Aug. 30, 2022
Read time: 2 minutes and 34 seconds.
tags:We often chase fitness through structured workouts and strict diets, aiming for that “ideal” physique. But what if the most effective path to real strength and well-being isn’t found in a gym? I say this from experience having been someone who had constantly been packed into a gym, monitoring my workouts and nutrition to preserve a health physique and good shape. Sometimes, the most rewarding workouts come from unexpected places, like good old-fashioned hard work and this is something I wish I knew while I packed myself into gyms for hours listening to music.
One of the most impressive experiences of one of these feats of strength was to be in Colombia while working remotely. I was helping my family put in a floor to that required us to mix the concrete with the gravel. ANd we received bags of gravel on a truck. As we were unloading the truck, a 15 year old kid was passing by who, should have been in school but was passing by, and offered to help. I told him I would pay him some money for his time. The kid quickly went to the back of the truck. This kid could lift 50, 60 kilo bags of sand… I tried to do the exact same thing. I nearly had a hernia. Seeing his ability to lift something like this while I struggled comparatively woke me up to the value of raw strength more than vanity and appearance of strength. He was functionally strong whereas I was “apparently strong”.
While I worked in retail selling expensive clothing, we would sell this image of confidence with high ticket items to convey confidence. When I really discovered that true confidence was eternally internal. And you either have confidence or you don’t. It’s up to you how you build it and what it’s based upon. I believed confidence was based in ability and not affordability. It’s a sobering reminder that our culture often prioritizes appearance over actual ability unfortunately. Despite how important it is to be strong and capable.
It’s also worth noting the level of enthusiasm of these strong individuals throughout their working day. They can be working brutal labour that is demolishing them physically, but they keep such a chipper spirit that is incomparable to that of the misery that North Americans tend to convey complaining about their cold pizza being delivered in the winter time. Seeing these incredible feats of strength also highlight the importance of resilience and willingness to continue. Resilience, stamina, and a different perspective on what it means to be “fit” are helpful in putting things into perspective and hard work is valuable in making you grateful for your waking life and experience. The hard way is often better because you see the fruits of your labor rather than vanity of results. Just imagine how feeble confidence truly is if you don’t have the genuine strength that your appearance tries to convey.
It’s about time we rethink how we determine what fitness is and how we determine if we are capable. In lieu of pursuing superficial results, I encourage you to seek out activities that build real-world strength and resilience.
There’s a profound difference between gym-built muscles and the strength forged through hard work.