Iron Heart Personal Training

I get asked this question all the time…and usually my response is the standard joke that I’m sure you all have heard a million times (because it’s so funny!  and true!)….”what am I training for???  Life (insert <expletive that rhymes with fluffer trucker! )”….but no really, there is of course more to it than that.  Each person has their own spark of inspiration that gets them going and hopefully keeps them going, but I really believe it’s honing in on that “reason” that will keep you on that path and more importantly, keep you going…

Your reason or your goal may be extrinsic (something measurable, like, “losing 10 lbs”) or  it may be intrinsic (not so easy to measure, like “having more energy”)..which is fine…but what happens once you lose that specific #?  Are you done? And what happens if you “have more energy” …more energy than what?  Can you really say it’s over, I’ve reached my goal – no!  Not really, we have to get deeper.  Move past the superficial or typical reasons and go further to focus on what are your Underlying Goals….something that has intense personal meaning to you, just you…And usually it’s a really intangible thing – feeling better about yourself, learning to love and accept yourself, value yourself, show gratitude, and so on…you get where I’m going, it’s deep.  And slightly uncomfortable to think about and in fact, if this goal doesn’t make you squirm a little saying it out loud – you may want to even go further and let the question sit with you for a few days…..

So, it’s bare your soul time, I’ll go first…what am I training for?  Well….of course there are layers and layers of inspiration and reasons that I could say, I have a top 5, a secondary, top 10, lol, but, when I really get to the #1 reason, I have to say, it’s a little boy with big bright brown eyes and a mop of shaggy blonde hair…a little boy who was born with a body that didn’t quite work the way it was supposed to…a little boy who has delighted and amazed us with his progress and determination….and…has made my heart painfully ache every day of his 7 year life…and on each of those days I am thankful for where he is  and who he is…and every time I see him struggle (daily, hourly, every breath, it’s always there)…it is a sharp reminder of

how fortunate I am to have a body that works.

I was lucky enough that my genes lined up in a neat row and all was just so….so wouldn’t it be a disgrace for me to not be thankful and show appreciation for this body.  It creates energy properly, it moves smoothly and freely, it builds muscle mass, my neuromuscular pathways are direct and functioning, it works.  Its works.  I feel like if I took “it” for granted and abused it with crappy nutrition and a sedentary lifestyle that made me sick and weak I would be doing wrong by my little guy.  I would be insulting his struggle.  So every time I push myself, I’m doing it because I’m thankful.  And that is what I’m training for, to give thanks.

One of my favorite quotes…

“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.”
―    Socrates