:

weight lifting is just for fun, and i view it as just synthetic strength -- as opposed to real -- at best. it's not like the strength that comes from digging ditches and doing construction. plus, being healthy envelopes so much more. i don't claim to be too healthy, but i try:

• gym 4-5 times a week since january 2007*
• haven't had soda since early 2001
• never had coffee
• eat out/delivery only once every 2 weeks to 2 months, or sometimes less frequently
• rarely eat sweets (i.e., chocolate or ice cream maybe once a month, used to be far rarer)
• alcohol rarely more often than every 6 months, although wine a little more often
• fruits often, sometimes i mix 6+ fruits in a 1-liter smoothie on a daily basis
• eat 5-6 tiny meals per day:
  • 7:30 am = cereal + bagel + protein
  • 9 am = banana + yogurt
  • 11:30 am = lunch (i.e., pork chops, pasta, green beans)
  • 3 pm = lunch part II (leftover lunch or a sandwich)
  • 5-7 pm = gym supplements
  • 7:30 pm = dinner
  • 9:30 pm = something light (i.e., chicken nuggets, yogurt, cereal bar) + protein

actually, i don't eat many vegetables, so i guess i don't really eat too healthily. i also probably eat too many starches and carbs, and i drink too much milk.

my biggest hurdles for living healthily are:

• doing cardio
• eating vegetables
• sleeping more

Q: what is your hardest hurdle for living healthier?