This is one of the more commonly asked questions on the Reddit Married Red Pill message board and in my last post, I talked a bit about men taking care of their bodies and therefore, some of you may be asking, “Bro, do you even lift?” Well, I’m glad you asked.

I’ve been throwing the steel around since Lee Haney was winning Olympia titles. I’ve never competed and never had the strong desire to actually outside of the Mirror Nationals. I did compete against my younger brother who always pushed me to get as ripped as he was back in the day, and his shape keeps me motivated even now.

Overall, the main point is that for nearly 25 years, I’ve never STOPPED lifting. I’d have to go back to a time of Tupac (likely before he even went to jail) and conscious hip-hop to recall not lifting outside of a scheduled break or an injury. Mind you, even when injured, I never missed more than two weeks, as I still trained with one arm consistently when I broke my wrist. One of the best complements I ever received was when a guy in the gym told me how much I motivated him as he had just been injured in a motorcycle accident, but came in to train “the good limb” because he saw how I kept pushing. So I’m not good with excuses when people tell me, “I don’t have time…I’m not motivated enough…I don’t have the money…etc.”.

As I push 50, I’ve learned plenty of lessons to have some longevity in the iron game. I’ve never been the strongest in the gym, but I’ve never been the weakest and always try to have proper form. If you want to know numbers, right now, I have the basic totals:

I haven’t conventional deadlifted in years, but now that I’ve been watching plenty of Mark Rippetoe vids and instructions by others and learning how to do so correctly, so it’s about that time. Unfortunately for me, I learned how to squat from reading Flex and Muscle and Fitness! So I have made plenty of mistakes and had to relearn many lifts over the years. Once you get an incorrect neural pattern set, it takes some work to unlearn what you “learned”. You young kids or new jacks don’t know how good you have things in the Youtube era, trust me.

Therefore, “do you lift” means more than just looking hot for your wife and truth be told, like anything else you do, she’s going to take it for granted after some time. My wife certainly has (and admitted as much when one of the hottest chicks in the gym complemented me) that perhaps she takes it for granted that I’m in great shape. That was an indication for me that she needed a bit more fear in her life (or what many call “dread”). If you want some motivation, it is good to know that if my marriage ends, getting in shape is one less area that needs attention. Women notice the same way men do, and when they hug you or grab your arm while talking to you, it can be a subtle unconscious clue given to you that she is liking what she is seeing. Of course, even though my wife takes my shape for granted, she knows that other women out on the street look at my body and if I wanted to be “out there”, I could (and would) definitly upgrade, as she is allergic to exercise.

Lastly, and more importantly than any lift total I can talk about, I’m in good health. When I was lifting in my 20s and up to my mid-30s, looking better was the primary goal. But once your friends start getting diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, back problems, even dying and a myriad of other lifestyle conditions, you start to realize that moving steel and your body is the best insurance policy you can buy. I can run full speed without popping a hammy or my heart, I have moved twice with just the help of my wife and kids, and can throw a ball and hike with my sons.

Throwing steel around has been my true passion for some time and it has been my sanctuary regardless of what is going on in my marriage or other areas in my life. If you are just becoming interested in this Red Pill life, getting your body in shape and improving your health is the foundation for everything else you are going to do in the future. Do it for you, and let it be perhaps the beginning of you focusing on yourself, and not your wife.