- A guest post by Terence Mitchell
Dear Terence
At the time of reading this you will be 29 years
old and in the process of building your business and establishing yourself as a
strength coach and your gym , Mitchell Strength. As you well know your 20's
have not been easy, there have been many , many personal setbacks, foolish
choices, irrational decisions and you have paid the price for all of these. However the point of this letter is not for looking back into your past but for
looking forward into your future, by handing you advice that is going to carry
you through for the next 30 years. Use this letter as a road map , a kind of
manifesto for life that will pull you through the tough times and set you up
for the better times.
Training.
After years of training and following various
programmes which were not necessarily all bad, you now know what needs to be
done. For as long as you have trained you have always known that it is the
basics that get real results in the gym. You have never shyed away from good
old fashioned hard work, over the many years you have squatted, dead lifted,
paid your dues with pull ups and chin ups, heavy rows and presses. You have had
to overcome injuries and set backs which have derailed you, but that is life and
the same thing has happened many times to many lifters far stronger than
yourself.
However this did not stop them and will never stop you.
I would like to impart more advice just to make
sure you stay the course and walk the path less travelled.
Stick with your basic 5/3/1 template for your 4
big lifts and have faith in the long term process. You are getting stronger
week by week, yes, that does not mean that you hit one rep max PRs by the month,
you know very well that in the real world things don't work like that. It
becomes a game of inches, 3 steps forward 2 steps back, another kg here, another
rep there. You need to continue doing the things that other people fear, hate
or just don't have the mental or physical resolve to stick with. You are
different and this is what will set you apart from the crowd.
There is something I also want to share with you
that I want you to always remember especially when it comes to training. When
it gets boring its working!
Remember Terence you are living in a soft, weak
metrosexual age were people always want the next best miracle program,
celebrity diet, supplement or fancy piece of 'advanced' equipment, you need to
fight this and love and respect what is 'boring' . Boring works every time in
the gym and in life, especially when the going gets tough. For example: Squats,
deads, heavy sand bags walks, farmers walks and hill sprints are considered
boring by 99% of people but these great exercises WILL ALWAYS work and they
will always build brute raw strength , incredible conditioning and a
dangerously strong mind. Fall in love and commit to what is boring and simple. Do this for the rest of your life and you will not be sorry.
Now that I have made sure to keep you on the
right path as far as strength training goes I need to remind you how important
it is to be conditioned. Here once again you know the deal, you have never been
one to skimp on real conditioning work. All through your time at high school
training for rugby and after school training in the Royal Marines you knew what
needed to be done. You sprinted hills, you sprinted hard and your sprinted
often, you were always the last one standing at the end, wanting to do that
extra hill just to make sure you were truly done. You never cheated when
the coach or PTI turned his back as you always knew you were only going to
cheat yourself. This kind of attitude has given and will continue to give you
the greatest gift of all. The gift of self respect.
Remember Terence people will not understand your
obsession with hard conditioning, you don't need to do it because you plan on
sprinting in a race, you sprint because the hill is a metaphor for
everything life will throw at you. The hill is long, steep and uncomfortable,
you will be breathing hard, your lungs will be burning, your legs will be
aching but you will finish what you set out to do. You will continue to sprint
hills for no other earthly reason than the fact that you can! You will view all
obstacles and set backs in your life the same way you view a long steep hill
that needs to be sprinted: With a never relenting self belief, loads of
aggression and plenty attitude!
Money.
Terence the world is obsessed with material
things that only create disorder, confusion and clutter. People will literally
sell their souls in order to live somebody else's dreams. People you know will
blow through money that they did not have to earn, people will try and maintain
outrageous lifestyles while the global economies literally crumble and consumer
debt sky rockets. But you are not going to fall into this trap because you know
better. You need to understand right now that money without sacrifice and work
is a very dangerous thing. You see it all the time with people you know very
well. Easy come easy go. Always remember that real people are attracted to real
confidence and self-reliance not flashy material things that mean nothing. Remember that looking cool and trendy is for insecure little boys with precious
egos to protect.
Save 20% of your income. This goes without
saying. Live within your means and If you want something that you cannot afford
right now remember that you don't need to have it RIGHT NOW, instead save up
for it. I advise you to always pay for things with cash you actually have
instead of using or owning a credit card. Your goal is to be fully debt free
and OWN everything you own!
Health.
By the time you reach your mid 30's you will
sadly see the effects of ill health in many people that you know. It is a sad
reality, but you always knew that people have a choice. Alcohol and smoking will
ruin the lives of many people, however what is more concerning is how poor
nutritional habits will continue to increase despite all the warnings.
You know this well but I will nevertheless
remind you.
1. Eat as much natural, free range, organic
fruit and veg as you can.
2. Always buy hormone free or organic chicken,
grass fed free range beef and lamb, organic eggs.
3. NEVER eat sugar, wheat, soy, corn, beans,
processed dairy.
4. Don't waste your money on protein shakes. Always opt for real food. It wins hands down every time.
5. Drink filtered water.
6. Drink very high quality coffee ground from
the bean, organic cocoa and rooibos tea.
7. Eat grains in moderation and when you do
always opt for whole grain rice's and quinoa.
You are on the right path so just keep going.
Education.
Here I am not talking about formal education. I
want to remind you of your responsibility to always be educating yourself. Terence education never ends. You will never know it all and you will never
know enough! You need to read as much as you possibly can, here 2 books per
month is really a minimum. When you have free time on the net use it wisely,
follow up on what the worlds top coaches and nutritionists have to say.
Also there is more to life that your world i.e.: training and nutrition. Educate yourself on things you might not like or understand. Arts, culture,
religion, philosophy. There is no excuse in your day and age to be an ignorant
fool. Get out there and expand your mind. A lifetime of information is
literally at your finger tips so please I implore you to consider everything in
this regard.
Travel.
You have travelled quite a bit but you need to
travel more. When they ask people on their death beds what is one of their
biggest regrets the answer often is that they did not travel more and see more
of the world and learn more about its people.
Think about how much you learnt and gained from
your few travels. Learning just how different yet how similar people really
are. I know travelling is expensive and that is never going to change but you
need to do what ever it takes to see and experience more of this world.
Attitude: Love, Life & Loss
Terence, my friend, life is not for the weak or
the feint of heart. You will lose people you love, special people will come
into your life and they will leave. Not all the people you are going to meet
and spend time with are going to be with you forever. This is the truth, as
heart breaking as it is you need to accept it for what it is.
You will love many women and you will lose many
women. You will get your heart broken and you may very well break someones
heart.
You will lose close friends, by distance or
death.
But you need to understand it and be a man about
it and strive on.
I cannot promise you that things are going to
get easier, that your life is going to be obstacle and pain free. But your
attitude can determine so much. You, as you are right now, as you read
these words, have the choices and the tools to deal with anything life can
throw at you.
Terence you know what needs to be done, now go
and do it.
Regards
Your older self
* Inspired by Jim Wendlers Letters to my younger self
No comments:
Post a Comment