First things first, the title’s not mine. It’s the name of the clothing line launched by the guys behind Yes Theory (if you don’t know who they are/what they do, look them up on Youtube, it’s worth it).

I lift weights, that’s what I do. 

For the past few years, most of my athletic goals have been related to the poundages I can get from point A to point B and how I look while doing it. There’s just something I used to find deeply fulfilling about sculpting my physique as close as possible to my vision of the ideal body.

I became so entrenched in this very limited vision of physical human potential that it stopped allowing me to expand my athletic and mental horizons. Don’t get me wrong, up to a certain point, progressing in strength was definitely correlated with an improvement in mental fortitude. After a couple of years, however, strength training became a routine rather than a way of pushing my limits.

I found myself unable to mentally push myself in activities in which I wasn’t already proficient. Because I had settled for so long into this very specific and limited dimension of fitness, trying new challenges felt like a chore instead of an opportunity to better myself.

So I started running. A lot.

Picture this: a short, stocky guy who hasn’t even dared to think about running in years puts on his gym shoes and starts running like his life depends on it. Common sense would dictate that I wouldn’t make it very far in this new endeavour, yet I just ran a half-marathon after 3 weeks of training. This is far from being an extraordinary achievement, but fuck it, I’m proud of myself.

Getting out of my athletic comfort zone is making me realize that the limits I have set for myself are completely illusory and rooted in insecurity. I am, and always have been, afraid of failing. That has made me increasingly risk-averse, even when it comes to trivialities such as changing my exercise regiment. In other words, I have opened my eyes to my shortcomings and I can now see all that I have been missing out on because of them.

The time has come for a change, and I am leading the charge.