As I sit here, preparing to burn 150 calories on my spin bike, I begin thinking. I am thinking about my 20 sets a day I have set before me this week. Over 200 reps that will hit my body each of those days.I think about the food I will use to fuel this machine. The 180 grams of protein, the 140 carbs and 60 fat that will go in every day I touch a weight. And then how I must change it all on the days that the iron doesn’t meet flesh.I look at my tape measure and my scales on my desk, all the numbers they will show me this week and how that will affect what goes on next week. It hits me just how crazy this fitness thing must look to all of you.
Let’s get serious!
To all the people that have just started or are looking for guidance. These numbers, whether you knew it or not, probably are one of the main reasons you have quit in the past. At some point the weight scale has tricked you into failing, you had bad measurement session, your training numbers didn’t quite fall were they were suppose too or maybe you have never tracked and have no numbers to show. Whatever the case may be I wanted to take some time an talk to you all on something that I have been thinking about.
Thought in the Dark
Progress, it is the end goal for EVERYONE. Whether you are looking to get stronger, healthier or you’re on a Zyzz shred quest, you want to see progress. I, as trainer, always like to see this progress and my normal way of seeing this is in the form of numbers. The mainstream media has put the weight scale as the “King of the Measurements.” a while I don’t agree, the weight scale can be a powerful tool for people just beginning to get into the fitness world.
In my camp, we love to look at strength as the “King,” but lately I see a problem even with using this as my leading measure.
Keeping in mind that these numbers all have there place. I want to look at you as a goal oriented person only care about seeing progress so I’ll make this statement.
I realized that the #1 KING OF KINGS measure is… Mental Soundness.
This look different to all of us. The following is going to be focused on “the beginner” in the fitness world, but I will approach “intermediate” and “life timer” in a later post.
Even he enjoys the dark
The Beginner, almost always sets the standard goal, they love how Kim K’s butt looks or they want to look like Ryan Gosling from that one movie. They think with a little research from Dr. OZ and a set of shake weights is what it is going to take to get them there. Ok, maybe it;s not that bad, but let’s just say they are a little mislead by what they see and what it’s going to take to get there. Below are a few things I believe would be great things for a newbie to heed before starting.
–Dedication– Nothing magically disappears by a certain season. All those summer hotties you see worked their butt off all winter to get where they are at. So if you hope to achieve what they have, be prepare to invest a lot of time.
–Not Magic– No amount of equipment, pills or research will take you as far as hard work will.
–Married to it– through light and the dark, you have to make it part of you. You have to become one with your goals and you have to make sacrifices to achieve what you are after. And just like in a real marriage, you can’t cheat on it and expect it to work.
–Find a good guide– The greatest things in life are hard to find and fitness is no different. You will have a million things thrown at you via mainstream media and you are expected to make sense of it all. Trying to figure this whole thing out alone is one of the number Lucky for you there are a number of trainers online that would love to help *shameless coaching plug* me being one of them. Contact one of them if you are unsure of your path. This person will also be able to keep you in the game when the numbers don’t play in your favor.
–Find a friend- As I said earlier, if the numbers don’t play in your favor once or twice, you might divorce this whole thing right there. Grab a friend, let them know what’s up and let them journey with you. If you have no real community to connect with and are looking for an incredible online one, hop over to my Fitocracy tab and check out the great site over there.
TL;DR- As a beginner you have to be mental prepared for the goals you have set for yourself. If the numbers don’t play nice then you need to be tough enough to gut check up and press on. If you have failed because of this in the past, get a guide next time. Do Not Be Weak!
See you in the Darkness,
BT
Blackout Trainer 