Hey guys, I've recently discovered a man known as Greg Plitt. This guy is pure inspiration, his drive for success is just life. It is very unfortunate about what happened. My motivation for training I'd say is similar, I train for life. I want to be the best me, period. I see a lot of similarities between Scott and Greg, mainly their drive and intensity level.

My question for you guys is simple, why do you train?

What motivates you?

#HTH

#SHFAthelete

Jack,

For me it has changed as I have gotten older. Originally, I started training to get bigger and stronger and attract girls. At that time it was all about training 6 days a week, eating 6-8 times a day, and lifting heavier and heavier. Once I got to be in my late 30's/early 40's, my focus was more on staying in shape, keeping the size and strength I had already, and fighting the aging process. I realized that many people start having health problems and/or need to take medication daily as they get older and I was determined not to be one of them.

To me, needing medication to sustain your life is not living but rather merely surviving. The minute you take the medication away you die. I also realized that 95% of all the chronic disease states can be prevented with proper diet and exercise. This is a no-brainer in my mind and I am happy to say that at age 51 the only pills I take are vitamins and I have the same waist size I had when I was a Freshman in college (31") and people think I look 35. Modern science has actually proven you can change your DNA thru proper nutrition and exercise to the point that even if you have a family history of certain diseases you can change your DNA for the better and "turn off" these disease causing genes. I feel the best I have felt now as I did when I was in my 20's and I am confident to know I am leaner, stronger, and healthier than the majority of the people my age and a good amount of those younger than me. That keeps me driven and motivated - although at times I still need to remember my true age and be careful when training :-)

John

Jack,

I train because its the way of life. We are getting old and not getting young anymore. many people today are getting sick as they get older because of lack of exercise, wrong diet and some bad hobbies. I admit, I'm not a rich guy.. I don't have more money to undergo operation or some kind of expensive treatment and medication when I get a seroius health problem. As what @jmboiardi said.. me too.. I don't want to be one of those people who are having some health problem at the young age that undergo medication to survive.

What motivates me? I always think of these that help me to stay in the right path and direction.

1.) I survived some health problems like Tuberculosis, Lungs enlargement and Pnuemonia for being fit and eating healthy.

2.) Being a skinny and whimpy for 18 years really sucks.... and I want to changed everthing by means of fitness.

3.) Fitness make us young!! seriously! like 5 years younger =)

4.) I want to keep away from all possible health problems.

5.) I want to be someone.. a different version of myself like an extraordinary human =)

6.) What motivates me more is... UNLIMITED goals for my body.

We all have a choice in what our life would be look like.

I've lived a life I am not exactly proud of. I've hurt a lot of people and myself doing things in my past but lucky for me those people are still here. I've become stronger so I can't say I regret much. I got a good kick in the rear, met a good woman and had a daughter so things I wanted to do which were clouded became more clear as I got older, I wanted to be healthy, fit, strong and proud of who I am physically, mentally and for my family. Many things had to change and I've never been more proud of who I am, where I am and where I come from. I am a better person today continue to be better everyday. My family and well many good people whom want to make a difference somewhere keep me motivated.

I joined the Army at 16 so fitness was drilled into me from a young age. Prior to that I was always an active kid, this was the era before game consoles and smart phones. Growing up in the UK we always found any piece of grass to play soccer, until our Mothers yelled for us to come in for supper! haha. I left the British Army in '06 and moved to Canada where I still workout, I'm more on the strength training side now. Tried Crossfit for a couple years and still run the odd Iron Man and Mud Runner for fun?? I've always enjoyed the natural buzz after a hard training session and the aches from DOMS to let me know my workout had the desired effect lol.

I've been an active kid and teenager / tween, doing many sports for fun as well as teamsports on a national basis.

At the same time i have always been a computer freak, an 2D / 3D artist, a nerd (science, movies and games) and a geek (tech).

When i was young all those went well together - hand in hand - but then adult life hit me and i had to work. And especially in my kind of job (programming, 3D modeling, website developement etc) there is no real "office time".. you basically work your butt off 24/7. Sitting at my desk for more then 48 hours awake, was no exception but more of a daily reality.

So sports got a bit into the backyard of my daily life. And then vanished completely, for several years.

About 3 years ago, i was thinking about getting back on my feet and try to become a bit more fit and healthy again. And see that i can switch some of the "braining" time for some "sports" time. But then, when i was getting just started on that attempt - about 2 years ago, life kicked me in the rear end, and i almost died from an unforseen health incident. This was not the first time i successfully outran death. (i.e a car accident)

Despite how weak i felt .. i thought.. that's it!!.. i had it up to here.. "i'll become a stronger version of myself" .. "and i am not going down that easy anymore".

Mind you - we all will die at some point in time. But i want to go down on my terms, and even if i would have only 1 % of a chance to do so... we only got this one life , so it's worth fighting for your goals.

I always was proud of my mind and my body.. then for a long time it was only my mind .. and i figured it's time to be proud of both again!

We all know feeling good comes from within and from reaching our goals, no matter how small or big they might be.

And i strongly believe that, as everything in the observeable universe, we die when we stop moving!

(and that goes for body and mind)

Guys, awesome answers! Thanks for taking the time to share.

I'll jump in on the motivation train!

7 years ago after joining the Coast Guard I found myself at 160lbs as a 5'1" female. I was fat, unhealthy, it was awful. I was facing the "fat boy" program in the military and wanted no part of that. I changed my diet and health around in the next 6-8 months. Went from 160 to 130 and kept going.

Fast forward to two years ago, my husband and I work out every day, I was down to about 124, strong, super healthy. Without knowing it, I tore a hole in my carotid artery and had a stroke (thought I pinched a nerve, genius huh). Ended up with a stent holding my artery open for the rest of my life. Military career came to an end and was told I'd never lift more than 20lbs ever again.

Well I didn't like that answer. Being healthy and in shape is what saved my life. So I made it a point to learn how to lift without going to failure while still progressing. I don't use my neck or strain for ANY lift. I'm down to 115, leaner than I've ever been and probably more healthy which I didn't think was possible. Between my health and my husband, those two are BOTH my motivation to lift and stay healthy. To say you cheated death is a cool but scary thing to say, as I'm sure those above would agree. However, you have to take control of the things you can and make the best with them.

So glad to read everyone's motivational stories, makes me pumped to crush my back workout today!!

what movtivates me is my family and when i look at my self in the mirror, i was really looking for a place to vent, today my uncle came by and just wanted to visit me, and as always he wanted to talk about truck driving and how it can make me alot of money, to be honest i just want to be with my family, i enjoy everyday that i get to spend with my wife and daughter. MY daughter is still learning new things and i can see her personality change as the days go by, i really love hearing my daughter laugh and giggle, i enjoy my wife's company when we pick on each other and and debate which hero is better from marvel or dc, or star trek vs star wars lol, but my uncle asked me what i do i plan on doing in the next five years, he said by then my little brother will have a home paid for and alot of cars from truck driving, i told him that i wanted to be like scott herman, i told him im tired of being weak, being pick on, i told him that one day i would like to own a small gym and make enough money just to get my family a simple little home. i would be happy if i just made at least 20k a year, i know that it is a really low amount, and me and my wife are making less than that right now...and you know what?? We are doing ok , we are happy, we live in an apartment, my daughter has her own room(even though she still sleeps with us at night lol) my daughter is always smiling , we spend time together alot, and that is really all i could ask for..My uncle said that im just a dreamer that im not gonna get in shape and make it that far, i told him he was WRONG... i told him dreamers just lie on their back wishing that waiting for things to be handed to them. i told him that i have been training everday since the 1st of april, i told him i train most of the day, and im losing weight, i went from 250 to 230 lbs, my arms are getting alittle more toned, and i told him i will accomplish my goal, i will train hard, that is what motivates me, i what to prove people that dont believe me that they are wrong, when i see scotts videos i get motivated i know what i want and need in life, and i love to teach people of what i learned from Scott Herman, Just last year i lost my aunt on my moms sideof the family, and on my dads side, last year i lost both my grandparents, and my uncle, i lost them to health reason, some to cancer, some to being too overweight, and diabetes.. i dont want to be like them, i dont want anybody to be like them, i want to help people live a better healthier life.. so thank you , who ever is reading this for hearing me out... i have alot on my mind and no one to talk about it with. so writing this helps me, take care Hermanite nation :)

I've lived on a farm since I was 10, so I had to help pick up 100 lb. sacks of grain and move them into the barn and unload them. My first goal when I started was to be able to lift them easier. Over the years, it became easier and easier, and now I can toss it on my shoulder and jog 50 yards with the 100 lb. sack on my back. Now that I've done that, my goals have kind of stayed the same, only I want to increase endurance so I can empty dirty stalls faster. For me, it's always been about increasing strength and endurance so I can complete the bigger jobs with ease. Making the hardest parts in life easier would be my motivation, as well as being better than I was yesterday.