I was 19 or 20 when depression brought me to the gym for the first time. I was going through stuff and I needed something to help me cope because I didn’t know how I was going to get through.
I needed a solution. I needed a routine to stick to.
Something to keep my mind off my problems, so I could move forward.
Otherwise, I knew I’d be battling thoughts that kept me in limbo forever.
I felt too insecure to go to a regular gym.
So I found an old gym near my house.
It was run down and on its way to ruin. Even the pool was disgusting.
But I felt safe in the empty but damp basement weight room.
I walked into the gym, headed for the treadmill, and then to the weights.
I guarantee you I had no idea what I was doing. My form was garbage and I was probably acting ridiculous trying not to look like I’d never seen weights in my life.
The building was falling apart, water leaked from the ceiling into buckets, and the weights were mismatched.
I could work out without feeling like someone was judging me. Because it seemed nobody was ever there.
Sometimes, I couldn’t find a decent pair of dumbbells to work with, and I’d spend 10 minutes looking for not a matching dumbbell but one of the same weight.
I used what I had and made it happen. It wasn’t ideal but it got the job done.
But I rarely had to wait for a machine or bench and that was okay with me.
Even though that place lacked working equipment, I was too desperate to try another gym because of fear.
It took me a few weeks to get a little more comfortable before I pushed myself a little harder.
Then one night I got cocky. I put 2 plates on each side of my barbell, and regret came over me as I started my bench press.
It was way too heavy for me.
As the weight of the bar started crushing my chest, I tilted the bar and slid the plates off the side onto the floor. They clanged like a pair of symbals and all 3 people in the gym looked my way.
I packed up and walked out of the embarrassment.
In my young naïve mind I was a failure and a loser, even though all I did was make some noise.
I looked stupid. I felt like a disaster.
I believed you had to be perfect initially and that successful people were natural. That I shouldn’t have started until I was a success.
But I was wrong.
I had to come back again and redeem myself. I desperately needed something. I NEEDED this.
So I went back the next day.
Every master was a disaster at some point. They had so many failures that they likely felt like giving up and going home too.
But they didn’t.
Instead, they found practically every way not to do something until they found the ONE way that made them look like a genius.
Nobody believed in them until they succeeded. When they did, it seemed like they became successful overnight.
But they were just like you or me.
In case you haven’t gotten the message…
What you have and what you do doesn’t necessarily matter.
You just have to show up.
And then you’ll think you might as well try because you’ve already made it halfway.
Then before you know it minutes have passed, then an hour and you’re done for today.
You just lapped everyone on the couch.
Congratulations.
Remind yourself why you’re going in the first place, that you’re going for YOU.
Everyone else is there for them. People don’t care about how you look because they’re too focused on how they look.
They don’t matter.
Only YOU do.
Start now.
And keep going.
Try and do as many push-ups as you can. Do a couple of sets, rest, and repeat. Everyone who’s somebody started where you are now. They were all here too.
Can you do a little bit every day? Because that’s all it takes. Believe me.
Life is rarely perfect, you don’t always have all the right ingredients, the right equipment, or the right education.
You don’t need it.
When you were a kid you did things for fun. You didn’t care or think about having everything. You just did it because it was fun.
You don’t need fancy stuff, use whatever you’ve got. Choose to start and then improve as you go along. You can shift and adjust later.
If I knew what I was getting into, I would have thought it was too hard and given up before I started.
But I realized it wasn’t that bad.
The path forward is an adventure. You don’t know where you’ll end up… and this is just the beginning.
What if your life is never the same again because you started today?
I promise you – you won’t regret it.
Start now.
Your friend,
Jamie
