Don't Motivate Me

Negative people are motivating.
Lazy people are motivating.
People who make lame excuses are motivating.
People who complain are motivating.
People who don't follow through on their promises are motivating.
People who don't push themselves are motivating.

People who put others down are motivating.
Know-it-alls are motivating. 

The people I don't want to be like are the ones who motivate me the most. 

Do It Right or Do It Again

Today I listened to a podcast that featured a former Navy SEAL. 

At one point in the conversation, he said there's a phrase they use in the SEALS - "Do it right, or do it again." 

I love it! 

Imagine how much time and stress you would save yourself if you fixated on doing things the right way.

Write an acceptable paper for class, or re-do it.

Clean the kitchen to your Wife's standards, or clean it again.

Take care of your health now, or overturn your poor health later in life.

Put down the cheeseburger at lunch, or put down the cheeseburger at dinner.

Learn to lift weights correctly, or learn to lift weights correctly after your injury subsides.

Get your body in shape for summer, or do it again next summer.

Quit wasting your time doing things half heartedly, failing, then having to do them over. 

Do things the correct way the first time.

Train Attitude-Free

Don't think you're better than an exercise. 

If you can knock out 30 push ups on demand, then yes, 10 push ups will be a breeze.

But if your training program calls for you to do sets of only 10 push ups, don't roll your eyes.

Instead, make sure to make each set of 10 as challenging as a set of 30. 

If you believe you've advanced past the point of needing to train any particular exercise, you aren't "advanced" at all. 

If you actually know what you're doing (advanced), you know how to make a set of 10 push ups just as challenging as a set of 30 (examples of how to do this are beyond the scope of this post).

I'm not saying that you only need the most basic of exercises. 

I would even say that as your training age increases, more advanced and more challenging exercises should be introduced and begin to comprise the majority of your training program.

What I am saying is to not have attitude about the "basics". 

Every exercise can be beneficial and challenging if done to the correct intensity.

I don't think a "bad exercise" exists. 

It's your attitude and execution of an exercise that determines whether it's good or bad.

You Don't Care

I know....

It's obvious that not everyone values health/fitness in the same ways.

You may not care about being healthy and fit as much as you think I think you should.

You probably think it doesn't matter that much to be doing things correctly and most effectively.

That just being present is good enough.

Or better than nothing.

"Better than nothing" is pretty on par with doing the minimum.

And doing the minimum isn't "good enough."

You may be able to get by with doing the minimum. For a little while anyway.

But wouldn't you rather thrive than just get by?

I don't mean just in fitness, but also life in general.

Fitness provides you the opportunity to establish habits that will directly benefit your everyday life.

One habit is accountability.

Not the accountability to show up to the workout.

Not the accountability to work hard. You can work hard and still not have a purpose.

It's the accountability to get the most out of everything you do.

You invest time and money to work out with me. Don't you want to make the most of that investment?

You already hate coming to see me.

There's no way for you to escape once you walk through the front door.

You might as well make the hour of agony count.

Make the miserable hour a productive one, not an unproductive one.

Care about your training and your health status.

Pay attention. 

Train, and do things with a purpose.

Learn to Fish

PREFACE: This is a piggy back off of my last post, Don't Come to Me for Results.... As I proof read this, I can see someone taking it as harsh. Don't. This is only another reminder and piece of encouragement to pay attention to what you're doing. To be in the moment as you become healthier. To apply the lessons you learn, and the characteristics you develop into other parts of your life.

"Catch a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man how to catch a fish, he eats for a lifetime."

When it comes to training/working out/exercising, you need to learn how to fish. 

If you spend your training session mindlessly moving your body and weights through space for an hour while I "work you out", you aren't learning how to fish. 

If you're not doing the right things to work toward your goals in the other 165 hours of the week that I'm not around, you aren't learning how to fish. 

If after each attempt or set, you immediately turn to me and ask "How did that look?", you aren't learning how to fish.

Don't just go through the motions as I lead you through a workout. You need to understand at least some of this stuff. Examples....

Not understanding why a particular exercise is used.

Failing to identify active muscle groups.

Lacking respect for proper positions and mechanics. 

Never challenging yourself with progressions.

Reverting back to what feels comfortable, even after you've been taught differently.

Not being able to differentiate pain and training pain.

Never developing intrinsic motivation.

Of course, you do have the right rely solely on me.  

You pay me, so the burden is on me to make sure you are getting more fit and healthy in a safe manner. 

But relying solely on me is only half the equation.

Don't you want to maximize your health and fitness? 

You will, if you agree to take on some responsibility yourself.

If we just go through the motions of training/working out/exercising, we leave a lot that can be gained on the table.

I don't expect you to become knowledgable enough or motivated enough to be able to do this completely on your own. 

There will always be benefits that a trainer or coach can provide.

There will always be times to get help.

If you learn to fish, you will eat for life. If you depend on me to catch your fish, you may eventually go hungry.

Therefore, I encourage you to become more independent and self-sufficient with your training.

All it takes is being in tune with your body and your actions. 

Don't Come to Me for Results

PREFACE: In order to see results in aesthetic form, you must spend time developing a foundation of certain habits based around performance, lifestyle, and mentality. Anything less is a use of the band-aid approach - mindlessly treading toward results and forgetting about them once they are reached; not considering how you achieved the results, or strategizing a way to retain them. Results come in many forms. The most powerful results you can get are the ones that don't even show. Pay attention to what you're actually doing. Don't get Band-Aid results.

I hate the term "results". 

It is an overly used fitness-related buzz word. 

"The results speak for themselves."

"I get my clients results".

"Look at those results!".

If you come to me on day one and you are only interested in how I can get you an end result, I'm not going to be much help to you.

I'm not interested in getting you results. 

I'm interested in teaching you how to get better at things. Things that will allow you to get your own results. 

Lots of things happen between "day one" and the day you "see results". 

Some days you get better. Some days you don't get better. But you can learn lessons on both of these days.

If you fail to recognize the small victories and losses, you're doing it for the wrong reasons.

Don't go about the process unconsciously. 

Trust the process (the ups and downs) of working toward your goal. 

Acknowledge the challenges along the way. Take note of how you overcome them.

Do better than you did yesterday. Some days you won't manage to do better than yesterday. So make sure to do better the next day. 

If you do this you will be in a great position to reach your goal. 

Once you reach it, you will have an understanding of what it actually takes.

You will be better. 

You will have results.

Un-Categorizable

....is a question I am often asked, but have never been able to answer well.

As irresponsible as you (probably) think it is, I cannot even describe my gym to you. 

The gym is un-categorizable. Too many forms of exercise take place here, with too broad of demographics (in the form of members) for us to be labeled.  

Is this CrossFit? No.

Is this a Bodybuilding gym? No.

Is this a Weightlifting or a Powerlifting club? No.

Is this a Rock Climbing facility? No.

This gym is uniquely located and contains a unique assortment of equipment. 

Inside, numerous training methods and modalities (that I have determined to be useful, safe, and sustainable) are utilized to pursue goals. 

In order for clients and members to achieve their goals...

A state of the art facility is not required; that's why I'm in a warehouse. 

Extravagant equipment is not required; that's why the contents of the gym are mainly pull up bars, boxes, and free weights. 

Adhering to the latest trends in fitness is not a requirement; that's why my programs abide by the laws of time-tested strength training principles.

My clients and members work toward their goals by being challenged and forced to develop strength.  

By developing physical strength.

By developing stronger confidence.

By developing stronger social skills.

By developing the strength to be more positive. 

By developing the strength to better handle adversity in their lives.

By developing strength in tolerating others. People who are at a different fitness level. People who have different interests in fitness. 

This is why I go by "Drew Murphy Strength". It's a place where anyone who wants to challenge his or her self to get better (through strength) in any aspect of their life is invited to stop by.

I refuse to succumb to the pressure to "categorize" this gym. Quite frankly, it's impossible for me to simplify it down to one single category. That's because certain elements of CrossFit, Bodybuilding, Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Climbing - and more are used here. But we do not use only any of these elements. 

If you are interested in challenging yourself to be stronger in any facet of your life, I hope to see you here soon!

My Favorite Way to Blow Out Your Back

Christmas Night, 2015 (a Friday)…

At the local Cinema 12 in Daytona, Florida, I enjoyed a movie with my family to end our Christmas vacation. It was difficult for me to fully appreciate Will Smith’s performance in the film we watched. The movie showed NFL players losing their mind once their playing career had ended, and how it affected their lives. I was close to losing my mind, but not as a result of a brain injury. All I could think about was how my lower back felt like it was on the verge of disintegrating into a pile of dust.

4 days ago it was Monday…

My spine closely resembled the shape of a candy cane as I sat against the wall, waiting for our flight to board. At the time, this was the most comfortable position I had any interest in holding. We boarded the plane, flew, and landed. As I stood to my feet after 2.5 hours in the air, my back felt stiffer than an overcooked Christmas ham.

Tuesday…

My back felt more crumbly than pumpkin pie crust as I stood up to head away from the vacation house to get some lunch. I had been laying around all morning. After eating some sandwiches we returned to the house, and I continued being lazy as I awaited supper. I was starting to feel more sloppy than a gift wrapped by a 4 year old.

Wednesday: the day that involved the most activity…

After sitting around all morning, we ventured out of the house and headed toward Daytona Beach to eat lunch. After eating, we took a walk along the beachside boardwalk. After visiting a few shops and sitting at a bar long enough to discover that they didn’t serve margaritas (bye), we stopped to look out over the water. As I leaned against the handrails, I noticed my back feeling as brittle as a peppermint patty. 

Thursday…

My back was more tangled than Santa’s beard and more rounded than his belly, as I jammed myself into the corner of the couch. Part of the family toured the Daytona Speedway. I turned down the offer because by now I lacked the confidence to wander away from the living room without going for a spill.

Friday…

In recognition of Christmas Day, there was little to do in the city of Daytona. Other than our trip to the movie theatre, the only thing to report for this day was my back feeling more stale than biting into a Christmas cookie on Valentine’s Day. 

Saturday…

I am back in the air, sitting on my returning flight as I write this. Since waking up at 5am, my back has been throbbing worse than frostbitten hands.

The condition of my back has been slightly dramatized in this entry (as well as the activities of the trip), but I hope you understand my point. Sitting is truly the new smoking. As someone who spends 85%+ of my waking hours on my feet, I never experience back pain. Spending less time being sedentary and following an exercise program (that contains heavy lifting and total body stimulation) is the best way to prevent and combat against body aches and injury. This is contrary to what many would probably think. 

The next time you are feeling sore or achey….before you take the generic approach of resting or avoiding activity, consider this post. Building strength and moving around will make you feel better and help restore function to problem areas.