I’ve been a health and fitness coach for 18 years. In that time, it’s safe to say I’ve trained almost every segment of the population imaginable.
Kids, teens, young adults, seniors, a professional athlete here and there, men, women, damn near every ethnicity you could think of, rich, poor, middle class, overweight, underweight, short, tall, and the list goes on.
What’s always been incredible about the gym is it serves as the great equalizer in life. Regardless of all the aforementioned categories, as Henry Rollins once famously said, “200lbs is always 200lbs.”
The weight doesn’t care, it’s impartial to who you are, what you have, what you did yesterday, or what you plan to do tomorrow.
Having been in this for as long as I have, I have seen patterns within people that hold true almost 100% of the time. By seeing how someone operates in the gym, I can zero in with accuracy how someone operates in life.
How You Operate In The Gym Reflects In Your Life
For the sake of this article, I’m going to give you the 3 main types of people I have observed over the years.
M.I.A.
Yes, that stands for missing in action. As 70% of the United States population is overweight/obese, it stands to reason the majority of people never work out (which boggles my mind). It also stands to reason most people struggle through life in general.
Not enough money, unfulfilled relationships, job dissatisfaction, etc. If you can’t even take the first step in taking better care of yourself, how can you expect the world around you to provide what you desire?
Locomotion
Of those who do exercise regularly, many just go through the motions. Don’t get me wrong, this is LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than sitting on your ass doing nothing at all, but at some point, you must move past the bench and bi’s workout you learned from your high school football coach, or the same step class you’ve been doing for the past 20 years.
Oftentimes these people are doing just enough. That doesn’t necessarily mean the bare minimum, but just enough to stay in moderately good shape. The problem is these people never really push themselves. They’re not willing to get uncomfortable to take their health and fitness to the next level.
Again, this winds up reflected in life. Not willing to get up early, not willing to stay late, not willing to take a little risk, not willing to see what lies on the other side of fear.
High Achiever
Ah, these are my people! Unfortunately, they’re a rare breed, but you can spot them a mile away. These are the people who look for the challenge.
These are the people who will do an extra rep because they know they had bad form on one of them. These are the people who will work until the timer goes off, not a few seconds before.
When I have a client look up at me and say “That’s a little light. I can do more”, it makes me smile from ear to ear because I KNOW that person demands the best for themselves.
It’s no surprise these people are typically the most successful ones in the real world. You can define success however you want, but usually, these individuals are fulfilled in life, operate with happiness and gratitude, and are always looking for ways to improve themselves so they can serve the world better.
So which one are you? I would encourage you to take a good, hard look in the mirror and ask yourself if you’re truly representing what winning looks like in all areas of life, not just the ones you feel comfortable with.
And if you need some help putting all the pieces together, just go to www.jointheapex.com and get the conversation started.
Aaannnddd GO!!
