What I Learned During 13 Years Of Strength Training

It all started when I was 18. At the time, I was slowly recovering from an eating disorder known as anorexia nervosa, and my dad was trying to help me get healthy again.

"You know, there's a way you can eat a lot more and still be skinny!" he said. "Come to the gym and workout with me."

It's funny how different my ideal body was back then, 13 years ago. I was judging myself by what I saw online and in magazines. I wanted to be emaciated-looking. I wanted to be small and petite. I wanted to be "less."

My first trip to the gym was immensely unproductive. My "hardcore workout" consisted of some abdominal machine work, some crunches, and…wait for it…sleeping on the mat. Yup, I fell asleep on a mat about 15 minutes after walking into a gym for the first time in my life.

Despite what happened during that first visit, I've been steadily going to the gym for more than 13 years now. In that time, I've completed countless numbers of lifting sessions. But it didn't take long for me to...

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