As a child, the idea of one day being into high-intensity sports never crossed my mind. ‘Weight loss’ itself was never something I thought of since I technically never had to – all I did back then was go out on the streets and play with other kids. Then as the years went by, the joys and naiveties of childhood quickly morphed into a life of adulthood, where excess baggage of stress and responsibilities dragged me down the spiral of bad breakups and various disappointments that resulted in unhealthy food consumption and crushed dreams.
Then on one blesseth day, I was surprised to look in the mirror only to find myself unrecognizable. I remember climbing on a scale that morning and realizing with shock, that I weighed almost 100kg (translates to roughly 220lbs). Upon seeing that, I made a swift decision to take the first step towards a healthier lifestyle by registering at a gym nearby. Initially, I had decided to go at least 3 times a week. However, after two weeks of training, I gradually stretched it to 4 days – and thereafter – 6 days to – every day after work. Soon after, I became obsessed with having the perfect body, so I could get back at my ex-girlfriends.
Then one day, a co-worker of mine introduced me to CrossFit. There was a free one-week trial at his gym, so I decided to try it out since I was starting to get a little fed up with the repetitive movement at my gym. That literally changed my life. I discovered a new sport where every day at the gym was different, competitive, with hard movements that demanded lots of practice and training. Intrigued by it, I immediately quit my gym and registered at his gym. It’s been 3 years now and I still train 5-8 times a week and also do CrossFit competitions across Quebec.
Now off to lesson learned. There are three key things I have learned throughout my fitness journey:
‘Consistency is the key’. If you commit yourself to be consistent in anything you do, the rewards will be countless. The truth is people want the reward of having a dream body or dream car or house, without being ready or motivated to work for it.
-‘Do it because you love it’, in other words, do it for yourself first. It’s true I wanted my ex-girlfriends to have regrets but after reading books like “The Four Agreement: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom” and other personal development books, I realized that what mattered most at the end of the day is what I wanted to do with my own life and not what will please others.
– ‘Failure is ok’ – when you fail, don’t be too hard on yourself after all some people do not even try. Keep your head up learn from your failure and try again until you succeed. Remember F.A.I.L is an abbreviation that translates to “First Attempt In Learning”.
Today CrossFit plays a big role in my life not because I need to lose weight or please someone but because I love the sport and it plays a big role in my life especially when the stress or anxiety kicks in.
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