I was actually a very serious athlete growing up—a three-sport varsity athlete in high school, back when kids played more than one sport. I took up rugby in college, and that kept me involved in competitive sports into my mid-twenties. But then I just got too busy to make the commitment, and without the structure of a team and a schedule and all that, I basically stopped exercising completely. I always assumed I’d find some other outlet, like jogging or joining the gym. But I never developed the discipline to self-motivate. It’s like I needed a coach blowing the whistle or team captain shouting orders—otherwise I wasn’t getting off the couch. I still run into old teammates and they always do a double take at how soft I’ve become. You’d think it would motivate me to want to change, but that hasn’t been the case so far.
I’ve played sports my entire life, mostly soccer and tennis, and I’m a pretty avid runner. There’s a gym at work and I get to it a few days a week. So on the surface I have a pretty active, fit lifestyle. But I don’t go nearly as hard as I could or should. Ever since turning forty, I’ve had a harder time keeping off the weight (for the first time ever, there was a two at the start of my weight when I stepped on the scale a few weeks back!). And I’ve definitely lost a few steps on the soccer field, where a lot of the guys are in their twenties and thirties. Basically, I need to step it up.
As I came to that realization in the context of Hell Week preparation, I realized that I’ve never been 100 percent committed to being in peak physical shape. Even in college, when I played Division 1 soccer, I was part of the crew that partied hard after the games and lived on pizza and fast food. Not surprisingly, I never made it onto the starting eleven, and by senior year I’d quit the team completely. I wonder what kind of playing career I would have had if I’d been more committed.
I can’t turn back the clock, but I’m hoping Hell Week will motivate me to take my workouts more seriously. I’d love to lose the “dad bod” and look as good as possible. Obviously diet plays a part in that, too. I’ve definitely developed some bad habits over the years—some of which go all the way back to those raucous college years. It’s definitely time to rethink the way I treat my body.