LO1, LO3
- What previous experience have I had with an activity like this?
I have been going to the gym on and off since the summer of 2019 and started gymming routinely with at-home workouts during circuit breaker. During that time period, I did a lot of research and learnt as much as I could from my friends so that I could keep gymming with a better understanding of the practice.
- What am I good at? What are my strengths?
I think one of my main strengths is staying committed, as many people find it difficult, but I incentivised going to the gym by thinking of it as a stress-relieving activity. In a purely physical sense, I would say my strengths are callisthenics as I find it fun and have a good muscle mass ratio.
- What would I like to improve?
One thing I would like to improve is my focus and planning, while I am consistent in my exercising, I feel like I could optimise my growth by properly planning my sessions and making sure I am not distracted by my friends, as sometimes they cause me to go off course.
I think I could also improve by focusing more on my diet, and trying to log my progress consistently
- How has my involvement in this activity made me aware of my strengths and areas for growth?
My involvement in strength training has made me aware of my capability to be completely dedicated to something I find interesting and has introduced me to a side of myself that has an extremely strong resolve. It has helped me come to terms with the idea that the only measure of progress is improvement, and made me focus on my own progress rather than comparing myself to others.
It has also made me aware that my lack of flexibility is a major hindrance to my progress, and driven me to take up yoga and active stretching at least 3 times a week
- Have I improved and in what areas? How do I know?
I have measured my improvement by observing the change in my PR. I improved in my bench press, before the activity I had done 55 KG for 8 reps and now I can do 60KG for 10 reps. I also achieved the muscle-up, and can comfortably do weighted pull-ups.
- What activities did I plan?
I planned my workouts every Monday Wednesday and Thursday
- How did my plans change as the activity progressed? Why?
My plans changed as the activity progressed as self-reflection and monitoring my progress lead me to discover weaknesses in my regime, and enabled me to conduct focused research on how to correct my drawbacks.