The Grind

One thing you'll begin to hear me talking about a lot is what I like to term, "the grind."  The grind is what makes you get out of bed in the morning.  It happens when you chalk your hands in the gym.  Its why you dread hill sprints on a 100 degree day in the blazing sunshine.  You hate the grind.  But the fact is, the grind and how you choose to attack it is what defines you as a person.  I didn't realize this until a few years ago, but now...I embrace the grind.
I used to hate training when I was younger.  Hell I hated training in high school.  I didn't care about working out in the gym or doing sprints on the track.  That shit was a necessity to make me a good athlete, but when it was over I couldn't have been happier.  Growing up, I used to get so annoyed when my father, who was an avid runner and former college tennis player and coach, used to stand and announce to the family that he was going running.  He would do so at the hottest part of the day, looking for the steepest hills, longest course and least shade he could possibly find.  He'd tell me, as he walked out the door, that he loved training in the most intense heat, because it made a man out of you.  It toughened the body and the mind, so that when you're opponent, whoever it may be, is ready to quit, you'll still be at the top of your game.
I thought it was a load of bullshit growing up.  Why not just do the minimum to get by?  Why not just wait for the clouds or the rain, or for that matter just train with the least amount of resistance available, or take a couple days off when you're sore or tired or just don't feel like training.  Now, I realize, that my father was absolutely right.  I now love training outdoors during the dog days of summer.  I love running up the steepest part of the hill in the sunniest section of the park during the hottest part of the day.  I love pushing the intensity by hitting heavy lifts, constantly attacking new exercises, improving my body control with unconventional methods like gymnastics training and ring work.  It hurts.  My body hurts, my mind says "just quit, you've worked hard enough for today."  But the fact of the matter is, I keep going.  I get up everyday with a passion and I attack my workouts with ferocity.  I love what I do.  I embrace my grind.  I embrace the pain because I'd rather suffer the pain of hard work then the pain of regret.  I want to be the best version of myself in body, mind, and spirit.
The grind can apply to all walks of life.  It doesn't have to be strength training.  But you need to look inward and embrace your grind.  We all have goals we want to achieve, but too many people ignore the journey on the way to those goals.  Along the way, you'll learn more about yourself then you could possibly imagine.  Its the journey that defines us, changes us, makes us who we are and who we will be, not the end.  Embrace the grind.  Love the grind.  Don't ever look back and think, "I could have done more..."