My Inspiration

I think way too often about what I want to do with my life. I'm sure any of you reading this do too. I think most of us (except the lucky few) are still pretty lost about our career goals, life goals, and finding ourselves. This stage of life is generally a transitional one.

Yet, we all love to have those people in our lives who have their shit together, and who can tell us that we will figure things out, and everything will be okay. For me, that person has always been my brother, Jonah. Jonah is a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying exercise science. He has an exceptional gift for Ultimate Frisbee; he captains Pitt's A Team which has won several national championships. He is by far the most knowledgable, hard-working, and dedicated person I know.

Now, you're probably wondering, "what does this have to do with Evil Shortcuts or Six Pack Abs?" Well, I thought I'd err on the motivational and existential side of fitness this week, just to shake things up.

As compared to Jonah, I'm severely less knowledgable about exercise science and less disciplined. I often go to him for advice. But the main benefit in fitness that I get from having him as a brother is asking myself the question, "what would Jonah do?" Essentially, I try to use him (even when he's not there) to guide my decisions in the gym. Should I do another set? Will I get hurt? Is my technique right? What would Jonah do?

We should all have a Jonah in our lives; a person whose spirit lives within us and who without, we could not get through the day. This isn't to say people shouldn't be self-reliant, but I also think we'd be fooling ourselves to say that we could survive emotionally on our own. Anyways, the Jonah's of the fitness industry can guide gym goers in many ways. George Leeman, former holder of the American Raw Deadlift Record, uses the memory of his deceased brother every time he attempts a heavy lift in order to get himself into the appropriate state of mind. According to him, he has used his brother as motivation for many years since his death, and each time he brings him back into memory, he will undoubtedly get fired-up.

Yes, someone could make significant strength and conditioning gains without having an inspiration. However, Leeman shows us that there is a wealth of benefits waiting for us as soon as we incorporate a Jonah into our lives.

The message of this post is larger than Jonah or George themselves. You shouldn't be afraid to take advantage of whatever becomes available to improve yourself in the gym, whether it be going with a friend, bringing music, rewarding yourself with an ice cream cone, etc. Work smarter not harder! There is no limit to what you can accomplish if you are willing to explore the ways in which you can achieve your goals more efficiently, easily, and with more excitement.