How Working Out Changed Me | By Alejandra Tsai

On the right way to my goal……

Before I started working out, I had gotten used to exercising almost every day for 3.5 years. I danced, jogged, swam, worked out at home, etc. I even joined Breakdance club. However, I could not cut fat, and I was still not the shape I wanted. I was not on the right path to my ideal shape until the first time I stepped into the gym. There is the reason:

It helps me isolate the muscle I want to train more. For example, I used to train 5-6 days a week and I spent two days for leg because I wanted to train leg more. After doing this for five months I noticed that compared to my leg, my shoulder, chest, and back are not strong enough so that I decided to change my schedule and let each part grow evenly. Here is my schedule now:

  •  Day 1: Chest
  •  Day 2: Leg
  •  Day 3: Shoulder
  •  Day 4: Back

I would say that working out is the best exercise if you have a specific body shape you want to achieve. Other kind of exercise can help you grow muscles too, but it’s hard to focus on a specific part and train it more.

Becoming more confident……

I received some compliments from my friends after working out for four to five months. Some said I became more beautiful, some said they want to build bigger glutes like me, and some said I was inspiring to them. All of their compliments encouraged me and made me more confident than before even though I haven’t yet achieved my goal.

It changed my concepts……

Before starting workout,

  1. I wanted to be thinner.
  2. I thought that I had to eat less and cut calories to be in a good shape.
  3. I thought that losing weight was the only way to become beautiful.

After I started workout,

  1. I want to be stronger and build more muscle.
  2. I don’t only think about cutting calories, but also eat the right food and eat 
the right proportion of Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate.
  3. Gaining muscle and cutting fat is much more important than losing weight 
for me.

在前往目標的正確道路上……

在我開始重訓之前,我是一個幾乎每天都會做運動的人(大一開始),飲食方面 也不是一個愛吃炸物或愛喝手搖杯的人(一直以來都這樣)。即便這樣,我只覺 得自己的外表變得「健康」了,高中開始有的一些毛病,像是胃食道逆流、蕁 麻疹也幾乎很少發生,但一直沒辦法達到自己想要的完美身材。當時的目標是 想要像夏威夷衝浪選手 Kelia Moniz 一樣。直到我重訓四五個月後,我開始發 現重訓讓我一步步朝自己的目標前進。原因如下:

重訓跟別的運動不一樣,我可以針對想要鍛鍊的肌群加強訓練。例如,我重訓 前半年,因為特別想雕塑下半身,所以我的菜單是腿兩天、胸一天、背一天。半年後,我發現相較於腿部,其他部位都較弱。於是改變菜單,腿、胸、背各一天,也開始加入肩部訓練,通常跟胸搭配在一起。最近又決定好好訓練特別 弱的肩膀,於是將菜單改成,腿、胸、背、肩各一天。

其他運動雖然也可以鍛鍊肌肉,但是很難自由選擇想雕塑的部位,會因為不同運動,而使得某些肌群特別發達。重訓除了可以自由選擇想鍛鍊、想加強的肌群,還能在每一次的運動,專注於特定部位的肌肉,讓它達到充血,肌肉增長的效率較高。因此對我來說,重訓是協助我達到理想身材的運動。而其他運動,對我來說是放鬆、自我挑戰,或興趣的培養。

變得更有自信……

在重訓四五個月後,陸續從朋友那得到一些讚美,有人說我變得比之前更漂 亮,有人說他想跟我一樣鍛鍊出俏臀,也有人說看到我在 Instagram 上面發的 文章激勵她,讓她也想開始加入健身的行列。雖然我還沒達到設定的目標,身 材也還不夠好,但在這個路程上,我收到來自朋友的讚美、看到現有的成果, 使得我變得比以前更有自信。

觀念改變……

重訓前,我覺得

1.我想變瘦!覺得瘦才是美!

2.吃得少少、減少熱量的攝取,才能達到我想要的身材

3.只有體重下降,才能變得更漂亮

重訓後,我覺得

1. 我想要變壯,想要長肌肉!覺得有漂亮的肌肉線條才美~

2. 不只是熱量計算,攝取對的食物、營養比例的分配也很重。

3. 增肌和減脂對我來說比減重還重要。

If you want to know more about me, please follow:

Instagram: Alejandra_0126

YouTube: Alejandra Ts.

Alejandra Tsai, Fitness Enthusiast.

 

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