Conversation
Every rep is a conversation between who you are and who you’re becoming.
The iron teaches resolve because it doesn’t negotiate. It rewards consistency, not comfort. And when it gets heavy—and it always will—you learn that progress doesn’t come from the easy days. It comes from the difficult ones where you show up anyway.
Growth lives on the other side of effort.
#dowork
The Tank Won't Always Be Full
Last week my tank wasn’t full. After work I had twelve minutes in me, so I used them.
My three-year-old watched. No reps. No coaching. Just quiet eyes taking it in. Kids notice how we eat, how we pray, how we treat people. They notice when we do the work we said we would do.
So I showed discipline. Not perfect. I remained present, and the rep got done.
#dowork today!
Strong Dads
Shout out to the real ones, to the dads who know true strength. To the men who know their family comes first. Before themselves. Before fitness, before friends, and before hobbies. Real strength is relentlessly showing up and giving your love, through both the good and the bad.
#dowork, dads! #happyfathersday
Difficulty Transforms Lives
Performing difficult tasks makes us better.
When I was one, my grandfather died of a heart attack. Nearly two decades ago, my father almost died of a heart complication. Climbing these stairs serves as a daily reminder that tackling challenges is beneficial; it strengthens my heart, yes, but also sharpens my mind, boosts my confidence, and does a whole lot more.
Don't shy away from things that appear tough. Embrace them. Recognize the value of taking action and facing difficulties head-on. It might just transform your life.
#dowork
The Proccess
Fitness is all about the process. It's not a quick fix.
When it comes to your fitness journey, you won't see instant results–but that's okay. It's about committing to healthy habits, regular exercise, and mindful eating. Whether you're aiming for strength, better heart health, or a certain look, it takes time.
The process is where the real change happens. It's not about rushing for quick transformations but embracing the small victories along the way. This mindset builds discipline and toughness that goes beyond just getting fit.
So, forget about shortcuts, and appreciate the gradual progress–that's where the lasting rewards come in.
World Champion
?!
It’s not every day you receive a message like this.
How flipping cool! Congratulations, Jim! Way to #dowork. And thanks for using the Strength and Conditioning Manual to help in your journey.
Lessons
The gym has meant so much more to me than being a body-enhancing haven. It’s a place that has taught me some of life’s most important life lessons. #perseverance #discipline #hardworkpaysoffs
Santa Claus Is Coming
Santa has been using Farmer Gym’s Strength and Conditioning Manual. Get yours today!
Overrated/Underrated
OVERRATED: The calories you burn during a workout.
UNDERRATED: The calories you consume during a day.
If weight loss and bodily transformation is your goal, focus on what you eat and drink. Tracking workout calories is fine if you’re into statistics—but it’s really just that, data for benchmarking subsequent workouts.
Count and monitor the calories you consume instead of tallying the calories you expend. You’ll see much better results.
Mother Marathon
Do you want a lesson about life? Then run a marathon. Mother marathon commands your attention; she requires your commitment. Without training discipline, you may not work up to her 26.2-mile demands. Without properly structuring nutrition, your body may not be equipped to withstand her difficulties. Without fighting through struggle and pain, you may not finish her hours-long haul.
The marathon, like life, requires commitment, structure, and guts. There’s no room around it. #focus, and #dowork.
Manage the Heat
Didn’t hit that PR? Had to rest more? No worries! Don’t be hard on yourself if you’re not performing the way you’d like on hot days.
You likely put two and two together, but it’s pretty darn hard for your body to perform at peak levels for extended periods of time when temperatures rise. When temperatures increase, our bodies have to work a little more to keep cool. (Think of it like an air conditioner working a little more during a hot summer day.) Instead of blood flow primarily pumping to the primary muscles in a effort to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, blood flow is being redirected to our extremities in an effort to force excess heat out of our bodies in hopes to cool us. As a result, our heart beats more and our lungs are continually playing catch-up; our muscles of primary movement—our legs on a run, for example—aren’t getting the “attention” they deserve and they have to split resources for cooling purposes.
So, if you need to dial it back on those steamy days, do so. Don’t worry, you didn’t lose any of that hard-worked-for fitness. (Oh! And drink your water!)
Do You want change?
Do you want to change your health in the next year? Do you want to become fitter and stronger 365 days from now? Awesome! But instead of concentrating on what’s 12 months away, break down your long-term goal. Not to six months, and not even to a month. Focus on the week ahead; tackle and conquer it. Then set your sights on the following week. Win it! Break your overarching goal into smaller, incremental marks. Accomplish these smaller feats, one by one, and your larger desires will more easily become a reality; you won’t get bogged down with the whole, and you’ll triumph over the small. #dowork
Befriend the iron
*Three weeks in to training*
Trainer: Ok, to the squat rack.
Trainee: Again? Can we try the thing where you lie down on the ball and kick your legs out? I really want to work my glutes. It worked great for that person.
Trainer:
You can perform all the circus acts you want, but if you’re serious about glute (and leg and everything else!) growth, you better become friends with the iron. #justsquat
Instant gratification
Instant gratification: the giving up of a future, better outcome for an immediate, lesser outcome.
This I-want-it-now mindset is a part of our very fabric from the day we're born. (How many of us know of a toddler who would give up a bag of chocolate later in the day, only to have a piece of chocolate now?) Unfortunately, this desire for the here and now only manifests itself in different ways as we age. Do we really break from the instant-gratification chains? Our immediate wants are only disguised by perceived rational thinking—thinking that justifies our give-it-to-me-now state of mind. And herein lies the lesson from the iron: the iron not only nudges us toward a future, better outcome, but it forces us to said outcome (teaching us valuable lessons along the way).
We all want it now: we want to be strong; we want to get fast; we want to lose weight; we want, we want, and we want. And we're willing to go to extreme, unhealthy measures to get the short glimpse of a result NOW (we also give up any glimmer of progress that we've made), only to hurt ourselves and hinder long-lasting progress. But the iron is slow. It's methodical. And, it's fair. It won't hand out desires; it only allows one to reap the reward of work that is well done. The iron takes its time to build, to mold, and to forge; not in a week, not in a month, and sometimes not in a year. It's our job to trust the iron and to trust the process. The iron is teaching us to shy our heads from instant gratification, and to instead embrace the methodical journey and reap our true desires that lie at the end of the painstaking road.
168 HOURS
There are 168 hours in a week. If you sleep on average 8 hours per night, that leaves you with 112 (168-56) hours. If you work 50 hours per week, that leaves you with 62 (112-50) hours. If you spend an hour commuting every day, that leaves you with 55 (62-7) hours. If you spend, let’s say, 20 hours per week watching tv and/or reading and/or playing video games, that leaves you with 35 (55-20) hours. If you spend an hour preparing meals every day, that leaves you with 28 (35-7) hours……… The point is, you have for fitness. #dowork
Weights are king
Running is good. Biking is good. Swimming is good. Skiing is good. Walking is good. *Fill in your favorite mode of cardio—it’s good.* But no type of cardio will change and sculpt your body remotely close to that of strength training. If you want to change the way you look, lift the weights! (Oh. And weights do a lot more good than just make you look better, FYI.)
Relationships
For a friendship or a partnership to work, both parties must #dowork. Both people must try. A one-sided relationship may last momentarily, but over the course of time it will fall apart—no matter the effort of the one side. Similarly, our relationship between food and fitness is the same. In order to maintain our health and optimize our fitness, there must be a solid, balanced relationship. We can’t just insanely work out and eat like a jerk and expect long-lasting results. There must be effort in the gym and in the kitchen.
Obesity
When most people talk about obesity, they're not poking fun at the issue. And they're not judging an individual. When most people talk about obesity, they're bringing to light the harsh reality of a problem. (Again, this is not about the person. And if one is out to point fingers, he/she better first look him/herself in the mirror.) Obesity carries with it consequences. As The Mayo Clinic states, "Obesity is a complex disease..." Obesity carries with it the likes of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many associated cancers. The disease, too, increases the risks associated with illnesses like Covid. Maybe you've heard of it? So why do we "health" and "fitness people" bring the O word up so much? We want to help. We want to help improve the morbidity rate that is associated with obesity; we want to help improve the day-to-day livelihood of those who fight obesity; we want to help alleviate the societal ramifications that comes with obesity. Bringing to light a problem is not bad; in fact, it can be a great thing. Bringing to light a problem is about beating the alternative...the alternative of not being. #dowork, your life depends on it.