I can't begin to count the number of times I have been told, training is the last thing you will think about on your death bed. There will come a time where the gym won't matter.     I have been wheeled to surgeries where there was a good probability that I wouldn't make it back out. In all cases, I did think about my kids (will they grow up ok? who will they become? and was I satisfied in how I was and grew as a parent). I did think about my wife, was everything in order? Did I say everything I needed to say? Did I grow as a husband? I thought about my faith and I thought back on some of my best lifts, training and times in the gym. How could I NOT!     It's been a huge part of my life for close to 4 decades. There are many great times that I reflected on. Just as there are many great times I reflected on with my wife and kids. By no means am I saying I thought of this more than my family... BUT... it WAS there and I am damn proud of it.  

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  It validates I didn't tear my body apart and bust my ass for nothing! It MATTERED to me then, now and will when I die. I'm happy I have something in my life, with my family, that I embrace with that much passion, time, and effort.     I have also been on the other side of the coin where I have had loved ones on life support, die slowly and die fast... without reason. HARD. HARD, HARD things to deal with. Training mattered then as well - as long as I was able to get to the gym (alone) and just "be there". It helped me to ground, breathe, center and be the person I needed to be for others. By no means am I saying 5 hours in the gym of heavy crazy shit. 10-15-20 minutes of just being somewhere so familiar, known, trusted and safe mattered.     I am not saying the gym is "therapy", far from it. I am also not saying its family, people don't stay. It certainly is not life, as life is far more complicated. The gym and training mean different things to different people. While I do feel it should never be your entire life, but for many it is much more than a place to train. It's something that can't be described other than saying it matters.  

“It won’t matter”, is the biggest lie I’ve ever been told.

   
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Dave Tate

EliteFTS Table Talk— Where strength meets truth. Hosted byDave Tate, Table Talk cuts through the noise to bring raw, unfiltered conversations about training, coaching, business, and life under the bar. No fluff. No hype. Just decades of experience — shared to make you stronger in and out of the gym.

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