"You look great, you’ve lost some weight, you’ve been working out or something?" Bob asked me. We're standing around a table full of food at one of those tedious holiday get-togethers, you know, the ones where you're supposed to be nice to people you only see once a year.
"Thanks, hmmm, Bob is it? Yea, I’ve been weight training 6 days a week and eating healthy for about 3 months now" I say. “You know, counting calories, weighing my food, no junk.” Bob looks at me with a blank expression on his face, as if I'd just told him I joined a cult or something.
"Oh," Bob finally says, "I can see you’ve been doing something. So, what's that like, you know, working out every day and stuff? I just don't have time to lift weights all day, but I have been meaning to get rid of this beer belly." He takes another sip of beer. "What do you suggest?" Sip.
Bob continued to stand there drinking his Bud Light, holding an unlit cigarette and waiting for an answer.
"You want to know what it is I do? I overcome. I’m too busy to train, too, but I overcome. I’m too busy to prepare healthy meals and eat them five or six times a day, but I overcome. I can't always afford supplements, my genetics aren't perfect, and I don’t always feel like working out. I used to be just like you, Bob, but guess what? I overcame."
You ask me for advice about diet and training and usually I politely offer some, but deep inside I know you won't listen. He knows that too. I smile and say, 'Hope that helps. Good luck’ … I know that 99% of people won't listen to me. Once they hear that it takes hard work, sacrifice and discipline, they stop listening and tune me out.
I know he wanted me to say that getting healthy is easy, but it just isn't. It takes a bit of work. No pill can make you lose fat in 30 days. No bracelet will help you build muscle. No electric shock belts will give you 6-Pack Abs. A good body does not cost five easy payments of $19.95.
But I like it that while you're eating a Snickers and drinking Pepsi, I’m drinking water and eating an apple or some carrot sticks. You see, that makes it taste even better to me. While you're watching TV, I’m hitting the iron, pushing myself, learning about myself, getting stronger with every rep. Can you feel that, Bob? Can you relate? No? Good. This wouldn't be half as much fun if you could.
I do it because of people like you, Bob, either can't or won't. I do it because what I do in my little gym transfers over into the rest of my life and transforms me, physically, mentally, and even spiritually. I do it because it beats watching American Idol or whatever is on TV these days that people are mesmerized by.
When I’m in my little gym, I’m in this indescribable bliss. It's a feeling of being on, or “in the Zone”, of being completely alive and aware. It’s connecting to the universe, being one with everything. If you haven't been there, then it's like trying to describe color to a blind person. Within this feeling of pleasure and pain, there's knowledge and power and discipline. If you do it long enough, Bob, there's even enlightenment. Sometimes, the answers to questions you didn't even know you had are right there in those iron plates. Yes Bob, dumbbells make you smart, go figure.
Okay, so maybe that's not the exact words I used with Bob, but you get the picture. Will Bob attempt to lose his beer belly? I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. I think Bob is just stuck in a rut, and as the saying goes, the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth.
The way out of the rut is to make major changes in your life, most of which won't be too pleasant in the beginning. In sports they say the training is the hard part, you train hard so the game becomes easy. It’s the same with life. The harder you workout, the less stress you’ll have in real life, or you’ll handle the stress better. Life is all about how you handle things that get thrown at you.
"Thanks, hmmm, Bob is it? Yea, I’ve been weight training 6 days a week and eating healthy for about 3 months now" I say. “You know, counting calories, weighing my food, no junk.” Bob looks at me with a blank expression on his face, as if I'd just told him I joined a cult or something.
"Oh," Bob finally says, "I can see you’ve been doing something. So, what's that like, you know, working out every day and stuff? I just don't have time to lift weights all day, but I have been meaning to get rid of this beer belly." He takes another sip of beer. "What do you suggest?" Sip.
Bob continued to stand there drinking his Bud Light, holding an unlit cigarette and waiting for an answer.
"You want to know what it is I do? I overcome. I’m too busy to train, too, but I overcome. I’m too busy to prepare healthy meals and eat them five or six times a day, but I overcome. I can't always afford supplements, my genetics aren't perfect, and I don’t always feel like working out. I used to be just like you, Bob, but guess what? I overcame."
You ask me for advice about diet and training and usually I politely offer some, but deep inside I know you won't listen. He knows that too. I smile and say, 'Hope that helps. Good luck’ … I know that 99% of people won't listen to me. Once they hear that it takes hard work, sacrifice and discipline, they stop listening and tune me out.
I know he wanted me to say that getting healthy is easy, but it just isn't. It takes a bit of work. No pill can make you lose fat in 30 days. No bracelet will help you build muscle. No electric shock belts will give you 6-Pack Abs. A good body does not cost five easy payments of $19.95.
But I like it that while you're eating a Snickers and drinking Pepsi, I’m drinking water and eating an apple or some carrot sticks. You see, that makes it taste even better to me. While you're watching TV, I’m hitting the iron, pushing myself, learning about myself, getting stronger with every rep. Can you feel that, Bob? Can you relate? No? Good. This wouldn't be half as much fun if you could.
I do it because of people like you, Bob, either can't or won't. I do it because what I do in my little gym transfers over into the rest of my life and transforms me, physically, mentally, and even spiritually. I do it because it beats watching American Idol or whatever is on TV these days that people are mesmerized by.
When I’m in my little gym, I’m in this indescribable bliss. It's a feeling of being on, or “in the Zone”, of being completely alive and aware. It’s connecting to the universe, being one with everything. If you haven't been there, then it's like trying to describe color to a blind person. Within this feeling of pleasure and pain, there's knowledge and power and discipline. If you do it long enough, Bob, there's even enlightenment. Sometimes, the answers to questions you didn't even know you had are right there in those iron plates. Yes Bob, dumbbells make you smart, go figure.
Okay, so maybe that's not the exact words I used with Bob, but you get the picture. Will Bob attempt to lose his beer belly? I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. I think Bob is just stuck in a rut, and as the saying goes, the only difference between a rut and a grave is depth.
The way out of the rut is to make major changes in your life, most of which won't be too pleasant in the beginning. In sports they say the training is the hard part, you train hard so the game becomes easy. It’s the same with life. The harder you workout, the less stress you’ll have in real life, or you’ll handle the stress better. Life is all about how you handle things that get thrown at you.
I started a new assignment at work this week… new boss, all new co-workers, new equipment to handle... this used to be a major cause of anxiety and stress for me. But I was completely relaxed and at ease during my shift, I was confident and eager to do my job, I made a few mistakes, but I didn’t make excuses, I acknowledged them, I learned from them and moved on… and I credit my new healthier lifestyle and new healthier attitude for that.
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction, any resemblance to a person or persons dead or alive is purely coincidental. And no animals were harmed during the making of this story.
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