20 February 2009 ~ Comments

What Does My Workout Have To Do With Your Future?

Health and Fitness Personal Development
A complete weight training workout can be perf...
Image via Wikipedia

I started lifting weights at the end of 2007. Since I was about a buck thirty-five soaking wet, I started off doing basic strength training programs. The idea is that you have to build a foundation before you start fine-tuning your physique. To be more specific, you can’t work on defining your chest and abs if you have no chest and abs.

The way these strength training programs work is that you do the most basic compound exercises, increasing the weight a little each workout. You become stronger overall, develop good form, and you’re able to prevent injury by having a balanced foundation.

It’s The Small Things That Count

What you’ll notice here is that you’re not doing the same thing every workout. You’re steadily challenging your body to do a little more and this is the key to getting stronger. Even if you only increase a lift by a quarter of a pound, you have made progress.

If you plan to make any progress toward your goals in life, you’ll need to apply this same principle. You’ve heard it before, but I’ll say it again: Doing the same thing you’ve done before and expecting different results is the definition of insanity! Some of you may recognize this as the Slight Edge principle, so you’re already ahead of the game.

Do Something New

I’m sure you’ve seen the skinny guys at the gym doing curls in the mirror with 10lb dumbbells. As a matter of fact, you probably see them in there daily with the same set of dumbbells doing the same curls with the same bony arms. Or maybe someone on the recumbent bike who sweats it out on the regular, but never seems to lose any weight.

On the same note, how many people do you know who seem to be stuck in a loop? They do the same stuff day after day, month after month, and year after year. Maybe it’s someone always working the same type of job, or a business owner who never seems to get over that hump before financial freedom. Or maybe it’s you?

Just as I have to push more weight every workout to see results, you have to push the envelop on a daily basis to get what you want. Whether it’s as simple as putting in another hour promoting and networking online, or it’s finally pitching that big client you’ve been putting off…

…DO IT!

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
  • Share/Bookmark

You should also read:

Tags: , , ,
  • bookerx3
    2 things I would like to comment on:

    1. I am glad to see you are working out. We need more people to take care of themselves.
    2. Most of the time it is hard for us to get out of our loop. But I agree with you that the only way is too take baby steps and make small improvement. Although it maybe faster, its still alot harder to run before you can crawl.
  • Good points! Thanks for your comment.
  • Very wise, concise and nice post Rah' ! Thanks for sharing the advise with us! I quited smoking about 10 months ago, and to be honnest, if you asked me 10 months ago, I'd have replied that it's IMPOZible for me to spend a single day without a cigarette! You're definitely right: "Even if you only increase a lift by a quarter of a pound, you have made progress."
  • My problem is the flip side of the coin: I'm too big. I've been starting out with yoga for the past week. I plan to gradually add weights and cardiovascular exercises. What you wrote is true: small changes in the workout pay for themselves down the road. Thanks!
  • Excellent post, as always,lol. I have decided to put myself on a diet before doing the strength training, not sure if that is the correct way to do it. But I have gained about 30 pounds over the last 2 years, and I believe it will kill me if I don't lose some of it. I could kick myself, I used to workout 4 days a week, for 2 hours at a time. It's that slight edge effect, it can help us in pretty much all aspects of our lives.
  • Definitely right on that one. Easy to do....easy NOT to do :)
  • app
    I actually have the opposite problem. I am not caught in a loop. I wish I was.

    My problem is I can't seem to get into one. If I could do the same thing day after day, I might actually see some real results.

    But I can tell you what I have learned from experience:

    No matter how you add it up, 1 million small worthless projects will never equal 1 larger worthwhile one.
blog comments powered by Disqus
-->