In life, we are given the opportunity to create friendships and use these people as mentors. Maybe some friends of yours are really good at making smart investments (I have zero friends like that. I should consider getting some!) Or maybe you have a friend that's really got a good head on their shoulders when it comes to rolling with life's punches.
I, in particular, have what I consider a great friend who has helped me along my fitness (now powerlifting) journey. This friend of mine and I have never met in person. We met in an online Facebook group called Lean You (used to be run by Paul Nobles over at Crossfitters Eat to Perform (which he started recently and the guy really knows his shit! I learned a lot from him, initially). I got directed to there from somewhere else (I think it was Berkhan's Lean Gains site a long time ago).
I digress.
The point is, my friend is amazing. She's a girl (yay!) and she recently pulled 220lbs on the dead lift. The woman knows a thing or two about stress. She handles her kids, her husband and makes awesome cakes on the side to boot. She's done it all. Keto, CBL, Paleo, IIFYM (to a degree, she still does I believe) and is looking lean and mean:
Jacked Girl!
So, there I was, about 2 years ago (give or take), looking to get back into training. I had the long layoff with my back troubles and was really scared about lifting again. April and I hit it off fairly quickly and became fast friends. Our friendship has grown naturally over the past 2 years and we're really starting to get to know one another now. But from the start, I knew I had to learn how she operated and what made her tick.
I asked her lots of questions:
"How do you stick to it through all the emotional shit in life" And she would tell me things like (paraphrasing...it's been a long time!) "Because I use that as my outlet" and other similar messages.
I know it's hard getting started. Maybe you started long before I came along and told you to start. Maybe you started and then stopped again.
But April makes it her mission to get to the gym everyday she has planned. She does high volume work and recovers well. I am usually afraid to text her at 8 PM for fear of waking her up. She gets up early and does her motherly duties. She always makes amazing and healthy meals (We are working on getting April to do some guest posts on recipes and some nutritional information, so stay tuned for those awesome posts soon to come!), and somehow manages to keep her shit together.
I'm no April, but I do my best.
Why does April inspire me? Because she's a real person that I can talk to usually whenever I want to. We give each other advice now. I help her with certain aspects and she helps me with certain things. It's a give and take. If we lived closer together, I know 100% we would be destroying shit in the gym together and making the men feel emasculated or give them wood. Either way, we'd be double amazeballs because we'd be a force to be reckoned with.
When you find someone like April and you have a good feeling about the direction of your friendship, don't be afraid to ask them for help. Maybe it's someone at your gym. Maybe it's your uncle or someone you already feel connected to who has the ability and knowledge to help you. Take advantage of that. Lots of people pay way too much for the same information I get from April near-daily.
I can email her or text her questions about my nutrients, or if I have troubles, and she gets back to me quickly because we're friends. She's invested in my goals and I am invested in hers because we care for one another.
Great friendships are hard to find, especially in a sport that can be very intimidating. Great mentors are even more rare.
Make something of yourself, but don't be afraid to enlist help to become the person you want to become, no matter what aspect that is. This is your life, your shot. The journey is always more fun with great friends.
See you in the DUNGEON.
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