Some Thoughts On "Fitting In"

“I came to terms with not fitting in a long time ago. I never really fitted in. I don't want to fit in. And now people are buying into that.” - Alexander McQueen

Have you ever felt like you didn’t quite fit society’s mold of what you’re supposed to be? Like you were a little different in your ambitions than the rest?

I know I have.

My whole life I’ve felt like I didn’t quite fit in - didn’t fit the mold of “shoulds” and “supposed to’s”

In fact, when someone tells me I need to do something because it’s what “everyone else would do”, I feel a strong urge to run the other way.

Naturally this way of living made its way into my fitness as well.

When I started training back in 2013 I mainly started with running - but crossfit was getting bigger and I also had a lot of current and prior SOF members I looked up to - all people who had strength AND endurance.

As a result I wanted to lift as well.

But my cross country coaches, my fellow athletes, and countless others kept telling me that I was sabotaging my progress and should aim to lose some muscle mass.

To make a long story short, I didn’t listen to them - I still had a great cross country career (setting my 5k PB @ 17:57 WHILE continuing to lift), and here we are today.

Could I be faster if I didn’t lift so much? Probably.

Could I be stronger if I didn’t run and do triathlons? 100%

Would my business be more successful if I sold out to the Instagram overlords, started bodybuilding, cut down to an insanely low BF%, photoshopped my posts, and lied through my teeth about being fulfilled? Most definitely.

But I don’t want any of that.

Social media can be a very dogmatic place - “keto only”, “train like an athlete”, “train like a bodybuilder”, “do triathlons”, on and on it goes.

Even in the hybrid space, it can feel like everyone is bodybuilding and doing ultra endurance events. It’s easy to feel like “well that’s what everyone else is doing so I should too”

And it’s made worse by those who try to make it seem like their way is the only way. When in reality “all paths lead to Rome” - there are many ways to live a full and healthy life.

The great thing is we get to define what we want health and fitness to look like for US. Not for the IG overlords, our coaches, or Joe down the street.

The biggest thing I pride myself on as an athlete and a coach is embracing variety. I’ve competed in/ done a lot of different things in my life, and I see the value in all of it.

I also work with a wide range of athletes, and meeting them where they are, learning what fitness means to THEM, watching them courageously attack their unique journey’s, and getting to be a part of their success is something I’m eternally grateful for.

Everyone has a unique story. And everyone’s fitness journey and athletic pursuits are interconnected with that story. They can’t be separated.

I want to hear YOUR story.

Comment below and share with me your unique story and fitness journey and where you’re looking to go.

I can’t wait to hear from all of you.

Sincerely,

Justin