A handful of years ago I had worked my way up the performing between 1,000 and 1,200 push-ups a day, six days a week. The amazing thing is, there was literally no difference between the results that I got from doing 200 push-ups a day and the results that I got form doing 1,200 a day. My strength didn't improve, my physique didn't improve, my athleticism didn't improve. Yet, I felt that need that I had to do more, had to hit those thousand or more a day.
A little bit later I had a young lady train with me. I set up a pretty intense program for her that was a lot of hard work, yet only took about 15-25 minutes a day to get through, and it was only a 3 day a week program. Over the course of a few months she dropped 40+ pounds of body fat, she gained about 10 pounds of healthy muscle, she dropped inches and sizes, she become much stronger and much more conditioned, and she completely transformed herself into an impressive hottie. Yet she was disappointed. She was mad because she wasn't doing 2-3 hour workouts 4-5 days a week like some of her friends were, even though her results far surpassed her friends' results.
So, what do these stories have in common, both me (with my push-ups at that time of my life) and this young lady (with her need to put in more time) were trying to fulfill our egos and impress others. It wasn't the results that mattered (even though that should be all that matters), it was the ability to have the bragging rights that did. And this is one of the biggest enemies that we all face when it comes to our fitness goals.
Using my client from the above paragraph as an example you'd think that most people would be ecstatic. After all, she was getting much better resutls, she looked better, she felt better, she was healthier, and she was in better shape than her friends. And, she was able to do it in less time per week then they were putting in in a single day. Yet she was mad because she wasn't able to brag and say, "oh yeah, well, I'm doing 6 hours a day, 7 days a week!" Her need to fulfill her ego and impress her friends actually got in the way of the results she wanted to achieve.
The same thing is true for me and my old push-up fixation. Even though I had long stopped getting any benefit from the addition of more reps, I continued to pile them on, wasting precious time and energy while getting nothing in return. All so I could impress people by saying, "yeah, that right. I do over a thousand push-ups everyday!" It doesn't seem worth it, does it. Why put in the time and effort for no reward other than the abilty to brag.
Thank God I learned my lesson. These days (both with myself and with my clients) it's all about the results. They are what matters. If I can get you or myself the results that we desire in half the time, why should we care what the person doing twice as much for less results thinks. Shouldn't our results really be what speaks for itself.
So, instead of trying to fulfill some ego or trying to impress others with your training, focus on what you're getting out of it. Are you reaching your goals? Are you becoming healthier, more fit, and stronger? Are you growing as a person? If you are, who cares about trying to impress anyone else? I'll talk with you more later.
Yours in strength and health,
Brett Stepan
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