Less is more

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I have always been a minimalist.

I never understood accumulating stuff or wasting my time. I always throw things out before I move, and I have always had the saying that if I haven't used something in a year, then I probably don't need to have it around. I never wanted to be dependent on needing something.

I took that same approach naturally when I started to train. I wanted to get the most bang for my buck in the shortest period of time, and I have always been drawn to such training. I focused on learning compound movements that worked the most muscle groups at the same time, and then figured out ways to make them harder. For example, instead of a leg press machine, I would do barbell squats. Instead of doing just a standard pushup, I looked for ways to make it harder, such as elevating my feet. I always asked myself " how could I get more done in the shortest period of time." Bodyweight exercises are always there for me to use. While I enjoy doing basic exercises using barbells, dumbbells, and more recently, kettlebells, I regularly use bodyweight exercises for my strength training.

Give me a mat, a pull up bar, a jump rope, a little corner of the room, and I will get after it. I am always amazed at how much exercise that I have always been able to do with so little equipment.

Bodyweight squats and pushups are always available to me wherever I am, or how little time might have. I have no excuse for not getting something done today.

During very busy and chaotic times in my life, it seems I always found ways to work exercise in, even if it was doing some push-ups and sit ups on my bathroom floor when I was getting ready in the morning. I went through multiple decades working long stressful hours, and I had very little time or importantly, energy to go to a gym but at a minimum, I also seemed to find time to do some pushups. Definitely not the best of most effective way to keep in shape, but I figured that it was better than doing nothing.

I have found that I get the best results with focused, minimalistic training. As I work towards mastering the hardest versions of the most effective exercises, I have found that my body and my mind are transforming.

This is my experience, my philosophy on training, my workouts, and my personal journey that has completely changed the quality of my life.