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Soon I will be hitting 43 years of age. I have been lean for most of my adult life, although I was in fact an obese kid (it all changed about 15 years of age when I discovered girls and a passion for running!)
I could brag about running quite a few marathons, being quite committed to exercising etc… But reality is that up until recently I NEVER had a physique I could be half proud of. Reality is I was not lean but skinny and weak. Even worse, what in bodybuilding circles what they call a skinny fat bloke. Not fancy when you are in your mid to late thirties, everyone is telling you your prime is gone (including all those 20 something greek god like Instagram bodybuilders – brother come see me when you hit 40!).
But why? I remember one year (2010) when I ran 3 marathons, did not skip a single weekend run with my training buddy, and even flirted with some body building programmes (out of a expensive magazine of course). Yet I failed to get rid of my flab, my love handles stayed exactly in the same place, and my body just failed to get any stronger.
Why?
Answer:
Lack of focus. Yes ok, so I had an active year where I ran hundreds if not thousands of miles and spent long hours at the gym. TO ACHIEVE WHAT? Training for the sake of training is just moving about. No direction, not listening to my body, no one to tell me to go get an expert mentor to advise…
WRONG NUTRITION.I literally eat WHATEVER and WHENEVER. No attention paid to calorie intake needed to support such brutal amount of cardio; macros on/off training; prioritizing whole natural foods over processed; etc. It’s a miracle I did not manage to get seriously injured or ill.
I wish I could tell you I woke up one morning and my head was full with knowledge and I did all the right things and never looked back and I got a 6-pack in 2 weeks and I started benching 400lbs for 25 reps and I climbed Mount Everest twice on a Sunday morning on my slippers of which btw I shall be posting some 45 perfect selfies on Instagram any minute now. I wish an obscure yet unfortunately now deceased mentor crossed paths with me and taught me everything there is to know about nutrition and exercise out of some long lost Shaolin scripts and goodness knows what other “follow your dreams” bullshit (soon to be available on PDF format for ONLY $35!! Go grab your copy while it lasts…) I am extremely happy some or all of that happened to all them fitness gurus on social media, hence their perfect bodies and perfect lifes, but unfortunately all the things I have come to learn and keep on learning have been a matter of reading, listening, asking the same questions time and time again and trying upon myself and many patient friends over the years simplified ways to achieve good sustainable habits that can help feeling better about yourself. I am a student and I will always be a student.
I keep making mistakes, yet I have learnt how to listen to my body. I have learnt how to do what is right for my body most of the times. Most of the times does not include Xmas day… cut me some slack here brother…
I am aiming to share my journey with whoever is willing to follow. No fancy tricks. Just commitment to the ups and humbleness on the downs. And hopefully some fun on the way.
Keep strong.