Training Under Stressful Times

    At this moment in my life something unexpected has come up. I have the "pleasure" of moving. Notice came around the day before Independence Day and it was just one of those "what the f*ck" moments and I'm leaving for California sooner. For those that know, moving can be extremely stressful, it was for me back in '11 when I moved up to Idaho and had to adjust quickly to the seasons and surroundings of a new state and town. However as stressful it can be now, I believe something awesome will come out of it, a better place, better surroundings and fun will be much greater.

 
    Despite helping move very heavy boxes (and one day doing 5 hours of moving those boxes into storage) I still train everyday even for a few minutes. Why do I do it; it makes me happy and distresses me. Although I'm having slight shoulder issues on my right side in the front deltoid, I still manage to have great workouts and recently it's because of DDP Yoga. I've been raving about this crazy Yoga thing for a while and I will get more on it in a later article but I will say this, it is challenging as hell but it's also fun and interesting. I'm not fond of doing someone else's workouts although I will from time to time to ease up creating a workout from the exercises but still I'm happy and I don't like being frustrated otherwise I can't get stuff done.

 
    This is where you have a choice. Even under great stress you still have a choice to find something that makes you happy (not easy but it's possible) or you can choose to mope and just be miserable. Being miserable is easy and many people rather just rather let go of everything and end up feeling like shit. You have a choice. I choose to hold my head up high because I've been in far worse situations. When I couldn't walk at the age of 20/21 years old there were times where I felt I could never walk or run the same way again but I chose to do something about it and ended up rehabbing myself with no doctors or physical therapists because I wanted to fight for my body and make it stronger on my own terms and in doing so, I learned many things about training especially on an emotional level. I chose to be happy and yes I do have my moments of frustration and anxiety but I'm human it happens but to balance it out I do things that keep me smiling and loving what I do. It's a choice.

 
    Although moving is a real pain in the ass and there is someone who you live with is looking for places to live and it's stressing them out it can divert back at you, you can make the best of things and make moving an interesting adventure even if you have to down the road. Do things that give you hope and something that brings joy to your life; for me its training, writing and reading a few books. It may not be the same for everyone but you get my point. Use that part of you that gives off radiant energy and love so when things later on occur it was meant to be, everything happens for a reason. Be awesome and do the best you can to be happy even in tough situations because being miserable is a disease and it causes too much crap in your life like depression, sadness, grief, not letting anyone you love help you; it's a bitch I've been there believe me. Take it up a notch and use what you love to help you bring joy into a stressful situation. It's a hell of an experience.

 
Be awesome everyone and do what you love.

30 Going On 18

             Seven Weeks from today, I will hit the big 3-0. Holy crap I’m no longer in my 20’s and I aught to slow down and take it easy a bit. Let my 30’s be a decade of losing a few hairs, maybe put on a little weight and let my testosterone drop a few points; not happening Brother. Turning 30 for many seems like a factor of aging and just plain sucks, not me my friend. I’m looking at it as being 18 with 12 years of experience. I’m pretty damn psyched turning 30, I’ve reached a milestone where I’m a little wiser and not feeling like I’m dreading a long road of vast experiences. I’ve experienced many things in my life, some good, some bad, a few uglies and plenty of weird and have survived an Earthquake, breaking my head open, meningitis, came back from a horrible leg injury and even went through a long-term relationship. I think I’m doing an awesome job.

            When you reach a certain age, health factors came into play. Certain things pop up like checking out how you fair out compared to your family history of medical issues and health issues like Heart Disease, Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Cancer and all that stuff. My family does have a history with some of these issues maybe not so much diabetes but Blood Pressure definitely. Cancer has hit my family on a couple people but you know what, I’m not too concerned about these health issues. I may change the way I eat a bit but for the most part, I feel incredible, I’am stronger and healthier than at any other time in my life. I can still move pretty damn good for a guy my size. Does this make me arrogant and a bit selfish, I don’t believe so because I love what I do, I give my life to helping others in fitness and using the skills I’ve developed to stay in awesome shape. Do I need to check up on things one day, of course but until then, you’ll find me swimming, pulling heavy cables, sprinting, practicing internal power and utilizing the most powerful programs with a heavy smile on my face.

            Age is just a number right? It may just be but there are other things to look at, it’s not just a number, its how you feel, how you live with yourself mentally and what gives you a purpose to have fun, love and be an awesome person inside and out. You hear from many people that age is just a number but how many actually live it and factor in the things I just listed; not many. Hell I’m only turning 30 for Christ sake, it’s not the end of the world and I still have fun and get to do what I do, I still have goals and aspirations to get better and my mind is sharper than it ever has been. Turning 30 is big for me in a lot of ways but on the other side of the coin, it’s just another double digit that’s all.

            For some turning a certain age like 30/40/50 so on, they get this unnecessary sadness, grief, feeling like it’s the end of the road and seeing themselves as unworthy because they don’t have the “time and energy” like they use to, bullshit. Your body is an amazing thing and when you factor in how you use your mind, it is a part of the living, beautiful experience of not only gaining wisdom and knowledge but to still have an awesome body if you apply yourself. Let’s face it, I’ve accepted the fact that I won’t develop a six pack, I’ll be shocked if that hit one day but I can still go and am far more agile and stronger than most guys 10 years younger than me especially in this day and age when obesity has hit the jackpot plus I look younger than my age and I’m damn proud of that.

            In order to feel like a million bucks, you’ve got to feel it (no shit Sherlock), breathe it, live it and know in your heart despite all the crap you’ve been through, the positives outweigh the negatives when you make it so otherwise you’ll just be dreading like the rest of the world and doing your best to feel like you’re not good enough, worrying too much about nothing and then worrying about something else. When you turn a certain age, don’t dwell on it, be the best damn age that you are or think younger, not older or saying you’re this X years old or think Y is old age. I’m going to be 30 years young and haven’t peaked yet.

Be Awesome guys. 

Creating Your Own Story

 Ever since we were children, we were always fascinated by stories of courage, fearlessness, worthy battles and the power love overcomes. Young girls wanted to be princesses and fair maidens, guys wanted to be a superhero or a prince that saves the day. Many of us grew up watching our fantasies, even when I was little I had books read to me, mostly Disney stuff and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We love these stories because they show us what a world would be like of exotic creatures, powerful men, beautiful women and sights that only imagination can with hold. Why not build your own story later on in life or even at a young age?

 A lot of parents go through a lot for their children; it’s a fact and no matter how hard your parents get to you, just remember what they sacrificed to get you going somewhere. Some parents just put too much on their kids and way too soon too, hate to burst your bubble but I've seen kids my age back in the day either being too spoiled or gotten nothing at all. Even certain children are destined to do something because it’s written out for them. To me if you want to learn anything on your own, it’d building your own destiny. Not saying you should defy your family but for the most part, not one person knows you better than yourself. What is your true destiny? It’s a matter of what you learned growing up and finding your true calling.

 Some kids get so spoiled that on one side of the coin, they take it for granted and just feel like life is given to them and don’t have to take on any real responsibilities, on the flip side, they hate being like that and want to learn what it’s like to not have everything on a silver platter and look to things that make them happy. Being happy is about being who you are and no matter what life throws at you; you’re at peace at what you do. It’s difficult to find true happiness but it’s not impossible. It takes practice but with the right resources and environment you can create your own happiness and look to people to share it with.

 I've fought all my life to be strong, be smarter, learn to use my own disabilities as strengths instead of weaknesses and learned to educate myself later on in life. For years I've had issues mentally, physically and very much emotionally that after so long it’s come down to how I create what I want for myself. I've been helped many times and still do on certain things but instead of taking them for granted, I’m thankful and take advantage of what I've learned to create what I always wanted to do. Being helped is never a bad thing, it’s the right time to be helped is when it gets complicated at times but in those moments, you know who the right people are who have helped you succeed.

 The real fight is not battling who’s the better man, it’s a pleasurable struggle to find what’s best for YOU!!!  We have belief systems, laws, rules and many other things in between but when you fight for the right reasons you are a stronger person for it. Certain people follow others either because they’re so into what they believe that they lost track of themselves or follow because they’re desperate and nothing has worked for them or they’re the rare ones who follow to learn to become a leader themselves. I don’t follow any one person that sparks my interests but I learn from how they do things and create ideals from their influence. Fighting is another look at rebelling but fighting with the right intentions builds a foundation to how you build your own destiny.

 Do Fairy Tales exist? In some ways I’d like to believe so. It doesn't matter if you believe in Dragons or true love’s first kiss or even marching into battle to save a kingdom from annihilation, the real fairy tales are the ones that fight to find happiness and get it when it was at its peak of ending and triumphed over darkness. No matter how you look at fictionalized stories, it’s your story that makes everything worthwhile and who knows, true love could be right around the corner or it’ll take you a few years one way or another you will find it and it will make your life the way you always dreamed of.

 Every one of us has a story. We are born, we live, we die simple as that or is it? Your life has many beginnings and part of many eras but it’s how you write it in your mind and your actions that build that dark or light void that we all come to grips with but it isn't your destiny to have your story written out by someone else, you write it yourself and take action with it than you’ll learn to true meaning of your own ending. How do you want your story to end? Think about it.