Finding out the truth
When I was 7 years old and first started going down the gym, it was often very cold in winter, and you had these iron and steel bars and dumbbells everywhere, but amongst the cold and grey days, you always had members who were glad to be there, some seemed ecstatic to be there and most were always smiling-i swear to God that is true!!
This went on year to year as I struggled to get warm and do my own small exercise programme, and if I was idling around, I was told to DO SOMETHING and I would indeed GET WARM.
I saw these days as like a church in my mind too, where you arrive and meet like-minded people all aiming to make themselves better in some way, or many ways.
People who arrived with characters that were maybe questionable, would come would to sort themselves out once they learnt the discipline of lifting weights and exercising right.
They started mixing with people who had strong character, didn’t put up with any nonsense and soon learnt there was a better way in life if you exercised, ate a lot better and hard work would eventually make you into a better person all round even if it was tough at first, and often change your life.
Fast forward many years later when I took over the gym, I did introduce a new form of heating which was actually warm. BUT despite the expense of installing it, I was told to turn it off after 5 minutes because it was too warm and ”uncomfortable”. I didn’t turn it on again ever.
Right now when it is cold as winter’s usually get with us, everyone knows the way it is. Since we are an all in coaching gym, if you are cold in our place, then indeed you are not training hard enough, and that I believe is a great culture to have.
I find the people who are doing a ton of stuff outside with us are working so hard that they have to take their hoodies off, and even on the coldest of mornings or evenings, are in a t-shirt sweating from all the challenges we choose to push them through.
I find at that exact moment, they have found more about themselves than any more “comfortable” moment in the rest of their days, they are finding about the REAL TRUTH about themselves, about what it takes to make it in life and what it takes to overcome any challenge that life decides to throw at them.
