Monday’s post was about changing your circumstance no matter the cards you’ve been dealt. The core idea is to stop focusing on what you don’t have and start playing the hell out of the cards you do have. Complaining doesn’t bring results – action does.
Today, we’ll give you a powerful example of someone who consistently gives his best effort with what he has, even when all the cards were stacked against him.
Last week, during our 6:45 a.m. ELITE session, our member John pulled me aside. “Remember when I first joined and couldn’t do a single push-up?” he asked. “I just wanted to see how many I could do now, and I got 41.”
When John first joined our gym, he couldn’t stand up from a chair on his own. His joints ached. He’s had three surgeries on his left knee and five on his right. His left shoulder has had a clavicle resection, and his right shoulder had two surgeries, including a clavicle resection and a rotator cuff repair in October 2023. Years of high school athletics, martial arts, and general wear and tear gave him a loaded deck of obstacles to overcome.
John’s first ELEVATE session was in February 2020, and even when we closed for the pandemic from March through July 2020, he kept building the exercise and daily movement habits he had learned in his first month. He slowly started building a healthier and sustainable nutrition program.
I asked John what he felt was the biggest reason for being able to go from zero to 41 push-ups. He grinned and said, “Consistency.”
John shows up and trains three days a week, and he has for over five years. He can now perform heavy dumbbell bench presses, has trap bar deadlifted over 405 pounds, runs fast 10-yard sprints, and splits and stacks cord of wood for fun, simply because he can.
He’s curious and has developed the knowledge to learn more about habits and nutrition, all while running a successful business. Today he’s down over 80 pounds.
Too often, people want the easy way out. They’re quick to complain and unwilling to put in the effort and trust the process. John shows us that hard work, effort, and being consistent with what you can do will get you the results you want. All John needed was the guidance and support that our programming and coaching provides – work on stability, mobility, and build strength with the right dose of weight and volume.
We can help you do the same.