An unhappy Geezer with a six pack…

It seems that most guys nowadays want a six pack! A ripped midsection attracts the ladies (apparently!) and gains you street cred with your mates and peers (maybe a bit of jealousy too!).

But does having a sculpted six pack really make you happy?

For years I’d spend every spare moment of my life in the gym or working out in my dads garage. I’d read all the magazines like Mens Health and Muscle & Fitness cover to cover. I completed all the magazine workouts and i’d buy the latest “get shredded in 30 days” supplement. My computer battery burned out because i’d spend hrs watching Youtube videos of bodybuilders and fitness pro’s – trying to learn the six pack secrets! Then after many hrs of training, plenty of money spent on faddy supplements I finally got what I wanted all along… A six pack! Wohoo! Hallelujah!

Actually quite the opposite. It was a total anticlimax. I’d reached the rainbow but there was nothing at the end of it. Having a six pack was not what I envisaged. To be honest I still felt like crap. I had spent all this time dieting and living of rabbit food for what exactly? Yeah my body looked great but I felt tired, weak, depleted and… still not happy within! Was this really worth it?

F*ck the sixpack! 

I went off track with my diet (binged like crazy!) and lost my six pack. I then fell back in to the trap “Right. I need a six pack again to boost my confidence!”. Before I knew it I was dieting again, putting myself through the same miserable sh*t one has to go through to get as the bro’s call it ‘shredded brah’ – it was a f*cking joke.

It’s taken me a long time to realise that my reasons for wanting a six pack were totally wrong. I was doing it for others, not for myself. I wanted validation and respect for my efforts. Really all I needed all along was validation and respect for myself. You see you have to love you for being you (warts and all!). A better body can boost your confidence but only when you work on the stuff that lies within. You could have the best body in the world, but if you don’t love yourself it’s useless.

Stop and think for a moment “why am I doing this?’. Think about your goal but more importantly think about the ‘why’ – your deep underlying motivation for participation.

A much happier place to be…

Nowadays I don’t train to have a six pack. I train because I absolutely frickin love it! Don’t let your body define who you are. You define who you are. The thoughts and feelings you have about yourself are your reality. Start working on the deep sh*t within. You don’t need a six pack to make you happy. Your frickin amazing as it and you need to start believing that sh*t.

Nick