Hi! I hope you’re having a great day. What I want to talk about today is how you can improve the quality of your workouts and results without lifting any more weight, doing any more cardio or eating any differently!
That sounds pretty good, huh? Like one of those infomercials that promise results that are too good to be true, right? Well, unlike those Shake Weight commercials I know that what I’m going to tell you absolutely works! I’ve seen it happen over and over again.
He didn’t get this body from that Shake Weight.
What I’m talking about is what you say to yourself. I see people who approach their workouts with a sense of dread and those who approach them with enthusiasm and I absolutely see the difference in what happens during and after the workout. In most, if not all cases, what people tell themselves before the workout even begins determines not only the quality of that workout, but all the results that follow.
Let’s get into specifics.
What people say: “This is going to hurt.”
Let’s face it, when you squat it doesn’t feel good. I’ve said before that if I was just standing around and suddenly felt like I do when I’m doing a heavy squat I’d start screaming my head off in shock and pain. So why do I do them? It makes me better. I don’t concentrate on how I feel during the set. I concentrate on how much better I will be and feel when the set is done.
What people should say: “This is going to make me better and I need and want to get better.”
What people say as I’m putting more weight on the bar: “Oh no!!!”
I’m going to put this simply: The people who embrace lifting heavy ALWAYS get better results than the ones that complain about every 5 pounds. I don’t even care what their goal is.
Do I need to repeat that? If I do then go back and read it again. You see, lifting heavy is not only about what is on the bar at that moment. It’s about how far you’re willing to push yourself in general. Now understand this. Heavy is relative. What’s heavy to one person isn’t necessarily heavy to someone else and vice versa. I certainly don’t endorse lifting heavier than your form dictates but the body needs to be forced to get better. It needs to be forced to lose weight, gain weight, get stronger, get faster, get more explosive or anything else and if you’re not willing to force it to do anything different than what you’re already comfortable doing, then I hope you’re happy staying exactly where you are.
In other words, if you’re using the same weights and doing the same things you’ve been doing for months, don’t expect any results. Sorry, but that’s reality. More weight is a promotion not a punishment.
What people should say: “Awesome. Let’s get it going!”
What people say when asked if they’re ready to workout: “Not really, but I guess I have to.”
Wow. How inspiring is that? Just writing it bores me. Imagine if you said that to yourself all the time. No wonder your workouts are pure drudgery. I’ll bet your results are pretty crummy as well.
If this is what you say to yourself, let me just say something real quick. It is a privilege to able to exercise. An honest-to-god gift.
OK, I admit it. I love lifting weights. I love it a lot. It is one of my favorite things to do in life. It doesn’t have to be yours, but if you don’t appreciate how fortunate you are to be able to exercise just take a quick look at someone who can’t. Not because they don’t have time or because they don’t want to step outside their comfort zone. I’m talking about someone who physically can’t. Someone who has had their physical health stolen from them whether from neglect or through no fault or their own. They would do anything to be able to exercise. I’ll leave it at that.
What people should say: “Yeah! Let’s go!”
Now, I understand that not every day is your best. There are some days when you might not feel up to a strenuous workout and that’s OK sometimes. What’s not OK is taking a less than good attitude to your workouts in general and then expecting to get results.
Try this, the next time someone asks how you’re doing say, “I’m great!” and mean it. Even if you don’t. Give yourself over to it. I guarantee that if even for that moment alone, you will feel better. Now if you do that with your workouts I know that you will get better results and enjoy the journey much more and you won’t even have to eat more vegetables.
I’m great!
Let me know what you think.
Mitch Rothbardt, CPT, PN Lean Eating Coach, FMS
2861 Grove Way in Castro Valley
510-754-7113
I Help People Discover Their Strength!
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