Addicted to the Grind - Personal Essay

ddicted to the Grind

I’m addicted. Sweat stings as it drips into my eyes and I struggle to catch my breath as I prepare for my next set. There is nothing more satisfying than this feeling. I love the feeling I get when I finish a long productive session at the gym. All the cares and worries of the day seem to just drift away with every repetition. Exercising is one of the most important things in my life everyday because it works for me. It makes me happy and feel strong. Exercise not only reduces your risk for health problems, but it also has an effect on overall appearance on my body. In high school, my football coach gave me the push and motivation to workout in anyway I can every day after my high school career was over. But as exercise is important, eating healthy foods before and after workouts is also very important. It give me that extra push to improve self-esteem and confidence. Exercising gives me numerous benefits and it can even be fun! It's important to me to exercise everyday so that I can live a healthier and stronger life.

I love weightlifting so much is because, it doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t matter if you’re big, small, black, white, yellow, red, or even purple, there is a place for everyone in weightlifting. Unlike team sports, weightlifting is all about you and you alone. No one is going to lift the weights for you. You have to dig from deep down inside and push your body to its mental and physical limits in order to achieve goals that you think are unachievable. I have learned over the years of lifting weights and running, it’s all about determination. There are days we all do not want to go to the gym whether it is because we’re exhausted or we’re tempted by other activities. However, I have been able to look past this and see my ultimate goal and realize what I must do to achieve it. I am constantly setting goals for myself. These goals may be minor ranging from increasing a max by five pounds or running that extra mile. No matter what, a goal can always be achieved if you put in the work. A goal is like a road with many different obstacles such as wanting to continue on your last rep. I have taught myself that I must dig from deep inside myself and do the impossible to reach that goal. But nothing is achieved without sacrifice. There were many times where I could never reach that goal, but I have learned to cope and press on forward. It will always be worth it to just move on and continue other goals ahead of your in the future. I can always rest easy at night assured that I have accomplished my goals for the day with everything I got.

Another benefit to exercising is that it improves my self-esteem and confidence. I think of exercising as both being a physical activity, and also a mental activity. Back in high school football, I gained confidence from working out that whole week before games. I got that extra energy and burst from all the hardwork