Iron Garage Wisdom, Thoughts, and Tips Part 1: Your Mindset in Fitness and in Life is the True Challenge to Conquer

 

Last night, I had a great workout in the Iron Garage. It became great when it was over.
The workout was simple but challenging.

 
Warmup: 2 min on the sanddune stepper, 20 reps standing band chest press, 135x10, 225x1 on the bench, light stretching.

 
Now it was getting hot and humid, rain and thunder, starting to question my course of action.

 
The slingshot bench workout consisted of 245x6, 245x5, 245x4, 245x3, 245x2, 245x1. The rest periods between sets decreased as the reps went down.

 
This made the last 3 sets as difficult as the first 3 sets. Manipulating rest periods and metabolic energy pathway recovery requirements.

 
I laughed at the end as I said to myself "I am smoked, like a cheap cigar". And then I pondered while laughing, who in the hell came up with all the corny sayings that we all used in the military?

 
It was hot and humid, even with the fans blasting. I was sore and in pain. Left shoulder was hurting -sharp pain style, who knows why. My excuses to quit were piling up fast and I almost convinced myself to call it.

 
I had no coach or trainer, no spotter, no one to cheer me on or encourage me, and no one to answer to if I quit early. Despite that I convinced myself to do one more set, one more rep until before I knew it I was done. 

With Jesus as my spotter, and my mb slingshot as my safety device, I drove on and finished the workout. As the Training for Warriors crew always say "Last Set, Best Set". (I'm a certified level 2 TFW coach by the way).

 
Ok so you finished your workout. Great job. I'm proud of you. Here is a cookie. GTFOutta here with that crap. So why do I tell you all of this? 

Because this invisible battle rages on with me and most people who have trained in any physical events, during every single workout. I had the same mental struggle when I was doing some of my first strength and conditioning workouts at 10 years old. Same stuff different decade. It's part of the journey.

 
In my program that I teach, my pillars of wellness are 1. mindset and behavior, 2. lifestyle, 3. nutrition, and 4. fitness and exercise.

The real struggle that I faced during my workout, wasn't the 245lb barbell. It was my mindset. Facing the mental battle every workout is what I call "entering the arena and facing the beast". Defeating the beast in the arena is the true victory, not the completion of a workout. 

This applies to every aspect of life. Don't let your mental beast defeat you in the arena. Free your mind and your ass will follow. Now, go hit the weights!

Eric Dempsey

MS, Certified Mindset Specialist