How the gym develops resilience
Resilience is a difficult word to define. Is it simply a character trait? Is it a process that has definitive stages of development? Is it something that can be taught like arithmetic? Or is it a combination of all of these things?
Truthfully, I am unsure how to define resilience perfectly. My intuition tells me a perfect definition most likely does not exist anyway; it draws a parallel to the nature versus nurture argument. What I can be sure of, is that we see resilience when it shows up in others, and in ourselves. Resilience is the unwillingness to quit, even when things are not going your way. It is the mental, physical, and spiritual fortitude to hold strong in the face of adversity, and it is underscored by a resolute hope that the future will not be defined by your present circumstances.
I am privileged to watch people grow in resilience every single day. The gym is a place to
work on yourself, to feel your limitations, and not to be defined by them. The gym is a place to fail and get back up. The gym is a place to challenge yourself in new and exciting ways. It is a metaphor for our lives. In the gym your body is formed by the breakdown of what is less resilient to make space for what is more flexible, adaptable, strong, and enduring.
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My wife has a client who used to despise Romanian deadlifts. (an exercise where you
hold a bar in front of your body, keeping it close to your legs, while pushing your hips back, lowering the bar down to the floor and raising back up. It is a taxing and somewhat intimidating exercise. Hinging properly during this movement is also one of the hardest exercises to become proficient at.)
The client would complain every time she did them. She would complain about grip, about how she knew she wasn’t doing it well, and about how much she hated them. However, she kept showing up. My wife would not budge in continuing to encourage her to have a positive
attitude and believe that she had the capability of doing them properly. Over the next year she tried them week after week after week. Eventually, she became competent at them, and more than this she now works out in a group class where she helps others who are struggling with the movement.
This is resilience in real time. This is not just getting better at Romanian deadlifts, it is character development. The beauty of this is that it did not end with her simply learning, but now she can lift up others in the same way she was lifted up. Resilience is contagious.
Why this is important
In our gym, (Sanctify Fitness) we believe in the transferableness of skills, and in the
infectious nature of positve growth. Lifting weights, working out, and becoming more consistent in the gym does not only change our bodies. It changes our character, and better prepares us to get back up when life knocks us down. When we become aware of the indirect (and perhaps more powerful) benefits of weightlifting it can alter the way we view ourselves for the better. We can even help others who are new to the process, and better equip them for successful long term change. In other words, the adaptation begins physiologically, but doesn’t stop there. It bleeds into our psychology, the way we view others and ourselves.
What is adjacently fascinating about this process is: We find so much more joy, meaning,
and purpose when we invest our full selves into an experience. When we look at the gym as a place for whole person growth, to develop resilience in body and in character, it becomes much more compelling to make it a staple behavior in our lives.
The gym has, on a mass level, been represented rather poorly. It is seen as a place to
merely “look better.” Or worse, to just “look better than someone else.” This is why I started lifting, but it soon became hollow, frail, and unworthy of my time. If we can become convinced that the gym is a place to develop character as well as our bodies, we will be all the more motivated to continue the journey; as well as aid others in theirs.
Lee Ramsey has a passion for fitness as a way to help people grow and change into more adaptable, capable and resilient versions of themselves. He is owner of Sanctify Fitness in Covington and a regular fitness columnist for the NKyTribune.