The Beauty of Showing Up

By Noel Galon de Leon

Let me be real with you, I mentally prepared myself for this week like a student facing finals with only three hours of sleep and a stale cup of coffee. This is my second week at the gym, and it’s no longer the “honeymoon phase.” This is the real deal. Coach Dawn and I are officially focusing on my upper body. That means my arms, chest, shoulders, and all the muscles I didn’t even know existed are now under attack.

On top of that, I’ve also kicked off a serious diet. As of this morning, I’m now surviving on a single cup of rice per day. That’s it. One sad, solitary cup. Add to that chicken breast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and of course, the immortal egg. The egg has become such a constant in my life that I might invite it to my birthday party.

Coach Dawn didn’t waste any time. No warm greetings, just a quick warm-up and boom — straight into dumbbell lateral raises to hit the shoulders. Then we dove into something called Heavy Dumbbell Chest Control. Sounds like a new Netflix thriller, right? It’s actually just a fancy way of torturing your pecs.

We kept going. Dumbbell bicep curls followed by overhead dumbbell presses. Each set felt like a test of willpower. And just when I thought I was done, Coach asked for another round. After everything, I took a long break, not a “scroll through social media” kind of break, but the kind where you just sit very still and try to remember who you are.

Coach Dawn reminded me about the importance of rest. Turns out, rest isn’t just allowed. It’s necessary. When you lift weights or do resistance training, your muscles actually get tiny tears. That sounds scary, but it’s part of the process. During rest, those tears heal and the muscles grow stronger. That’s where the real progress happens.

If you don’t rest enough, you risk overtraining. That’s when your body starts fighting back fatigue, no motivation, even injuries. Basically, it’s like your body staging a protest. And I get it. Even lungs need a break.

Coach also told me to stop rushing the process. “Enjoy what you’re doing,” she said. “It’s not just about finishing the workout. It’s about doing it well and feeling good about it.” Honestly, that advice hit me like a kettlebell to the chest. In a good way.

Of course, I had to ask. “Coach, how often should I take rest days?” Her answer? “It depends on the intensity.” For beginners like me, two to three rest days a week is ideal. But even on rest days, you can still do something light like walking or stretching. There’s also something called split training, where you train different parts of your body on different days, like chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday. That way, one muscle group rests while another gets to suffer.

Every day I’m in the gym, I learn something new. Not just about fitness or machines, but about my own limits. Coach Dawn teaches me more than just exercises; she teaches mindset. And I actually enjoy it. It’s one of the reasons I keep showing up. That and the fact that the gym now feels like my second home. Slightly sweatier, but still home.

Earlier, while I was on the treadmill, I had a strong urge to take out my phone and write a poem about all the pain and life lessons the gym has given me. But I stopped myself. Not because it’s a bad idea, but because I needed to focus. And really, who writes poetry mid-run without crashing into a wall?

One thing that really made my day? Seeing familiar faces at the gym. Jacob, a fellow fitness fan from Manila who now lives in Iloilo, was there. Eugene and Red, my neighbors, also showed up. And to my surprise, two of my students from U.P High School Iloilo walked in too. It was their first day at the gym. They told me they read my fitness column in the Daily Guardian and decided to give it a shot while they’re on break. That honestly made my heart do a little bicep curl of its own.

After two and a half hours, I was completely worn out. My body felt like it had been steamrolled by a truck full of dumbbells, but in the best possible way. I looked at myself in the mirror and noticed something. I wasn’t gasping for air. I wasn’t hunched over. I was standing tall. Tired, yes, but proud.

When I got home, I didn’t waste any time. I attacked my dinner like a man on a mission: one cup of laswa, 300 grams of chicken breast, and of course, my loyal sidekick — the egg.

I used to think going to the gym was all about looking good. But it’s so much more than that. It’s about feeling stronger, physically and mentally. It’s about learning something new every day, laughing through the struggle, and finding joy even when your arms feel like noodles.

And maybe, just maybe, it’s about realizing that a single egg can change your life.

I’ll see you tomorrow, gym. Don’t worry. I’ll bring the eggs.

***

Noel Galon de Leon is a writer and educator at University of the Philippines Visayas, where he teaches in both the Division of Professional Education and U.P. High School in Iloilo. He serves as an Executive Council Member of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts-National Committee on Literary Arts.