I have written a lot, and for quite literally decades, about my personal training journey. One of the reasons I do so is to show others that not every day is a champion level day. Nor is the journey easy or light. We all struggle constantly. I also share my failures (and anyone who has followed me for long know there are a buttload of those!) to show people that just because someone has accomplished something and has skill in an area or areas, it does not mean they started that way. The greatest champion has had to work for it, and has met many failures along the path.

I think I have a responsibility that goes along with having a public voice that some people will listen to, that I need to be as encouraging as possible to those filling the same path behind me.

The truth is that there are a lot of days all of us don’t feel like training.

Whether that is getting on the jiu-jitsu mats, lifting that barbell, putting on the running shoes and HR monitor, or going through the motions to get set up for a dry fire session, there are times when life has beat us down and we would prefer to lie in bed and pull the covers over our head.

Sure, we have the image in our head of that super bad ass that is always pushing the iron while running marathons and ragdolling people on the mats and shooting a 5 second FAST test who is impervious to outside influences, but that is a fantasy. Life gets in the way for all of us and there are going to be the times we just don’t want to train.

For example, a few weeks ago, I did not want to roll.. A long trip on the weekend with little sleep, and some personal/family medical issues drained me about as much as a person can be drained without withering away. And to be honest, being 61 on jiujitsu mats facing guys who are 25, 30, and even 35 years younger than you is daunting at times. The easy thing to so would have been to miss the rolls. And I pondered it for a short time on the drive there. In the end I went, and in the end I did roll.

Did I do great? NOT ON YOUR LIFE. But that is not the point. Training is the Way, not being the dominant guy. It is not about the new squat PR, not about tapping everyone in class, not about getting the cold, on demand sub second draw. What it is about is just doing it. Even if “it” is just doing a single set of 10 goblet squats with a 35lb kettlebell, or doing 10 standing up in base, or doing 10 dry fire draws from concealment.

Don’t get wrapped around the axle that we are always awesome. The majority of the time we are going to feel “meh”, and perform as such. Who cares? Enjoy the process. The goal will take care of itself.