No, that’s not just a click-bait title. It’s a question I’ve been asked a handful of times. Odd as it feels to base a blog post around a story of the shape of my derrière, it’s a mildly funny tidbit with some actionable and valuable pieces, so chuckle and learn away.

My butt has some volume and shape to it -- nothing extraordinary by any means, but significant enough that it’s an occasional topic of jestful conversation, and that I’ve been asked questions such as “how do I make my butt look like that” enough times to come up with a prepared quippy response that I now use. My standard answer to the question is “9 years of squatting,” a response born out of some sarcasm, some truth, and an attempt to socially manage a question that I’m not quite sure is seriously being asked in the search for a real answer, or a rhetorically being asked for a laugh. And really, it’s a very honest answer.

I did my first set of “real” weighted squats in the summer of 2008, and I have squatted at least once every week since then with the exception of a three week stint while I was recovering from surgery. My motive for my squatting habit has never had anything to do with sculpting butt muscles, but it’s one of the freebies that comes with a prolonged and concerted effort to develop a strong and functional lower body. And while I certainly think that it is possible to develop a set of enviable hindquarters in less than 9 years’ time, this whole story is a reminder that consistency over time is the real crux when it comes to making change.

Ultimately, this isn’t a story about physique or strength or success. It’s a story about answering the universal question: “how do I get…?”

And this idea takes us in two directions.

First, what have you earned for yourself with 9 years (or 5 years, or 20 years, etc.) of consistency? This can be good or bad. Spend a decade in dedicated practice of anything and you will have significant change. Do these results satisfy you?

Second, what are you doing right now that will earn you change 9 years down the road? What effort are you dedicated to, now and going forward, that will make you more of the person you want to be? Perhaps you don’t have an answer to this question. And if so, perhaps it’s time to start.

- PS

9/5/17

• Bench press - 8,8,8

Then...

• Every 3 mins for 12 mins, for time:

• 4 deadlifts (315/205)

• 20 wallballs (20/14)