I don’t recall exactly how or when it came to me, but I haven’t looked back. It’s been my silent motivator and my steadfast companion through so much uncertainty. I hid behind it when I felt like I didn’t know who or what I was. I clung to it to lift me up and to remind me that I had a purpose.
The word “training” can be intimidating. The media has provided our brains with so many seemingly typical images to associate with this one very broad word. Training doesn’t just mean repeating reps and sets. It’s not just PRs and protein shakes. We are being trained for life. Everyday. We’re pushed to progress. We stretch beyond our comfort zones. We overexert, throw our bodies into stress, and burn out. Mentally, emotionally, and physically. On one hand, stress is good for our muscles because it forces them to adapt and grow. However, mental stress that then becomes physical stress can write it’s own agenda.
I’m not sure we can entirely eliminate mental stress, but we can definitely train ourselves to manage it. We can train ourselves for all kinds of change.
Mental. Emotional. Physical.
My fitness journey started a long time ago when I felt I needed a change. When I desperately sought out a way to change how I felt. So I did what so many others do. I trained the outside. I trained for a look. An image in the mirror. Something to show for my efforts. It took time before what really needed training was recognized.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with looking and being physically healthy and fit, but there’s more to this equation. There are areas where we tend to carry the real “weight” that needs equal training, too.
Our minds.
To “Train Like Taylor” is to look at the whole picture. To recognize that your health journey is unique and to exercise, if you will, your individual needs. Some people thrive on 10 mile runs at 4am (wtf, I know, right). For you (and me), it might be sleeping in or taking 2pm naps. The only “wrong” is not listening to your body. Not sitting with it in silence on occasion to ensure you’re giving it what it needs and deserves. There’s an overwhelming abundance of outside noise around us constantly, and only when you listen to your body’s demands will you get the results you want.
TRUST ME on this. Please.
I’ve learned in a way that was emotionally and mentally raw and difficult. I’ve had my goals disrupted several times when my body seemed to have an opposing agenda. I fought it from taking the best parts of me. And I lost. It was only when I trained my mind to filter out the noise that I learned to listen, and I learned to make my own rules.
As the days go on, I’m still learning, course correcting, pushing boundaries and messing up. THAT. IS JUST. LIFE. It’s what you’re training for every day. To survive day after day. It’s going to be hard (AF), but you are capable and you are strong enough. And, I’m right here to train with you.
trainliketaylor@gmail.com
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