An ode to the gym

The gym is a lot more than a place to move, grunt, and sweat. The gym is a training--and testing--ground for the body, mind, and soul.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ The gym is a lot more than a place to move, grunt, and sweat. It’s a miniature cosmos where we can make contact with the deeper parts of ourselves--our convictions, fears, habits, and anxieties. It’s an arena where we can confront these opponents head-on and prove that we have what it takes to vanquish them. The gym is also a setting where we can test the assumptions we’ve made about ourselves and the stories underlying them. It calls on us to demonstrate how we respond to the greater struggles of life--adversity, pain, insecurity, stress, weakness, and disadvantage--and, in some ways, who we really are. In this way, the gym is a training--and testing--ground for the body, mind, and soul. The conflicts that we learn to endure in the gym empower us in our daily lives, as well. The concentration, discipline, and resilience required to build a great body are also required to build a great life. If you can do one, you can do the other, because the way to do anything is, at bottom, the way to do everything. The gym calls on us to constantly attempt new things, and thus is also a source of learning. It’s a forum where questions are at least as important as answers, and it cultivates what scientists call a “growth mindset” by teaching us that our abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work--a worldview that’s essential for great accomplishment. The gym is practical, too, not idealistic. It’s a laboratory open to any and all ideas and methodologies, and it gives clear, unqualified feedback: they either work or they don’t. In short, the gym can be so much more than merely a place to work out. It can be a refuge from the chaos around us; a world of our own that we create to satisfy our most personal and primal dreams and desires. This is why the gym can give us a lot more than muscle and strength. It can give us more life. That’s my take on the gym at least. What’s yours? Reply to this email and let me know. Mike P.S. Wanna meet up at the Arnold? And press my calloused flesh, hear me say a few dumb words, and maybe, I don’t know, have a pants-off-dance-off? Then you must come to this year’s [Arnold Sport Festival]( Because I’m going to be there! And Legion is going to have a booth! There’s the dope: - It’ll be in the Greater Columbus Convention Center (Ohio) on March 5th thru the 8th. - Legion will at booth 1748 of the [Fitness EXPO]( which starts on March 6th. - I’ll be at the booth Friday, March 6th from 9:30 to 5:30, more or less the same for Saturday, and Sunday from 10 to 4. - I’ll be joined all weekend by friends and athletes, including [Emily Duncan]( [Chris Barakat]( [Chanel Collette]( [Will Kemp]( [Lauren Dannenmiller]( [Patrick Macinnis]( [Sue Bush]( and more. - A few of my favorite hooligans will be stopping by the booth as well: Sal, Adam, Justin, and Doug from [Mind Pump](. Details to come. - We’ll be sampling some of our favorite flavors of Whey+, Thrive, Pulse, Casein+, and Recharge.  Basically: It’s going to be a hell of a hootenanny, and you should come make it rowdier! Oh and if you’d like me to sign a book or five, bring ‘em! I’ll be happy to mar your belongings with my helter-skelter scribbling. 🏆 Want to earn cash back on every purchase you make? [Click here to learn how!]( Thank you for supporting Legion! We founded Legion to create healthy, high-quality sports supplements based on sound science, and to sell them honestly and at a fair price. That’s why we're committed to creating supplement formulations that are 100% backed by peer-reviewed scientific research, to using education and not hoopla to promote them, and to providing a fantastic value and customer experience. Emails are a great way for us to connect with our fans and customers, offer discounts, and share educational articles, podcasts, and videos, as well as what's new and exciting here at Legion. If you want to update your preferences, click here: [Manage Preferences]( If you would like to unsubscribe, click here: [Unsubscribe](. From everyone here at Legion, thanks for your support! Legion Athletics 8045 Leesburg Pike Ste 240 Vienna, VA 22182-2748