Gym

One of my regular routines in life which I have surprisingly been persistent with is hitting the gym. It was my new years resolution to be in my best physical form this year and thus I have achieved it, I can be proud to say that I am in the best shape that I have ever been!
Whats motivated me?
Well I was probably in the worst shape in my life last year when I was working long hours 7 days a week and I would just eat and drink my stress away. I reached a wooping 88kg. I started getting criticized by everyone around me (even out of shape people which made me feel even more shit) and also the fact that the year before I had lost weight and got into shape, now I gained it all back plus 5kg extra :(. Another thing that also motivated me was the fact that I have been single for a whole year and a wake up call shot up in my brain that something has to be done!
I have constantly been going to the gym 5 days a week, I started off trying different routines since I wasn't sure what worked best with me. At first I was doing 3 hours of low instensity cardio (60% of max heart rate) 3 times a week since it worked for me last time, It worked at the start but I quickly got bored since it was long, boring and draining and i had quit this routine after losing 4kg in 4 weeks. I got an app on my iphone called 'fitness pro' which had a list of gym routines I could try and I also researched a new cardio routine call High Intense Interval Training (HIIT) and I got to say, if you are gonna do any cardio do HIIT!! Slow steady state cardio is bull****, its boring and time consuming!
I was doing one routine out of the app for 8 weeks then switching to another routine. They had a whole list of routines, from on the top of my head I remember doing a routine based on Chest building, another one on Muscle Definition, Strength Increasing. It was going so well! I was losing weight and my workouts were fun! (BTW when your losing weight be aware the amount you can lift starts dropping for some reason :S) Also going to the gym became a habit, I felt shit every time I missed the gym, I would go to a 24/7 gym if I worked overtime and I invested alot of time looking at my results and wanting to improve.
A tragic thing happened which became a great thing afterwards, my iphone broke meaning I couldn't use the app anymore, but I decided it was time to have a completely new routine since I was getting bored with the ones on the phone so I went to the most trusted website in the world, Google!
My favorite type of workout is a strength workout since its low rep and high intensity and you get a big endorphin rush from the sets. I looked up routines and came across one I really liked. Its called the bill star's 5x5 strength workout and I can honestly say its a workout that has not failed me yet! (I'm on my tenth week ATM and I am still not bored of it).
 With weight loss, what happens is you loss all of your excess weight fast and then you come to a point where the weight loss becomes very slow and stubborn, with this workout I have been shredding this stubborn weight at a good rate. I even quit doing HIIT twice a week and I am still losing weight from this workout.
The weight loss isn't the main thing that's awesome about this routine, My Personal Record gains have been very consistent and I can even feel myself get stronger very quick. When I started this workout I would struggle to bench 50kg (once I got the bar stuck down and someone had to come lift it off me) and now I am easily benching 57.5kg after 9 weeks!
To conclude the benefits of going gym are far more then you think. Its not just physical exercising but its also mental exercise since motivation is something that needs to be exercised on a regular basis. Gym releases endorphin's into your brain which act as pain killers towards stress which is one of the reasons people get addicted to lifting weights. Gym has motivated me to quit bad habits such as junk food and smoking, made me way more confident in the way I tackle the world, made me appreciate the guy I see in the mirror, makes me determined in my direction in life and most of all keeps me healthy and lively.

Bill Starr 5x5 workout:
http://stronglifts.com/madcow/5x5_Program/Linear_5x5.htm