Everything Is Training

I play sports or work out six days a week. Running, tennis, padel, gym sessions, these are my regulars. Occasionally, I swim, paddleboard, wakeboard, ski, or fish. If someone invites me to play something, squash, golf, soccer, biking, I usually say yes. I don’t do it for performance goals, I do it because it’s how I’m wired now. Because over time, I’ve come to believe that everything in life is training.

Starting Again

About 10 years ago, I started running again. And I clearly remember how hard it was. I couldn’t keep a steady pace for 20 minutes, I was out of rhythm, out of shape, and I didn’t see how I could do this three or four times a week. I remember thinking: “This is painful. There’s no way I can keep this up.” But I did because I treated it the same way I treat work or family. Something you show up for, even when you don’t feel like it.

The Shift

Weeks went by, then months, then one Saturday I walked out of my house and ran a half marathon. Not because it was a race, not because I had trained for a specific day, but because my body and my mind had adapted.

That’s when I realized: everything in life is a matter of training.

You train to run longer, you train to work long hours, you train to keep your family well and connected. You train to read more, and you train to write consistently. You train to handle pressure without breaking. Whatever it is you want to do or become, it’s not just about talent or passion. It’s about what you train for.

What Happens When You Stop

But training works both ways. You can train yourself into strength, and you can train yourself out of it. I used to read a lot, one book every two weeks, then I stopped for a while. And now, months later, it’s noticeably harder to start again. The resistance builds, the habit fades.

It’s the same with exercise, writing, waking up early or focus. The more you don’t do something, the harder it is to return. And the more you do it, the more natural it becomes. That’s how training works.

No Vacations

I’ve had setbacks, illness, injury, burnout, days where I don’t want to move. There were times, like when I had influenza, where I couldn’t work out for a week. And even after I recovered, I didn’t immediately want to go back to the gym or play tennis.

But I’ve always made it a point to return, quickly. Because I know: the longer I wait, the harder it becomes. Momentum doesn’t wait for us to feel ready. There are days for recovery. But there are no vacations from training.

What I Know Now

Training isn’t about doing something perfectly, it’s about doing it anyway. Even when it’s early, even when it’s hard, even when the results are far away. The more you train, the more it becomes who you are. And the less you train, the more it slips away.

Everything is training. And the training never stops.