It seems a difficult task to find someone you can rely on these days. People are flakey, they don’t mean what they say or do what they say they’re going to do. Where have all the reliable men gone? Well, I think they’ve gone to a place where they’ve always been found, the gym.

When you walk into a gym and see the men in there, the consistent ones, you see men you can depend upon to get the job done. What does it take, what kind of qualities make a man the kind that you can depend upon? Consistency, discipline, strength, courage and determination.

Being consistent at the gym doesn’t mean that you’re reliable in all aspects of life, however, it does show that you’ve developed discipline in quite a few important ones and those good habits roll over into the other parts of life. As above, so below. If you can see strength on the outside, there is a quality of strength that corresponds on the inside as well.

It takes discipline and determination to show up at the gym especially on those days that you don’t feel like it. It takes discipline to eat right, get the proper sleep and build that mindset that keeps you going when the going gets rough. If a man can do that in one area of his life, it is a sure sign that he is capable of doing so in other areas of his life.

When I walk into the gym and see those guys who are always there, I have a sense of trust in them. I’m not an expert in the science of anthropology or similar sciences, but I believe it has something to do with our early development. The strong men in your tribe were seen as reliable. They were the ones that could hunt, build, and protect their tribe from the dangers of the wild beasts and from the danger of other human beings who threatened to take their resources, land and their lives.

Strength = reliability. When you buy tools, you want to buy the ones that aren’t going to break. When you look for a house, you look for the one that was built to last and when you look for a man to get the tough jobs done, you want the one who is fit mentally and physically.

The men who were physically weak in a tribe were not looked upon as an asset to the tribe, quite the opposite, they were seen as a liability. They required protection instead of contributing to it. The weak men couldn’t keep up with the hunt, and they weren’t the ones that were desired by the women of the tribe. The women didn’t want a man they couldn’t rely on to protect them and their children. They didn’t want the man who will crumble in the face of adversity and let them starve or get killed.

I see some of the guys I work with at the gym, and I trust them more than the guys I don’t see in there. The reason why is simple. I already know that they’re disciplined. I know they’re consistent and I know they can push themselves. They want to be better; they work on themselves and push their limits, so why wouldn’t they do the same at work? I see those men at work or at the gym and there’s a strong bond between us, a bond forged by iron.

Those are the men I want on my team. Not a weak man who’s letting his body get soft and round. A man who doesn’t value making his body strong, who has no discipline has a corresponding mental weakness, and has no place on my team.

Imagine walking into a business meeting. The man on the other side of the table comes around to shake your hand and introduces himself. His handshake is firm, he’s dressed well, and even with his suit on, you can see the signs of a strong physique. Now, imagine walking into the same meeting but the man you shake hands with this time has a loose and weak grip. He may be dressed just as well, but he is obviously frail, and its not due to old age or a medical limitation.

If it was me, I would trust the strong man to do business with over the weak man. Just by physical appearance alone I can tell he is disciplined. He gets results. I can tell he has a powerful mindset because that’s what it takes to build a strong body. I know he wants the best for himself because I can see he does what he must to have the best for his body. He can rely on himself to be disciplined and workout, and a man who can rely on himself is a man who can be relied upon by others.

Imagine again the weak businessman. He has no physical limitations that would prevent him from building a strong body, he just doesn’t do it. Perhaps he’d make the excuse of not having the time, but the strong businessman makes the time and not the excuses. The weak man probably takes shortcuts or dodges confrontation. The strong man does what needs to be done and faces challenges head-on.

In the gym you can’t take shortcuts and see results, well, maybe a little bit, but poor effort yields poor results. There is no skirting confrontation. Either you lifted that weight, or you didn’t. You either when to the gym and put the work in or you didn’t. It’s very black and white.

Now, I’m not claiming that going to the gym makes you reliable in all areas of life or that the gym is the only place you’ll find a reliable man. Any man who pushes himself physically also knows how to push himself mentally and can handle adversity. Thats what makes you reliable. Not breaking under stress, pushing through, and being disciplined.

If you want to be reliable to others, be reliable to yourself first. Rely on yourself to get to the gym, eat good and get the proper rest. If you can’t rely on yourself to do the things you need to do, to get the job done when things get tough, then why should other people place their faith in you?

The reliable man is the strong man.