[Gappa238]

From time to time we all come upon a time to where we hit a plateau, become lazy, fall into depression or anything else that might make us unmotivated to hit the gym. So the main purpose of this is for anyone and everyone to post anykind of quote, picture or personal story for all to see and help them get through their "slump"

I'll start it off with a quote I have in a framed picture on my wall:

Goals - To tend unfailing, unflinchingly towards a goal is the secret to success.

[powerman2000]

Originally Posted by Gappa238

From time to time we all come upon a time to where we hit a plateau, become lazy, fall into depression or anything else that might make us unmotivated to hit the gym.

Not me, but I'm sick that way. After 23 years since I lifted in my first PL meet it has become like breathing air. If I don't lift, I'll die.

It's nice and comfortable to lie in bed an extra hour or so on a rainy Saturday morning. Yet if you stay in bed all day, that's not comfortable at all. Being comfortable is pleasant up to a point. After that point, the comfort is no longer desirable and can in fact become quite unpleasant. Too much comfort can smother your life.

Just as staying in bed all day would make you weary, the satisfaction of any comfort soon fades away. Eventually you ask yourself, "What's so great about being so wrapped in comfort?" And you have trouble finding an answer.

Comfort is enjoyable. Thankfully that enjoyment doesn't continue indefinitely. No matter how comfortable you may be, soon you get hungry for life, for challenge, for the opportunity to make a difference. Pay heed to that dissatisfaction. Get out of your nice warm bed while it's still nice and warm. Move beyond your comfort zone before it smothers you. There's so much more to life than mere comfort. Experience it all!

[Gappa238]

Originally Posted by powerman2000

Just as staying in bed all day would make you weary, the satisfaction of any comfort soon fades away.

Sleep is the cousin of death.

[Keith Wassung]

FEAR AND COURAGE IN THE GYM ( written 5/30/2005)

By Keith Wassung

I will turn 41 tomorrow and just finished up a great training session. I felt a certain amount of fear during this workout, but that is nothing new as I have felt the presence of fear in most of my workouts over the 27 years of lifting. Not the “pee your pants” shaking in your boots type of fear, but rather than little voice that does everything possible to prevent your success. One of the first workouts I ever did was a squat for 65lbs for 6-7 reps-it was hard, heavy and I was scared before and during the set. A little over ten years later I was squatting 600lbs for the same number of reps and it was still just as hard, just as heavy and I was still just as scared. Boys are told at an early age to not be a “fraidy cat” and that fear is to be avoided like the plague. I believe that one of the keys to progress and success is not the avoidance of fear, but rather confronting and defeating it. The immortal John Wayne said that “Courage is being scared to death — and saddling up anyway."

Show me a person who had never felt fear in the gym and I will show you a person who is either a maniac (and there are a few of those in the iron game) or a person who is very average and in all likelihood will stay that way. I have had workouts where I felt no fear at all. They were training sessions where I had decided that it would be best to just do some “maintenance work” or not push too hard for any variety of reasons. On those days, fear did not make its presence known because I had already made the decision to fail in advance of the workout.

I have an uncle, who is a nice fellow, but very pessimistic. He tends to disguise his pessimism in the form of being wise and caring. If someone in our family tells him that they are considering going into the hardware store business, he will lovingly reply that the hardware business is a tough business and that he had had several friends lose everything they had trying the same thing. If someone says they are going to Miami for a vacation, he will say that Miami is a nice place, but it had the highest tourist murder rate in the country. He never comes right out and tells someone that they will fail, but he sure likes to suggest and imply it. Fear is the exact same way. It makes hints and suggestions and always tries to encourage you to take the easy path. Fear has a tendency to go after you in areas in which you are most vulnerable. It finds and exposes your areas of weakness.

The following are some methods to help you “saddle up”

Just show up. Make a determined decision that you will show up for your workout no matter what the circumstances. Have a plan and have a back-up plan. Your boss assigns you a last minute project and you have to work late and by the time you leave work the gym is closed. Decide in advance what you would do. Is there another gym in town that is open later, do you have a friend with a home gym? I strongly encourage everyone to have some type of equipment at their home, even if they have a gym membership. It does not have to be anything fancy-a pair if adjustable dumbbells stashed in the closet will do.
You arrive home late and you only have ten minutes to train-its amazing what you can do in ten minutes if you have made a decision to show up no matter what the circumstances. Pick your most productive compound move an do as many reps as you can in ten minutes in a rest-pause fashion. Some of the most incredible training sessions I have ever had have been these short, last minute, impromptu type workouts.


Start your day our right. I have found that I can tell what kind of day I am going to have by what happens in the first thirty minutes that I am awake. If I wake up and discover that we are out of coffee, or I can’t find my wallet, keys etc then all of a sudden I am in a mad scramble and then I skip breakfast and get something “on the way” to work and the whole day sort of follows that same pattern including the training session. Take five minutes before going to bed and ensure you have everything ready to go for the next day. Pack your gym bag, get the coffee pot prepared (if you drink coffee) Make sure you have whatever food items you will need for the next day. I even lay out all of my supplements on the vanity in the bathroom so that I won’t forget to take them.

Take the time to properly warm-up. I will be honest, I hate warming up. It seems like such a waste of time and energy. The real reason that most guys hate warming up is that it exposes our pathetic level of conditioning. Though I have taken measures to correct this, there was a time when a simple ten minute warm-up almost left me winded, and then you start worrying that it will affect your lifts for that day. Ten minutes of warming up will just about equal ten hours of rehabilitation for an injured muscle. Years ago, I had to have some repairs made on my truck, so I was without a vehicle for a couple of days. I had a ride to work, but no way to get to the gym, which was about 8 miles from my house. My neighbor loaned me his bicycle and I decided to ride it to the gym. As I was riding along, I knew that this particularly day was a heavy squat day and that I would probably have to go light or cancel it altogether knowing that after a long bike ride, there was no way that I could handle heavy squats. I arrived at the gym and began my workout. The squats had never felt so smooth and I had an incredible workout. I have found that the best warm-up is to do something that elevates your overall body temperature and then doing a couple of singles with the weights to get your body primed for the big sets.


When doing any set that involves multiple repetitions, focus on doing just one rep at a time. If you are going to do 8 reps, then think of your set as 8x1, rather than 1x8. When you are on rep number two and you are “thinking” about reps 6-8, this drains you of the necessary mental energy and allows fear to win. Focusing on one rep at a time also will allow you to use “near perfect” form.


There are certain things that you would not do if I offered you a million dollars, but you would not hesitate to do the same thing for free for someone you love. Dedicate an especially tough set or series of repetitions to someone you love or someone you care about and then do it. You will be amazed at the extra power it will give you. When performing a 20 rep set of squats, the last couple of reps are hard and painful, but at least you know it’s almost over and that can help you finish the set. The tough reps are from about 11-17 as they are just as painful, but you know that you still have a long way to go. I often dedicate these types of reps to people in my family, friends and often our brave soldiers that are defending our country.


Reward yourself. When you reach certain milestone goals in your lifting then celebrate by rewarding yourself with a new piece of equipment or a special dinner, etc. My family knows that if Dad has a really good Saturday workout, then it’s dinner at the Outback Steakhouse that night. They often come out to my garage gym and cheer me on-ok, they are really cheering for a steak, but I pretend it’s for me. Sales organizations frequently have inventive contest for their sales people because they are highly effective. Use little things like this in your training for bigger gains.

One last quote from John Wayne-I am not sure what it will mean to you, but it hits me a certain way.

“Life is tough, but its even tougher when you’re stupid” John Wayne



Keith Wassung

[Pj-Macx]

Originally Posted by Keith Wassung

FEAR AND COURAGE IN THE GYM ( written 5/30/2005)

By Keith Wassung

I will turn 41 tomorrow and just finished up a great training session. I felt a certain amount of fear during this workout, but that is nothing new as I have felt the presence of fear in most of my workouts over the 27 years of lifting. Not the “pee your pants” shaking in your boots type of fear, but rather than little voice that does everything possible to prevent your success. One of the first workouts I ever did was a squat for 65lbs for 6-7 reps-it was hard, heavy and I was scared before and during the set. A little over ten years later I was squatting 600lbs for the same number of reps and it was still just as hard, just as heavy and I was still just as scared. Boys are told at an early age to not be a “fraidy cat” and that fear is to be avoided like the plague. I believe that one of the keys to progress and success is not the avoidance of fear, but rather confronting and defeating it. The immortal John Wayne said that “Courage is being scared to death — and saddling up anyway."

Show me a person who had never felt fear in the gym and I will show you a person who is either a maniac (and there are a few of those in the iron game) or a person who is very average and in all likelihood will stay that way. I have had workouts where I felt no fear at all. They were training sessions where I had decided that it would be best to just do some “maintenance work” or not push too hard for any variety of reasons. On those days, fear did not make its presence known because I had already made the decision to fail in advance of the workout.

I have an uncle, who is a nice fellow, but very pessimistic. He tends to disguise his pessimism in the form of being wise and caring. If someone in our family tells him that they are considering going into the hardware store business, he will lovingly reply that the hardware business is a tough business and that he had had several friends lose everything they had trying the same thing. If someone says they are going to Miami for a vacation, he will say that Miami is a nice place, but it had the highest tourist murder rate in the country. He never comes right out and tells someone that they will fail, but he sure likes to suggest and imply it. Fear is the exact same way. It makes hints and suggestions and always tries to encourage you to take the easy path. Fear has a tendency to go after you in areas in which you are most vulnerable. It finds and exposes your areas of weakness.

The following are some methods to help you “saddle up”

Just show up. Make a determined decision that you will show up for your workout no matter what the circumstances. Have a plan and have a back-up plan. Your boss assigns you a last minute project and you have to work late and by the time you leave work the gym is closed. Decide in advance what you would do. Is there another gym in town that is open later, do you have a friend with a home gym? I strongly encourage everyone to have some type of equipment at their home, even if they have a gym membership. It does not have to be anything fancy-a pair if adjustable dumbbells stashed in the closet will do.
You arrive home late and you only have ten minutes to train-its amazing what you can do in ten minutes if you have made a decision to show up no matter what the circumstances. Pick your most productive compound move an do as many reps as you can in ten minutes in a rest-pause fashion. Some of the most incredible training sessions I have ever had have been these short, last minute, impromptu type workouts.


Start your day our right. I have found that I can tell what kind of day I am going to have by what happens in the first thirty minutes that I am awake. If I wake up and discover that we are out of coffee, or I can’t find my wallet, keys etc then all of a sudden I am in a mad scramble and then I skip breakfast and get something “on the way” to work and the whole day sort of follows that same pattern including the training session. Take five minutes before going to bed and ensure you have everything ready to go for the next day. Pack your gym bag, get the coffee pot prepared (if you drink coffee) Make sure you have whatever food items you will need for the next day. I even lay out all of my supplements on the vanity in the bathroom so that I won’t forget to take them.

Take the time to properly warm-up. I will be honest, I hate warming up. It seems like such a waste of time and energy. The real reason that most guys hate warming up is that it exposes our pathetic level of conditioning. Though I have taken measures to correct this, there was a time when a simple ten minute warm-up almost left me winded, and then you start worrying that it will affect your lifts for that day. Ten minutes of warming up will just about equal ten hours of rehabilitation for an injured muscle. Years ago, I had to have some repairs made on my truck, so I was without a vehicle for a couple of days. I had a ride to work, but no way to get to the gym, which was about 8 miles from my house. My neighbor loaned me his bicycle and I decided to ride it to the gym. As I was riding along, I knew that this particularly day was a heavy squat day and that I would probably have to go light or cancel it altogether knowing that after a long bike ride, there was no way that I could handle heavy squats. I arrived at the gym and began my workout. The squats had never felt so smooth and I had an incredible workout. I have found that the best warm-up is to do something that elevates your overall body temperature and then doing a couple of singles with the weights to get your body primed for the big sets.


When doing any set that involves multiple repetitions, focus on doing just one rep at a time. If you are going to do 8 reps, then think of your set as 8x1, rather than 1x8. When you are on rep number two and you are “thinking” about reps 6-8, this drains you of the necessary mental energy and allows fear to win. Focusing on one rep at a time also will allow you to use “near perfect” form.


There are certain things that you would not do if I offered you a million dollars, but you would not hesitate to do the same thing for free for someone you love. Dedicate an especially tough set or series of repetitions to someone you love or someone you care about and then do it. You will be amazed at the extra power it will give you. When performing a 20 rep set of squats, the last couple of reps are hard and painful, but at least you know it’s almost over and that can help you finish the set. The tough reps are from about 11-17 as they are just as painful, but you know that you still have a long way to go. I often dedicate these types of reps to people in my family, friends and often our brave soldiers that are defending our country.


Reward yourself. When you reach certain milestone goals in your lifting then celebrate by rewarding yourself with a new piece of equipment or a special dinner, etc. My family knows that if Dad has a really good Saturday workout, then it’s dinner at the Outback Steakhouse that night. They often come out to my garage gym and cheer me on-ok, they are really cheering for a steak, but I pretend it’s for me. Sales organizations frequently have inventive contest for their sales people because they are highly effective. Use little things like this in your training for bigger gains.

One last quote from John Wayne-I am not sure what it will mean to you, but it hits me a certain way.

“Life is tough, but its even tougher when you’re stupid” John Wayne



Keith Wassung

Very good post Keith....

[BobThePotato]

http://ironmass.com/forums/showthread.php?t=813

[DarkFalcon]

Originally Posted by Keith Wassung

FEAR AND COURAGE IN THE GYM ( written 5/30/2005)

They often come out to my garage gym and cheer me on-ok, they are really cheering for a steak, but I pretend it’s for me.



Keith Wassung

lol..I'd be out there cheering with them if you bought me one. I actually do this. Sometimes when I'm struggling to get those last reps out I pretend that the person I'm thinking about is hanging off a cliff and if I don't make the lift they will fall to their death..lol. Sounds morbid but I have yet to drop a loved one yet.

[2Ripped4U]

heres some quotes lol:
"The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live."

"Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

"Live every day as if it were your last, because one of these days, it will be"

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly.
AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES."

If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost.

" I will not accept fear, weakness, or failure. The only defeat I will accept is a matter in which is out of my hands. Therefore I will reach out my hands and change it."

[Trick D]

All i have to do is see a picture of dexter jackson, markus ruhl, darrem charles, and the great flex wheeler and I'm good for a few years.

[2Ripped4U]

bump

[bigDman]

Yea

[powerman2000]

One of the most reliable strategies for success in any endeavor is to imagine yourself in another person's shoes. You're already quite familiar with your own perspective. When you take the time and trouble to also understand the other person, the combined perspective you gain can be of tremendous value.

Put yourself in a powerful position by making the effort to understand.

[powerman2000]

Being positive does not mean ignoring the negative. Being positive means overcoming the negative. There's a big difference.

Often those who legitimately point out problems are accused of negative thinking. Yet it's absolutely necessary to acknowledge the problems if you ever hope to make any progress. Constant complaining, whining and excuse making are certainly negative, but addressing the problem with honesty and clarity is very positive.

If you attempt to stay positively focused by ignoring the negative you're simply not being realistic. When you can see and understand the negative aspects and then deal with them in a positive, forward looking manner, then you tap into the real power of positive focus.

Be positive and be realistic. It is a powerful combination. See the situation for what it is, and then take the appropriate actions to improve it. Fortify your positive focus not by naively ignoring the negative, but by refusing to accept it.