Give Your Mind Power and Your Body Strength: Results

Pic courtesy velvettangerine, Flickr

The following is a transcript of a conversation between writer Matt Tuckey and zoological interpreter / general all-round legend, Fluffy Oakes.

FLUFFY

To recap, two months ago, I gave you a challenge. Improve yourself at the gym by basically beating as many personal bests as possible. If you can't get over what you're working on, you move on. Yes?

MATT

That's what I did.

FLUFFY

Okay. How do you think it went?

MATT

Very good. Gave me a chance to work my whole body. I improved a few things, but not as many as I'd hoped. Most of them I just couldn't improve on.

FLUFFY

But quite a few...

MATT

I definitely did.

FLUFFY

Let's check the book. So this is where you keep records of everything you can do, right? Starting from 7^th November you... improved on hand bikes, both forwards and backwards, hip adductor, that's working the inside thigh, good for keeping guard in MMA... Your hip abductor, that's outside thigh, you put that up 6 notches! That's awesome. Chest press with horizontal and vertical grips both went up a notch. You improved on the bike by a couple of hundred metres, and... you seriously went up 7 notches on the abs machine?

MATT

Well... in all honesty I couldn't find where I'd written how much I could do. So I took it down to notch 10 and started the process again. I'm stuck at 18 now. I broke the rules a little when I comes to abs. Worked them every session, regardless of plateaus.

FLUFFY

So even when you didn't improve, you still felt optimistic.

MATT

Yeah, I felt good.

FLUFFY

You made 22 new personal bests. You should feel good. Do you think all of these improvements helped this optimism?

MATT

I would say so. My stomach's the most important part of my body. When it comes to working out, I mean.

FLUFFY

Well, if that's what you want to focus on, here's what I'd do. Carry on with the project. Keep working on the remaining movements, and your abs. The more plateaus you hit, the more you'll rule movements out of your routine. When the remaining machines are being used, the only thing you'll have left to do are sit-ups, wherever you can get the space.

MATT

I'll give it a shot.

FLUFFY

Now. I want to ask you something else. Gym is just one part of your life. Let's look at some others. What has been happening over the last 2 months? Does anything new spring up?

MATT

Well, yeah. I'm learning to cook, for one thing. I mean, I'm nearly fucking thirty, but...

FLUFFY

Doesn't matter. Some guys go their whole lives not knowing how to cook. I read your foodie posts. You cooked a quiche for your second meal, you crazy bastard. Not the easiest of dishes! And it worked! Here's what's important, Matt- your improvements at the gym have gone hand-in-hand with cooking. What else?

MATT

Well- I'm getting more hits than ever on the blog. I'm back in touch with a load of friends from Oldham. I've made contact with various memory experts, and can ask them for advice from time to time. I'm feeling more valued in work, having moved positions... I think work changing just happened- it wasn't connected to the gym project.

FLUFFY

I think you're half-right. Sometimes things just happen, regardless of what else is occurring in life. But I think a year ago, after you'd moved out of your parent's place and things weren't going to well, I remember you saying one thing after another was falling apart for you- splitting up with a girlfriend, falling out with friends, problems with money, your flat not being decorated, and now you've turned about 90% of that around. I'm not saying that the gym project was the catalyst for all of that, but your improvements at the gym ran concurrent, it seems, with achievements in the rest of your life. By seeing yourself improve in one thing, you've seen it in countless other facets of your life too. What's most important, though, Matt, is that you look at everything you've achieved and feel good- not just about what you've done but about who you are. You're in great shape, you're a talented writer and- dare I say it- a good-looking lad too. You've spent a few months trying to get to grips with memory difficulties and how it affects you- that's responsible enough- but you dwelled a lot on the negativity of it rather than looking at the rest of your life. Focus on what it is that you're good at and proud of, and see yourself in a great light, and things WILL work out for you. Why? Nobody knows. But keep at this project and see how long you can keep going for. What you're finding, Matt, is that the things that weren't possible before now are possible.