I decided to build a Gym by Moore Financial Management

So I decided to build a gym.

For around 5 years I’ve trained in a shed I built around 10 years ago. And it’s been ok and to be fair I’ve made pretty good progress.

Building a gym because it snows in the shed

Building a gym because the shed gets wet

But it leaks. So it gets wet. And cold. And sometimes it snows. Inside. And that doesn’t bother me.

At all.

Part of me actually enjoys it. I think it builds toughness. Physical and mental. Strength. Determination. Either that or it breaks you. After all we’re meant to be outside. Shelter, yes. But not double glazing, central heating and carpet! That’s too much comfort.

An Education

I grew up training in a gym in the Valleys with none of that. A real spit and sawdust affair. No water (bring your own), no heating (if you’re cold you’re not training hard enough) and no windows (why the **** do you want to look out of a window?).

It was attached to a local Rugby Club and run by a guy who trained the then Mr Wales, who was also Mr Britain, Mr UK and Mr Italia. He used the gym and came third in the Natural Mr World competition while I trained there. The gym was also frequented by most of the doormen in the valley. Some of the most genuine people I’ve met, they were good to know.

A tough place but a great environment for an education. To learn and earn respect. I’m so grateful for that experience. I’ve never forgotten it. It changed me in lots of ways. Mostly for the better. I still think about it regularly and the profound effect it had on me in my formative years. Where and how I grew up is a big part of who I am today. And I’m proud of that. It’s definitely a big part of the reason I don’t care about my environment when I train.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the equipment. Iron and water are not a good mix. They don’t get on too well. That equipment was an investment. And it was becoming obvious I was going to need to do something to protect it.

I suppose I could have thrown some time and money at rebuilding the existing shed but there were some other issues I wasn’t overly enamoured with. Read about the other reasons I decided to build a gym in the next post.