Resistance Training- All That You Control

I was fired up.

Maybe it was the little extra calories I had the day before after being in a caloric deficit for a few weeks.

Maybe it was my first few clients that came in before the sun was up and worked their rear ends off.

Maybe it was just one of those day.

I was all set to squat a thousand pounds. Hit the weights with a passion and aggression.

Then I started feeling a little kink in my shoulder. Even with a good warmup. For a moment I got mad.

Again..? Come on! 

So I said ok, it's not my day for putting a bar on my back and squatting so I did some variations instead.

Worked the legs. That was the point anyway.

I had my mind set on doing the squats a specific way but I've learned to listen to my body as it gives clues to what is feeling right and what isn't.

In previous years I would just push right through that little pain and maybe nothing came of it...or maybe it got worse. That has happened many times over the years and I think maybe (finally) I have learned to take the signals and adapt on the fly.

Live to fight another day.

One of the only things we have control over, our fitness. And at my nice young age of 37, with almost 20 years in the gym and many years before that playing baseball, football, hockey.. I think it's a good idea to train in a way that builds my body/mind up, rather than snap up the joints.

So get in the gym and get crazy. But have the awareness to listen when you should hold back, or switch it up or adapt in some way to make progress rather than regress.

Your Biggest Fitness Struggle

My mind was set. All I wanted was to get my deadlift up to 4 plates. 

405 lbs..

This was my priority number 1.

I pushed my other lifts also but all my focus was on this goal.

Having just one goal will give you tremendous focus.

Laser-like.

And this is a big struggle for most guys I talk to.

No excitement about training. Not looking forward to the gym.

No destination. No plan.

This is for you guys.

For the guys who have a plan and need a break from goals, this is not for you.

So having no passion for training. You don't have thoughts in your head while sitting at work about getting into the gym and crushing pullups.

Or how you can't wait to feel the sweat from your sled pulling after your lifting.

The problem of having no real zest for the physical. For hard training. The work. The grunting. Sweating. Swearing. Moaning and groaning that comes from real tough physical exertion.

What should you do to get it going?

Find something, anything really, that you can get excited about. Maybe it's one exercise you really enjoy because it's easy. Or one muscle group that seems to grow easy for you. Or a good challenge that gets you amped, maybe it's a crazy workout of the day that scares you a little bit.

Anything will work.

The feel of the barbell. The sound of the weights clanging.

The high after your session when you sip on your protein shake as you drive home. A feeling of accomplishment in your veins.

Just get that one tiny flame. Find it. And ride it. Let it take you to the gym. Or your garage or the park. Wherever.

Passion for physical fitness.

It doesn't have to be a gym.

In fact, there are NO limits here.

Anything goes.

But don't let another day, week,  or year go by without making some kind of physical progress.

How Do You Get Motivated?

I'm fired up today. And I sure didn't wake up that way.

How do I get motivated? How do YOU get motivated? To train. To improve your fitness. To get stronger. To gain muscle, burn fat, get healthier, own your life, gain confidence, fill out a shirt, get better at a sport etc..

Regardless of what anyone else says, this is my opinion here. I believe that no one is 100% motivated at all times. And I also believe that motivation doesn't always have to come from within like some hardcore fitness gurus may say.

Example.

And I'll make this quick, because it's a blog not a novel and we all have like 5 seconds to spare so here we go.

Today I was exhausted. Spent. Almost hit the snooze this am. I never do that.

Fighting off some kind of sinus/allergy crap and it's annoying the heck out of me. Putting a drain on my energy. I can go on and on all the reasons why but here's what I did. The action.

I said I'm going to the gym to just do one exercise. Just 1. Then I'll sit in the sauna and sweat for a half hour. So that's what I set out to do.

Packed my gym bag, went to do my 1 exercise. It wasn't even going to be a really tough one. Just rear delts. But like almost every single time I play this mental trick on myself, once I get there, get going, warm up, feel some blood moving in the body, a bit of sweat, heart rate goes up.. then on to the next exercise... few reps, some sets later.. on to the next.. and then I'm revved up with some music that gets me going.

I had some old school Black Sabbath come on. Boom, I started hitting up the dips with bodyweight for high reps. Feeling awesome. Still tired yes. Same body. Yes. Same mind. But I found a way that worked FOR ME.

And that's the answer.

Find whatever will get the job done for you. Today. This moment. OR whenever you go work out. Find it. It's out there. Or in there. Either way.

Maybe you need to get stronger for your family.

Maybe you have a wedding coming up and need to look better.

Whatever it is. Just do one exercise. Just do cardio. Just walk.. etc.. start. And you will be surprised how much just getting moving will do for you.

Motivation is not some magical thing that only the select few possess and they have it all the time. Everyone has to find ways to get up early. To go to work and stay late and still go to the gym afterwards when all they want to do is go lay on the couch and eat chips and dip.

Find a way. Outside. Or inside.