When I was a kid playing baseball, keeping in shape and working out never meant much to me. It wasn’t until I reached the 9th grade and my uncle Frankie bought me my very first bench. He was the one that got me into weightlifting once I got into high school. Still, at that point, I did not know much about it or what I should do.
I played baseball, football, and ran track in high school. When I was training and working out for the sports, I only did what the coaches told me to. I still did not know what those reps and sets all meant and what exactly I was working, but I did it because everyone else was. I was never the strongest in high school. Hell, I was only 5’3 then and now I’ve grown to an immaculate 5’5, but I felt embarrassed at times because everyone else was taller and stronger than me. It wasn’t until I graduated, when signed up for my first gym membership. I would go and replicate workouts that I did when I was in high school, still now knowing if I should go up in weight, increase the reps, do more sets, incorporate more exercises, etc. I was lost. This was back in 2008.
Fast forward to May 2012. Between 2008 and 2012, I was never consistent with going to the gym due to relationships, school, etc. I had a bad break up in 2012, which resulted in me signing up for a new gym membership to work on myself. At this time, I also picked up my first Muscle and Fitness magazine and followed a 4 week plan they had. I saw phenomenal results, and that point on, the gym has been nothing but an addiction for me. If I do not go at least 5-6 times per week, I feel like I’m losing out. I feel like everything I worked hard for, I will lose. Even when I go on vacation, I feel bad when I cannot fit in a quick workout.
From 2012 until the present, the gym has changed my life, along with my outlook on life. So what does the gym and fitness mean to me? To me, it is symbolic to life. Look at it this way, the only way to achieve anything in life or know where you are going is to have goals. Just like the gym. When you step foot inside a gym, you have a goal in mind. Whether it is to lose weight, gain muscle, maintain what you have, get stronger, or simply to improve overall health, you have some sort of a goal. In life, in order to achieve that goal, you have to have a blueprint of what needs to be done to get you where you want to go. Just like the gym. If there are certain goals you want to achieve in the gym, then you must create routines, meal plans, incorporate specific exercises, etc., to achieve the goal you have in mind. Once you have the blueprint set, you work your ass off until you achieve it in life. You will make mistakes and you will fail, but that is all part of the blueprint and what makes you stronger and forces you to work harder towards that goal, as long as you don’t let it bring you down. Just like the gym. There will be a time where you may slip with your nutrition, or you may attempt to lift a certain amount of weight but fail and can’t get it. As long you keep working hard and not let this single mistake or failure throw you off the course, you will get where you need to go.
I’ve learned a lot over the years of training about my body, different training methods, the anatomy of the body, and all sorts of nutritional info that they would teach you in school. I never went to school for this, but I researched like hell anytime I had a question or I asked someone who knew more than I did. I did this because weightlifting and fitness is not a task for me, but more of a passion, a lifestyle. The gym is my therapy. Once the headphones go in, everything else in the world gets silent and irrelevant. All the stress that I had that day, I take it out on the weights. All the anger I have, I use to drive me through my workouts. Fitness is life for me.
It is a known fact that the amount of time and hard work you put in the gym, will ultimately transition into the rest of your life. Look at it this way, working out is something you are voluntarily doing to your body. Nobody is holding a gun to your head, making you go to the gym. It is something you choose to do. Most would say, having a career is a must because you need it to survive. You have to work in order to provide for your family, pay bills, etc. If you are voluntarily putting your body through pain and taking the time out of your day to do so, then it makes something you have to do that much easier.
People may not view working out the same way I do, but I honestly don’t care. What I do in the gym, not only takes physical strength, but mental strength as well. There is a reason why people say “if it was easy, everyone would do it”, because it is not easy. If you are willing to take at least an hour out of your day to workout intensely, then it will make your life a whole lot better and make you mentally stronger as well.
On a side note, I just had a kick-ass chest workout today which made me want to write this. I saw the same guy in the gym that I see at least 3 times a week who does the same exact shit every single week, like he is going through the motions. You can’t go through the motions in the gym or you won’t accomplish anything, just like you go through the motions in life or you won’t get anywhere. Step outside of your fucking comfort zone and make something of yourself.
By the way, the pic on the left is 2012 and the pic on the right was earlier in 2016.
Dnep
Iron Yanks Training 