21 Jul JUST DO IT

By Danny Vega

Let’s get one thing out of the way. There is no such thing as motivation. The only thing that exists is discipline. In this day and age, there is so much information (most of it free) available to us if we want to accomplish any fitness goal—be it strength, endurance, weight loss, adding muscle, etc. The big question is why haven’t the majority of us who claim to have these goals taken advantage of it?

[wa-wps]

Let me start with a quick story. About 10 years ago, in my single days, I rented a beachfront condo in Miami Beach. I didn’t really belong there, because most of the people there were retired or rich. One of my first afternoons I was in the Jacuzzi and met one of my neighbors. He was a multi-millionaire and retired at 40. He spent a few hours a day online trading for fun. I asked him how he managed to do that. He told me that it really was simple. He put his head down and didn’t come up for air for 10 years straight. He split a one room apartment in NYC with about 4-5 other guys who only slept there a few hours in between working. He would wake up early and work on Wall Street during the day, and then trade in the overseas markets at night. That phrase—put your head down and don’t look up for 10 years—stuck with me.

There is no time for BS motivational speeches or quotes. No book or seminar can teach you to just shut up and work. You have to just do it. This is my life:

• Wake up at 4:55 a.m., be at the gym by 6:00 a.m. Be showered and ready for work by 8:15 a.m. or so.
• Work all day
• Daddy duty at night
• Prepare and track every meal. Even on cheat day.

Or take my wife. She is still nursing my two year-old so she is 1) starving all of the time and 2) not able to take supplements. She is also homeschooling our boys and has a packed schedule, but she makes time to prep, get to the gym in the morning with them, and then go on with her day. Now I’m not better than any other person. I was a good athlete and got to play at the collegiate level. I do take pride in the fact that when that alarm sounds, no matter how tired, or sore I am, it’s time to train. Every weekday of every week. A friend of mine posted something the other day about some people he was talking to who are just too busy, or don’t have enough time, yet those same people will say that they can’t wait to get home after work to binge watch the latest season of Game of Thrones. Where are your priorities? Get them in order.

Photo Credit: Trey Vollmer/Vollmer Visuals

Now, there is some planning involved. First thing you need to do is set goals. Start at the end and work backwards. Let’s say you want to lose 20 lbs in 3 months. That’s 6.6 lbs a month, and only 1.6 lbs a week. Much more manageable when you look at it that way, isn’t it? You can weigh yourself 2-3 times a week to check progress and then adjust when needed. If you’re on a meal plan, where you eat specific meals all the time, you would cut portions. If you are tracking macros, you would cut fat or carbs if needed. Simple. The biggest factor in all of this is your ability to just put your head down and not think about your lack of sleep last night, your cortisol levels, or whatever other excuse your mind can think up. Even if you can’t get to the gym as often, you can still take charge of your diet; that’s 80% of the battle anyway. I don’t mean to sound harsh, but it really is as simple as just doing it.

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Danny Vega

Danny Vega is a 220lb raw powerlifter with meet bests of 640 squat in wraps (610 raw), 400 bench, and 700 deadlift. A native of Miami, Florida, Vega received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in 2004, where he was a member of the football team and a three-time Dean’s List recipient. Vega earned his masters of science in human performance from the University of Florida, where he worked with the national championship men’s basketball team along with women’s basketball, tennis, and golf programs. He then went on to become the Strength & Conditioning coordinator for VCU basketball. The Rams were 2007 conference champions and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

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