For Bradley Barmore writing was cathartic and helped with his personal transformation.

After completing an Ironman Triathlon, details were still there, and about two weeks later, he began the arduous writing task.

But Barmore didn’t want to become a statistic where about 97 percent of books go unfinished.

All told, it took Barmore about two years to finish “Prep, Rep, Repeat.”

Bradley Barmore competing in an Ironman Triathlon. Barmore documents his personal transformation in his book “Prep, Rep, Repeat.” Submitted photo

As Barmore related, it’s a story about the similarities of his life and the trials and tribulations that came along with his Ironman training.

“It was completed probably a week or two after my Ironman (competition) because everything was fresh in my mind. I wrote the story, but then I had to put structure to it,” Barmore said.

Enter his wife Adrienne.

“She’s my rock,” Barmore said.

So she, along with a handful of other people, gave his manuscript a read.

“Every single person gave me different edits. So, every time I got it back, it would be a sheet full of red ink,” Barmore said.

Then he sent it to his publisher, and to add to his frustration, a significant amount of edits were sent back to Barmore.

“I thought I was done,” Barmore said.

Rewriting is part of the writing process.

The process, for a writer, is much like that of an athlete who practices to hone his or her craft.

And Barmore, who is a former physical education teacher and now a personal trainer, admitted his falling in love with the process and not the finish line.

Some people, once they reach the finish line or reach a goal, don’t move on.

“You reach a goal, and you’re done. In my line of work, that’s where a lot of people spiral backwards,” Barmore said. “Once you reach a significant milestone in your life, you’re like, ‘hey, I won. I can go on coast mode or cruise control.’ And that’s when you when you lose.”

For the people Barmore helps and trains, he encourages them to find their North Star – something that is important to them, and guides them.

He recalled a recent book signing at the Minerva Library in Sherman where he donated some of the proceeds back to the library. Some of the staff questioned him why he donated the proceeds.

It goes back to his bucket list.

For Barmore, right now, his North Star is to donate a million dollars in a lifetime.

“I’m a hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in, and this is really important for me right now because I have a stage, and I have a presence in personal training and fitness,” Barmore added.

The fitness trainer said where a lot of people get bogged down is that they make a massive goal that becomes unobtainable. They want instant gratification.

“And instead of breaking it down into smaller goals, they want that North Star right now,” Barmore said. “Instead of having that first conversation, or instead of, working your tail off for that promotion, we just go to our boss and say, ‘I want that promotion. I want to be an Iron Man.'”

He added that some people have ideas to create great things and receive great accolades, but they are not willing to put in the time or the effort.

And during our interview, he was wearing a shirt that read “If you fear it, chase it,” which serves as his positive mantra.

“A lot of times what we do is we create these hypothetical stories, and hypothetical situations, and circumstances in our minds, and those are the things that prevent us from discovering our greatness,” Barmore noted. “Everybody has greatness. For a lot of us, it’s dormant. It’s hard to find. We have this great fear of failure.”

But the main reason Barmore started his writing journey is because he had hit the lowest of lows. And he also knew, through catharsis, the only way out was up.

Barmore had hit rock bottom – twice.

The first was prior to meeting his wife. The second was at his high school graduation party when a former hockey coach asked him what Barmore wanted to do in the future. Barmore knew immediately, and that was to “elevate my game and play college hockey.”

His coach delivered a gut punch and told Barmore “you should really focus on something meaningful. It’s time to stop playing games.”

Barmore still sees the interaction clearly.

“That’s a day that I’ll never forget, and I’ll always remember, because how can you tell somebody that’s 17 or 18 or 19 or 20 to stop chasing their dreams,” Barmore said. “You die when you stop dreaming. Every day is an opportunity.”

Not long after the former coach’s auditory gem, Barmore started his descent.

“That was the day I stopped dreaming. And so that was when I first went into a dark place. And I just found the bottle,” Barmore remarked.

Eventually, he found the Friday Night Lights, Saturday Night High, and Sunday Fun Days.

“You know, I kept on spiraling, and spiraling, and spiraling, and spiraling,” he added.

Further into the the abyss he drifted.

Then he met Adrienne.

It was an ironic situation to say the least.

She was hosting a beer pong tournament at the Village Casino in Bemus Point, and she had text messaged Barmore.

Unbeknownst to him, she had contacted several other people about the tourney. To him, in his state, it looked like a personalized message.

So they exchanged a few more text messages, and he told her he would be at the tourney. Through his SUNY Brockport roommate, he obtained Adrienne’s phone number, and he and she teamed up at the beer pong tourney, and eventually won.

“We had a rocky start because of the season of life I was in,” Barmore recalled. “She was that beacon of hope that I really needed. … She was growth, self development. She was my North Star at the time. She was guidance, and everything that I needed. She was my rock for a long time.”

And the descent happened again where he settled into complacency. At his house, he had a refrigerator full of beer and a bar full of bourbon. He would come home, eat pizza, and drink beer and bourbon.

In 2020, with the help of his all-terrain vehicle club, and the use of social media, he saw a way up. He received some very good opportunities and was able to collaborate with different businesses. While teaching at Sherman Central School, he had the opportunity to train some athletes that needed guidance and structure in their workouts, he said. He already had a teaching certification but soon realized he needed a trainer cerifitication as well. He quit his teaching job and is on staff with E2M Fitness.

His message to anyone who face obstacles in life – embrace them.

“In life, any journey, you have to prepare yourself properly. You have to find a blueprint,” he noted.

And from that blueprint, one has to execute, and once one gets to the finish line, he or she must repeat. That’s how his book title came to be.

“If you can dream it, you can do it, and I am living proof of that.”

“Prep, Rep, Repeat” is available at amazon.com. For more information on training email bradbarmorefit@gmail.com.