022 Optimize Movement
Maintaining your health isn't just about fitting into a certain size; it's about ensuring you have the physical capability to live for your family, not just be willing to die for them. This guide explores how to break through the five biggest barriers to movement and why "suffering bonding" in the gym is the ultimate longevity hack.
I used to be the guy who looked at CrossFit and laughed for almost a decade. 🛑 I told myself it was just a shortcut to getting hurt. Oof. I was so busy judging it that I missed out on the transformative power of a community that pushes you to be better.
Growing up, neither Ashley nor I were athletes. We didn't have that "hardo" discipline baked into our childhoods. I was five-foot-five and 120 pounds of skin and bones when I first walked into a weight room. The only thing I knew how to do was play in the band.
But here is the hard truth: your body is an aggregate of your daily decisions. If you aren't moving now, your "second half" is going to be wicked hard. In this episode, Ashley and I dive into why you need to "choose your hard" today so you aren't crippled by your choices tomorrow.
Is it easy to get up while the world is still sleeping to go lift heavy things? No! Is it worth it? Absolutely!! 🚀
What Are the Real Barriers Keeping Us From Movement?
Answer: Most people are stopped by five primary obstacles: pain and discomfort, all-or-nothing perfectionist thinking, confusion about where to start, discouragement from a lack of immediate results, and isolation. Breaking these requires shifting focus from the "suck" of the moment to the long-term investment in your future self.
We often wait for a "come to Jesus" meeting with a doctor before we take our health seriously. Ashley had hers in her 20s when a chiropractor told her she’d be crippled by 50 if she didn't change her pace. That was her "wolf" moment—the realization that she wanted to be capable of enjoying life with her family decades from now.
If you feel self-conscious or worried that people are judging you at the gym, remember: most people are far more obsessed with their own "reps" than they are with yours. Unless you're flopping around the scaffolding like a Brian Regan sketch, nobody is watching you as closely as you think.
How Does "Choosing Your Hard" Reframe Fitness?
Answer: Everything in life is hard; you just get to choose which "hard" you want to live with. Choosing the discomfort of a 60-minute workout today is an investment that prevents the much greater "hard" of chronic illness, lack of mobility, and the inability to perform basic life functions in your golden years.
Ashley and I saw this play out in Zion National Park. We had just finished the grueling hike up Angel's Landing—one of the toughest things we've ever done. Then, we met a man in his late 70s on the tram who had just hiked it the day before. Holy cow! 🤯
He wasn't an elite athlete; he was just a man who had consistently put in the reps so he could still do the things he loved. That is the goal:
Longevity: Muscle mass is one of the single greatest predictors of how long you’ll live.
Capability: Being able to go on trips, play with nieces and nephews, or even just get up off the floor without help.
Density: For women especially, lifting weights makes your skeleton denser and stronger, protecting you as you age.
Why Is Community the Secret Sauce of Consistency?
Answer: Shared spaces like CrossFit boxes, running clubs, or even pickleball courts provide built-in accountability and "suffering bonding" that makes the hard work enjoyable. When you do difficult physical things with people you love, it forges a level of connection that "airy-fairy" social interactions simply can't match.
Ashley started her journey just walking laps with a friend. That evolved into half-marathons and eventually a full marathon. Now, we go to the gym together. Even if we aren't doing the same workout, being in that environment at the same time is bonding.
Information Gain: The "Never Miss Twice" Rule As a recovering perfectionist, I love the James Clear strategy: Never miss twice. If you miss the gym one day, it’s not a "dumpster fire" season—it’s just a lapse. The rule is you simply cannot miss the next day. This removes the "all-or-nothing" pressure that usually leads people to quit entirely after one bad day.
Can Movement Actually Rewire Your Mind?
Answer: Your body is an outward expression of your mind; when your fitness slips, your mental clarity often follows. Engaging in physical "friction" makes it easier to handle mental stress because you’ve already survived the hardest thing you’ll do all day.
Identity is the soil where these habits grow. Stop saying "I need to work out"—that's a statement of duty. Instead, shift your internal dialogue to: "I am the type of person who works out". That simple change in "hardware" reframes movement from a chore to a part of who you are.
Whether it's walking to the mailbox like Gary Brekka told Jelly Roll to do, or starting a self-defense class as a family, just start. Start small. Stack the habits. Don't be afraid of the evolution.
Daily anything changes everything. Let's goooo!! 💪
Resources:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Daily anything changes everything.
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