Overwatchs Zarya Got Me To Start Lifting Weights. Overwatch features characters with body types and backgrounds that are not often seen in pop culture, let alone first person shooters. For many of us who rarely see ourselves reflected in media, this cast can seem radical and even life changingespecially in my case. Zarya, Overwatchs Russian strong woman tank, inspired me to start weightlifting. Ive played video games since I was five, when my siblings and I got a SNES for Christmas. I came of age with a lot of first gen FPS games. I played DOOM and graduated into Goldeneye, Counter Strike and the Half Life trilogy yet to be concluded. As I got older, FPS games fell out of my rotation. I moved on to RPGs after Morrowind and eventually got into MMOs where I could make my own character and role play. Violin Vst Plugin more. I wanted less ultra fast twitchy action and more of a holistic gaming experience where I could find more emotional fulfillment than piloting a rugged action dude with a mysterious backstory could offer. I still like action games, but for years I mostly got my fix from platformers, twin stick shooters, and the occasional single player FPS game like Devil Daggers. In role playing games, I tend toward a type of character. I didnt realize it for years, until my partner pointed it out while we were playing Final Fantasy XIV. That was all before I played Overwatch. I wasnt initially sold on the gameit had been years since I played a competitive FPSbut when I saw Zarya I decided to. MAGIC-RUSH-HEROES-CHEATS.png' alt='Jailbreak Rush Game Cheats' title='Jailbreak Rush Game Cheats' />In real life I am a whopping 54 woman with anxiety problems. In video games, I tend to play huge Amazon women. I regularly max out height and musculature settings, though the options are often disappointing. FFXIV is a refreshing exception. Here is my toon, a Roegadyn Playing as musclebound women in games is one thing, but actually being a big buff woman wasnt something I ever entertained in real life. Every time a character editor forced me into a petite framed bombshell, it reinforced ideas about femininity and how womens bodies should look. Jailbreak Rush Game Cheats' title='Jailbreak Rush Game Cheats' />Physically strong women are difficult to make in games given the limitations of most character creators, and this made them all the more impossible to imagine in real life. And like many women, my understanding of exercise was limited to cardio like biking or running. The idea that I could actually become strong was absurd to the point that it never struck me as a real possibility. When it crossed my mind it was such an alien thought that it seemed like a wild fantasy. When I first saw this ad for MACs new Strength collection, it kind of stopped myRead more Read. That was all before I played Overwatch. I wasnt initially sold on the gameit had been years since I played a competitive FPSbut when I saw Zarya I decided to pick it up. Here was a game with a big, buff lady built right in In Overwatch, Zarya is a champion Olympic weightlifter and the strongest woman in the world. Even though she could be seen as somewhat stereotypical, she was exactly the hero I needed, both in game and IRL. Once I had the game installed, I played as Zarya almost exclusively. Anyone can hop on Overwatch and play as Zarya her presence just feels normal. Her backstory is built into the games lore and stories, further cementing her as part of Overwatchs world. The fact that she just existed in the game felt more important than any character I ever created. She wasnt an attempt to push character editors to their limits she was a main character in a AAA game. This was something Id never experienced before, and it inspired me. I saw years of body policing and conditioned beauty standards for what they were, both in games and in real life. Play Slotomania Online For Free Best Slots In Laughlin 2017 Play Slots For Money Free. Dosya boyutu 137 Mb demaps dedust2012 deairstrip. Install Squid Reverse Proxy Centos on this page. The fact this female character in a game could be celebrated for being strong so easily made me realize that I could be strong, and I resolved to try. A few days into my first Overwatch binge I bought some dumbbells and started exercising. I had no idea what to do with the weights, but some quick googling led me to an introductory dumbbell only workout program. I started doing squats and other exercises in my living room using the instructions from my dumbbell program and how to You. Tube videos featuring shirtless fitness bros. There seemed to be endless bodybuilding dudes on You. Tube providing instructional videos on how to lift weights, but virtually no women. Pobeg-iz-tyurmyi-Proryiv.jpg?x94622' alt='Jailbreak Rush Game Cheats' title='Jailbreak Rush Game Cheats' />I cringed when You. Tube bros said things like and this movement will give you great aesthetics and the ladies will love it, but I was learning what I needed to learn. So Id simply shake my head and look at the framed picture of Zarya on my wall yes, there is a framed picture of Zarya on my wall. I had been pretty much sedentary for several years, and those early dumbbell workouts were gruelling. Despite how exhausting they were and how sore Id be days after each workout, I committed to sticking with them. Zarya is an Olympic weightlifter, and Overwatch happened to come out in an Olympic year. I soon found myself watching the womens weightlifting events at the Rio Olympics, where I found a bunch more real lifeheroes. Before the 2. 01. Olympics, I had no idea what Olympic weightlifting was. The strength, speed, and precision of the athletes performing the two competition lifts, the snatch and clean and jerk, blew me away. I decided that this was the kind of lifting I someday wanted to do. In order to learn Olympic lifting, Id have to learn to use a barbell. Id never been in a weight room, but by September I grew confident enough with my dumbbells to book a few sessions with a personal trainer his name is Paul and he is charming. The first time I put a barbell on my back to squat I was so nervous that I felt a little sick to my stomach. I squatted the bar as Paul instructed, my trunk wobbling and my knees knocking. Paul was unbreakably positive as he explained in detail how to brace my core, lead with my butt, and force my knees apart to stay stable. By the end of the first session I was able to squat 6. My quads and butt burned, I was sweating so hard it looked like I just climbed out of a pool, and my upper back was sore from the metal where the bar had sat. Barbell squats were a whole new way of engaging with my body, and I felt it in muscles I didnt even know I had especially the next day. But I felt strong as shit It might have been the post exercise endorphins, but I felt like I was glowing after that first training session. I was instantly hooked on weight training I wanted to feel the rush of a difficult workout again. The feeling of strength and power from pushing my body to its limits was liberating and empowering, and although new, it felt natural and familiar. Over the next six weeks, Paul taught me most of the basic barbell movements, like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and overhead presses. Learning these was exciting. Every workout pushed my body in new and different ways as I discovered different muscles and how to use them. I also started a nutrition plan, which constituted eating a ton of protein and dramatically cutting back on carbs. Paul designed the program to support my lifting, and my total newbie drive in the gym extended to my meals. I found it easy to jump into eating well. I by and large stopped drinking, and I went from eating pizza three times a week to eating lots of chicken, fish, and vegetables. Eating well and lifting weights regularly had me feeling amazing, sleeping well, and motivated me to wake up early for the first time pretty much ever. I rapidly started seeing progress and kept on ratcheting up the weight until I felt strong and confident enough to commit to learning the two Olympic lifts.