#2 Theory and practical are two very different things

Posted on by sizeainteverything

bad swimming

High impact intensive army training has left me with a pretty bad knee unfortunately. But hey bad stuff happens to people everyday and its all about how you overcome adversity ,etc etc, blah blah blah. Having been to the physio for a sports massage (which was very painful!), she made me realise that I need to be more sensible. Ergh! I love running but I need to calm down for now. An aspiration of mine is to be able to complete a triathlon by the end of the year but a deep secret hidden within is that I am a terrible swimmer. It was time to stop complaining about how bad I am at swimming, pop my strong beach shorts on and take the plunge (puns are always essential by the way).

The 25m pool seemed like an ocean with my awful kicking technique only slowing me down. My friend J, like Dory she is, was there to give me some drills. “Hold the float with your hands and kick while I follow behind and see what’s going on,” she instructed. Here I thought, “Damn! She’s going to see how a human can act like a double-decker bus in water.” So my legs were going for it but this time the tortoise really did lose against the hare. But her strong encouragement kept me going until I was exhausted.

Working out has taught me the value of hard work but it is not about who can lift the most or run the fastest. The fitness community is about a common goal and that is collective strength through challenge. We cannot get anywhere without the support of our mates and J has proved that a simple act of kindness like coaching someone with their front crawl can really make an impact on that individual.

We enjoyed a coffee and a chat afterwards as well.

“The hardest part about going for a run is putting on your trainers.” Major Sam McGrath, Parachute Regiment, British Army

#1 Who I was and who I am?

Posted on by sizeainteverything

 

Now to get off on the right foot, my blog will be about my experience in the fitness world and how I had that lightbulb moment which changed the way I saw myself. Having been a teenager in the 21st century, we are circled around the explosion of social media and what our friends think of us. For so long I would not be happy with the way I looked. One day I thought I looked like the ‘chubster’ and the next day I would notice my skinny little calves. Oh how I wanted those perfect legs where I could walk around confident in shorts on holiday. Oh how I wanted that puffy chest that screamed masculinity.

Oh how I wanted to be happy with what was in the mirror.

Today I am a university student reading engineering in London and a soldier (part-time) in the British Army. I joined the army to prove to myself that size really does not matter and that I can do anything anyone else can do. I was the youngest and least muscular guy on my basic training course but hey I made it! I’ve attempted an arduous course in order to have an airbourne role but unfortunately I didn’t quite make the standard. Arduous indeed! Nevertheless I will recover and smash it next time.

The reason for this blog is that there are loads of blogs out there that have ripped guys telling the world what they do to be massive. I’m no longer interested in that. I workout because being a soldier requires me to be physically robust. I workout for strength, not size. I am not interested in impressing anyone and I am totally okay with how I look now. So this blog will have updates of how I am getting along and hopefully if anyone fancies reading it, they too can see how size doesn’t matter and you can enjoy fitness without needing to be big in anyone else’s eyes. You are as big as you feel.

“Train hard, fight easy.” Alexander Suvorov