Some people believe in God. Some people believe in aliens and bigfoot. Some people believe that Elvis didn't die. I personally believe that Jim Morrison is alive and well (albeit chubby, with a big white beard - Santa Clause esque, really) living in up state New York playing open mic nights. But the bottom line here is that EVERYONE believes in SOMETHING. Side note, if you don't know who Jim Morrison is, get up and walk out THE DOOR(S) and find out. Perhaps this is a strange way to start a blog but you'll see where I'm going.
Belief is a strange thing when you get down to the nitty gritty. You invest a lot of yourself in a thought. Something that you know, deep down in the very fiber of your being is one hundred percent true. And a lot of the time, you don't really know why. Perhaps it's something that you've been told or taught since you were a child. Perhaps it's something that you've seen and you just know that it's true. For whatever reason you hold that thought sacred and it's your belief. It's yours. You keep it. You own it. It's with you. All. The. Time.
Belief carries over to all aspects of your life. My beliefs - they carry over to one thing that I'm very passionate about. Fitness. My fitness. My fat loss. Being the best physically that I can be.
But you know what's funny about beliefs? They can change. They are the strongest things that you will ever know - until they aren't.
Is your mind blown yet? Mine is.
I believed that the only way to lose fat was to cut my carbs down to under 100 grams of carbs every day. Now, several days per week, I now eat in excess of 250 grams of carbs. I now weigh 60 pounds less than I did when I was eating 100 (or less) grams of carbs.
I believed that squatting til I puked, deadlifting until my spine was broken, and benching until my eyes bled was the only way to pack on size and get strong. I may not be the strongest that I ever was, BUT, I'm leaner, I have more muscle than I ever have, and if programmed correctly I know that I can get my totals back to or above where they were. Annnndddd I did this all using machines, dumbbells, and A LOT less squatting than I used to do.
I believed that warming up and cooling down, stretching and foam rolling was for pussies. It took up too much time away from the squat rack. I ached ALL the time, I had trouble walking and I couldn't tie my shoes without severe pain. Warm-ups, foam rolling and pre-hab are now a staple in every one of my workouts. Ask anyone who has trained with me and they'll tell you after 7 or 8 warm-up sets.
I believed I hate "arm day". I believe I still hate "arm day" but in order for one to be jacked, tan and juicy AF you have to do some direct arm work. But you can sprinkle that nonsense in on a couple of training days and get those guns to grow. After all, pythons have to eat.
I believed that I would never be able to do sets of pull-ups. Then I started "greasing the groove" - get your dirty minds out of the gutter. Gross. "Greasing the Groove" is another name for the cumulative method. I could do a set of 3 or 4 chin ups at a time. So I started doing sets of 3. Then I started doing sets of 4, then 5, then 6. Finally I got up to sets of 10. Now I can do sets of 3 or 4 pull-ups. Guess what method I'm going to use? That groove is going to be greased soon. Don't. Be. Nasty.
I believe that people will always talk shit. I hate to use profanity here but it's true. I don't think I have a lot of "haters" because I cut a lot of those people out of my life. If I do - good - that means I'm doing something right. But even people I don't know will talk shit. I got called fat a couple of weeks ago. And you know what? It hurt just as much that day as it did the first time it happened when I was 6 years old. But that's just people talking shit.
Piggybacking off of the previous belief - I believe that you need to cut negativity out of your life. And that means sometimes you have to say goodbye to people or places. You need to surround yourself with good vibes. Now I'm no crystal-gripping, tree-hugging, hippie, but there is something about "good vibes" that make life easier. I've said goodbye to "friends" and acquaintances, I've stopped going to certain places and I avoid mass-complainers because that does nothing but bring me down. And guess what champ? Stuff like that will ruin your workout, blow your buzz, poop in your punch bowl and make you have a case of the Mondays. Even on a Friday. So if that means taking your red Swingline stapler and listening to your radio at a reasonable volume,do it.
Milton believes you have his stapler.
I believed that fear was crippling. I would never, ever want to be scared of anything. I hated horror movies, I hated the dark, I hated heights, I was basically scared of my own shadow. It was a BIG shadow... Then I watched a scary movie. Then another and another. I read scary books. I would walk (not run) in the dark. I took flights on air planes and climbed to the top of towers (using the stairs of course). These might seem like little victories over what some might think are little fears, but it's facing fears that allows you to push 400 pounds away from your chest, lift 500 pounds off the floor, go for that job that you were scared you wouldn't get or ask out that special someone you thought you wouldn't have a chance with. Fear isn't the only fuel, but it's a good kick in the pants when you need one. And don't forget: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering...some knowledge from Master Yoda right there.
I believed that you had to follow Program X, Program Y or Program Z to accomplish your goals. I believed that you had to do what he or she did in order to get the results that he or she got. But you know what - sometimes you have to do what works for you. Modify, pull stuff out, put stuff in, change, scale. Don't bastardize the program entirely (especially if you paid for the thing) but, do whatever you need to do to get where you want to be. Don't let the internet (or this blog) tell you what works for you. Bottom line you know you better than anyone.
You know what I never believed in? Myself. For - lets be conservative here - the first 28 years of my life I never believed in Kyle. I was insecure in my knowledge, my talent, by strength, my fortitude and everything I had. I was spineless and gutless. According to that description I was just a head, torso and legs. Very inconvenient. But something changed. I got stronger (physically and mentally). I got confidence in the things that I did. I started to believe in myself. And my strengths got stronger and my confidence grew. I became a better employee, husband, athlete and overall person.
At the end of the day, you have to believe in yourself. I didn't want the end of this blog to turn into some sort of Disney cartoon, but friends, you HAVE to believe in yourself. You have to trust your instincts and do whats right. You have to look inside yourself and believe that you can accomplish the goals that you set forth. If you don't have that faith, your mom, dad, cousin, aunt, uncle, wife, husband, friends or anyone thinking you can do it will matter. If you don't think you can, you won't.
I haven't accomplished all my goals, and quite frankly some of them are so lofty that I may never accomplish all of them. But you know what? I believe I can.
I haven't accomplished all my goals, and quite frankly some of them are so lofty that I may never accomplish all of them. But you know what? I believe I can.
Doing my best "Little Engine That Could" impression.
Until next time - stay strong.
~Brann
Youre a great man...Keep on Keeping on!
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