I understand what it is like to be sick. Not sick as in just having a cold or the 24 hour flu. I’m talking really sick. I’m talking like go to the hospital to get an IV, lose 15 lbs in a week kind of sick. I’ve been at lows where I thought I was never going to get out of bed again, never go outside of my house, nevermind the thought of starting to work out. Yet, I’ve also overcome it. I’ve gone from bedridden to gym addict. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy, but it was possible.
I start off with these things because I think it is important to understand where I come from when I try to give advice or motivation. I’m not some guy that had everything given to him. I don’t have stellar genetics (my autoimmune disease can testify to that). Every ounce of muscle I have has come through blood, sweat, and tears. And I mean every ounce. Now, I’m going to sound like I’m giving excuses here but I’m not. Not only am I an ectomorph (someone with a high metabolism that is typically a “hard gainer”) but I also have a disease that disrupts my absorption of nutrients. By any means, I should look like a walking skeleton 24/7. I don’t have a typically high ap
petite. Every single sign points that I should have a very hard time working out and recovering. Yet, all this means is that I need to take extra care with my nutrition and recovery. But I’m getting off topic as I usually do. The reason I disclose these things is so that when I ask “What is stopping you from starting your health journey today?”, you know that I have been to the bottom of the barrel, and I have clawed my way back out of sheer determination.
I hear it far too often. “I’m just too tired to workout.” “I don’t have any time to train or workout.” “I don’t feel well enough to train.” Excuse the language but my answer is always the same…Bullshit! I know we are in an era where we try very hard not to offend other people, and that sometimes our words can get misunderstood to offend some. Yet, sometimes it is tough love that we need. That is why I don’t hesitate to call bullshit on your excuse. Get mad all you like, throw a tantrum, tell me how I don’t know anything… Whatever you need to do to get the frustration out, but let me tell you that you are only fooling yourself. We can ALL work out, we can ALL train. We can ALL progress ourselves to a life of better health, but you have to be willing to put in the work.
When I hear these excuses, I always wonder how bad people really want to get better, really want to train, lose weight, gain muscle, whatever their goal is. These things will never come easy. You are going to have to go through hell, so make sure you want it bad enough. That is not to say you will never achieve, that is simply saying it is going to be hard. But the end game is so worth it. Trust me, I know. You just have to be willing to endure. No matter what comes your way, ENDURE and no that you will come out stronger on the other end. Let me tell you my story, and then we can revisit why you can’t achieve your goals.
I’ve spoken about my battle with ulcerative colitis numerous times throughout the life cycle of this site, but now I want to speak of a specific battle I had with it. When I had stopped taking my medication, it took about 3 months for my symptoms to come back. The pain, the loss of appetite, weight loss, joint pain, lack of sleep; you name it and I was dealing with it. Within six months, I had quit both my jobs, I had considered dropping out of school, and what’s worse is that I felt totally alone. At this point, I didn’t know anyone else with my condition, and I fell into the trap of thinking that no one else knew what I was going through. I took it upon myself to go on this journey alone. Like I’ve mentioned before, I came across my own source of motivation and began playing sports. However, what I don’t often talk about is that at the same time, I was trying to re-enter the world of fitness. Soccer was once a week and I wanted relief of symptoms seven days a week. So I attempted to do what I thought was impossible just a week before.
I began working out. Yes, I was tired all the time. The urgency of having to go to the bathroom interrupted my sleep. I was lucky to go a full night without waking up 1/2/3 times to run to the bathroom. I wasn’t eating a lot. My energy was down. But I wasn’t about to let this disease dictate my life. I started slow, don’t get me wrong. The workouts were simple and to the point. 3 sets of 10 squats, 3 sets of 10 pushups, 3 sets of maybe 3 chin ups (if I got that many). All the while, in between every set, and sometimes during the set, I would have to run to the bathroom for 10-15 minutes before continuing. A workout that should’ve taken 20 minutes ran me an hour. But this was just the beginning and there was no way I was giving up.
I took this determination to the school gym. I added weights to my workouts. I starting lifting to regain the weight I had lost using the “Starting Strength” lifting template to build strength and muscle. Low reps, high weight. Once again, I was plagued with the urgency to use the bathroom. After every set, I ran out of the school gym to use the bathroom, and then would have to be let back in. A few times my card timed out and a gym attendant would have to let me back in, always looking at me like I was the weird guy running out every 5 minutes. I didn’t care though, they didn’t know my story and they didn’t need to. They just had to let me back in. Once again, I battled my way through each workout.
Slowly and surely I would increase my weights on the bar, gain mass, and then get little bouts of sickness and lose a bit of weight, just to battle back and repeat the process. It took time, but my symptoms started decreasing with every gym visit (of course, I was still taking my medication). It has taken me 3 years to get where I am today. I still fight every day to go into that gym to do my training. Some days are better than others but I know without a doubt that without my level of fitness, my disease would have a controlling share in my day to day life. And with that attitude, every day I wake up, I go to war. I fight my disease by going to the gym. When I’m tired, when I’m being lazy, or when I’m busy with school, work, home life, etc. I make the time to go to the gym and train, because if I don’t, that’s one day I lost my battle. I refuse to lose the war.
I tell you this story because if a 148lbs 6’0ft sick, scrawny kid can turn himself into a symptom free 175lbs confident guy who can walk out of his house with his head held high, you can do anything you set your mind to. This is why I call bullshit on excuses. I was tired, I was sick, I was going to school for 30-40 hours a week plus homework. I was able to do it. I had to endure though. Like I said, it’s not an easy path. I had to endure pain, I had to be tired, I had to time manage. But I did what I had to in order to feel better. Don’t let your excuses get the best of you. Those excuses are self-imposed limits. You would be surprised exactly how much you are capable of. So what are you waiting for? Put those excuses to bed, and get out there and go train!
This video below is a source of inspiration for me whenever I need it. Check it out.