Training Through Chaos.
This is one of those weeks in the gym that I'm not going to forget anytime soon.
The gym is a special place. I believe most people reading this would probably agree that the gym holds some significance in your day or in your week.
But honestly, why do we train?
Especially if we aren't competing. Or preparing to compete.
What's the point of regularly pushing ourselves to the point of discomfort? Why do we "opt-in," to struggle? Even on a micro scale. What's the point of 54 minutes of strain to start a day?
The answers to these questions were obvious this week.
Many of our clients live in neighborhoods that were hit with the storm surge flooding from Hurricane Helene. Many of our clients lost parts of their home. Or all of their home. Some of these homes are uninhabitable or unsalvageable. Some of our people were considered lucky If the ONLY thing they lost were their vehicles.
These floods surprised our community. This was a historic Tampa event.
Some of our clients that completely lost part of their home were in the gym THE NEXT DAY.
We had a high school student borrow a neighbors car to drive to the gym.
We have clients that have moved into rental houses across town and still haven't missed a session. Their entire life moved - except their training.
And then on the other end of the spectrum, we've had clients unexpededly miss two sessions in a row for the first time in eight years.
The gym is special.
We believe that when we regularly expose ourselves to strain and struggle, we are more adept to handle the chaos that will inevitably be thrown our way.
We do not fully control most elements of our lives. We have influence over them, but we do not control them.
We do not fully control our relationships. Spouses, kids, friends. We do not fully control our professional life. Outcomes are not always what we expect.
However, we DO control our physical habits. We believe that when we control what we can control it gives us a reference point when disarray knocks at our door. We have something familiar and predictable to fall back on.
We saw this play out during the COVID lockdowns. Many people had their life flow flipped upside down. And many people turned to their training routines.
Training hard is a daily reminder that discomfort will dissipate. The weight room teaches us to keep going. The everyday cadence of battle and victory instills a subconscious desire to persevere.
This is why we train.
This morning one of our clients spent over two hours in the gym. She was on and off the phone with all kinds of people - insurance, contractors, family members, who knows. It was clearly stressful.
At one point she thanked me for allowing her to take her time and escape.
Escape. SHE used that word.
Her training session this morning was the first day of a new phase. Some of her movements were brand new, and almost all of them were challenging her. It was a legitimately tough session.
And she considered the whole thing an escape.
The gym is special.
Train hard.
Live full.