What LOTR Taught Me About Fitness

The journey may be long and treacherous, but the end result is worth it.

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Seeing that we're getting into the usual drop off point for many new years resolutions, it seems fitting that I point out some ways to make sure you can keep trekking along your journey and hitting your goals.

Since I also love LOTR, I thought why not make it a themed post. We all know that making lifestyle changes is not easy, just as it was not easy for Frodo to accept Gandalf's quest to destroy the ring. He knew the ring must be destroyed and that he would likely be tempted to quit along the way, but Frodo still accepted it knowing what lay ahead of him. Having encountered difficulties at most every twist and turn, he put his head down and pushed on, one small step at a time and eventually arrived atop the mountain side, ready to say goodbye to this grievous ring that held him, and all of middle earth, captive to it's will.

EVERYONE HAS A RING

Taking the smart approach can be hard with so much misinformation being promoted in popular magazines, on TV and all of the scam artists trying to sell you "get skinny quick" and "build 10 lbs of muscle in just two weeks" plans left, right and center. The road to success in the gym is much like to the road to Mordor; full of bumps and bruises and new lessons at every turn, but ending in the ultimate success, getting to that fiery mountain and saying goodbye to your ring.

Whether it be poor eating habits, laziness or self-consciousness, the ring is to be destroyed; It shall rule you any longer. Which is why it's important that even when things aren't going your way, the best thing you can do is keep going. Read articles, ask a qualified trainer questions, question those questions (take nothing at face value), learn about nutrition, find a workout partner, whatever gets you to Mordor. You learn as you go, so don't be too hard on yourself if you have an off day, you can take it as an opportunity to do better tomorrow.

HAVING AN OLD WIZARD AROUND IS A GOOD IDEA

Though Gandalf be old and grey, he is full of wise words and lessons for personal growth. Not enough people have someone to turn to for advice. I am extremely lucky to work alongside Mr. Dean Somerset, a smarty-pants in the field of post-rehabilitation and general fitness, and a helluva nice guy to boot. He's taught me more about well-being, strength training, making clients move well and not getting them injured in 1 hour than I learned in a month of reading on my own.

The more experienced mentor/coach you can find, the better; even if you have to pay a lot for that knowledge. It is undoubtedly worth every penny you will pay for them, because they will get you to your goals without wasting precious time doing random nonsense; and getting you training without hurting yourself. Everyone should have someone to turn to for help when they're feeling lost in the gym. Whether you can afford a trainer/paid mentor or not, there is always information available, you just have to find a reliable source to get it from.

Perhaps, if you are willing to learn, they will teach some neat tricks along the way, so that one day you can be as wise and powerful as him or her.

BRING YOUR SAMWISE GAMGEE WITH YOU

Having someone with you makes a big difference in how much effort is put into your workouts, especially when that someone is a hobbit who's been to Mordor. Everyone has days in which they don't feel like getting out of bed, or taking that hour after work to get in a good workout. It is sometimes the responsibility of the workout partner to carry your tired, feeble, self in there over their shoulders.

Frodo: I need you on my side.

Sam: I'm on your side, Mr Frodo.

Frodo: I know you are, Sam.

You generally want to find someone in similar condition to you. Find someone who works out as often as you do, who is of similar strength and condition as you, and who is willing to do the same workouts you are. The last thing you want to do is end up training beside Aragorn deadlifting 495lbs for 8 reps and then having to strip all the weights off so you can do your 135 for 3.

MORE THAN TWO IS A CROWD

Merry and Pippin ended up tagging along with Frodo and Sam on their dangerous journey. Unfortunately for Frodo, they ended up being a hindrance most of the time (except in The Two Towers) making Frodo's life harder than it needed to be. Having multiple workout partners tends to have the same effect, if you have several people working in on your bench press, your rest times go from 45-60 seconds upwards of 2-4 minutes between sets. Long rest are generally less than optimal if you're trying to get some hypertrophic gains in your chesticles. Then comes the differences of opinion in exercise selection, amateur form critiques and general tomfoolery associated with getting a bunch of bros in a weight room together trying to out do each other.

It's alllll you, bro.

You're better off just seeing these extra people in the gym and catching up after your workout. Remember that you are here to better yourself, not listen to what your friend did or didn't do all weekend; that can be saved for afterwards.

YOU WILL BUTT HEADS WITH DARK WIZARDS ALONG THE WAY

Frodo: Before you came along, we Bagginses were very well thought of.

Gandalf: Indeed?

Frodo: Never had any adventures or did anything unexpected.

Gandalf: If you're referring to the incident with the Dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was give your uncle a little nudge out of the door.

Frodo: Whatever you did, you've been officially labeled a disturber of the peace.

Just as Gandalf encountered adversity from Saruman in his travels to destroy evil, you too will meet people along the way who try to stunt your growth with misinformed ideas and #broscience. Some of the things you will learn goes against everything you hear in popular magazines; such as women shouldn't lift heavy because they will get all manly, and bulky, and look like Gimli. At which point, many girls just say "forget it, I don't want to look like that, shoot me now...I'll stick to the lighter stuff just in case it's true".

Life over.

Understandably, I doubt many girls want to look like a steroid abusing monster; which is why I can say with absolute certainty, that it won't happen, unless you are a steroid abusing monster. That stuff takes years of hard work, consistently grueling workouts to look that way. Gaining muscle goes against the entire pop culture mentality of skinny women with little to no muscle walking around in pretty pink dresses and not being able to do things on their own. If you follow Girls Gone Strong on Facebook, you'll see tons of great looking women who out lift a lot of your typical bros in the gym and...look fantastic because of it, not in spite of it.

Resistance training allows you to build muscle, burn fat, get insanely strong and feel amazing all in one go, there really is no downside.

Some people might argue with you or try to convince you otherwise once you've started, saying "don't get too big, dear" or "if you lift heavy weights, you're going to look like a man!" You can tell those people that you out lift them and to mind their own damn business. Do cardio if you want to, because it is still good for you, but if you don't want to, lift weights faster.

Your road to Mordor may be full of ups and down, giant spiders and nasty orcs, but you have it in you to continue further along with one small step at a time. Do not miss the steps for the mountain; take the mindset of Frodo and Sam and push on my friends. The final battle is underway, you shall be victorious in your struggles!

#LOTR #lordoftherings