I've been training for years. Can't really count how many at this point, but it's been a while. It started out as torture!
Well, let's put it this way... I was drastically out of shape, to say the least. I was packing away pizza and Chinese food like it was my job, all while working as a pizza delivery driver looking for a career right after college. I was a mess. My life consisted of eating, sleeping, eating more and drinking beer. The picture I've just painted for you I'm sure is a pleasant one.
I hated working out. I can date this feeling of animosity towards lifting weights back to my days as a young athlete. I always thought that practice and gym time were awful. My focus was solely on game day. But when competitive sports bid me adieu, so did my awesome athletic physique and balls-to-wall mantra. There was no place for working out at this point in my life because I had never cared for it in the past. Cue pot belly and lethargic demeanor... and scene.
Training did not enter my life until several years after college. I was tired of feeling down, sluggish and inept. I was ready for a change. So I decided to try and "get in shape," as the saying goes. Cue corporate gym membership and treadmill... and action. Getting in shape wound up being easier said than done!
It took a while to find my niche in the fitness world. All there is to offer can be stressful and confusing at times. Finally, I found interval training. Oh, did it change me! It changed me differently than I imagined. Yes, I became a fitter, slimmer version of my old self. But the metal change was something that I wasn't expecting.
I loved the feeling of leaving the gym like I had accomplished something. It was a feeling that I had never felt before. Like a seagull eyeing a French fry in the beach sand, I couldn't resist making the plunge over and over again into an intense workout.
I guess what was happening was that old competitive part of me, the athlete that I was, was breaking through. Training was no longer just about feeling and looking better. Nor was it about winning a game. During my athletic days, I wanted to be the best player. Now, during my training days, I wanted to be the best person I could be.
The day I got married to my beautiful wife and the night my daughter was born are the two most memorable occasions of my life thus far. But I have to attribute both of these moments to my decision to take the step to make a change in my life. I don't know what decisions I may have made if I didn't make the initial decision to walk into the gym and sign a contract on that spring morning many years ago. I can certainly say that fitness has given me more than just muscles.
I wouldn't be the person I am today without it. It turned me from a lazy guy who had no clue what he wanted to a person driven -- driven to find life, love and happiness. I am still on that journey. I know that training will always be ahead of me, but it is a little different now. I'm not the only one I need to look after. I have created a family that needs me. I look forward to fitness keeping me healthy and strong so I can watch my little girl step on the bus for the first time. I look to it to help me build a home that my wife and I can retire in. And I look to fitness to help me one day walk my baby girl down the aisle.
To those reading this, I am not trying to sell you on the benefits of exercise. Of course, working out is extremely important to living a healthy life. Don't forget, I am a fitness coach. I am merely explaining how its existence benefited me. Instead, ask yourself, "What was the decision that changed your life?" And if you haven't made the plunge into your game changer, "What are you waiting for?" For those unsure of the answer, or those who are still waiting, getting fit isn't a bad choice. Remember, I am a fitness coach after all.