Most people if asked, when buying a product will tell you they want the best that they can get for their money, the most bang for their buck so to speak. In their mind they actually think that what they may be purchasing is the best item available, if only that were the case…

The best real life example of what I am talking about is the growing popularity of apple products. If you are to take the newest iPhone, like the 4s from apple, and compare it to an android phone that came out in a similar time frame with an equal or lesser then price, you would never buy the iphone in terms of specifications and performance. Apple even knows their phones are inferior in that sense so you can’t even find that information on their website, because most people buying apple products don’t care. The people that purchase them don’t want the fastest and most capable phone, they want an iPhone. Because Apple has impressively made it a brand people like being associated with. This holds true with all of their products, the iPads and the Macbooks and desktops.

What does this have to do with strength training and fitness? Ok, the point is that the best program and diet in the world might not be best suited for a lot of people. A lot of people don’t care if they are on the best training and diet program ever, they just want to lose their tummy fat and have the experience be fun and entertaining. For example the strange “fitness” dance class Zumba is a kind of a piece of garbage, but if it gets women fired up about getting in shape and encourages them to watch their diet and move their bodies more, then go nuts ! Knock yourself out, something is better than nothing. And as I and many before me have said, the best program is the one you are going to do.

I cannot stress how significant this idea is. For anyone that is a dedicated strength trainee or has a legitimate concern for their physical capabilities, you need to let go of your stigmas. Crossfitters are notorious for this, hating on “the commercial gym” scene is one of a lot of crossfitter’s favorite past times, and a lot of the time it’s all in good fun. But there comes a point when a lot of them actually start to believe their own bullshit, I should know, I was that guy a few years ago.

Coming back to Apple example, millions of people are happy with their “inferior” mac products, just as millions of people are happy with their “inferior” training programs. It is all perception. To be clear before I get dozens of angry emails from mac users, I know apple has better apps and I don’t care that you’ve owned one android phone that sucked. The reality is I have owned or extensively used every mac product, in addition to android and have come to my own conclusions. Specifications and experience don’t lie. If you don’t trust me then go compare them for yourselves, don’t just draw broad based conclusions off of one product or experience.

The reality is that no program is decisively better then another, it entirely depends on the individuals wants, needs, and goals. And you are no better than anyone because of what training program you are on, most people don’t even care. In the end do what you love and always try to ensure that the you of yesterday is inferior to the you of today.

Photo: Warner Bros.

How many times in your life have you said “Why did this happen to me?” or “I have the worst luck”, better yet “I just can’t catch a break”? Probably too many to count, all three aforementioned statements have an underlying motif in common. You think of yourself as a victim. If something bad happens at work, with a lover, or at any other time in life, without failure it becomes the other persons/societies fault. After all you are perfect, right? If you get sick it was that asshole at work that got you sick. If you get mugged it is the police’s fault or societies for manifesting such individuals that would do such a thing. Poor you right?

The reality is that everything is your fault. If you’re sick it’s your fault, if you lose a fight or a girlfriend it’s your fault, if you hate your job or you fail to do anything noteworthy and allow everyone to force you to live a benign, uneventful and generally terrible existence it is also your fault. You bring all of these things about with either your thought patterns or actions.

Letting go of being a victim is one of the most important things you can do for yourself if you want to start leading an enjoyable and memorable life. This is because it allows you to actually start living and gain control of your destiny. If you don’t like something and want to change it or want to improve yourself; create a burning desire within to settle for nothing less than completion of your task.

One easy to implement step that you can take right now is to limit the amount of victim hood memes you are exposed to by not watching the news. The news is one of the most worthless and depressing vehicles of information there is. And the information offered is of little to no significance. If something really important happens your friends will tell you about it, I promise. The media is one of the largest proponents of being a victim, don’t fall for it.

If you think your safety is a concern, take steps to protect yourself. If your health is a concern, then fix it! If your mentality is holding you back, start taking steps now to progress and improve yourself. If you don’t know how to do anything that you want to do, THEN ASK SOMEONE WHO HAS OR IS DOING IT. It is easier than ever before in the entire history of the world to get a hold of someone and get their advice or expertise. Stop making excuses.

The people that get all the breaks, and that have all the luck, are the people that break things and create their own luck. Don’t allow yourself to be cornered by all of the negativity and defeatist ideas thrown at us on daily basis, instead choose to fight back and be free to enjoy all of the beautiful things this life has to offer. Don’t be a victim.

Maybe you have spent the last six months to a year spending a lot of time at strip clubs and drinking and have lost motivation to take care of your body. Perhaps you’ve spent most of your time on the couch eating potato chips covered in rice as the main staple of your diet and smoking a lot of weed, why would you start to work out and eat right?

First I would encourage you to do a mental exercise. No matter what your situation is, extrapolate your current habits over the course of 10-30 years. If you think they may potentially result in you being a drug addict, obese, poor, or dead as the result of a heart attack, shit needs to change.

Start with the blatantly obvious, dial back your recreational drug use, honestly you should just eliminate this entirely, but do it over time so it isn’t so difficult.

Then I would like you think about something that you would like to improve about yourself. Maybe you’re a little thick around the midsection. What would make you happier, pounding all those big macs and beer or having a divinely inspired physique? Wouldn’t it be worth it alone to be comfortable in your own skin so you aren’t embarrassed to take off your shirt off or to make it so you can leave the lights on when you are with your lady friend?

When I was younger and just beginning to train and exercise one of my first goals was to be able to take off my shirt when running and not be self conscious about it. So after a few months of lifting running and eating a decent diet, I no longer mentally had these concerns. I cannot begin to explain how liberating it is to achieve these types of goals that do so much in terms of improving your confidence and mentality.

This applies to everyone as well, women, men, skinny, fat, think about all the things you should be doing to take care of yourself. They may seem boring or too hard, but once you realize the potential impact it can have on you mentally and physically, it becomes very easy to eat right and get to the gym.

It is important when thinking about diet and training to not think of it in temporary terms, almost everyone I know that fails to take care of their body will start to be “healthy” and do the right things for 1-3 months, and then it all falls apart because of one excuse or another. Looking good and being able to perform well at life is not something you should want temporarily.

So as Johnny Pain would say, make a decision to improve yourself. Because when you make a decision you divorce all possibility of an alternative outcome. Stop praying, wishing, and hoping, and start deciding.

[in-teg-ri-tee]

noun

1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire.

3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship’s hull.

Integrity is a word that has lost its meaning. Nowadays it is little more than a punch-line for politicians and a quality tarnished by phony administrators who are supposed to possess it. If you were to ask a kid about Integrity they may very well laugh at you.

So what is Integrity? It is easier to begin with what Integrity is not rather than what it is. Integrity is not a mindless adherence to religious and militant values. Integrity is not necessarily pursuing “the American dream”. Integrity is not complacency. Integrity is not close-minded. Integrity is not sedentary. Integrity is not unintelligent. Integrity is not specific to any race, sexual orientation, or gender; it is only specific to individuals. Integrity is not appeasement. Integrity does not care how wealthy you are.

People who value and possess Integrity know the ability to push yourself is one of the most admirable things there is in life, with no judgment passed on what you are pushing yourself towards. Whether it is pushing yourself in training for a new personal record, pushing yourself to mend an old relationship with a loved one either friend or family, or pushing yourself to grow as an individual through certain experiences, these types of actions are the ones that make day to day life worthwhile.

Welcome to Integrity Athletics. Here the best information available on training, diet, and programming will be brought to light, in addition to a plethora of lifestyle content. A goal of this site is to focus on covering the issues and topics you the readers want covered. So I encourage you to send any questions or topics you would like covered to integrityathleticsgym@gmail.com all will be answered in one form or another promptly. I would like to stress the fact that the scope of the site will not be limited to training only related topics. I am more than willing and I will opine on topics ranging from lifting and starcraft to drugs, sex, and money. Because really, what else is there in the world? This site is dedicated to being entertaining and educational.

I, like all of you enjoy having content from sites on a regular basis; right now the plan is to have at least one video and one written piece a week as a minimum. There are some things in the works right now that you can expect in the not so distant future such as shirts and other merch. I am also contacting some of the most respected individuals in the strength and conditioning community to contribute to the site.

Welcome and stay tuned, 2012 is going to be a great year.