Mr. Aries’s BodyBlog

Mother nature woke up one night and erased an entire county off the map of China.

Even though bodies of flesh and blood will never withstand the overwhelming force of nature; no disaster, be it natural or man-made, can ever hope to shatter the strength of human spirit.

Hope, though frail, is hard to kill.

Thoughts and prayers goes out to all the earth quake victims of my birthplace.

Let it be known that though we fall, we will not stay fallen.

People are afraid of work these days. They see "work" as another 4 letter word. Most can’t wait to get off of "work", so they can sit with their feet propped up on Lazy Boys with a 6 pack of beer.

Work, to me, is an important part of life. I like working. If work is labor, then without the endeavor of work, we enjoy no fruits of labor. Work is what keeps our bodies in shape, that’s why the great ones look like "works of art". Work creates the success that we enjoy, that’s why an entire life’s achievements is referred to as your "body of work". Work is also a sign of improvements, hence when we are in the process of building towards something, we call it a "work in progress".

Don’t neglect the importance of work. I am, in fact, addicted to it. People will tell you to chill, to relax, to love life. They tell you to take time away to enjoy. Following their line of thinking, what is a better way to love life then finding love in the things you do in life?

I love life. I enjoy the many opportunities I’ve pursued. I will continue finding success in places others have yet to find. It is a purpose-driven life.

Too often, we are caught up in the moment of glory, and lose sight of the big picture. It’s fine if you have a great body, but don’t let it become the only focal point of your life. I see a lot of guys get caught up in their own little universe, drowning in their own egos. It’s a sinking ship, nothing more.

I love training. I love looking great and being strong. However, all of these things added together is not the reason I have gotten this far. The bottom line is, I don’t care about winning in the gym… I want to win at life.

I want to be somebody. To be somebody, you have to meanful to the people around you. I don’t want to be my #1 fan. I want to stand for something. I want to make a difference.

Training and sports brought me the self-discipline I needed to enhance myself in other areas of life. They gave me the self-confidence I needed to fight for my future. They showed me why I have to pay my dues. Even though I started off hating every minute I pushed myself, over time I learned to find love in what I do. Limit, as far as I can tell, is a boundary formed from the information we perceive to be true as of now. Limit, like our abilities, evolve over time. Something you can’t jump over today might be walked over tomorrow.

People pay too much attention to others next to them, whether it’s in the next lane, on the next bench, or across the field. It matters very little to me how fast and how strong someone is, because I know the talent pool runs deep, and someone will always be better. Great feats are admirable and owe-inspiring, but they are not my measuring stick. I just want the person looking in the mirror today to be of slightly higher quality than the one yesterday. If I’m faster by a sec, stronger by a pound, or more explosive by an inch, then my day was well worth living.

I will never think I’m good enough, but I will always know that I’m good enough to be better.