Part two of Gamer to Gym Rat is purpose. The reason I put this as the first “guide” is without a purpose and a goal you will easily quit. One must simply answer the question as to “why” do you want to do this? Why do you want this so bad? Because when it comes time to make tough decisions, like everyone else going out and partying and you stay home to work on cardio. Or everyone is pigging out at a work event and you pack your chicken breast and rice, your “why” will push you through.
My Why
As you can image from Part One, my purpose was my son. Ones priorities change when having a child (or they should). This doesn’t mean you can’t have a life, goals and work towards accomplishing things, it means your overall goal is your child’s well being. I reflected on a story when I used to date a girl who smoked. Her parents absolutely hated that she smoked and would do anything to prevent it. Yet, they smoked, in front of her. They constantly said don’t smoke, while holding a “lung rocket” aka cigarette. The idea is simple, actions speak louder than words. You can sit and say something all day to impact your child, but doing will work to a much larger effect.
What I want
I want to give my son a road map of hard work and accomplishing ones goal. I truly don’t care if he doesn’t like video games or weigh lifting or any of that. But I want him to have the knowledge the know how of someone working every day towards what they want. No secret pill, drink, potion, etc, just hard work, determination, everyday. When he knows what he wants, he knows how to get it by the example set forth. Even when bad things come up, sickness, death of a family member, loss of income, etc, he can push through. And I think the secret to this is believing in oneself.
If They Can Why Not Me?
I’ve been called many things over the years and a common one is arrogant or cocky. Maybe people are right, but you HAVE to believe in yourself first. We all want attention from others, whether an attractive girl, parents love, etc, but we need to accept what we are and work towards being the best version of oneself that we can. Have the attitude “if someone else did it, why not me?” Yes sometimes genetics play a factor, but you can always be the best version of you. Working towards that end is similar to a video game leveling up. We want to improve, get better, have better gear and enjoy our time. Those same things happen when exercising though not at first.
The Art of the Start
If this is motivating you, just start today, now don’t wait. It doesn’t mean you need to bench press a 1,000 lbs tomorrow or run for three hours a day. Start with walking, lifting weights or seeking professional trainers advice. The most important thing is to find your purpose, set a goal and start! Now I’ll start getting into the technical side of what I’ve been doing both diet and exercise though keep in mind, I’m not a doctor, Mr. Olympia, just a dude that knows hard work and getting in shape. Once you start, have the mindset that you won’t see any results for two months and trust in yourself that it will work it has to work. Once you hit that two month mark, you’ll start to see a difference.
Check out Part Three Diet here.