By: Joel Cochran
We all remember the first time we stepped into the gym to complete our very first Welded workout. There was loud music, weights being dropped all over the place, people swinging on bars and generally sweating and panting as if they were trying to take their last dying breaths! Like most of us (whether you admit it or not), it was probably one of the more intimidating moments of your life in which you were thinking, “what the hell did I get myself into?”.
This wonderful moment is part of your “Welded Story”, we all have one and each experience is just a little different than the other. I wanted to take a moment and share with you my Welded Story and how it was one of the best decisions in my life.
It all started in the fall of my senior year in college when I was tailgating before a football game, drinking way too much and eating whatever I could get my hands on. During the tailgate one of my classmates ran into me during my drunken stupor and somehow the conversation lead to this new fitness program he started in the past year called Welded. He had seen such great results that he started his own affiliate out of his garage and invited to stop by. I drunkenly agreed and went on my merry to watch the football game.
The next day, hungover and depressed I realized that something had to change. I was drinking because I wasn’t satisfied with my life and was battling general depression and anxiety that had seemed to engulf my life. Working out was the last thing on my mind as I was pushing close to 200lbs and was spending an excessive amount of money on partying and traveling thinking that I was living the good life. Oh boy was I wrong…
A month later I finally took the step and showed up to my classmates house to join him in a workout. When I showed up there were 10 other people in this tiny garage, the music was loud and everybody seemed to know what was going on other than me. Needless to say, my 200lb sloppy self got destroyed in my first Welded workout which included jumping pull ups, barbell side lunges and deadlifts. I was so sore the next day that I thought that I seriously injured myself, but when evening came, I found myself back at that garage ready to escape my daily life as I would rather feel the physical pain then the emotional and psychological pain that I couldn’t seem to get away from other than during that 1 hour.
Fast forward a year and I had dropped down to 175lbs, and was working out at a local box that didn’t have even a quarter of the amenities that Double Edge possess. There was no or little heat in this industrial building, the rig was made up of some spot welding that was tossed together by someone who worked out there. All the barbell were rusted, the floors were only cleaned when you did burpees or sit ups, there were 2 jump ropes available and the best part is there was only 1 bathroom that was cleaned maybe once a month. Regardless of the quality of the gym, I found myself there 5 days a week and loving every moment of it.
Not only did Welded pull me out of the depths of a dark place in my life, it gave me a purpose that God intended for me. I look back in amazement that on a night of complete utter sloppiness, I not only found a fitness regimen that has kept me healthy and happy, but it also gave me a path to where I am now as a professional Welded coach. I look forward to living a life with Welded always being part of it and I hope you do too! If you have a Welded Story that you want to share, email me at [email protected] and I would love to sit down with you and hear it!