Change Your Body, Change Your Mind

March 2012-September 2013

Before I turned thirty, I decided I needed to change some things in my life. One of those things was my body. I never have been particularly in "bad shape" but never in really good shape either. I lacked the discipline and the drive to maintain eating healthy and working out. With a ton of support from my fiancé Erin, and a lot of research, I have been able to make some steady progress that I'm really proud of. Other than the usual motivational issues people run into, the hardest part was just knowing where to start.

I'm a geek at heart, so my journey started on the internet. Diving into forums and blog posts on how to eat, what to do in the gym, and "HOW TO GET JACKED IN 10 DAYS". What I found was overwhelming. There is so much information out there that is conflicting, over generalized, and just plain wrong. So for a while I just stuck with trying to eat six times a day, working out with no real plan or goal, and my results were pretty minimal. Then I found some great resources that made sense of all the BS out there and really helped me fine tune my diet and workouts. But it wasn't just my body that benefited, my mind did as well.

When you go through changes in your life, your mindset changes. When you change your body, you change your mind. Something you thought was impossible, suddenly becomes reality. To be honest, the hardest work I've done in the past year hasn't been physical, it's been mental. Overcoming laziness, pushing myself harder, learning when to say no to that pizza (and when to say hell yeah) and even having to learn when to take a day off and not be so obsessed, has been more challenging than any workout.

I now look at obstacles and challenges in my life as things I WILL accept and overcome. We learn and grow through struggle. Things that come easy usually don't benefit us much and have little value. By recognizing my weaknesses and doing something about them, I have improved myself and my life. Physically, mentally, emotionally and relationship wise I've become a better man.

One of the things I've learned, is that I really enjoy helping others in regards to fitness. Having a "plan of attack" was one of the largest challenges for me. So I'd like to share a book that really helped me. Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha has been a game changer. And don't worry, it's not douche-y as the title might suggest. It's all about becoming the best version of yourself and pretty much walks you through an amazing diet and exercise program. It's a four month long program that will help you jump-start your fitness plan or get you over that plateau you're stuck at no matter what level of training you have.

It's written really well and entertaining, as well as being packed full of motivational stuff. If you're a geek like me, you'll really enjoy all the Star Wars and nerd culture references as well.  I don't want over sell it and say it changed my life, but it did open my eyes and my mind as to what I'm capable of. I encourage everyone to check it out and I hope you find similar results in your journey!

Some other great blogs and links to get you started:

Roman Fitness System

Athlete.IO and Carb Backloading

T-Nation

Bodybuiding.com

Afterword:

I just want to take a second and thank my fiancé Erin. I'm not an easy person to deal with, especially when I set my mind on something. I have a tendency to become obsessed with things and dive head in. Fitness was no different. If you want extreme results, you have to take extreme actions. That's all well and good for me, but not everyone around me feels the same. It took me a while to recognize this and she continues to stick with me no matter how annoying I can get. So to you Erin, thank you so much. A big part of the last year was becoming a better man for you. I love you.