A Walk and a Workout

This is a departure from writing about marketing because there's only so much writing about marketing you can do. I'm going to explore writing a weekly or 2x/week article like this to help build back my writing muscles and gets some words out that don't involve "B2B marketing". Feel free to subscribe to my newsletter here on LinkedIn for future updates like this. Leave me a comment or note too below.

I’ve always been active in some way or another. My Dad grew up playing and watching sports. My Mom was a P.E. teacher for 42 years and coached field hockey, basketball, softball. My sister and I grew up playing sports. Street hockey. Wiffle ball. Home run derby. Catch. Football or baseball. With either my Mom or my Dad (none of my friend’s moms were catching fastballs at 5:30 PM). We had a tennis phase. We played golf. Both of my parents played and a set of my grandparents. Most often I’d play with my Dad and his Dad. We had a basketball hoop in the driveway and spent many nights in the dark playing? 21. I played golf, basketball, and baseball in high school. Basketball was my worst sport but the one I loved the most and would spend hours on the weekend at the local college where my Dad worked hooping in some way or another. 1 v 1, 3 v 3, 21 or 42. I played on the college golf team for two weeks (it was impossible to wake up at 5 AM, I didn’t have my own car to get to practice, and honestly I wasn’t that good).?

Then I ended up walking on the baseball team as a pitcher and in college I got into strength training. We didn’t have a choice but it became something I loved. There was the ego part of being in shape. But I also learned there was an even bigger mental part. Everything felt better after working out. There were few problems or stresses that felt the same in my brain before vs. after a workout. It became a form of self-discipline. Yes, we can go out tonight. But lets workout first.?

Today staying active, working out, and playing sports still remain a key part of my day to day outside of work and time with my family. I am always trying to incorporate some type of activity into my day. Partly because as I get older it’s becoming even more important to be in shape. I’m not training for anything but I am training for life. I want to be active for as long asI can. I want to keep up with my kids. I want to be that fit 60 year old guy and I am not afraid of admitting that. I want to build my cardio and conditioning for heart health (and to make sure I can keep up with my kids).

As my career, and later kids, became the big focus the last decade of my life my time, schedule, and sleep have been all over the place. There have been consecutive days I’ve gone without working out, but never a full week. When I couldn’t make it to the gym after my daughter was born I bought a 53 lb kettlebell and pull-up bar and did something for 20 minutes a day. I’ve seen every search result on Google for “at home bodyweight workouts” or “CrossFit Hotel Wods.” When I was desperate and only had 10 minutes I’d resort to burpees.?

Today my kids are sleeping through the night (OK that’s a lie but it’s much different with a 5 and 3 year old than a newborn) and I’m able to enjoy some consistency in my routine. Plus I work for myself and make my own hours, so I don’t have to worry about the 6 AM CrossFit class being the only way to get my workout in. I do some running. I do some sprinting. I do some strength training. I walk 15,000 steps/day. Not because I am trying to hit some number, but because I love being outside and I have a constant urge to keep moving. Plus it’s like a two for one when the dog gets tired out too. If I am grumpy, sad, tired, annoyed, stuck on something with work, having writer’s block, or just in a funk, a walk seems to always do the trick. Since my kids were born I’ve stopped watching sports. I love sports. I love watching sports. I just don’t have the time anymore. Well, actually. It’s more like – I could have the time, but I choose not to use my time that way. I get energy from being outside, playing with my kids, taking them for a bike ride, going for a long walk with my wife, taking the dog in the woods. I sleep better. I have less stress. My mentals are better. Plus there’s something about the feeling at the end of the day. Like that feeling on your face after a day of skiing. A day walking at the beach. That “full body tired” as my wife calls it. It’s that. I need that feeling everyday. Whether it comes from walking, lifting, or helping my in-laws stack wood (warms you twice). Ideally a combination of all those things. But there are no better instant bullshit cleansers than a walk and a workout.

When we go visit my parents, my wife and I find time to go for walks together. I’ll do push-ups and bring some bands. It’s daily maintenance for my brain and my body. It’s a form of self regulation. It’s self-discipline. It’s a habit I want to pass down to my kids for so many reasons.