This article is all about a topic that has been a conversation of at least three different conversations in the past 24 hours.
Much of this was originally posted as a post from another online project that was originally posted back in December, 2017. A number of edits have been made to make this even richer since that original post. That was nearly 9 months ago, and it is even more relevant now. I am nearly daily singing the gospel of iron and of lifting heavy.
The topic for today’s article is this…
Lifting.
Taking a look back on the lead up to the decision to reclaim my physical form and energetic self – I can certainly say I was in slightly better than average shape in terms of cardio and lower body strength as I love to play the game of soccer.
However, I was a little heavier than I liked, and I was not as strong as I needed to be. As I got increasingly intentional with my time – I truly came to understand how much of a liar I had been to myself.
I actually had the time to hit the gym, every day, if I made it a priority and lived with a sliver of discipline when it came to following through on this notion of getting back to reclaiming my body from my mid 20’s.
What I learned over the course of those first few months in 2016 was I just needed to decide, do it daily, keep my mouth shut about it, and let the results speak for themselves.
I also knew that it was not going to be quick.
I knew it was going to suck many days.
I knew it as a habit would eventually become a source of energy and of self love.
I had experienced the joy of disciplined workouts, fitness routines, and what it meant to push through blackout-worthy lifting sessions and vomit-filled cardio going back to my days of playing soccer and of hardcore lifting sessions shortly after college. Some of those lifts and runs were among the happiest times back in the day with my crew…
I decided to get started, admittedly being unsure of the outcome and frankly being embarrassed with the fear of being a skinny fat dad…
So on a Sunday afternoon after a particularly grueling business trip from the prior week – I decided that it was time to take the next step beyond being mindful of my time and using calendaring as a weapon.
It was time to take some real serious action. In a committed manner that was guarandamnteed to transform me over the course of the next year.
I brought my oldest son with me to the closest gym from where I lived as I proceeded to get a membership.
I didn’t lift that day, but I did make a promise to him and to myself that in a year’s time — he’d see a new me on the outside.
I also believed that the inner transformation would precede the lagging exterior appearance and the Health & Physical Dimension of Life.
Part of that promise was about me getting physically strong, but much more of it was about a demonstration of my word to my son. I knew that if I promised him – that would force me to get my sore muscles out of bed every morning.
You know what?
That word I gave to him, that promise to him – got me through some of the earliest days of pain and of self loathing when I was the sorest and the most tired I had been in years.
What happened over the course of time though was incredibly enlightening across all dimensions of my life.
As a man – things changed fast as my physical form slowly took on a new outline. When you are squatting hundreds of pounds on a daily basis for a period of months – things are bound to straighten up. I’m sure you can imagine what I mean – from your posture, to your overall muscle tone, to your confidence levels, to your depth of voice, depth of character, to your drive, and to the elimination of bad diets.
I wish I could say that it helped with my sleeping issues, but only marginally. The point is – as my strength has continued to increase – other areas and opportunities have become active in terms of attracting more goodness.
I discovered that attraction of the goodness in life really is a lagging indicator of the work you put in.
As some of my closest buds have witnessed the ongoing fitness journey – they are, in a word…
intrigued…
They wanted to know what supplements, how many times, the routine, the app, the steroids (didn’t take any btw), the P90x program, the you name it.
What is the secret????
“Surely, at your age – you cannot make this kind of progress without some unfair secret…”
Here’s the magic formula people, and it is not complicated. In fact, you have probably heard this before in some similar format from some clown trying to sell you some exercise equipment on late night TV…for me – this is the ‘secret’ that works if you just get going already…
I decided.
I prioritized me first.
I prioritized lifting as a key outcome on my daily schedule.
I stopped eating processed shit food.
I stopped drinking soda, juice, and significantly reduced alcohol to select situations.
If I missed a day (and I did after 153 straight days of hitting the gym) – I forgave myself, and promised to do my best the next day.
I did my best to get the right amount of sleep.
I did light cardio 2-3 days out of the week involving 1-2 mile walks, no need for high impact running.
I did this for a year. Nearly everyday.
I never shared any of this approach during the year, and outright side stepped the conversation when people asked what was going on with me. This happened increasingly as my physical outline morphed. Not explaining this was a conscious exercise of keeping my mouth shut, as I did not owe anyone an explanation. Still don’t.
Really complicated shit here…
I’ll share more of the mechanics and of the mindset (such as – lift heavy, no injuries) that was developed during this initial year of kicking ass – later.
There is no magic involved. I just gave you 9 steps that will work for anyone that is ready to bring the energy and action.
Here they are again for you to check out:
- Mindset – I decided.
- Priority – I prioritized me first.
- Schedule it – I prioritized lifting as a key outcome on my daily schedule.
- Diet – Whole Foods – I stopped eating processed shit food.
- Diet – No empty calories – I stopped drinking soda, juice, and significantly reduced alcohol to select situations.
- Self Forgiveness – If I missed a day (and I did after 153 straight days of hitting the gym) – I forgave myself, and promised to do my best the next day.
- Sleep – I did my best to get the right amount of sleep.
- No Impact – I did light cardio 2-3 days out of the week involving 1-2 mile walks, no need for high impact running.
- Daily and Volume – I did this for a year. Nearly everyday.
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