Happy Vs. Satisfied

 Merry Xmas Eve everyone. I trust you're going to have a fun time today with family/friends or happen to be on your own. Get any training in to build up that appetite for later? Here's some things for today's post....

When it comes to building or maintaining a physique, for some it comes easy and they build muscle easier, for others not so much. It may require more time, a different approach to a regimen and it can be daunting when things don't come our way. Trust me, I've had years of being self conscious with my own body. There are bodybuilders, models and some rugged mother fuckers that would make you give up just by the site of them. Even in my early days of training every day, I knew I was rebuilding and getting in good shape but I kept comparing myself to the other guys, even the old timers that I studied. It took time and by the time I was about between 28 and 30, I made the choice to let go of that bullshit.

It's one thing to admire someone and what they accomplished when it comes to building muscle and having solid conditioning, it's another to compare yourself to someone who's either had more experience than you or in the early stages of their fitness journey. You're never going to see the good in what you have done for yourself when you try to be just as good or better than someone else. It's not going to happen. It's like trying to compare George Hackenschmidt to a Ronnie Coleman. They both are iconic in the world of Muscle and both are strong as shit but their strengths are very different. Hack was also a well conditioned athlete that wrestled, lifted, rode bikes on the hills and had a physique that had no equal in his prime. Ronnie was a cartoonish looking Bodybuilder that was the most massive Mr. Olympia that looked like an enhanced version of John Henry with strength even by today's standards in the world of bodybuilding. 

When I stopped comparing myself, I found a new light in what I was able to accomplish from bodyweight training to hammers, sandbags, bands, Isometrics and even barbells and dumbbells. I felt happier, but I wasn't satisfied. Happy vs. Satisfied are two very different aspects. One is an emotion, the other is leading to an outcome. I wanted to continue to see what I can do and how my body would turn out with the way I did things. Always experimenting but have made mistakes and did what I thought was best to correct them. 

A time came where I bit off more than I can chew and had to refocus on rebuilding myself. Limited the amount of training I was doing and used one or two methods to self rehab again. I came back with a vengeance and gears shifted to being leaner, focus on things that matter more than just being physical with my workouts. My physique is far better now than it was a couple years ago and my intentions to work on controlling my movements more than ever was a choice I'm glad I made. I'm happy with what I've done but I'm not satisfied with it. I have talked about me never going to a level of muscle even remotely close to someone like a Sandow or even Bill Pearl, I don't have aspirations to be a model or go after some title in a physique contest. I will never be the strongest, the fastest or the biggest because quite frankly, no matter what I do, there will be someone better than me. What I can choose to do however, is be in better condition than I was yesterday, get leaner but rugged like an old school Full Back and be able to keep up with folks younger than me as best as possible with lesser risks of getting injured. That's more important to me than trying to kill myself or wear myself out to the point I'm no good to anybody. 

I will never be satisfied, my journey is continuous and will always find things to do to better myself. I have succeeded in a lot of ways but I've also failed too and need to take those failures and create something better from them. It's not going to be easy but it is very much going to be interesting. If you're satisfied, you don't have anything left, use that fire in your own journey and find ways to be better little by little each day. Keep killing it and be amazingly awesome. 

Training At Home Vs. Training In A Gym

 Both have their qualities for helping others gain their health in fitness and well-being but yet they also have distinctive entities that differ them away from each other. With home workouts, depending on your set up or you just do bodyweight exercises, in my opinion, you have a lot more freedom than you would at a commercial gym. You get to pick and choose what you want without having to wait for anybody and you can pick your own music to listen to. You know the environment better, you're saving money on gas and let's face it, a lot of idiots on the road. 

You don't have to interact with anyone and you can be in your own fortress of solitude. Letting out some aggression and focusing on yourself in a therapeutic way. Home gyms have perks that regular gyms can never have. You get to do things your way and utilize your time for what you want to do.

Training at a gym has its perks too but it also has its downsides. The perks is that you get to get out of the house and go to a place where you can utilize and use equipment that would normally cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars to try and set up at home. You may make a friend or a workout buddy whether it be man or woman and help encourage each other and make progress you may not be able to do on your own. Sometimes it's good to have somebody. It's a sanctuary where you see people from all walks of life from world-class athletes to weekend warriors and those who are just starting out and making changes in their life. 

The downsides may sometimes be bleak or just annoyance but it can sometimes be a pain in the ass. You have to deal with people on the road to get there, often having to wait on the next person for the machine or free weight you want to use. Time is wasted when you're trying to train but not knowing if someone will snatch up your area because their impatient as fuck. The music isn't always that good and you're trying to use headphones with your own playlist to tune out the building's acoustics, trying to be respectful while some numbnuts is texting or taking the call right in the middle of what you're trying to do. Equipment isn't always clean and some guys get too distracted from checking out the wanna be model's ass on the treadmill or while she does squats. Don't get me wrong, there are attractive and strikingly awe inspiring people there but if you're easily distracted, you need to figure out how to tackle the mindset that you're there for a purpose and not to creep on others. 

Very few gyms these days have a camaraderie where like minded people get together and train together. Most of the time now, people just keep to themselves while at times feel the need to walk up to someone as if to just casually get into a conversation. The atmosphere can vary and it's very climate controlled so others can feel comfortable as they train. I guess most of the downsides are the people really and realizing that most gyms are very shiny and have a Hollywood feel to them in the way where there are people who are just ignorant pricks and act all high and mighty cause they can do a few reps more with a machine that gives you the legs or the arms of a wanna-be athlete. 

I'll go to the gym with my wife on a shopping day every now and then and either help her out with form on certain exercises to get the best benefit for what her goals are but mostly we do our own thing and I'll bring my Fat Gripz with me and put them on the handles of a machine or dumbbell to add some zest to the exercise I'm working. For me, there's no such thing as isolating a muscle, when I train regardless of equipment, I want to work as many muscles as possible and not just a specific body part. When I do pulldowns or chindowns, I want to feel my core, my back, my hands, all the muscles in my upper body. When I work dumbbells and do presses, curls, squats or farmer's walks I want to feel it all as much as possible. I train there to the degree where I make people think twice about coming to talk to me. I don't interact with anyone, I don't text or play on my phone, I walk along the area I'm working on thinking about the next set as I rest. I'm in that zone. That's my way of training.

Training in a gym can be fun as you challenge yourself to see what's possible for certain exercises. Because of the Fat Gripz, I make exercises harder, not easier and only rest long enough to be ready for the next set which ranges from 30 seconds to a couple minutes. The gym for me is more of a strength based kind of day and a "rest day" for me cause I just work certain things, take a break and go again until its time to go. I never do anything to failure, just enough to where I'm good to go and still have something left in the tank. Never get sore or do things sloppy. 

I love training at home because once I get something in whether for a few minutes or almost an hour, I can jump into the shower within seconds, chill out, watch a movie, do some promoting and writing and make some food right there like a good Steak and Eggs or some wings and fries. Its good to relax after a workout and know you have whatever you need within feet of you.  

The Twilight Of Fitness Fanatics

In fitness, there's always going to be critics, cynics, "experts" and some downright dumb motherfuckers that will tell you what's the best, what's the worst, how you should do things according to certain statistics and trends are crap and this and that. Where do you go to get the best really? What makes them the actual experts?

Sometimes I wonder if some of these fanatics or at times "extremists" have ever realized they're leading people on the Twilight effect: Are they team Jacob or team Edward (Weights vs. Bodyweight, Rubber Cables vs. Machines, Crossfit vs. Bodybuilding). Where does it end? The truth is, there's only so much someone can tell you before you make a decision for yourself. Will you be the wolf or the vampire for the title of "King of the Monster." 

We follow sometimes the old school ways of doing things and/or we try to keep up with the times and not try to get overwhelmed by the fast pacing world we live in. Some just prefer old school because that's how they grew up and what they knew best. Some of the old school ways weren't that great and sure as hell some of it should not be a part of today's world but there are lessons in them that we can learn in our world today. Keeping up with the times can be a royal pain in the ass and focusing on too many things especially with the crap we see, hear and talk about, it could put us in the nuthouse (if it hasn't already for some).

When it comes to fitness, being objective can be a bitch but we only know what we know and understand by trial and error. However; there are are those out there who only know a certain method but have no clue what other methods are about and yet try to convince people how terrible they are when they themselves never did them. When you start to look at things objectively and seeing both sides of the coin, you'll realize that it's not always Black and White (again Team Jacob or Team Edward) and both sides have their strong and weak points. The fact is, both sides of the coin have strong points you can take and mold them to create a stronger version of yourself. 

Throughout these last 17 years of training every single day, you know that my love is always bodyweight but yet will do things that suit the strong points of different styles to create a variety for myself. I don't preach one specific method and shun everything else, that's not what life's about. My approach is helping others find the best of whatever they want to do and focus on finding the best resources so they can achieve their goals, the same way I do for myself. Constantly finding exciting things to do to get better, changing things up to stay interested and enthusiastic. I'm not a team Jacob or team Edward (I'm more of the Blade, Underworld & Lost Boys variety LOL) yet both have their strong points. 

There is no one way to do things, you move, you lift, you carry, you transition, you build muscle and whatever, they all are part of a path that leads to somewhere. One method will never 100% cut it. If it did, where does that leave anything else for someone? Choose what you love and stick with it but don't be afraid to test out new things and doing so without going to extremes and getting hurt along the way. Be strong, be safe and be amazingly awesome. 

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Do You Have Bad Days?

            

             At times when you’re training, there are days when some things just aren't there, your mind isn't focused and you just have frustration outside the session. It’s tough to do something when you’re having a bad day but in the end, that’s actually one of the best times to train because when you take out your frustration on the weights or doing bodyweight, use that drive to push harder and when those endorphins kick in, everything just seems to be at ease.

            What made you have a bad day? Broke up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, lose your job, got so caught up with work you just feel like you can’t train or better yet, you probably lost a loved one and it’s eating you up that they’re gone and your mind isn’t in the right place. I know what it’s like to have some of these very same issues, it’s tough and you want to do it badly or maybe you just don’t want to but yet there shouldn't be an excuse to do some exercise even for a minute you’re still doing something. I've lost 3 family members in the last 8 years or so, got fired from my job, broke up with 4 different women that I loved and cared about and felt so depressed that I just didn't have it in me but something inside told me to do it anyway even maybe half-ass it, at least do something and I still felt better afterwards. Not saying this to brag or tell you that I’m better than you I’m not, what I’am saying is that no matter how much life throws at you or how bad things get, you’re still here and you have capabilities to do something that might save your life, trust me.

            Why do I believe it’s good to train on a bad day, it’s because you have something that can give you some light back into your life, putting all that anger, shame, frustration or whatever into use and making the best of it, adrenaline is a little higher, you might even break a record or 2, hell sometimes you might have to shout or yell and just make it happen. There’s no need to be violent, ever but you can use a bad day to a positive use and create something or just wing it either way, you’re being productive and you give it whatever you have in the tank. In the end, you made a difference, you didn't hurt anybody, you didn't go out and get drunk, and you didn't take drugs to take the pain away.

            Training can be a great form of therapy; whatever you have won’t judge you. There are no excuses. You may be human and you have the right to a bad day every now and then because it happens to the best of us but you have a choice to keep draining yourself mentally or getting out there and busting your ass till you’re so damn high everything you had that was bad before is gone. Everything is a choice, what are you going to do about it?