BY TARUN VENKATESAN ON 31ST JULY 2025
Everyone knows that going to the gym is good for you. We all have that one friend who’s pretty dedicated and disciplined. Or we are that person. Either way, there’s always inevitably some hard days. Roadblocks that present themselves along the way. Some self-imposed. Because no one always willingly and consistently enjoys going to the gym. I experienced this exact feeling yesterday.
Drained from the previous day’s workout and a general lack of enthusiasm for more reps of heavy iron bars, I was lacking motivation and, you know, questioning the very point of going in the first place. Like what would really go wrong if I miss a day?
Sure, you’ll look good and feel better after, but does that really justify walking 10 mins in 100°F heat (yes, Dallas is burning fiercely as we speak and I seriously don’t know how anyone functions here) to spend an hour killing your legs. In dire search of answers and any theories that could convince me to get off the couch and cosplay as an active adult, I stumbled upon this one man’s YT video that I thought was eye-opening in a sense.
In essence, he says going to the gym and lifting weights is important because it’s the only place you can truly fail and overcome adversity EVERYDAY. Sure, you might’ve experienced some level of relief and joy after feeling afraid and still asking out that one girl who said yes and became your girlfriend. Or you may have worked really hard to secure an A in that history class in high school despite not being the most gifted student. You might even be proud of that recent promotion that comes with a handsome pay rise that you thought was impossible 2 years ago.
Sure, those are all big moments – but if you only tested yourself 3 times in 10 years, what are you really building?
In the gym, you can fail EVERYDAY. And it teaches you, repeatedly, that you can fail forward and end up achieving what you felt was impossible. Each rep, each set to failure pushes you past what you thought you were physically capable of. And there’s really not a whole lot of places that can teach you that.
Well, as you probably guessed, those 4 minutes were all I needed to hit the gym and get a pump going amidst the blazing inferno (ie summer in Dallas). That simple. Does that mean I’m never going to feel lazy again, or never skip a leg day again? No. But it does give me a reason to keep showing up and making progress. Because why not fail a little everyday, stack up your insecurities, and face them in the mirror? Some might say therapy could help, but I’m broke, and lifting heavy things and placing them back gives me the peace I need. For now, the gym will have to suffice.
So here’s to lifting heavy, and never stopping.
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