I have alot of thinking to do because I need to rework parts of my accountability plan.  I want to do weekly video podcasts, but life keeps getting in the way.  There will be one for sure this weekend.

There are those people that no matter how things are explained to them, they just never get it.  You can tell them that they need to do cardio to burn fat and they will find a reason why they don’t get it.  You can explain to them that they need to lift weights to gain muscle to aid in burning fat, but they just won’t listen.

My good friend, Carlos DeJesus, has many times discussed this very issue with me.  Carlos made me understand that all you can do as a mentor is put the information into a person’s hands, but you can’t do the work for them.  They have to want it themselves.  You can’t make them want to lose weight, burn fat or workout.  There is a tendency to get frustrated with the person, but even that is futile.  Just lay the information out there and if they take it, great, if not, eventually just stop offering the information.  People need to want it and if they must be forced it isn’t worth it.

What more will people need to hear?  We have the Experiment of One right in front of us and we have Tom Venuto, an extremely well-respected fitness expert, saying that there is no single program for everyone.  This is such an important topic because it is one of the major sources of confusion amongst those who browse the web looking for fitness information.  Don’t be fooled by the idea that you can just follow a preset menu and you will be fine.  That just isn’t going to work.

I speak about this in the second lesson of the free eCourse you can get by registering at https://www.fitnessexpose.com.  In fact, there will soon be alot of wonderful information available at that site.  All you have to do to get the free eCourse on how to get into the best shape of your life is sign up at https://www.fitnessexpose.com.  It is that easy.  You won’t be sorry that you did it either. 

My philosophy is that it is impossible to go as hard as you possibly can because no matter how hard you go, you can always go harder.  That’s what progression is all about.  You continue to move down a path towards better and better things in the gym.  My son, Matty, has doubled his bench press.  When he started out and was doing just the empty bar (45 lbs.) and he squeaked out 4 repetitions, he felt like he had gone as hard as he could.  Just two days later he managed 6 repetitions and the pattern continued.  Obviously he had not gone as hard as he possibly could.  Did he go as hard as he could on that given day?  Yes!  Did he go as hard as he possibly could?  No way!

This is where mindset becomes so important.  You have to believe that you have more in you.  You have to believe that you can do more and more each time.  When you hit a plateau just remember it is like trying to break through a locked door.  Sometimes it requires you to back up and try again.  The same goes for weight training.

If you hit a plateau on your bench press and can’t seem to increase the weight, it doesn’t mean you can’t possibly go any harder, it just means it is time to drop the weight and bring it back up again. What always happens is that you break through the original plateau.  It is an important and essential technique to remember.  Don’t bash your head against the proverbial wall.  Back up, brace yourself and take another run at the barrier that was in front of you.  That’s the way to tackle the problem.

All the while, you have to believe you can do it.  You have to believe you can and will do more.  I am personally so much stronger physically than I was a year ago.  My son is so much stronger than he was 3 months ago.  It is all about working hard and believing you can do more and more.  Once I got him to believe that he could push harder, he pushed harder.  It is a mental exercise.

Matty’s Workout Log:

Today’s workout was back focused.  Matty was completely unable to do negatives on his chins, so those are an NA for today.  He is going to give it a go again on Thursday.

To me this is a character flaw.  Who you are when nobody is looking is huge.  It determines your character.  Walking out without finishing your workout is a horrible idea.  It undermines your progress.  It takes away from your discipline.  It can completely destroy your progress.  I feel this is really playing with fire.  Where will it stop?  Are you going to count 3 reps and write down 6?  I can see this as a very slippery slope.  This is not something I would do myself.

What about you?  Have you done this?  If so, take a step back and look at what it can do to your program.  Resolve that you will never do it again.  It is called working out for a reason.  It is hard work, but the benefits are huge as well.  Don’t ever give up like that.  If you are just going to give up, why bother starting in the first place?