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#5 - Lessons Learned While Training For My First Marathon
99 Plays2 years ago
Listen, I've never been a big runner, and in fact, I've always dreaded and avoided it as much as possible. And with that being said, I had the bright idea to run a marathon this year! Pretty smart, right? But In all seriousness, I wanted to really challenge myself and step outside of my comfort zone so here we are.
Currently, 10 weeks into this 18-week process, and I wanted to share some of my experiences so far, some struggles, and some lessons I've learned along the way. One perk about running long distances is you have plenty of time to think, so I figured let me get some of those thoughts out and hope to provide a little am currently, little insight into how to accomplish your own big goals.
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Transcript
Training for a Marathon: A Personal Challenge
00:00:04
Speaker
All right, we are back at it with episode number five on the Fit-ish podcast. I was thinking recently about this next episode and a lot of you guys that follow me on social media know that I am currently training for a marathon. I'm a little bit more than halfway through the training process. The marathon will be in the first weekend of May. And a lot of you guys also know if you've been following me that I have not
00:00:32
Speaker
a runner at all have never considered myself a runner and honestly don't even really like running. But doing a marathon was something that I always thought would be a really cool thing to kind of check off the bucket list. And at the same time, I like taking on challenges and
00:00:48
Speaker
me being a fitness coach and teacher and football coach, always asking people to, you know, do different things and step outside of their comfort zone. I thought that it was, you know, my turn to try something that was a little bit out of my comfort zone, something that scared me a little bit. And, uh, honestly, something that, you know, it was a little bit new. And, um, cause I think those kinds of challenges are really important in life as adults. You don't always get those opportunities.
00:01:15
Speaker
Growing up, you have those opportunities with sports and in school and different clubs and activities that you're involved in. But when you become an adult, you don't always get those opportunities. So I feel like fitness is a really good way to challenge yourself and force yourself to grow and learn about yourself.
Lessons from Marathon Training
00:01:32
Speaker
And it's just a really meaningful thing to do because to me, making progress
00:01:37
Speaker
is something that you should strive for on a daily basis, whether it's in fitness, whether it's in your relationships, your personal life. Progress is something that I'm always personally striving for and fitness is a great way to chase that progress. So in the last two and a half months of training for this marathon,
00:01:57
Speaker
I've been able to, you know, learn some things and that's kind of what I want to talk about within this podcast. Five big lessons that I've learned and give you a little bit of insight and hopefully drop some nuggets in there that you can relate to a little bit and using your own fitness journey. Because what I like to do is relate to sports and fitness. Those are kind of my two areas that I feel very comfortable in. And I try to use those things that I learned from those areas.
00:02:21
Speaker
and relate those back to just everyday life to help myself, but also help other people. So that's kind of what I want to talk about today. And then also just to give you a little insight as well as to how I go about achieving or setting those big goals and then also working towards those and eventually achieving those.
Setting and Achieving Significant Goals
00:02:38
Speaker
I've done some things within my own fitness process of obviously losing the hundred pounds that I've talked about multiple times. I had the goal last year to dunk a basketball, which I finally did at the age of
00:02:50
Speaker
29. And now this year, I'm taking on the marathon. So I've been able to accomplish a few things. And so the way that I go about, you know, setting goals and achieving those goals may be a little bit different than what you've done, but I'll just kind of share some of my experiences and things that I've done to help me accomplish those things. And
00:03:08
Speaker
Hopefully you can get a little value out of that as well. So lesson number one, I was recently on a, my last run that I did, my long, my long run. So the way that I'll break it down real quick. So the way that the training has been working is every single week you have multiple kind of shorter recovery style runs. Then there's like a tempo run, which is more like a faster pace, but shorter kind of duration type runs. So you really like pushing your speed. And then every week you have a long run. So.
00:03:37
Speaker
Week one, the long run started at five miles and then it's progressively gotten bigger and bigger. So two was like six miles. Week three was seven and so on. And then eventually got up to double digits, then did the half marathon. So 13.1. And then my recent long run was 15 and a half miles, which was a struggle. Let me tell you, as I said, I'm, I've never been a big runner.
00:04:03
Speaker
being a little bit bigger and, you know, I'm weighing in right now around like 210, 215. So that's a little bit big for like a longer endurance type runs typically. But again, I wanted to do something that was going to challenge me. So that's why I'm doing it.
00:04:18
Speaker
On that long run, you have a lot of, a lot of time to think. And so I was thinking about just some different things that, you know, I've been able to gain from this process of training for this marathon. Things that I feel like relate really well to fitness and other people's fitness journeys, but just life in general as well too. So those are the things that I'm just going to talk a little bit about today.
00:04:40
Speaker
and we'll see what we can get out of it. So number one, lesson number one, I was thinking about before I started this whole process, I made sure that I did a little research. So that was big lesson. Number one is if you're going to have, take on a big goal and do something that you've never done before, it is a very good idea to do your research. Don't just jump into something blindly because you're probably not going to be very successful when you do that.
The Importance of Planning and Research
00:05:03
Speaker
So what I like to do is typically now with so many different people that you can follow on social media and so many different resources and
00:05:10
Speaker
books and all that kind of stuff. First thing I do is I typically go try to find people who have done what I want to do. So for example, for this marathon, as soon as I decided that I was going to do it, I went and followed a couple of people that I knew were avid runners and people who had done marathons, people who trained people to do marathons and just kind of follow them in.
00:05:30
Speaker
I would look through their pages a little bit, see if there was some helpful content within there that I could gain a little insight from, learn some things so that I wasn't just completely diving into this thing with not knowing anything at all. Right along with that, you know, podcasts, there's tons of podcasts out there. Books, I'm a big reader, so books are always nice too. And then YouTube and TikTok and everything else, there's just so much information out there. So that's the first thing that I do is I try to find people who have done what I want to do.
00:05:57
Speaker
I'll follow those people. And if I like what they have to say and you know, their advice seems solid, then I'll continue to follow those people and continue to dig in and try to find some of their tips and secrets and things that they've done that have worked for them. And then try to apply that to what I'm typically doing. Because the thing is, when you're chasing these big goals, obviously you've never done them before. There's going to be new territory. You're going to make some mistakes, but if you can find people who have already made those mistakes, maybe save yourself a little bit of time.
00:06:26
Speaker
energy from doing, you know, making those same exact mistakes, then that's definitely a win in my book. And as I said, having a plan is always going to be better than just winging it. You're much more likely to succeed when you have a plan. Plus, having a plan just allows you to be a little bit more accountable. So when you're just out there winging it, it's pretty easy when, you know, you just walk out and
00:06:49
Speaker
Like, okay, I need to get a workout in today, but I don't really know exactly how far I need to run or how much I should be lifting today. You just kind of go in there, you do whatever you're feeling, and then you get out and then you convince yourself that, you know, that was good enough for that day. Versus if you're using a plan, and I know that on this week, this day, I need to get out, I need to get 45 minutes of running in or three miles of running in, then I know exactly what I have to do. I get out, I do it, and I stick to the plan.
00:07:15
Speaker
Again, when you don't have those things laid out, it's very, very easy to, you know, slack off a little bit and just kind of go through the motions. And I mean, you know, when you do those things, you're never going to have the best results. If you ever follow, you know, any of the best athletes or people that are, you know, really good in their craft, they always have some type of plan that they're following. When I was creating this and thinking about this whole idea about doing your research, I was thinking about, you know, the Super Bowl, which recently happened.
00:07:42
Speaker
If you guys are football fans and you watch the Super Bowl at all, and you saw what the Chiefs were doing, especially on offense, you know that Andy Reid was doing a super solid job. I mean, just watching him was just very, very cool because you could tell that he had done a lot of planning, a lot of research, a lot of scouting, and had a very good game plan. I mean, it helps when you have really good players, but you could tell some of the things that they were doing, some of the mismatches they were creating, some of the plays they were calling, you could tell that they had done a ton of work researching
00:08:12
Speaker
So when you do those things, when you research, you know, have a solid plan in place and then put in the work to get you into a place where you can execute that plan, good things are going to happen. So never go into a, you know, a big goal blindly. You always want to have some sort of plan. And I always think about the quote. I don't remember where I heard it, but probably a coach that I had somewhere along the way, but they said, you know, not having a plan is basically just planning to fail. So.
00:08:38
Speaker
You don't have some sort of plan, it's probably not a good thing. And so that's step number one, lesson number one that I've learned from this marathon training. And if you're planning on taking on, you know, a big audacious goal, you probably want to have some sort of plan, do a little bit of research.
Overcoming Inertia in Fitness Routines
00:08:54
Speaker
Lesson number two, starting is almost always the hardest part of the process. So one thing that I've noticed when I've been going out on my runs, whether it's a short run or, you know, a long run,
00:09:07
Speaker
That first mile is almost always the hardest and typically because it's the one where you have to start things up. A lot of times, especially like for me right now, I'm not always feeling the runs. Sometimes I'm a little stiff, a little sore, maybe a little knee pain, a little tired, whatever it is, other stresses going on, getting busy.
00:09:28
Speaker
I know it's something that I prioritize and I need to get in, but that first mile is always tough to get started. As soon as you get going, it gets easier, you get into a little bit of a flow, you start to feel a little better, your body loosens up a little bit, your mind clears a little bit, and then you're off and running.
00:09:47
Speaker
in a good place where you can continue to make progress and do all the right things. And a couple of things that have helped me that I've kind of adapted within my own, not just fitness, but some other things that I've used as well when it comes to finding a little bit of motivation to get started is something called the five minute rule, which
00:10:08
Speaker
All that means is if, let's say you have to run or maybe it's a lift or stretching or anything like that. Basically you tell yourself that you're going to go in, you're going to give it five minutes. And then after five minutes, if you don't want to continue, if you want to leave, that's perfectly fine. You can pack it up, call it a day, but at least you tried, gave it, you know, you gave it something, you got started and you can chalk that up as a win for that day. If you're, you know, you're really not feeling it, just give yourself the five minute rule.
00:10:37
Speaker
What happens most times when you do start, once you get past that five minutes, almost every single time, you'll continue. Because like I said, the hardest part is getting started. So like, you're not feeling it one day, tell yourself, all right, I'm going to go hit it for five minutes. Basically, that gives you, you know, a set or two in the gym, you get started. And as soon as you get that first set or two in, you start feeling better, you start loosening up, you're already there, you're already warmed up. So you just figure, you know, you might as well just finish and continue to get your whole workout in.
00:11:05
Speaker
And it's just a little mindset thing, a little psychology thing, even though you know, you know, you're probably going to go through with it. It's just something about breaking it down into that very small manageable goal that makes it super attainable and doesn't make it seem as bad. So the five minute rule is something that I use with myself. Still, I use a lot with stretching, but even with running, like tell myself five minutes after five minutes, if I want to stop, I'll stop. But again, I promise you, once you get going, you will almost always just continue and finish your workout.
00:11:33
Speaker
Some other things like to help you get going is you can always use some outside motivation. So things like music is really nice. Videos, there's plenty of sound bites and things out there that you can use to kind of get you motivated a little bit. Those are those are nice. Sometimes I wouldn't rely on those all the time, because when you're relying on those things all the time, they can kind of wear off and their effect doesn't have as as big of a success if you're always using those things to get yourself hyped up. But you know, every once in a while you need a little outside motivation.
00:12:02
Speaker
Uh, whether it's from, you know, somebody that you follow or somebody to get you going a little bit. Um, so those things can be useful. And then one other thing that I really liked doing too, like when there's times that I'm really not feeling it is I do what's called habit stacking. So like with running, obviously music is a big thing.
00:12:19
Speaker
I like listening to music, so I'll put together a really good playlist that I'm looking forward to, or maybe like new music that I've been wanting to listen to, but I haven't had the chance to. I'll put that on while I go run, so that way I'm more so focused on that than necessarily just getting the run in, which can be tough sometimes. I'm a big fan of podcasts, so if I have a podcast that I've really been looking forward to, I'll save it for a run. That way I'm getting to listen to that podcast, but I'm also getting that working at the same time.
00:12:46
Speaker
Other things too like, you know, some people you'll see them like watching Netflix, like when they're on the treadmill or on the cardio bike and stuff like that. So super easy thing that you can do, just stack habits together. So maybe it's something that you don't necessarily want to do with something that you are looking forward to doing. And that way it makes it not seem quite as bad and you actually start looking forward to those things that way.
The Role of Motivation and Consistency
00:13:07
Speaker
And then lastly, the other thing is that I always think about, I'm always going to feel better once I finish that run versus if I was to just skip that thing for the day and just not go for it. I mean, how many times have you not wanted to work out? You end up doing it anyways. And then when you finish, you're like, man, I feel so much better. I'm glad I did that. I feel good about getting that done. Physically, I feel better. Mentally, I feel better. And just psychologically, I feel good because I did what I said I was going to do. I got it done.
00:13:36
Speaker
Even if I didn't want to, I made it through and you know, I feel good about that. And that's, that's huge, especially in, in terms of, you know, long-term fitness and being able to stick to things and building what's called self-efficacy, you know, and yourself being basically just saying that you do the things you're going to do.
00:13:52
Speaker
which is a big factor in actually hitting your goals. When you say you're gonna do something, when you say you're gonna work out, when you say you're gonna run, when you say you're gonna stretch, when you say you're gonna eat a certain way, keep those promises to yourself because that builds that self-confidence, that builds that self-efficacy within yourself and it starts to prove to yourself that you are the type of person that does what they're gonna do.
00:14:13
Speaker
And when you do those for enough days in a row, enough weeks in a row, enough months in a row, you'll start to see massive progress and you start to turn into this person who really values fitness, values taking care of their body and values, you know, keeping those promises to yourself. So it seems like a very small thing, but I promise you over
00:14:29
Speaker
over time, it turns into a big thing. And that's what really produces those big results that you're after. And then obviously too, like I said, like once you get that workout in, you're going to feel better physically, you're going to feel better mentally. And so I think about those things, you know, before I even get my running, how good I'm going to feel when I'm done, mental clarity, you know, I feel a little bit less stressed, my mood's better, like all that stuff. So I think about those things when you're really not feeling it, when you really don't want to get started.
00:14:58
Speaker
When you're really just dragging, like think about that. The last point that I'll make about this is some of those days where you're really not feeling it. Like the days, like you're really, really not feeling it. Like you're stressed. You had a hard day.
00:15:11
Speaker
Stuff popped up, like maybe your workday was tough. You had some challenging going on in your personal life or maybe your relationship. Those are typically the days that you really need it the most. Like when you need that clarity, when you need to go, you know, relieve your mind of a little bit of stress and get your mind off, you know, everyday life and just go exercise.
00:15:29
Speaker
put yourself in a better head space. Those are the days that you really need it. So I would challenge you a little bit on those days where you're like, man, I feel like I just need a break. I don't want to do it. Those are the days that I get the most benefit out of actually getting in the gym and putting in a little bit of work. So just something to think about, a little food for thought there.
00:15:48
Speaker
Less number three, this ties in pretty well to a lot of stuff I was just talking about, but you won't always be motivated. Do it anyway. Like I said, you're always going to feel better once you get that workout in. Like nobody is ever mad about a workout that they did, even if they didn't really feel like it.
00:16:05
Speaker
And then just kind of breaking this down a little bit. So when we're talking about motivation, I think one of the misconceptions that people have is that they always need to be motivated in order to get something done. And that couldn't be further from the truth. If you take anybody who's skilled in any area, I promise you that they're not always motivated to do their certain skill. An NBA player isn't always excited to go and put in three hours of work in the gym or go do their recovery or go eat a certain way or
00:16:33
Speaker
and work on themselves for 10 hours a day doing all the things that they do, like professional athletes, even though they love, you know, their sport, they're not always excited to do all those things, but they do them anyways because they want to play at the highest level and they know the things that they have to do to get those done. And that goes for anything, like whether it's fitness or in your job, you know, whatever, like there's going to be days where you're not motivated. You don't really feel like doing it, but you know, you need to get those things done. So you find a way to do it. And if it's something that you prioritize,
00:17:03
Speaker
then you're going to make sure that you get in there and you get it done. So when I think about motivation now, um, I think about it a little differently. I used to rely a lot on, you know, outside motivation or, you know, what people call kind of like that external motivation. So sometimes it was like hype up music or hype up videos or, you know, maybe it was other people like pushing me like coaches and that sort of thing. But now that I'm out on my own, you know, and have been for, you know, since college and being done with sports and, you know, I don't have like my own personal trainer or,
00:17:32
Speaker
Anything like that. A lot of that motivation has to be created internally and it has to come from you. And I would argue that that's the kind of motivation that you want to rely on anyways, because it's going to last longer. And honestly, it's just going to mean more when it's coming from yourself internally versus having somebody always have to push you. Because again, nobody's going to be on top of you a hundred percent of the time pushing you to do those things, pushing you to work out, pushing you to eat a certain way.
00:17:56
Speaker
So when that motivation can come from within, that's going to be the motivation that actually lasts and that's going to be the motivation that creates the most progress and helps you along your own journey. And something I think about too is when it comes to that internal motivation, sometimes you're still not going to be motivated, but you take action anyways. Once you start taking action,
00:18:17
Speaker
You start getting a little bit of momentum. You start to see a little bit of progress. As you see that progress, now you're starting to get even more motivated, and then you continue to take action. So it's kind of a loop. So people often think that they need motivation. Once they get motivated, then they'll do the thing. Once they start doing the thing, then they see progress. As they see progress, they get motivated. But as I said, it's a little bit different. You do the thing first. You don't need to be motivated. You just do the thing. And then as you progress, you do the actions.
00:18:45
Speaker
do the activities, workout, eat a certain way, then you start to see some progress, then that motivation comes even more, and then it's kind of a continuous loop like that. So don't be fooled and think that
00:18:56
Speaker
You have to have motivation to get started. Motivation is nice when it's there. And sometimes, like I said, you would use some of that external motivation, but a lot of that stuff will just be created by taking action. And then lastly, um, something I think about, uh, quite a bit, and I don't remember where I heard this one either, but it was super simple, but it was basically like, you can find a way or you can find excuses. And I know like sometimes like, you know, that could seem like harsh or maybe like, you know, kind of raw, raw, like.
00:19:24
Speaker
grit through everything like super tough. But I mean, it's just a fact of the matter. Like you're going to use energy to do both those things. It's going to take energy to find an excuse and validate that excuse. And it's going to take energy to just get the work done. So you can spend your energy one way or you can spend it another way. And that's not to say that your excuse may be valid. Like you might be busy. You might be stressed. You might have stuff going on. The fact of the matter is it's still an excuse.
00:19:51
Speaker
And you're either going to get the work done or you're not going to get the work done. And when you look at it kind of simple and black and white like that, that helps me personally, I know just take action and typically choose the, choose the right path. So just again, a little something to think about kind of the way that I look at motivation and how I continue to do things even when I'm not motivated. And trust me, I personally am not motivated quite a bit. I think that that is also another misconception that people assume that people who
00:20:19
Speaker
like are active and like fitness and are like into this stuff are always motivated. And I can promise you for me and a lot of people that I know who are into fitness, like they are not always motivated to do that stuff, but part of their identity, they know it's going to make them better. They know they're going to feel better. So since it's a part of their identity and they make it a priority, then they find ways to get those things done, even when they're not motivated.
Adapting to Challenges in Fitness
00:20:42
Speaker
Moving on to the next one, lesson number four out of five, learn to adapt. And this has been something that I've had to think about a little bit more and more with this journey of running this marathon. There's been some things that have been tough to do, like the plan that I'm following, the idea was to get three to five runs in per week, but I also have other things going on. You know, I play basketball.
00:21:10
Speaker
uh, in a rec league and I play pickup basketball, pretty busy just doing other stuff with this business and all that kind of stuff. So again, there are going to be times when things don't necessarily work out as planned and you have to adjust a little bit. Prime example, you know, things come up like injuries and you have injuries. Obviously you have to treat those and take care of those things in the right manner. Otherwise, you know, you're not, you're not going to last very long in your plan if you're always injured.
00:21:35
Speaker
There are things that come up that you can't control. Things with work, with life, families, all that good stuff. Like sometimes you get sick, you can't train. There's going to be different things that come up along the way. And you're just going to have to adjust and kind of go with it. I mean, me personally with this marathon training, you know, I've been pretty busy, been doing different things on the weekends, been out of town. So one thing that I've had to do is move my long run around, which isn't necessarily ideal all the time. Like having to run 12 miles for school or before work.
00:22:05
Speaker
It's not the most ideal thing to do, but as I said, like since I've made this a priority, it's something that I've tried to do and I've had to do. Like it's not always going to be ideal, but there's going to be times where you have to adapt. You have to adjust and you just go with it. Um, and right along with that, just understanding that, you know, there are going to be times as much as you try to, you know, get every single workout in.
00:22:27
Speaker
You know, to follow all your healthy habits, to do the things you need to do to reach your goals. There's going to be times where like you do miss workout or you do, you know, take a day off or a couple of days off or things don't go exactly as planned. And just understanding that that's not ruining all your progress. Would it be nice to get those things in and everything goes planned? Yes, but that's just not life. That's just the fact of the matter. Like nothing's ever going to be perfect. There's always going to be things that come up. There's always going to be some.
00:22:54
Speaker
some places where you have to adapt and, you know, just kind of roll with it. Uh, you can't predict everything. You don't know how things are going to play out. So you have to be okay with being able to adapt. And I know personally, this has been something that I've struggled with in the past. Like I've always liked to follow the plan and stay very strict to the plan. Even sometimes when that was to my detriment, like whether it was trying to push through an injury or push through sickness or do something that I shouldn't be doing.
00:23:22
Speaker
knowing better just because I wanted to stick to the plan. So again, you have to be smart about it and understand to like know when you're making an excuse versus when you're actually being smart in adapting to the plan. And that's something that only you're gonna actually know, like even your coach, if you're working with somebody like a trainer or like stuff like that, like even them, like they're not gonna know truly exactly how you're feeling, if you should be pushing through.
00:23:48
Speaker
if you maybe you should be dialing it back a little bit if you need to you know take a day off or maybe you should be pushing a little bit more like you're the only one that's truly going to know whether or not you should be getting your workouts in that day or whether or not maybe you need to scale it back a little bit so be honest with yourself be truthful with yourself because again at the end of the day you're the one that's chasing the goal and you're not hurting anybody but yourself just understand where you're at and what you should be doing and don't be afraid to
00:24:17
Speaker
adapt a little bit when necessary. The last one that I have was lesson number five of things that I've learned through training for this freaking marathon is there will absolutely be times that you want to quit, but don't. I've definitely had some moments throughout this last two and a half months where I've been like, why am I doing this? This stuff kind of sucks like a lot.
00:24:45
Speaker
It's hard. It's difficult. I got aches and pains. Like my knees are hurting. I'm out here running for two and a half hours. Like why am I doing this? You know, but again, I said at the beginning of this podcast, like this is something that's important to me. I want to do it. I want to step outside of my comfort zone. I want to see what I'm capable of. I want to push myself. Um, and I also want to be an example. Like I, again, I tell people that, you know, they should be working out.
00:25:12
Speaker
They should be, you know, eating in a way that's healthy for them and getting the most out of their life and their experiences through health and fitness. And I don't want to be a hypocrite because, you know, I'm not stepping outside of my own comfort zone and doing things that scare me, challenged me, forced me to grow a little bit. So this is important to me. Like, and I'm not, I'm not going to quit, but I have certainly had some periods throughout, especially on those long runs where I'm freaking.
00:25:38
Speaker
12 miles into a 15 mile run and my legs are hurting. I can't really feel my legs like my hip flexors kind of hurting a little bit. My knee is flared up a little bit and I'm just like not feeling the best about things, but
00:25:52
Speaker
It's important to me, so I'm sticking to it. And I know I'm not going to quit even though I have thoughts of quitting. So my message to you is when those feelings and when those thoughts do come up, it's just continue to push through it. I promise that you can get through things. You're a lot stronger than what you think. And really the only way that you can guarantee that you're going to fail and not reach your goal is to quit.
00:26:16
Speaker
Like you're not guaranteed to, you know, reach your goal even while chasing it. But if you quit, you're guaranteed that you're not going to get that thing. So you might as well go for it. See what you can do. Push yourself and try to chase that goal, attain that goal because
00:26:32
Speaker
You quit, you're never gonna know, you're always gonna have those doubts, those regrets. And again, we wanna see what we can do here, push ourselves and see what we can accomplish. That's what fitness is all about. That's what chasing those big goals is all about. And just understanding that who you become in the process is really what's most important anyways.
The Value of the Journey Over the Goal
00:26:51
Speaker
Yes, that end goal is important. Personally for me right now, yes, running that 26.2 miles and finishing that marathon is really important.
00:26:59
Speaker
But what's even more important is the things that I'm learning in this day-to-day process through training for this for the last two and a half months and then also for the next two months as I continue to train for this thing. Some of the habits that I've been able to instill, some of the things that I've learned about myself, some of those characteristics that I've been able to continue to build on with self-discipline and
00:27:20
Speaker
those sorts of things that make a big difference in your life. I've been able to really focus on those and work on those and build those up just through something as simple as running. So I think that's something that also can help a little bit too, is that realizing that the process is important and probably more important than the actual final goal. Because if you've ever hit any type of goal,
00:27:44
Speaker
You understand that it's nice and you enjoy that and you celebrate it, but that happiness, that joy, it doesn't really, that satisfaction, it doesn't really last all that long. So if it doesn't last that long, then obviously it doesn't make sense to focus all your attention on that end goal. If that is just a small moment in time that you're going to focus on and then be done with it, it makes a lot more sense to actually think about the process, enjoy the process, see what you can learn throughout the process and the type of person that you become. That's what's really important.
00:28:13
Speaker
And make sure that you understand that that's what you should be focusing on is that day to day process, you know, of chasing those big goals and the things that you learn throughout that, whether it's on your fitness journey, or maybe you're trying to lose weight, build muscle, all those things that you learn throughout that, you know, how to live more healthily.
00:28:32
Speaker
how to incorporate certain healthy habits, you know, how to lose weight or lose fat, how to look better, how to, you know, gain strength so that you can do all the things that you want to do, experience all the things that you want to experience. Like those are the important things in developing those traits, you know, like grit and mental toughness, discipline, you know, self-confidence, delayed gratification, all those things are the important things. So basically kind of wrapping all this stuff up in conclusion,
00:29:01
Speaker
I guess the big thing, as I mentioned, that I wanted you to kind of gain from this is just understand the importance of, you know, having goals and chasing goals and how to get those things, but also just understanding that the process of attaining those goals is what's really important. As I mentioned, there's just so many different things that you can learn.
00:29:18
Speaker
and life lessons that you can gain from attacking fitness goals, just things like discipline, as I mentioned, time management, prioritizing things, delayed gratification, you know, and then also obviously all the physical benefits, mental benefits that come along with chasing fitness goals, like, you know, getting stronger, looking better, building muscle, better mood, better sleep, better memory, your immune system gets stronger, you don't get sick as much, you have better digestion, like, there's very few things that you can do in your life that's going to give you this
00:29:48
Speaker
much benefit through fitness and through chasing those goals. Like there's, there's just not a lot of things that you can do where you're going to gain that much. And also just understanding that those things that you gain, they also, you know, they spread out and they kind of spill over into other facets of your life. Being having more self-confidence is going to help you literally with every other thing within your life. Having better discipline is going to help you be a better parent. It's going to help you be
00:30:14
Speaker
better at your job, having a little bit of mental toughness is gonna be important when those hard things come in life that you're not really ready for, right? So all those traits that you develop throughout chasing these big fitness goals or just chasing your personal fitness goals are gonna do so much good and they're gonna have a ton of carry over, not just now, but as you continue through life and as you progress and become a better person, fitness can just be a huge, huge part of that.
00:30:41
Speaker
and something that can help you in so many different ways. So I guess the take-home message is continue to challenge yourself, find things that are worth trying to attain, things that are meaningful to you, things that you know you can get a lot of value out of and don't be afraid to chase those things. And as always, hopefully this was helpful. Hopefully you gained a nugget or two, something that you can help you with chasing your goals or things that you can implement within your own fitness journey.
Community Support and Sharing Fitness Experiences
00:31:12
Speaker
Do you have any like big lessons that you've learned from fitness or maybe some big goals that you are personally chasing? I would love to hear those. You can message me about those because I always love hearing people's own personal perspectives and their own journeys and their own goals that people are chasing. That's obviously why I'm a fitness coach because I love to hear that kind of stuff. So if you have any of that stuff that you'd like to share, shoot me a DM, shoot me a message on Instagram, would love to hear that. And then lastly, before I jump off here,
00:31:39
Speaker
I recently started a fat loss group on Facebook. It's all for busy millennials who basically what this podcast is all about. You know, I call it the fittest project for a reason because I know you guys are busy people. You know, you have a lot of things going on in your life, but you also value fitness. You want to look better, feel better. So I created this Facebook group all around fat loss for those types of people.
00:32:03
Speaker
I'll put a link in the show notes here and you can go in join that, but basically it's just going to be a ton of free kind of resources, different mini courses, PDFs, like just different things like that, that can help you with, you know, losing fat, keeping it off, but then also it is geared toward, you know, like I said, busy people like you and I who want to have other lives outside of the gym and don't want to, you know, obsess over health and fitness 24 seven. So this stuff will all be made with you in mind and, uh,
00:32:32
Speaker
Yeah, so I'll have the link for that. That's all I have for now and until next time.