Training Makes YOU Better — The Strong Dad Club

We all want to look good.

There is nothing wrong with that.

Ask most anyone and they will tell you they want to start working out or that they are planning on starting a diet or that they just joined that new gym down the road.

Their reason for the most part is that they want to look good.

There is nothing wrong with that.

For some reason there is the notion that if you want to look strong and healthy you are somehow a vain, horrible, selfish, terrible, no good person.

There is also the perception that if you workout or are interested in looking better you are a bodybuilder who likes to wear thongs, spray tan your whole body minus your face, and flex for a panel of old men who judge you on your ‘symmetry’ and ‘cornhole striations’.

Both of these perceptions are wrong.

Most of the people who I know who workout are kind, considerate, good people.

I also know people who workout who are total ding dong’s, but working out doesn’t instantly turn you into a d-bag juice head (you were born that way...I kid I kid).

In most cases doing some form of physical training it makes you feel better about yourself which spills over onto those who surround you. When you feel good you are more likely to help your friends, family, and coworkers feel good as well.

It’s science.

Seriously. When we workout we prompt our body to release the big three positive hormones that your body craves.

Dopamine - That feeling when you achieve a goal.

Seratonin - That rush when you receive public recognition for doing a good job.

Oxytocin - That sense of belonging when you hug a loved one.

So...

Write down a personal fitness goal and achieve it? Mmmmmmm delicious Dopamine.

Have a coach praise you for your squat technique in front of all your friends? Gimme some of dat sweet sweet Seratonin.

Hug your workout buddy after particularly sick arm pump? Yeah pump that Oxytocin straight into my veins bro.

All these hormones make us feel G O O D and when you feel G O O D you are more willing to share the G O O D-ness with those around you.

You literally become a more G O O D-er person to be around simply by working out!

So you’re saying mo muscle = fewer problems?

Now if you don’t workout and just let your stress and anxiety and anger eat away at you your body is not going to release those hormones and will instead fill your body with Cortisol.

Cortisol is generally known as a stress hormone and it is not bad like some will have you think. When you are in fight or flight mode this is thanks to cortisol. Cortisol wants you to survive. It keeps you on your toes. It heightens your state of alertness and prepares you to GET DA HECK OUTTA HURR. But too much cortisol is not a good deal.

Your heart rate increases, your immune system is weakened, and your muscular growth is slowed.

Cortisol helps us escape from danger. It stimulates us to move, to get out of the situation NOW!

It isn’t meant to be in our bodies all day erry day.

So if that danger is not real, and that stressful situation is simply where we work every day, all that cortisol can affect our health and mood in a serious way.

When your body is releasing Cortisol it is not releasing Oxytocin which helps us feel safe, relaxed, generous, and loving.

So if you aren’t doing any physical activity, or eating good foods that your body loves then you are going to be a biologically less fun person to be around. You will be less generous, in a bad mood, and you will want to punch everyone in the face all the time.

Me when I don’t workout. Also LeBron every time a call doesn’t go his way.

SCIENCE!

There you have it.

Training makes you a better person to be around.

Biologically more generous.

Biologically more friendly and open.

Biologically happier and more excited about life.

So before you start to get into training and getting stronger make sure that you take care of your preconceived notions about people who train and work to get stronger.

Think about it. Why would you commit to getting into better shape if you look down on people who do?

Why would you commit time to getting stronger and looking better if you think that people who do are selfish and vain?

Why would you start eating healthy whole foods if you think that people who do are rigid and don’t have any fun?

Here’s the answer: You won’t.

Before you start working out you need to acknowledge that working out and eating healthy foods does not make you a selfish and vain person.

You need to acknowledge that working out and eating healthy makes you a stronger and more vibrant version of who you are.

It will give you more energy, make you feel better, and allow you to be fully present in all facets of your life.

So believe that working out or doing some type of physical activity is going to change your life for the better because it will!

If you want to learn more about how hormones affect ourselves and those around us check out Simon Sinek’s amazing book ‘Leaders Eat Last’