Reading slowly is not for the faint of heart (neither is squatting…just FYI)

August 15, 2019

I had a really interesting discussion with my trainer today (he also happens to be a dear friend, brother really…) about reading and training. I’ve been training for about 2.5 years now, not for anything in particular; I train to be healthy and to gain healthy habits.

I am 6 feet tall. I’m not really built to squat low, push weight over my head, or bench it for that matter. Why? Think about it. I have a long way down and a long way up. I once even had a shorter, muscular man at the gym look at me, while I was at the bottom of my squat, and say, “Wow, I don’t envy that journey up.” Yep, thanks.

So it took a couple of years for squats and me, in particular, to become friends. I don’t even know if I would say we are on the friend level yet because I haven’t done a back squat in a couple of months (new training cycle), but I have seen progress. I’ve witnessed growth in my stance, in my posture, in my ability to crease my hips. It’s all come from working with my trainer (shoutout to John Amore/ Ronin Strength) and from learning from set backs.

It’s also taken time. Slow time.

Enter our connection to reading.

I have students tell me all the time that they don’t like reading. Excuses range from “It’s boring” to “I can’t pay attention to words for that long.” I’ve also heard, “I’m a slow reader, and it takes too long.”

Those are real feelings. If you’ve felt them, hey, I feel you. A great deal of those statements could be applied to my squatting over the years. I did find it boring, I didn’t like paying attention for 10 reps at a weight I didn’t like, and I certainly was slow at them. I started to look around at people around me and noticed that they were KILLING the squat game.

When that happened, my trainer told me to stop comparing myself to other people.

So, to my kiddos reading this (or to the parents or followers in general), here’s what I got for the first two reasons why you aren’t reading:

“It’s boring”: Yep, sometimes it is. You probably need to find a new book. Check out the reviews I have going so far. If you are reading a book that is required for school, you probably have to read it, so find ways to engage your mind. Use sticky notes, write chapter summaries to keep your attention. Maybe try and relate in some way.

“I can’t pay attention to words for that long”: Yeah, you can. I have suffered from this before. It usually happens when I am away from reading for too long and have been on a Netflix binge or an Instagram-every-night kind of thing. You just have to retrain your brain to pay attention. And if you notice that you read a page and zoned out, don’t keep going. REREAD! Gah, this happens to me all the time. But don’t just go ahead… You’ll miss something.

Now, to my slower readers, this post is really for you. First, you are the real MVPs because you are reading even though it may take you longer. You might compare yourself to others. Don’t. Who cares if someone reads faster than you? Guess what? I am a slow nonfiction reader. I really am. Unless it is narrative nonfiction with a storyline or following a person’s life, I really have trouble paying attention. I zone; I zone hard.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t read nonfiction. I had to for a graduate class I took last year. I knew right away that, while I was interested in the topic, there was no way I could just read and absorb the information the way some students in my class could. So, I took a pen, and I summarized in the margins. I then took those notes and typed them up so I reread the information again.

And you know what? It took a LONG time.

Do I think others just read and remembered? Sure. But that’s not me. I can’t do that. I am a slow nonfiction reader just like I am a slower learner when it comes to squatting. But I still have to squat in order to move my body and gain the muscle I need to be healthy, and I still need to read nonfiction to gain vital information and move forward in my learning.

You can’t avoid reading when you are a slower reader. Not reading just makes it worse. Comparing yourself to those around you also makes it worse. Trying to read fast and skip ahead when you’ve zoned out or misread a sentence definitely makes it worse.

The main point is that you don’t have to be a reader. You don’t need to place that identity upon yourself. You, my friends, my perusers of this blog, just need to read. It helps attention, understanding, and (maybe for a lengthier blog post at a later day) WRITING! Reading has so many benefits. Just like squatting, right? I just hate to see those reasons written above, especially those of us who may read slower, ditch books for the faster-paced hobbies.

This past year, a few English teachers and myself read Jim Trelease’s book The Read-Aloud Handbook. I took away so many nuggets from that text. He talks about how important it is to see people read, especially our parents or adults in our life, as it builds that skill into a habit displayed for us. Trelease also discusses the importance of reading out loud, having the skill modeled for us–like fluency or checking for comprehension. Check it out if you want to read some brilliance about reading (ha) or gain insight about how to help you or your child read more and better.

(Side note: It’s a nonfiction book. Did I read it slowly? Yep. When I misread or found myself zoning out, I went and reread the page. I also wrote journal entries to help me remember the information. Was it fun? Sometimes. Was it hard? It wasn’t as easy as reading something I liked. But it helped me be a better educator.)

Some of this feels like a ramble. I mixed squatting and reading together A LOT, and if you could follow that, super proud of you! Basically, whatever your reasons are for not reading, brush them aside and pick up a book that looks interesting. And if you are a slow reader (hands raised high in the sky and be proud), that’s okay. No one said this was a race.

Ps. I wrote this on Tuesday… I squatted on Wednesday. I was super defeated, but I’m going to do it again. Don’t let defeat keep you from something that is so good for your soul… (still trying to decide if squats are good for the soul, but I know reading is!)