Live a Little
I’m not the type to go out too much, not because it’s not fun, but I like to party or go out drinking when I feel like I really deserve it. I am very disciplined in that sense because I know when to treat myself and when to celebrate. I just finished school, trade school and work so I have a few weeks off to relax, train, work on the site and party. I partied last weekend and it felt good, my alcohol tolerance is pretty low because I don’t drink too often, but I learned a very valuable lesson last weekend; live a little. I have a very obsessive personality and I dedicate a lot of time to the gym, nutrition and the whole lifestyle that sometimes I don’t give myself the credit I deserve.
When I was 150lb, I used to tell myself that I wanted to get up to 175lb and then I will party more often. Then I got up to 175lb and told myself that I have to get to 200lb, then I will start partying. Eventually it gets to a certain point where it’s OK to give yourself a pad on the back and go have some fun. We are not young for that long.
Once I hit 40 years old, my testosterone levels will slowly start to drop and I will be losing a bit of muscle each year so I might as well enjoy myself while I still have my strength and size. I’m not saying that I will go out every week, but maybe 2-3times per month or something like that. Its cool to get big and strong, but if you look at the grand scheme of things, its all about balance. I don’t want to look back and just think of the times that I was training or all of the times that I was studying. You want to look back and know that you still had fun and enjoyed the moments.
I’m sure that there are lifters of athletes out there who go to bed at strict times, eat certain foods at certain times and follow a very strict program. All of this is good (especially if you are competing), but at the end of the day you can’t let your passion dictate your every move (at least that’s what I think). Some lifters probably won’t even go to clubs because they think they might go catabolic and lose muscle from being out too long without Tupperware in their backpacks. I’m telling you right now that you won’t lose any muscle or strength from going out every now and then. Also, who the hell wants muscles that could go away so fast in the first place? I know I don’t, I work out to enhance my lifestyle, not to take away from it.
Understand that everything kills in today’s world. In high school we had speeches from people telling us how listening to music with high volume for long periods of time can make you go deaf. Processed foods will kill you and drinking water from water fountains in the park means that you are drinking dog piss. There is a lot of truth to the things that people say, but understand that as long as you minimize the bad habits in your life then you will be ok. Drinking alcohol is bad for you, but not if you do it once a month. Just like how doing how doing a workout once a month won’t do much to you.
This article isn’t telling you that you have to party to have fun, far from it actually. The point that I am trying to make is that a lot of people get so caught up in their passion(s) that they get isolated and miss out on a lot of opportunities. These opportunities could be vacations, traveling, parties, events like concerts or even just meeting up with someone. Everyday we are building up our legacy and you want to make sure that you did everything in your power to live the way that you wanted to. Be careful because you could be missing a once in a lifetime opportunity without even knowing it…