Is It Possible To Keep Up With Yourself Or Your Goals?

There are aspects of the fitness world that we try to emulate such as being so inspired by someone else that we do our damndest to be like them, train like them and follow their style. The truth is, being somebody else takes away your own individuality and rely on other forms of settling into your aspirations. Now, we can try to imitate them and pretend we are them but can never be exactly like them. 

We have trouble keeping up with ourselves so we're going to completely switch gears and become someone else completely? Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with wanting to change in order to grow and evolve. Sometimes we have to switch things up in order to become better versions of ourselves. Do we even know how to keep up with ourselves? Do we always know the direction we're going? No. We hit forks in the road, we may pick up someone along the way and there might be a new destination along the horizon we don't know about.

Setting goals is always admirable whether in the long term or the short term. We make goals such as PRs, certain length of time of a program, a number of pounds to lose or gain or we go for a number of reps or sets in a given workout. Are those goals sustainable and able to match up, or are they so unrealistic that we can't keep up with the demand? Sadly, very few go the first way and the majority go the second route and they don't even know it. It doesn't make them gullible or weak either, at times it's so demanding on us from others that we just simply can't do it and end up paying a price for it. 

I did have aspirations to train like the greats and had set goals but once I understood how unrealistic they were, during certain periods it was too late and I either got hurt or came close to blacking out. I can't be exactly like a Bud Jeffries or a Eero Westerberg, hell even a fucking Matt Furey but I can be me the best way I can and continue to learn. I admire these guys especially Bud, he was the real deal and if there's anyone worth being like (personality wise), it's him. The goals and demand I made for myself with intention but progressed methodically and intuitively paid off in more ways than one. I can go hard but not get injured, move well but not go to extremes like an acrobat and practice what benefits me, not what someone tells me what benefits me.

We have our own aspirations, our own goals, our own individuality and demands that concern our long term payoff as a person. We can't always keep up the demands of someone else, we take things as best as we can and not try to sprint during a marathon, it'll just wear us down and tear us apart in the end. 

Harnessing Your Individuality When It Comes To Training

We all had a hero in some form or another growing up as kids and we admire certain people as we get older but as time goes on and we learn a thing or two, harnessing our own individuality can be a tough gig yet it's part of a necessity that many loathe and can't stand. Some will go to extremes to be like somebody else (HOLLYWOOD wink wink) whether it be in business, fitness, movies, sports or whatever. We tend to promote ourselves as one of a kind but also put too much emphasis on who we are expected to be instead of putting emphasis of who we are and what makes us a unique person.

The reason many can't stand or loathe people being their true selves because mainly they're afraid of their own soul and that being an individual with a single point of unique traits is very hard to achieve. Almost anyone can act out or program themselves to be somebody else because it's easier than building yourself from the ground up. Fitness is right up there with that kind of approach.

When I was growing up, I wanted to be like Michael Jordan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barry Sanders and other cool actors and athletes that looked larger than life. In reality, I was short, stocky and about as unathletic and uncoordinated as can be. I wasn't that good at Basketball, couldn't look like a bodybuilder if I tried and I didn't have the aggressiveness to play football. Those traits prevented me from doing a lot of what I wanted to be. As I grew up and learning what my strengths and weaknesses were, little by little things fell into place of what I expected and accepted of myself as opposed to what I was told to be and how to do things by others' standards and expectations.

Once fitness became a part of my very existence, I made a vow to myself to learn everything possible and focus on creating my own style from the things I learned. I've mastered many exercises but don't follow a trainer or guru to the T, I learned how to strengthen my body without the aid of Physical Therapy and never once used a Personal Trainer to show me the ropes. I learned to harness my individuality and continuing to evolve. Is it perfect and is my way meant for everyone? Hell no. Once you understand the value of not trying to be exactly like a Michael Jordan or Arnold or Barry Sanders, you learn the true meaning of being able to strengthen yourself inside and out. Another is, these people are the GOATs of their chosen sport or acting, you can't have the same exact accolades or try to be the way they were. There are people out there with better skills and have more titles to their name but don't have the same recognition. 

We train to better ourselves, not to showoff and try to be better than somebody else. We win, we lose and we're human with different capabilities, traits and fortitude. You can make it known what you're capable of and have a great level of strength, conditioning and a powerful will but in the end, you and you alone are the very best at what's happening right now. Certain things will fade and adjust to what comes next but never underestimate the power of your own individuality. Learn to progress and grab a hold of what makes you the best version of you. You can be a great wrestler and do all sorts of moves and submissions, you can be a great powerlifter that sets records and have strength beyond belief or you can develop an all around level of anything you set your mind to. Your training is what you develop to do something great later on no matter how big or small, victories come in all shapes and sizes. 

Be an individual of your own accord and make the most of what makes you great. It's a long journey but it doesn't have to be boring or so extreme that it becomes unrealistic. It can be interesting and you'd be surprised what you're capable of if you just open up your soul and become something you were meant to be because it's you and no one else. 

You Are Not A Robot

             Happy St. Patty’s everyone. What this title should be is you’re not a slave. In the fitness world just like the rest of it, there are people who program others into believing what they do is right and if anything else comes along its bullshit. For the most part, 99.9% of the stuff you see in magazines and infomercials don’t really help you because all they care about is money and not your health.

            I believe if you want to get the best results, you aught to find programs that you find interesting, fun and exciting to do. When you have the freedom to play around and enjoy what you do, it’s no longer “Working Out” it’s more like play and being open to new possibilities. Do your own research meaning not just looking to what others have done or what dumb ass study has been done, I mean experiment it yourself and learn the basics. There’s always going to be some “expert” shmuck who will try to dive into your brain and program it to do his/her bidding so they’re taking away your freedom to find what works best for you.

            Don’t let some gym nut that’s never really done anything to get strong and healthy tell you what you can and can’t do. Be creative and resourceful in what you want to do. Me personally, I love to take different people’s philosophy on training and mold it into something I believe is cool to do not what they believe is cool to do. Be open to different things, learn about exercises you've never done before or take the most basic movement and turn it into a hardcore but powerful one. Do it for yourself and not for some moron behind a desk. Sure there are a lot of sales ads on the net that share the latest course on how to get into great but use your instincts, find ones that have you be free to do it wherever you want, find courses that are exciting and that you can mix and match.

            You are very strong my friend and you don’t have to be a slave to some pencil pusher who’s really a weekend warrior and doesn't do much of anything else. You are free to make your own choices, create your own programs that mean something to you, if someone doesn't like it, so what it’s your thing. Don’t be a robot, be the best you can be and have fun with it. 

You Are Your Own Trainer

             Many people like to follow others’ programs, use their advice and form a pattern as a follower. I believe in learning certain things but once you get a hold of them, use them to create your own program. When you build your own set of workouts, you learn how to develop your creativity and find out what you’re really capable of. The exercises you really like will be your calling and they will bring the most benefit.

            Every body is different and the way it functions to that individual, when some trainers just push the body and don’t really know how to stop or keep going because that person’s body can crash at any time or it can keep going without anything going wrong. To understand how your body works, you learn to move in ways that find meaning. Some can’t do a certain push-up or a squat because of something in their body that prevents them but they’re capable of doing other things others might not be able to as well. The purpose of becoming your own trainer is to figure out what works, how it puts stress on the body that’s comfortable and challenging. I learned that there are certain exercises that I can’t do due to my body structure like Hindu Push-ups hurt my shoulders in a certain form of the exercise so I need to adapt and work with my structure to make the exercise work for me.

            We all have a creative entity within us. Those who believe they can’t be creative tend to be great at it later on if they applied it right and those who are creative develop a sense of intuition and imagination to find things that suit them for their goals. The mind is a powerful tool and sometimes it can our greatest ally and other times it can be a pain in the ass because of either stress or something that doesn't seem to go away or whatever, sometimes it’s best to step back and reflect on what can be useful within your own personal creative element.

            You are not destined to be weak and think that there’s nothing for you to learn and feel you can’t get fit and strong. What you can do is dominate your destiny, prove to yourself you’re worthy of taking on some of the toughest challenges yet still come out stronger than when you came in. When I was in a wheelchair, I did at times feel I will never walk again or at least walk in a way that was strong and vibrant. Just about every single person including doctors told me to just rehab and build my legs according to their rules and standards, push myself according to the way they felt was right to do. I decided to make my own destiny and risk a lot by rehabbing myself and learn exercises and methods that I felt were right for me to do, I got a ton of shit for it but I stuck with it because it made me feel good, it gave me hope and I wanted to desperately get crazy strong, supple and become a downright machine.

            Build what you want to do, even when others tell you that it’s not possible, they don’t believe it cause they won’t do it themselves so they have to tear someone else down. Take a chance and bend the rules, create what you want for the reasons that give you strength and the will to make it happen.

For The Lovely Ladies

            It is your right to be beautiful. You are a gorgeous person inside and out but at the same time; you have trouble realizing your full potential so at times you go from extreme to the next. I've known some kick ass women in my life and all have a common thread and that’s to be noticed for who they are, not what someone wants them to be.

            For women, becoming fit and healthy isn't easy and most I've seen tend to find the next big fad that will have them drop weight just like that and magically reinvent their entire image on the outside. To be fit on the outside, you have to start from the inside. Look to yourself and find out what you want to accomplish. Some take it to extremes like being bulimic or anorexic to lose weight or believe they’ll get too bulky because they lift weights. There are options that are far healthier and far more adventurous. You don’t need the next big diet fad or watch and “move” along with some instructor on a DVD that doesn't know how to give a proper beginner demo.

            In my opinion, ounce for ounce I believe women are stronger than men in some physical sense, think about it. Women have the ability to carry a shit load of groceries and hold their child at the same time or carry a baby for 9 months. A lot of women are more intelligent than most men (sorry guys, it’s there and you have to accept it). You are awesome and you can improve yourself through healthy measures by being smart about how you train, eat and what gives you a challenge that you want to conquer and not have to resort to major extremes.

            Be smart about getting fit. Sculpting doesn't always mean bodybuilding. It can also mean sculpting your mind, body and spirit all in a single method or variety. Don’t resort to those crazy ass female celebs that get breast implants, those that are skinnier than your whole leg and definitely don’t ever resort to making yourself sick just so you can look healthy, it’s dumb and it won’t make you any happier. Self-Image is far worse now for women than in any other time in history. To become a powerful woman, it takes guts, standing up to become something great.

            You don’t need to be great to start, but you have to be willing to start to become great. It takes patience, it takes practice and it takes loving who you are and not let those dumbass people take you down just because they might poke fun at you or think that you’re a no good for nothing bitch, you’re better than that. You have more power to make a difference in yourself than you can ever imagine. Be awesome, be daring, be smart and be healthy. Don’t throw yourselves to the wolves because some people believe you can’t do something, screw ‘em, they have nothing on you and don’t ever let it stop you from doing something you’re proud of or want to make a change for the better.

-If you wish to enhance your self-image I suggest you read this book called Psycho-Cybernetics.

-If you want a fitness course that is not only designed for women but has very basic, simple to learn exercises that will enhance your fat burning, build strength, develop flexibility and transform your body that is healthy, lithe and toned to your structure than I believe Body Sculpting Bodyweight Exercises For Women  is just for you.

            There’s always room for improvement and you have the power to make it happen. I believe in you but don’t take my word for it, the only person who you should believe in, is you. Stay beautiful, be awesome and keep strong ladies, because there’s nothing more precious than a beautiful woman inside and out.

You Are Awesome

            We all have dealt with many things in our lives. Some have gone through far worse than any of us, some haven’t experienced certain emotional pain yet and with heart I hope no one does cause it sucks. However, the shit you have dealt with in your life can become your greatest blessing because it teaches you how to overcome and become a much stronger individual.

            Now a common question that comes up in a person’s life is What Makes You Unique? Every answer varies. Some people have great gifts and great skills, some are even blessed with certain abilities and either choose to use them productively or rarely use them at all. Being unique truly is a gift in itself because although you stand out from others, you’re the one who gets to decide how much of your uniqueness you want to use. You can even be an outlaw in some cases because you choose to not follow others rules and find your own creativity while giving your ability to become a great person work for you.

            The one thing I always want to emphasize is that no matter how old you are, black/white/brown/yellow/Asian, African, American, French whatever; embrace who you are as an individual because no matter who you are, there will always be a group of others who will tell you to be something else or better yet someone else, people who will tell you that you can’t express yourself and show who you are as the genuine article. It’s extremely difficult, pointless and really idiotic to try to be like someone else. That person is already taken, create who you want to be and never stop believing you’ll be able to achieve it. Influence others who want to be different, show them it’s ok to find your own secrets to becoming a great and unique human being.

            What really makes you awesome? It’s not always how strong you are physically, how manly/womanly you are, how you use your mental and spiritual abilities and even not always how shy you are in the beginning; it’s how you embrace yourself and represent who you truly are and the power you can have to make others notice, it’s that law of attraction that uses guidance. You are one kick ass person and don’t let anyone tell you different, make yourself fun to be around, be good to people, help them out every now and then. Be the genuine article and you’ll find what great things can happen in your life. 

Embrace Being Criticized

 I use to think anyone who thought what you do was negative than you don’t seem to be doing anything right and the positive notes come and go. Realizing after knowing a few guys and what the represent, negativity is like a block for them. Being criticized should help you, not wear you down. There’s going to be people no matter even one’s you’d never expect will give you a harsh time about what you want to do or already doing.

 If you do something that’s going to get people riled up, you’re still getting noticed. There’s an old saying, “it’s better to be hated than ignored.” Sure you’ll get positive feedback and that’s awesome let them come in but the negative feedback is very unique. You’ll get people talking about your stuff and most of the time, not always you’ll get some dumb idiot who has no clue what he’s talking about and at times has nothing to do with what you say or do, they just run their mouth but you’re still getting noticed.

 The only person you should really be a critic on is yourself. Not saying you should think of yourself in a negative way but embracing what your strengths and weaknesses are and keep improving yourself. It’s kind of like shadow boxing, you’re fighting your most difficult opponent and that’s you brother/sister. Be better for yourself and learn to block that negative vibe but embrace what is happening with it. One of my favorite courses I have is from Mattfurey.com which is called Psychic Self Defense. It teaches you how to handle negative energy and using visualizations and feel on what you can do to block that energy from a variety of ways, most teach offensive strategies, this is one of extreme few to teach a defensive strategy and like they say a great defense brings a great offense.

 Being motivated isn't easy but look at from this angle like on a coin, one person is motivated to get things done no matter what it is, the other person just goes about his life not making progress and not making himself what he wants to be. I realize motivation is hard, I go through it all the time and plenty of other guys I know, some of them it’s pretty easy, for others it’s a pain in the ass but it still keeps them going. Find ways to be motivated, find a friend, listen to music for inspiration, watch a rugged action movie whatever it might be use it to motivate yourself just make sure it’s illegal because I don’t want you to put yourself or someone else in harms way for the sake of motivation. One other thing on that note, when you’re doing something that gets you going, someone else is going to envy you because they can’t do it themselves so they’ll be on you like white on rice at times.

 Never try to change who you are, you can adapt and learn different things to improve yourself but never change the type of person you are because you are a good person deep down and you want to be something beyond anything else, it’s up to you to make that choice and help improve yourself. The more you improve yourself the more others will bitch at you because they don’t know any better and they don’t want you to be happy, just be unhappy like them, never do that. Let the criticism in and learn to take a punch every now and then. In Rocky VI he says “It’s not how hard you hit, it’s how hard you get hit and keep getting back up to fight.” Keep on working your goals and make things happen; if someone gives you a hard time, so what, you’re doing something they don’t know how to achieve. Have fun and until next time, keep living the dream and achieve the things you want to happen.

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.

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

All of us have different traits, physical structure and certain intellectual abilities, however, being different scares people period. Many people want others to see the world the same way they see and force you to not challenge their opinions and philosophies. Fitness is a lot like that too, if you challenge the system, they’ll ridicule you and make you feel guilty that whatever you’re doing is wrong and their system is the end all be all.

 People have different opinions about the would whether in sports, life, fitness, politics or whatever but if you go out f the norm and do something that isn’t according to their standards, you’re considered a freak or a person who doesn’t belong with them. In strength training too many trainers put their own egos in with what doesn’t work for them and have people believe the same thing when in fact it’s a bad way to help people. Being different and unique has a lot of qualities that certain people just can’t understand. Take for example doing feats of strength, you do things the average person doesn’t want to exert himself to and yet they give you a hard time for what you, they say everyone loves a strongman but a good number are jealous because they want that kind of strength but don’t do anything about it.

 Ever heard the song “Rainbow Connection” by the Muppets, god that’s a cheesy tune but at the same time it’s inspirational because it teaches you how to find your own path. Connecting your dreams and finding that end to your own rainbow gives you the chance to find out that you really are and that being different is powerful and a unique view as an individual. However you choose to be, make it happen for you, finding who you are is the greatest and most challenging journey, you will have road blocks but you can’t give up on what you want to become. Forcing your beliefs on someone isn’t a healthy way to approach people, take them for who they are and give them the chance to be themselves, besides who the hell really wants to be the same person anyway or follow the same program of somebody else, it’s just unethical. Nothing wrong with being inspired by somebody but you don’t have to be exactly like them. I have learned from many people over the years and mold what I find best about their qualities and make my own interpretation on them to find my own unique style.

 Many groups have this notion that if you don’t follow what they say and don’t play by their rules you can’t be apart of them. Us strongmen are really a band of brothers who give everything we have to be the best we can be and help others what we have learned from not only each other but others outside our little group. The only rules we really have is that you work hard, play hard and find who you are by becoming the strongest you can be in many aspects and not just strength. We learn from one another and help push each other, we may not agree with everyone’s opinions about various things but we have a found respect for one another and teach those who want to earn that respect. Sometimes getting respect means you go out of your element and challenge those that don’t believe in what you do. If you believe in yourself first, the rest is easy.

 Too many people back off from making something happen because they’re afraid it’ll backfire. Certain things will backfire but giving up just before it reaches its peak is a deadly game of cat and mouse, which one are you going to be. One example would be Bud Jeffries who’s had plenty of setbacks in his life and yet he pushes beyond the brink of making something happen because he knows he can, on the opposite end, take a guy like Barry Sanders, quite possibly one of the greatest running backs of all-time, was at the peak of his career and abruptly just walks away, a lot of people criticized him for that but at the same time, he gave up a true potential to become better than the biggest legends in the NFL and not just in their class of legend but a legend of his own class. Certain people just crack when it really gets awesome.

 Our greatest journey is to find out where we belong and find the best that won’t judge you or ridicule you, who will support you and give you a chance to shine in your own way not theirs, push you when its time to push you and give you the chance to bring your potential beyond the very core of your own abilities. Where you belong is up to you and if it means being different so be it, you are your own person, make it happen for you.