Skip to main content

Discipline Over Motivation

I wouldn’t say I was a stranger to the gym and I had always been an athletic person. I've played everything from hockey, to women's tackle football to competitive paintball. But a few things happened. Sports slowed down from every day to once a week and then only in winter. I hit 30, and my metabolism went from lagging to a stall. And that one extra hard call every month or so hit like a jackhammer. But I wasn't ready to slow down, and over the years I realized how much I lacked the upper body strength needed to perform like I should. Especially when those 12 hours of relentless, callous labour hit at 2am. I joined a local gym and was consistent for several months until a severe kidney infection hospitalized me in 2015. My blood pressure sky rocketed and my doctor advised forfeiting my current gym membership until things leveled off. It took over a year for my kidneys to chill out and to get off medication completely. Our hall was fortunate enough to start a small gym earlier this year. Unfortunately for me I was unfamiliar with the equipment and had never needed to learn the big barbell movements in my machine packed fitness studio. After finding out I had questions via social media, a local fitness coach pursued a conversation with me and targeted my goals. I was actually content with how I looked but I craved a serious change in strength. So this was a first for both of us; him creating such a specific conditioning program for my line of work, and me eating a lot more than normal and working out to get “bigger”, not smaller for once. It was a real mind game, almost forcing myself to eat and not freaking out about where those calories would show up on my body. It’s been 12 weeks and he has been by my side this whole time, checking in with me daily. My weight has stayed the same but my body composition has completely changed. I can do the things that I literally cried over not being able to 3 months ago. And there are TWO best parts. 1: I can eat what I want. 2: It really has been only three months, so I'm stoked to see where I'll be in a year. His drive to change me, transferred over to a discipline I didn’t know I had. His excitement over my victories and his encouragement on my really hard days kept me going. Bottom line is, if you’re looking for change, I know a knowledgeable, down to earth man who will help you get there. Check him out at www.averagejoefitness.ca or www.facebook.com/pg/averagejoefitness

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Destined for Greatness

“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if the moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.” And that’s all the motivation I needed to tell myself I wouldn’t be caught unprepared any more and if I would fail again I would fail better. This post is short and sweet but celebrates some physical and mental milestones. It marks over 6 months of consistent, specific conditioning and the disciplined late nights and early mornings it took to get here. It celebrates 2 years of sobriety and the seemingly impossible work of overcoming darkness when you least expect it. It’s a reminder to me of why I changed so much in so little time and what I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish if I still relied on alcohol to get me through my days. And it’s okay to live a life others do...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Real Me

I once read, "If you’ve got a problem with alcohol, the solution is easy. Just stop drinking. Because if your problem is with alcohol then when you stop, it will go away. But if you're truly an alcoholic, it's not that easy. Because when you stop drinking, the problem really begins.” And that's what my 2016 was. Dark. Dark and sober. I couldn't hide behind the whiskey anymore. I was exposed and destroyed. Anyone can hide. But no one can hide forever. And in hindsight, lucky for me it only took seven years to be found. I have a few people to thank but particularly the one who saved me that day. He knows who he is. Sometimes the brotherhood is dissonant. Sometimes they talk behind your back. But he approached me with concern and love and with a really harsh dose of reality. And I finally knew then if I kept going I would die. Or worse, kill someone else. So today is a good day. It's been almost 19 months since I took my last drink; alone and sobbing in the d...
1 comment
Read more

Read My Mind - lyrics

It's been too long since I last saw you here I can't believe it's been three years Here you are standing next to me How you been. Whatcha doing now that life Has been moving on Me. I'm Okay. But seeing you now. I'm doing great. And I love how you're living for you. And I love how your dreams are coming true. But secretly I wish that it was you and me. It's been this long. You haven't left my mind at ease. Why'd you always have to leave. Why can't you just stay with me. All I want's that heart of yours to see my own. Begging you to make this one its final home. You kiss my hand and say goodbye. I wish that you could read my mind. It's been too long since I last held you here. I can't go on knowing what we had was love. I let it disappear. How's this work. How'd this happen to the ones That were meant to be. Yeah. I'm okay. But seeing you now. I'm about to break. But I love how you're fighting it all. And I love how ...
Post a Comment
Read more