Finding Your Why
Finding your Why
I have been in your shoes. Low carb, low fat, paleo, meet your macros, keto; I’ve been through the diet ringer. I've tried yoga, Crossfit, powerlifting, becoming a cardio bunny and most modes of exercise available. I have tried most things out there for one reason. I have tried every method of working out, every supplement and taken even the worst advice. I was born a skinny kid. Undersized, underdeveloped, late bloomer, whatever you want to call it, I have never had a (OVER)weight problem. So, who am I to talk to you about those pudgy pounds that have been haunting you for years. Here’s the thing, we all have our struggles. I may not have ever had a weight problem, but I have always had a problem putting it on. Insecure about my stature and size in school compared to the other boys, concerned with the caliber of my manliness, and getting passed up in sports I loved were just a few of my struggles. These struggles drive me today. Though externally I am no longer that little boy I used to be, subconsciously it is fixated in the wiring of my brain. If this were not the case I probably would not have built a business in the fitness industry, competed against the best physique athletes in the country, or sat down to grind tirelessly on this book. While my struggles may be different (or the same) as yours, they are still struggles.
I have worked successfully with countless weight loss and muscle motivated clients alike over the years and tested my methods time and time again. In efforts to empathize, experience, and better communicate I have been my own personal lab rat for years. I have been on 5,000 calorie diets and 1400 calorie diets alike. I have had days where I took 500 steps and days I have done 2 hours of hard cardio. I have eaten low carb, low fat, and both at the same time (certainly don’t recommend that approach.) I realized early on that I could not give expert advice to help people control their eating unless I experienced it myself. I could not give motivation for the last rep, the late night lift or the weekend workouts if I hadn’t completed these workouts without cease. I have experienced the whole spectrum of diet and exercise. Yearly I undergo extreme dieting for 16 weeks to step on stage and have strangers tell me “I should have dieted harder” or “looks like he should have worked out his (insert body part) harder”. Why do I put myself under this unfair scrutiny? I like to say it is for personal development, but I would be lying if I said I was not highly motivated by my faithful clients. As a trainer I am a walking billboard. My body determines my business. This billboard creates curiosity and soon others want to buy the secret formula. More times than not these individuals are saddened to know there is no secret formula, bio hack, or potent hormone that does the work. There is no fooling biology. In this world you can finagle money, success, popularity and influence; but at the end of the day, there is no cheating for health or your body. This serves as my opportunity to educate, mold habits, and be a consultant to the health and fitness goals of others. So my attempt is to be an example for those that can’t figure this thing out. How selfless of me, right? Well, truth is, physique sports are often considered one of the most selfish and consuming endeavors out there. But, cut me a break, it’s not ALL about looking good on the beach.
I grew up in a small town in Louisiana. My hometown is dirt poor and healthy food is little and far between. Dying industry and a thinning population drove my town into poverty, and developed a food desert. With no access to fresh healthy food, and delicious, health bankrupt the food was quick, accessible and cheap. New Orleans is the staple city of Louisiana culture and likely the most unhealthy city in the nation. Butter soaked, deep fried and salt caked food is standard Cajun culture. That food culture dictates how families get together, how we celebrate, and what we do for fun. Our beloved holiday, Mardi Gras for example, is a religious celebration of gluttony and all of our favorite sins right before a period of purging. Poor nutrition is rooted culturally and systemically where I grew up and defines our culture deeply. Diabetes, cancer, and obesity run rampant in the rural towns and big cities alike in the South.
I was deeply influenced to learn from those around me and lead people to health. I truly believe it is my calling after seeing many friends and family members suffer for so long. Of those people the closest to me was my mother. My mother was the most unhealthy health nut I have ever met. Talks with her always included her ideals on health and nutrition. We would often talk for hours about the healing properties of sweet potatoes, how foods impacted hormones, and natural cures and remedies to common ailments. My mother seemed to know these things intuitively, with no formal education, and passed them on to me. As a result I became deeply fascinated with the power of food early on. The sad part is, she never took her own advice. My mother was a smoker, poor eater, and oftentimes sedentary. She was not always like this, however. My early memories of her were as a vibrant and active woman, always lean and healthy. The problem was my mother knew better, but was a product of her environment. My mother lost her 2 year battle with lung and colon cancer at the age of 60. Days after her funeral I began writing this book. Call it a cliche of motivation, but I decided if I could save 1 person from the pain I saw my mother go through for two years, it would be worth the work. Her battle with the lack of health she had eventually accepted was met with not a single complaint, a plea for any pity, and nothing but glowing optimism. She truly was the strongest woman I have known.
So despite being lean and healthy most of my life, I have experienced both shame for my body and hurt for those who suffer. It is an honor and a privilege to help others, get to constantly pursue my own fitness and to see the power and the beauty of the human body. What is empowering is I have found that the power for anyone to shape their body to their liking is within one’s will to learn and apply these concepts consistently. I sometimes speculate that one day there WILL be a magic pill that will turn anyone model thin, bodybuilder big or give you any variation of body you so desire. It may come less in the form of a pill and more in the form of genetic manipulations, hormone therapy, or designer babies, but that frontier is becoming a reality with each passing day. But, what would the world look like when perfect bodies are the norm? How will we feel about our bodies knowing we did nothing but take a few pills, shots, or tweak our genes a bit to get there. I have found this statement to be paramount when discussing value; “nothing given is valued”. We often see children of the rich squander fortunes, lottery winners become depressed and broke in record time, and gamblers lose it all because they didn’t know the value of money and the work needed to obtain and keep it. Our bodies and health are no different. So although we may someday be given our dream bodies instead of earning them through determination, discipline and discomfort; would this really make us better? The truth is the beauty, pride and value of something earned is in the work. The harder that work, the more value. The two are inalienable.
While this book may promise (and deliver) on a 3 hour dream body, let’s not mistake the amount of effort required in that 3 hours. Even effective application of these concepts, though short in time, require large amounts of effort and lifestyle change. Before you read and apply these concepts, find your own why. Mine may have launched as a kid that longed to be accepted and applied extra fuel with the passing of my mother. Everyone has a why. Dig deep! Perhaps you long to be physically desirable to a spouse or arouse the opposite sex again. Maybe you want to live a long and healthy life for your grandchildren. Whatever the deep, burning desire is, we have to dig to find it. Once it is found, fixate it at the top of the mountain and take the climb every single day. Start by asking yourself a few questions:
What is my dream body?
What is my ideal health?
What would achieving my fitness goals do for me emotionally, physically and spiritually?
What will I do when I reach my fitness goals?
Am I willing to make my fitness journey something I strive toward everyday?
Will I let off the gas when I have achieved my goals?
What would achieving my fitness goals do for those around me?
Understanding your why helps when things get tough. And even with the best advice and quintessential guide to success, it will still get tough. Are you the kind of person that needs constant motivation or affirmation to workout? Or can you summon yourself to do the work even when it is the last thing in the world you want to do? When these times hit you can look back on your why. Realize why you started this journey and ask yourself if it is worth giving up on. There are times when the work is easy, empowering and invigorating. There are other times when it is grueling, draining and disheartening. But, realize the more you can make yourself go to the gym or plan your diet when it is hard, the easier that hard becomes. Keep a visual reminder of the reasons you started on this path to not only a great body, but an investment in your health that will enrich every experience life has to offer. For that reason, I urge you to accept the work, embrace the suck and emerge stronger out of the other end. Only then will your fitness journey be achieved and worth every rep.
