From the time I was 19 until I was 32 music was life. Full time, committed to the lifestyle. I was not kind to myself, my body or other people.
Time was spent either sitting in front of a computer making music or in a car/train/plane or at a bar/club/festival waiting & drinking & playing & drinking some more.
My first exposure to personal training came when I hired a coach because I couldn’t keep up with the touring lifestyle. I was 29. Whiskey straight, cigarettes without filters.
After nearly vomiting in the first session; my ears ringing , I went home and slept. Then I went back. It was hard, but each session got easier.
I started with 2 times a week, then 3, then 4, then I started devouring every book & video I could find on nutrition & exercise. I met new people, trained with them. Learned. It came as a wave, the same way music did. It took control.
My trainer finally told me he couldn’t help me anymore. He had nothing left for me, I was free to fly solo. I asked him where he had gotten certified. He told me, I went home and signed up within the hour.
I finished that certification and a dozen others. I worked with friends in parks for free, out of the trunk of my roll up window 2005 corolla. I was hired by my first few clients, working in parks and back yards.
I called a number on Craigslist, looking at cheap warehouse space in questionable neighborhoods. I needed space to experiment, grow- outside of the traditional gym I was in. My friend answered the phone. I was confused. Wrong number? Nope - he was the one renting the warehouse. It was 320 sq/ft, cost $500 a month.
9 months later he was kicking me out for my own good. We had grown and needed space. We found it quick, but had to move again in another 10 months. We’ve been at our current @_fit_305_ spot for over a decade, since ‘08. We opened @_fit_a1a in 2011.
Anyway, I post this because this all started in 2007/08 during the last downturn. Stuff just feels weird right now for a lot of us. Don’t let it own you. Continue to dream.
“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
The biggest parts of any success are consistency, perseverance and showing up. The importance of the last one cannot be overstated. In order to compete, to survive, to thrive, you have to show up - for yourself, for your family, for others.
It's not always easy to get the results you want.
It can take a lot of hard work and 'grind' to build the wheel before you're able to kick back and oil it and watch it roll. You might break a bunch of wheels - you might create several oblong wheels that don't roll the right way. You might make a square wheel that sucks your energy and makes you want to quit.
Don't.
Many, many times breakthroughs happen after long plateaus. We get stuck, we want to give up because, "It's not working." Usually the issue isn't that something is broken, but that it hasn't had time to grow, has not had enough nurturing to truly mature.
Focus on the process, not the results. Focus on showing up, doing the simple, repeatable tasks well. Clean the corners physically and mentally. Dump the trash physically and mentally. No matter what any social media ad tells you, success is not easy, success does not come fast and success cannot be had by using 7 weird tricks or tips.
The secret to fitness is simple. Do the same exercises well. Progressively load them. Build cardio and strength in slow methodical ways. Expand your repertoire one movement at a time. Eat well but don't stress about it too much. Enjoy life and express your fitness.
Do this 90% of the time for 10 years and you'll find what you want.
BUT - be wary - true fitness is fickle and fleeting. It must be maintained and cultivated. It must be trimmed and protected. In the words of someone pretty smart, Keep It Simple Stupid.
The gist of this riff is simplicity and execution, showing up consistently and putting in the work.
Sorry, there's never been a substitute for that and there never will be. For anything. Period.