Never Too Late!
“Is it too late for me to start calisthenics?”
This is the most frequent question I receive from the wonderful people who follow my work. Every time someone asks me this, I think back to when I started. I also remember asking myself, “Is it too late for me? Is it too late for me to get into calisthenics?”
I remember watching my favorite calisthenics teams like the Bar Union and Highlandaz with reverence and appreciation, but I admit I also felt a little deflated. “Late” is a trap that many of us fall into, losing ourselves as we live vicariously through the constant stream of other people’s fitness accomplishments.
It’s normal to have self-doubt and thoughts of “it’s too late for me.” But I realized that I needed to process the content I was consuming on social media differently. I needed to change my mindset. I needed to realize that the question, “is it too late for me?” is just fear…I was my own worst enemy.
“Late” is a mental block.It’s a mental block driven by the fear of change. We are surrounded so much by advertisements of artificial values that we lose sense of what is truly important. This blinds us from our own potential and makes us afraid to follow our own path. Following our own path and fulfilling our own potential entails change. We need to embrace change.
So I challenge you, as I challenged myself, to change the question “Is it too late?” to the statement “Better late than never.” I’ll share some of the lessons I learned from my own experience in breaking through my fear.
“Late” is a relative term and can mean something different to everyone. Every person who has ever wanted to try their hand or mastered the art of calisthenics can argue that it is or was too late for them. There really is no such thing as late. You’re only late if you believe you are late.
Position yourself in a “can-do” environment. Most of our fear comes from the people we surround ourselves with. Start taking notice of the types of attitudes that people exhibit. Are they people who say they “can” or people who say they “can’t”? Then gradually build a support system with people with “can-do” attitudes.
Make social media work for you. Don’t let it consume or intimidate you. Although we never want to compare ourselves to someone else, there is nothing wrong with emulating the work habits and attitudes of someone who is at the level you want to achieve. Keep in mind that everyone started somewhere and the only requirement for membership in this club is that you try your best in your journey.
Listen to your body. There is a difference between burn and pain. As you begin your journey, you will naturally learn the difference over time simply by being aware of the subtle differences.
Finally, start where you are, not where everyone else is. If you’ve never worked out, your starting point will be different from someone with an athletic or fitness background. It doesn’t matter if your focus is developing your ability to do an assisted pull up or a controlled muscle up. Calisthenics is calisthenics. What matters is you are committing to your physical fitness. It’s up to you to adjust the program to fit you. Just remember, that in order to start, it all begins at 1. And it’s never too late to do that.
I hope this post was helpful. My wish is that we can all learn to conquer our fears and be the best we can be. May we all come to the understanding that there is no such thing as too late in life.
Until next time! MUCH LOVE!