Some of you guys may be familiar with my Real Talk Sessions series, I'm kind of approaching this as one of those posts, but I'm not trying to commandeer the board like that, so I'll just lay out my thoughts here in just another post.
We have a lot of experienced guys here when it comes to the gym, so I'm sure they will add their thoughts, as this message is more directed towards the gym newbies.
1. If you're prepared to get your body and your overall health in order, accept the fact that the gym is a lifestyle change. The gym is not some place you go to because it's the new year; it's not a place you go to for a month or two before your wedding; it's not a place you go to for the sake of meeting women.
The gym is a place you go to because it is a place that you are planning on integrating into your life going forward.
I'm not going to tell you to go X times a week, but I will say that you need to bank on going consistently. Consistently means you adopt a routine, and you stick with your routine, ride or die.
Personally, I'm "at the gym" six days a week. I put that in quotes because I don't always work out at the gym. Sometimes I get in work at a park, I box, I meet up with a friend at a track and get in some work there; bottom line, I'm active six days a week.
2. If that idea is not daunting to you, and you believe you're ready for this, then great. Start off slow. You don't have to immediately be on some six days a week, ride or die shit. You can start off at a decent pace and build on to that as you get more comfortable. If you're putting in work, you'll find very quickly that you will become addicted to this lifestyle.
3. Look at yourself as an athlete. Just because you're not getting paid, and Nike isn't giving you a lifetime contract to put your name on products, doesn't mean you're not an athlete. Even the best athletes have coaches. In the beginning, it won't hurt you to find an affordable trainer, or an experienced friend who you can work out with. Whoever you work with should be able to show you the ropes, get you on a routine, and show you how to lift with proper form. I would rather you get a trainer because the trainer is going to be very business about the shit. For them it is work and they are being paid. You will be more motivated because you will feel the accountability when someone else is showing up at the gym just so they can help you. It's a lot easier to just say, "Fuck it, I'm not going today, I'm still sore", when you don't have anyone to be accountable to.
4. Get your nutrition game on point. You're not going to be able to eat bullshit and look great. That's just reality. Don't bother talking about "the guys on steroids do it", that's not you, so there's no reason for us to go there. The nutrition game gets glossed over because people think muscles, abs, etc. get made in the gym, they don't, they get made in the kitchen.
5. Don't over-read bro-science. There are a million different sites out there, and if you read even half of them, you will find yourself confused. One guy says eat this, one guy says eat that, one guy has this method, one guy has that method. Find something that you feel will work for you, and try it out and see if it actually does. Keep track of what you lift. Keep track of what you eat. Give it time to bear fruit. If it's not working out how you'd like it to, then you can make adjustments. Brandon Carter says, "What gets measured, gets managed." That's real talk. At the end of the day, there's a lot of tried and true information that is readily available for you to take in, I'd ride with that and go from there.
6. Leave your ego at the door. The gym is just like gaming women, you have to leave your ego at the door. You're not going to be the strongest guy there, have the best body, etc. There's always going to be someone stronger, better-looking, whatever else than you are. The gym will humble you, so allow yourself to be humbled.
Ultimately, the only person you're competing with is yourself -- again, it's just like gaming women. Remember you are there for yourself. You're not there for the bodybuilding-looking dudes, you're not there for the chicks who only do squats. No one is paying attention to what you're lifting, they don't give a fuck. Get into your zone, and get your work in. If you're worried about what someone else is doing or what someone else thinks, then you've already lost because you've allowed yourself to forget that the reason you are there is for yourself, and you're letting the bullshit in your head keep you from doing what you need to do to better yourself.
7. Only date women who work out, but don't bring your girlfriend to the gym. Here's a fact that most women don't want to hear. Women who don't take care of themselves, and part of that means keeping up a regular workout routine, will not look good when they get older. Most girls are getting by off youth, once youth is no longer on their side, it's a wrap. That's one reason you should only fuck with women who work out on a regular basis, it means they care about looking good for as long as they possibly can.
However, do not bring your girlfriend to the gym. I see too many dudes at the gym with their chicks, holding hands, and other bullshit.
Look, we're men, we need a buffer zone.
The gym is one of the few buffer zones we have. We need a place we can go to without bullshit on our minds, and we need to pick shit up, we need to grunt, we need to push our bodies to get better and be stronger, and we need that with anybody hanging on, needing attention.
Your gym time is for you.
Let her gym time be for her.
8. The gym is a long game. Why? Because just like the woman, if you don't take care of yourself when you're young, you will look like shit when you get older. There are not a lot of good-looking men and women in their 40s. There just aren't. Right now, if you're in your 20s like I am, look we're a dime a dozen. Good-looking, in-shape young guys. Good-looking, in-shape 35 year-olds? 40 year-olds? Older?
The pool gets smaller and smaller as you get older.
At the end of the day, life is a competition. We're always competing for shit because shit is finite. Everybody doesn't get to drive the dope car, live in the dope crib, and fuck the bad bitches. They just don't.
Somebody's gotta drive the Geo, live in section 8 housing, and fuck fat, single mothers who have multiple kids from multiple dudes.
But I'll be damned if it's going to be me.
Within the competition, there's only one competition that you should care about, and that's the one that is you versus you.
How badly do you want to win?
We have a lot of experienced guys here when it comes to the gym, so I'm sure they will add their thoughts, as this message is more directed towards the gym newbies.
1. If you're prepared to get your body and your overall health in order, accept the fact that the gym is a lifestyle change. The gym is not some place you go to because it's the new year; it's not a place you go to for a month or two before your wedding; it's not a place you go to for the sake of meeting women.
The gym is a place you go to because it is a place that you are planning on integrating into your life going forward.
I'm not going to tell you to go X times a week, but I will say that you need to bank on going consistently. Consistently means you adopt a routine, and you stick with your routine, ride or die.
Personally, I'm "at the gym" six days a week. I put that in quotes because I don't always work out at the gym. Sometimes I get in work at a park, I box, I meet up with a friend at a track and get in some work there; bottom line, I'm active six days a week.
2. If that idea is not daunting to you, and you believe you're ready for this, then great. Start off slow. You don't have to immediately be on some six days a week, ride or die shit. You can start off at a decent pace and build on to that as you get more comfortable. If you're putting in work, you'll find very quickly that you will become addicted to this lifestyle.
3. Look at yourself as an athlete. Just because you're not getting paid, and Nike isn't giving you a lifetime contract to put your name on products, doesn't mean you're not an athlete. Even the best athletes have coaches. In the beginning, it won't hurt you to find an affordable trainer, or an experienced friend who you can work out with. Whoever you work with should be able to show you the ropes, get you on a routine, and show you how to lift with proper form. I would rather you get a trainer because the trainer is going to be very business about the shit. For them it is work and they are being paid. You will be more motivated because you will feel the accountability when someone else is showing up at the gym just so they can help you. It's a lot easier to just say, "Fuck it, I'm not going today, I'm still sore", when you don't have anyone to be accountable to.
4. Get your nutrition game on point. You're not going to be able to eat bullshit and look great. That's just reality. Don't bother talking about "the guys on steroids do it", that's not you, so there's no reason for us to go there. The nutrition game gets glossed over because people think muscles, abs, etc. get made in the gym, they don't, they get made in the kitchen.
5. Don't over-read bro-science. There are a million different sites out there, and if you read even half of them, you will find yourself confused. One guy says eat this, one guy says eat that, one guy has this method, one guy has that method. Find something that you feel will work for you, and try it out and see if it actually does. Keep track of what you lift. Keep track of what you eat. Give it time to bear fruit. If it's not working out how you'd like it to, then you can make adjustments. Brandon Carter says, "What gets measured, gets managed." That's real talk. At the end of the day, there's a lot of tried and true information that is readily available for you to take in, I'd ride with that and go from there.
6. Leave your ego at the door. The gym is just like gaming women, you have to leave your ego at the door. You're not going to be the strongest guy there, have the best body, etc. There's always going to be someone stronger, better-looking, whatever else than you are. The gym will humble you, so allow yourself to be humbled.
Ultimately, the only person you're competing with is yourself -- again, it's just like gaming women. Remember you are there for yourself. You're not there for the bodybuilding-looking dudes, you're not there for the chicks who only do squats. No one is paying attention to what you're lifting, they don't give a fuck. Get into your zone, and get your work in. If you're worried about what someone else is doing or what someone else thinks, then you've already lost because you've allowed yourself to forget that the reason you are there is for yourself, and you're letting the bullshit in your head keep you from doing what you need to do to better yourself.
7. Only date women who work out, but don't bring your girlfriend to the gym. Here's a fact that most women don't want to hear. Women who don't take care of themselves, and part of that means keeping up a regular workout routine, will not look good when they get older. Most girls are getting by off youth, once youth is no longer on their side, it's a wrap. That's one reason you should only fuck with women who work out on a regular basis, it means they care about looking good for as long as they possibly can.
However, do not bring your girlfriend to the gym. I see too many dudes at the gym with their chicks, holding hands, and other bullshit.
Look, we're men, we need a buffer zone.
The gym is one of the few buffer zones we have. We need a place we can go to without bullshit on our minds, and we need to pick shit up, we need to grunt, we need to push our bodies to get better and be stronger, and we need that with anybody hanging on, needing attention.
Your gym time is for you.
Let her gym time be for her.
8. The gym is a long game. Why? Because just like the woman, if you don't take care of yourself when you're young, you will look like shit when you get older. There are not a lot of good-looking men and women in their 40s. There just aren't. Right now, if you're in your 20s like I am, look we're a dime a dozen. Good-looking, in-shape young guys. Good-looking, in-shape 35 year-olds? 40 year-olds? Older?
The pool gets smaller and smaller as you get older.
At the end of the day, life is a competition. We're always competing for shit because shit is finite. Everybody doesn't get to drive the dope car, live in the dope crib, and fuck the bad bitches. They just don't.
Somebody's gotta drive the Geo, live in section 8 housing, and fuck fat, single mothers who have multiple kids from multiple dudes.
But I'll be damned if it's going to be me.
Within the competition, there's only one competition that you should care about, and that's the one that is you versus you.
How badly do you want to win?