I started “working out” in the spring of 2014.
When I say that, I mean I haven’t taken longer than a week without lifting and longer than three days of not moving my body more than walking.
For nearly 4 years, I have consistently been building my body. Does that mean I’ve been improving my physique linearly? Hell no. But while health wasn’t a habit throughout those months of lifting, moving my body certainly was.
I always thought this as an ass-backwards approach to creating an elite body. A major proponent of nutrition, I believe that 80% of your physique is built in the kitchen.
Alas, I focused heavily on the remaining 20%. Lifting and bodybuilding was my domain. I was never the biggest. I was never the strongest. But I was what some people weren’t — consistent.
How did working out become such a strong habit?
Multiple factors were at play in making my lifting regimen inevitably a habit:
- I started with a weightlifting class in college. This all but forced me to go into the dank dungeon in one of Oregon State’s old-as-shit buildings to rep out squats and incline bench with form I had forgotten since high school.
- When I went back for summer, I had a friend who was “big” into lifting. (Big because he loved it and he’s of the heavier persuasion.) He would go to LA Fitness on the daily, in the afternoon; I tagged along, going every day as well because I was getting addicted to the results. Speaking of which…
- Newbie gains helps a lot when you’re just starting out. If you’re lifting correctly and continuously improving in each lift in both form and weight, you’ll grow like crazy in the first half year of working out.
- Working out helped me in developing other areas of my life. A gigantic fan of playing basketball and football, I started “coming into my body,” having my muscles and bones and tendons match my high sports IQ. Suddenly, I had talent. (Lotta good it did me in intramural…high school was a bust.)
Due to this, lifting became a habit.
It wasn’t because of a girl — though it didn’t hurt in acquiring one. It wasn’t because I was severely overweight — I wasn’t, only skinny-fat. It wasn’t for a tryout for a sport, it wasn’t for a grade after the initial 12 weeks, it wasn’t anything external.
I worked my ass off for myself.
Years go by, lives change…yet still I went to the gym.
I graduated from Oregon State in under four years. I worked in life insurance and was an assistant to a financial advisor. I quit both and now I’m traveling the world with my beautiful Jess. I’ve moved three separate times, and I’ve canceled my LA Fitness membership.
So how the f*ck do I keep active?
Truthfully, this crazy life would make anyone want to sit down and defile an entire bag of Lay’s and a container of Oreo’s. (Don’t think I haven’t…or wouldn’t do it again.)
Instead, I now consider lifting — these days it’s calisthenics — and running and playing sports a piece of me, something I cannot ignore. Nor do I want to.
I made it a habit early on. I saw results and became addicted. I pushed for higher goals. I researched constantly about how to achieve a rock-solid body. I followed a plethora of social media fitness gurus. I even purchased a course here and there.
It is my lifestyle. Fitness is my lifestyle. Everything I do is centered around being active and healthy and moving around.
We all slow down eventually…but why should you help that along?
Weird, isn’t it? I’m from America, land of opportunity…to sit on your ass in front of a TV for life. While there has been a national trend towards being healthy as a result of the obesity crisis, most of my family and friends are nowhere close to the obsession I have for moving. I am quite fidgety.
Call it a passion. I ran the gauntlet of people saying, “You’re doing what?” and, “Is that even healthy at that point?” I came through unscathed, turning a blind eye to the incredulous looks. And ever since my lady and I landed in South Africa, I am the closest to reaching an upper echelon physique in my life.
For the first time, I can actually taste it.
What’s the lesson here?
Don’t give up. It is never linear (2015 was an odd year for me physique-wise). You might slip up and gain a few pounds of fat from time to time. So what?
The only way you develop a habit so demanding as fitness is believing. Believe in yourself. Believe this is a passion and that your mind is the sole barrier between you and your workout sesh.
The pain has to be unreal. You need to be sick and tired of being sick and tired. I don’t condone having a negative body image, but you need to always be wanting to improve.
I hated putting in hard work and never seeing my abs pop through my skin.
So I went to new heights. Turning vegan for the most part, doing calisthenics every weekday, and eclipsing 12,000 steps on a daily basis. A ton of volume, more healthy foods, a bucket of water gulped down every 24 hours is what I consider “normal.” I think people have choicer words for my current routine.
Once the habit is in place, you can tweak your routine, your eating (huge in my opinion), your amount of movement. Slowly, but surely, if you consistently put in the work, your body will adapt to a heavy workload.
And the results are glorious.
Now go out and rep ‘em!
J. D. Lyda is the most passionate health and fitness writer in the world. Check out his site to see how he creates engaging articles and kickass social media. Feel free to contact J. D. Lyda to see if he can rep out consistent, quality content for you. Follow him on Instagram for his personal fitness and nutrition.
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