If you haven’t been outside recently … it’s summer time 🙂
And in the summer, things can get a little … hotter.
- Tempers flare faster.
- Heat exhaustion is a thing.
- Exercise is harder.
I want to talk about that last one today … exercise is harder.
You see, most of us don’t have the ability to live our lives in perfect situations … like, for example, living in an air conditioned bubble until the heat goes away.
And inevitably, around this time of year, I get folks who want to ‘pack it in’ for the summer, because it’s ‘hot out’.
As in … ‘it’s hot today, so I’m going to skip my exercise’.
Or … ‘my doctor told me to be careful in the heat’.
And my favorite … “It said on the internet heat is …”
Um … these lack context.
Being ‘hot outside’ or having your doctor tell you to ‘be careful in the heat’ does not mean: STOP exercising.
It means: hydrating before you go (clear pee), resting and taking more water breaks during your session, skipping a set if need be, and focusing on WHAT YOU CAN DO … as opposed to focusing on WHAT YOU THINK you can’t do.
There has become too much reliance on outside factors, i.e. doctors, fitbits, heart rate monitors, webmd etc. … and not enough listening to your own body.
You are the CEO of your own body and it’s ok to discover for yourself how you respond to different stimulus …. instead of living in fear because someone gave you ill-advised, or worse, no context answers.
Ask ‘WHY’ someone says what they do … question it, and find out for yourself if it’s true … meaning, you actually do it first, before you decide it doesn’t work.
And who cares what the internet says …. if it’s not your own empirical evidence, how can it be true for you?
Imagine an air-conditioner repair person who says to you “It’s too hot out to come fix your air conditioner …”
If you have a coach worth their salt, chances are they know it’s hot out too … and they train in the heat themselves, so they can assist you in being safe.
Heat training is the absolute best way to test your mettle and get in shape quickly … it’s not easy …
Training itself, is not easy … that’s why so many people get no results.
So if you ‘quit’ for the summer … then you’re really not getting results.
Most want to take a pill, plod on the treadmill, and exercise when it fits into their perfect world conditions.
Good luck with that …
I’ll admit, we don’t have a traditional air conditioning system at Bair Knuckle Strength. (we have doors that open, fans that work and water that’s wet …)
And I am so glad.
It shows me who will ’embrace the suck’ and do the work to get better … or who runs away from ’embracing the suck’.
This is how I learned to train during my high school football years, to get to know my body and what I actually needed to get better.
I didn’t always like it … and it was harder in the summer.
However, that consistency of training showed up on the field …. in the fourth quarter … when everyone else was dying ‘because they took it easy in the heat’ … and we dominated … never losing a game (45-0).
I never saw anyone get sick, or pass out in the heat, because we were prepared in advance, and we listened to our coaches.
We wanted the result of that training … winning.
That’s what we do at Bair Knuckle Strength, except the game we play is LIFE.
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to win LIFE.
My students are too.
The training I do now shows up when dealing with whiny, complainy, fear-based people who are used to having ‘bubble-like’ conditions in the rest of their lives.
They were not forced, nor did they choose, to take the hard route in order to make things easier in the long-run.
Embracing the suck of my training allows me to not freak out and blame these people for being wusses … because they’re not.
They just don’t know, what they don’t know … which is why I teach.
Instead, because I train in the heat (and all year round) I’m able to show up every day in my life ‘the way I want’.
The ‘fourth quarter’ for me recently, was deciding to finish my book.
I wanted to kind of just, give up …I worked so hard and there were so many inconsequential, mundane details that were so annoying, and I just wanted my book to be done … or to not deal with it anymore.
However, I wanted it to be right …. more.
So … I made it right, no matter the cost or time.
That grittiness has translated to other areas of my life.
My physical body is strong, my nutrition is strong and my mind is the strongest.
I’m not limited by my body or my fears, and I damn sure won’t let the weather man tell me when to train.
There is a weakening of our society that is quite bothersome to me.
Like … REALLY bothers me.
It kills me to know that EVERYONE can get stronger mentally and physically, and they CHOOSE not to … because of fear.
It’s not the heat that’s scary.
It’s looking in the mirror that’s scary.
Cause if you don’t like what you see … you know it’s your fault.
The heat may be a little uncomfortable at first, and then you acclimate to it … like Taxes.
It’s just like life, where the ‘heat of life’ can be overwhelming, unless you’re strong enough to persevere.
Our wish for you, though you may be feeling the heat, is that you’re also bringing the heat 😉
Be Well – John
Changing the way Life is done.
Mindset. Fitness. Nutrition.
P.S. Here are 4 more ways you can become happier and healthier:
1. Podcasts
Some of the greatest insights and healing for me, have come from listening to podcasts in the last few years. This long-form type of communication, I’ve found, has been extremely important for understanding context, while learning how to make sustainable change.
That’s why I have started to find ways to get our story on some podcasts, and give you an opportunity to really go deep with us, and see what we’re all about. That way, you can decide if this tribe fits your personality. Click the link below to go to our podcast page, where you can find all our episodes!
2. Rise
Rise is the story of ‘never feeling powerful … to … never feeling powerless’. It’s about John Bair’s life, why he does what he does and how his suffering created happiness.
This handwritten book takes you through an intimate, yet, self-revealing journey, which allows you to implant yourself into the story, as it relates to your own, and reveal the steps you’ll need to take, in order to make change a successful reality.
Available in DIGITAL, AUDIO, BOOK
Click Here To Get Your FREE Copy
3. Join our BADASS Community on Facebook
We want to work with and be around as many BADASS people as possible. Folks who might forget how BADASS they are and just need the space to remember.
So, we started a FREE group on Facebook called BADASS, which is our own private community where we go deeper into what we do at Bair Knuckle Strength.
The truth is, it makes the world a happier, safer, more enjoyable place when you love your BADASS self.
If you’re ready to see what we do, just CLICK HERE!
4. Fitness Scorecard
Have you gone through the Fitness Scorecard yet?
Confused where to start, or what to do next with your health and fitness journey?
Well, step 1 is to understand where you currently score across the 8 Fitness Indicators.
Start your journey toward your personal fitness breakthrough by completing your Fitness Scorecard Today: CLICK HERE