I once had a weightlifting coach tell me to be a robot. “Be like the Terminator” he said. At first I was confused and didn’t pay much
attention to it. Upon further
explanation, I found that what he was conveying to me was that in the sport of
weightlifting athletes often psyche themselves out of lifting a heavy weight
before even approaching the bar. In the
original Terminator, the Terminator was programmed to kill and kept going after
the target despite being shot and blown up.
It didn’t stop because it was programmed to do only that one thing. Being a robot, like the Terminator, meant for
me to approach the bar like I was programmed to lift it. If I didn’t think about how much weight it
was, or that it was more than I had ever done, I was more likely to
succeed. All I had to do was do the
movement that I had done a thousand times before, and do it without worrying
about how much weight was on the bar.
This seems simple in writing, but actually putting it to work in real
life takes practice. Just like anything
else, the more you practice, the better you become.
Now why I am I telling you this story? I am telling you because this is something
you can use in your training as well as your life. No, you aren’t supposed to act like a robot
(the only exception might be dancing or when you follow the same old body building routine).
What you CAN do is approach challenges—both in training and life—with
the mindset that you are going to be successful because you are programmed to
do them. I recently read a quote that
said your mind will give up a thousand times before your body does. That is spot on. When we have a tough workout at the gym and
it pushes you out of your comfort zone, your mind tells you to stop. It tells you that you're hurting. Also in life when things get
tough and you feel like the world is against you, it's because your mind is saying that you should feel sorry for yourself. Both of these situations are great
opportunities to push through the mind trying to stop you from
getting better. Program yourself to push
through tough times. You are going to
reach your goals, enjoying every step and challenge along the way. So in your workout YOU WILL push through. In life NOTHING can bring you down! YOU WILL attain your goals, there is no other
option!
TRAIN WITH PASSION,
LIVE WITH PASSION!
Our version of back and biceps. We "build" STRONGER bodies!
