Many people (read: runners) argue running is a sublime, exalted act that helps the mind and heart cope with life’s most vexing obstacles. Moving your body through space seems to stop time, quiet the mind, and return your baseline to something more primal. We were born to run. It’s a basic tenet of human evolution, and one of the few things that tie us inexorably to generations past. So why is the simple act of striding—the same thing that set knuckle-dragging quadrupeds upright—so damn difficult to get into?

Who doesn’t want to be stronger? It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you stick to a holistic process.

Ah, to be at home in my garage gym. Is there anything better? The smell of the rubber floor, the sound the bar makes during touch-and-go deadlifts, the way the plates bounce as you drop the barbell in victory … This really is my happy place.

The gym can’t replace therapy, but it’s a damn good release when you’re dealing with a tough day at the office or a stressful family affair. Running can be meditative and yoga can be relaxing, but if you need to blow off steam, you need to lift—and lift heavy.