4XLT

I know we all have our routines and mental tricks for working out, eating right, and sticking with a healthy lifestyle. I’ve got a few of my own.

1: Nike Football’s Leave Nothing Commercial

Watch it yourself (if you haven’t already), and tell me it doesn’t get you pumped! I want to knock somebody’s teeth out every time I see it.

See, told you so.

2: Suitably Epic Music

The garbage they are playing through the speakers at 24hour Fitness just doesn’t cut it for me. At all. So, I have an ever expanding list of epic-sounding classical and soundtrack music on my iPod that I play when I work out, suitably entitled the “Battle for Health!” mix.

Here are a few of my favorite, get-pumped-up songs in the list.

1. Klendathu Drop (Starship Troopers)
2. Returns A King (300)
3. Come and Get Them (300)
4. Battle at Devils Den (Gettysburg)
5. O Fortuna (Carmina Burana)
6. Riders of Doom (Conan the Barbarian)
7. Optimus Vs. Megatron (Transformers)
8. The Battle of Kerak (Kingdom of Heaven)
9. The Battle of Monte Cassino (Medal of Honor: Underground)

And when those don’t work, I’ve got a whole host of generic metal / rock that I draw from (and as much as I fear my indie cred plummeting by admitting this, Godsmack’s “I Stand Alone” just gets me going like a mad man.

3: Daniel Craig in Casino Royale

Ok, so maybe this one has an explanation due it. Here goes:

All my life, I’ve had a pretty substantial mental image of myself as the fat guy. Even in the best of all possible situations, I always figured that there was just no possible way I could ever be not fat. That was just the lay of the land and my part in life, right? It hasn’t been until recently that I’ve begun to get past that. I can be healthy if I work hard enough – it is possible!

So, when I watched Casino Royale again recently and I saw Daniel Craig’s physique, I saw what I wanted to look like one day. Massive shoulders, solid chest. If I put in the effort, I can do this. I can.