I never found myself to be a complicated person. I am a Gemini and although I'm not into astrology it's hard to dispute that I am.
I mean, I grew up hanging out in the streets of Brooklyn, New York way before it's broad gentrification and admittedly fell through some rabbit holes in my life in those streets.
Tough lessons and definitely not unique to what people go through in situations that are common like one parent households, hanging around the wrong crowds, preferring the streets that to go to school, getting high, etc.
Along the way, the abuse on my body was also not uncommon with plenty of alcohol, cigarettes, recreational drugs and just stupid stuff that we don't think will hurt us especially when we are younger or just don't care.
Hard lessons are learned when you don't take care of your health and fitness, so I was lucky not to end up in a hospital because of my stupidity.
I did try a few things here and there to get into working out and eating healthier, but those were times where I still wasn't ready.
Fitness is a commitment and if you are not prepared to commit then you are wasting your time - In My Opinion.
Here's the thing, you don't have to strive to be a fitness model.
Fitness is for everyone and there shouldn't be centered around vanity, but more about making sure you can ace your physical when you go to the doctor. More importantly, that you can get up in the morning and feel younger than your age. Man, because the moments you don't then imagine that ugly feeling ten times over if you don't take care of your health.
I'm 56 years old and I'll be 57 in a few months and in my late 40's is when I had a moment of clarity based off one picture.
My ex-wife and I were looking through photos of a weekend get-away we had in Marco Island to celebrate a friend's birthday.
I had a cigarette in one hand, a beer in the other and a gut that was kind of gross. Just a picture of an unhealthy person who was abusing their body.
From that day forward, I have worked very hard to cleanse myself from as much crap as possible. Am I perfect - NO, Am I a fitness guru - NO, Am I a fitness model - NO, will I ever be? NO NO NO!
You would think after almost 9 years doing high intensity interval training sessions I would be all of the above lol.
But, it's not about that.
I always look at my health and fitness journey and compare it to myself half a lifetime ago.
When I started eating healthier, making wiser choices with food (that is always a work in progress) and working out consistently and with intent my life changed not only physically, but mentally and spiritually.
My physicals year in and year out are thankfully above average. There is always little something here and there that I need to work on, but outside of a situation where I was using a pre-workout mix that showed up as I was using steroids and the doctor freaked out and called me back in there hasn't been any issues.
Truth be told 2021 and 2022 was bad for me, because of COVID, injuries and a car accident and that set me back, but it never stopped me from working out completely.
After the accident, I had to stop for about 3 months and those 3 months was the longest I had go without working out in over 8 plus years.
So during those two very challenging years, I gained weight, my mental took a hit and spiritually things was disjointed.
When 2023 came along, my wife Tiffany and I decided to join the transformation challenge at the fitness studio we go to just to reset our bodies with some trepidation since last year we thought things were getting back on track and it was just not another good year.
My ultimate goal was to get to as close as I was over two years ago.
That means, I needed to come as close or match my previous endurance, power and speeds and I needed to lose at least 20 pounds.
I've lost the weight and I have been hitting those speeds and have been rowing higher in wattage, working with heavier dumbbells, etc.
There are moments when I still have to deal with some permanent injuries know and of course my age, but there is a reason for this post and perhaps if it can help at least one person this is it.
Consistency in anything good you are doing for yourself is so crucial in always maintaining a path.
I had almost 7 years of consecutive years of workouts and just kicking ass while maintaining my weight then almost 2 brutal years of challenges, BUT I remained consistent with my workouts. Yes, at a lower pace and other negative outputs.
I remember my last physical the doctor was shocked to see I had gained as much weight as I did and I was like dude you know what I've gone through. He wasn't having it. He will be happy to see that I'm back to what he's accustomed to with my stats, when I go back to see him in a few months.
It's very important for me to bring it back to HIVE and this incredible blockchain, because when I first started learning the ins and outs on how to navigate my time on HIVE, the very first dApp that resonated with me was @actifit
It was awesome to have something that I can use along with the heart rate monitor I use in my workouts and move to earn.
When we talk about consistency and how crucial it is with fitness, the same goes with our consistency on the HIVE blockchain and ACTIFIT has been an awesome platform to keep that consistency going.
MORE LIFE
I'm an upgraded member and use the following services:
CANVA.COM
IMGBIN.COM
CLICKTRACKPROFIT.COM
LEADSLEAP.COM
LISTNERDS.COM