The path we choose

One thing that needs to understood in this fight of weight that we find ourselves is this. What works for me, might not work for you, and probably will not. Yes, you can take some of what I do an apply it to your life, but in reality you are not me, and I am not you. Some people such as Tom decided to lose weight doing something he loved, cycling. Personally, due to Tom, I love cycling now as well, but that will not be the cornerstone of my weight loss. (Though it will be of my Cardio). Tom lost a ton of weight, doing something he loved, and it worked for him. As I went through a phase though where I researched bicycles, I found at least 10 failures for every Tom if not more. I count myself in that group, as I had to find something else. This is not to say what Tom did is wrong, on the contrary, he can serve as motivation to us all that it is possible.

Running is another example. I am the type of person who when he sees something, dives head in, immerses and learns everything he can about it before deciding whether it is right for him or not. In Running there are tons of success stories out there. People who went from 400 pounds, bedridden and on oxygen to running marathons. You can sit back and go wow, maybe this is for me, and than give it a shot. You will either succeed or fail.

The point of this, is if you try and copy someone else, you will not succeed. These people found something they loved and stuck with it. I choose weightlifting, or bodybuilding as some people call it. The reasons are numerous, to list the main ones though would probably be in this order.

1.) Health

If I train my body to work as a well oiled machine it will, and due to the mixture of Cardio/Weights I feel it will get there.

2 .) Looks

Now, call me shallow if you want, but the main reason the majority of us are changing now is because we want to look better. The defined bodies that come along with successful bodybuilders is something I want.

3.) The Gym

This is probably a major reason. I am lucky, that I actually love the gym, love weights, love the cardio machines. I love being surrounded by people who all have one goal in mind, to better themselves through hard work and determination.

I was asked in an email, Tyler, why do you want to look like those huge bodybuilders on stage.

To answer that, I never will. Those guys have been lifting for 10-20 years, and are much much more dedicated than I ever will be. My goal is not to have 25 inch arms and be ripped enough for a show. My goal is to be able to run to the corner without thinking I will die. To be able to take my shirt off at the beach and feel proud of what I did. To go into the gym, and know this is my second home. To get my goals, I choose weightlifting. My path might not be your path, but everyone has something. Beating this battle are three main things, mentality, diet and exercise. We need to find a variation of the three that works for us. It is never wrong to take someone else as motivation, but if you try what they did and fail, keep looking. You will fall in love with something out there that will help you reach your goals