My children told me that they don’t want me to compete in any of the Tough Mudder events. Â They watched videos like the one below and told me they are afraid I will get hurt.
Who We Were Meets Who We Are
It irritated me to hear them say don’t do it. I understand their concern for my safety and am grateful for it but it wasn’t what I expected to hear or what I wanted.
I think of myself as being somewhere being 19 and 25. I am still ripped in every way. All those hours in the gym and all of the hard work have made me into a beast and then I open my eyes.
I was that guy. It is not an exaggeration. I was 9% body fat and just solid muscle. I could eat whatever I wanted and I could move a mountain with little to no effort.
When I open my eyes I see a big beefy guy who looks like he can still throw the weights around, when he is not eating. I see a guy who could complete some of the existing challenges today, but would never finish the whole course without serious training.
What Are You Doing About It?
Part of what I like about an event like Tough Mudder is the focus on willpower and mental toughness. You don’t finish something like that unless you can do a little of the mind over matter bit so many people talk about.
I have the force of will to do these things. I have the strength, the fortitude and the mental toughness to complete it or so I keep saying. What I seem to lack is the discipline to do a better job with my diet.
There are regular periods of time where I get serious and I bear down. I watch what I eat and engage in consistent and serious workouts. My body changes.
How do I know this?
The answer is called: pants. I know this by whether I need a belt or not to wear my pants. If I need that belt than I know I am doing a decent job of cutting down on the calories and increasing the exercise.
When I don’t need to wear a belt than I hope that I have enjoyed some very fine meals because there is something irritating about knowing that you wasted all those calories on crap. If you are going to get yourself in trouble you might as well earn it.

I am not in that picture but I could be. The guy I used to be would have done it. He would have entered and loved every moment of it. He never could have imagined that one day the children who used to think he was Superman would be concerned he might fall into a Kryptonite mud puddle.
Here is the thing, I am the adult. I am their father and if I want to do this I can.
Even if I don’t enter I can still train. I can still get myself into shape, but will I.
Will I complain about their concern and lack of faith and leave it at that or will I just do what needs to be done. Meaning, will I prove to myself and everyone else that a 43 year-old man has the discipline and wherewithal to stop the clock and restore his hard body.
I guess you’ll have to wait to find out because I can’t answer that question now.
What about you? Have you any interest in competing in something like this?
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