Recently at a community gathering I was asked to give a 5-minute lightning talk about something I’m into. I landed on the physical activity that is making me feel my best these days. Here’s my talk transcript.

Hi everyone. I’m Gina and I’m here to talk about the joy of lifting heavy objects. And by that I mean weightlifting.

My endocrinologist Dr. S is the best doctor I’ve ever had. I’ve seen her twice-annually for thyroid stuff for about 8 years. The first 6 years, at every appointment, she said this sentence to me:

“You should be doing weight-bearing exercise.”

Then she rattled off the reasons why: bone strength, metabolism, mental health, healthspan. But I wouldn’t hear any of it because I’d tuned out by the word “weight.” The idea of going to a gym and swinging around a bunch of dumbbells sounded like the most boring activity on earth. I give Dr. S a lot of credit though, because she was very consistent. Twice a year, every single visit:

“You should be doing weight-bearing exercise.”

And I’d walk out of her office committed to my lifestyle as a sedentary workaholic.

It wasn’t till I got the chance to leave my job and take some time off to really think about my priorities, and health was at the top of the list. I want to be around to see my teen become an adult. I joined a gym, stood in the doorway of the weight room, and realized I had no idea what I was doing. Then I remembered what else Dr. S said: “Don’t start lifting alone. Work with a personal trainer with a background in physical therapy so you don’t get injured.”

So I went about finding that person.

This is my trainer, T. The first time I met her at the gym she had so many questions for me. “How does your body feel today? How did you eat? How did you sleep? How busy was your week? Where’s your stress level at?” I didn’t understand why she wanted to know all this. I thought: “This woman is very interested in me.” I started to tell her about my worries and she said, “Okay, so medium stress level, got it.” That’s when I learned what T’s whole philosophy is. When she’s figuring out what our workout that day is going to be, she says this:

“We’re going to go by how your body feels.”

How my body feels? This was a revelation. Going by how my body feels is not how I live. I go by what the voices in my head tell me. In fact, at first, I had no idea how my body felt. I had to stop and listen to myself to answer that question, and sometimes the answer was complete silence.

But I’m a people-pleaser. So I spent the first year going to the gym once a week just to please T. I mean, I paid for an appointment and wanted to get my money’s worth, sure, but also: look at her! She’s a beam of light. Who wouldn’t want to please this person?

Most of that time, I had no idea what we were doing and why. I’d just do whatever T told me to. Just take me for a ride, I’d say. The hour would go by fast enough, the next day I’d feel sore, and I’d check off “weight-bearing exercise” from my weekly todo list.

Then something weird started to happen. I found myself feeling better. Not only in my body, but about my body. So much stronger and more capable. Sleeping better. I dropped a jeans size without trying. I got a Dexascan that showed my body composition trending in the right direction–increasing muscle mass, decreasing fat. I found myself looking forward to the hour where all the voices in my head went silent and I could just count reps, listen to myself breathe, and dig into the physical effort of exerting myself to the edge of my ability. Then seeing those edges expand further than I thought possible.

My lifting session became a weekly meditation. The next day I enjoyed the feeling of muscle soreness. It was my body telling me I’d worked hard, and now it was time to rest.

It wasn’t until a good 9 or 10 months in that I wanted that feeling more than once a week. I started going to the gym by myself to lift–not just to please T, but to please myself.

It turns out that lifting weights isn’t just swinging around dumbbells. It’s a whole set of skills I didn’t realize I needed–not just in the gym, but in life.

Lifting is a practice of:

• Eating to fuel
• Easing your body in with warmups
• Intentional form and breath
• Slow and controlled reps
• Full body lock-in
• Purposeful exertion to the edge
• Resting to full recovery

On the wonderful days my body feels strong and I’m fueled and rested, T and I go hard. On those days, my favorite lesson of hers is this: “If you’re not grunting and making weird faces, you’re not lifting heavy enough.” Grunting and making weird faces is embarrassing! But if you think about it, some of the best things in life involve grunting and making weird faces.

This is what I love most about lifting weights. It’s not about how pretty you look while you’re doing it, it’s about how great it makes you feel.