We all hit a wall at some point in our fitness journey. Could be 3 months in, could be 5 years in. But there is that time where we might feel weak in the gym. Frustrated that our gains, both strength and size gains, seem to have been at a standstill for days!
Thats when you really need to dig deep. Giving up is an easy option, it has crossed any serious lifters minds to give it up or take an extended time off. To give into the voice in your head that says “your not seeing results so quit” or “Im not even getting stronger”. Basically you put in every negative phrase into that quote because they are laid on quick at the point of a plateau.
But if you give up now, your going to look back and regret it. Time wasted is time you’ll never see again. I don’t want to be a downer but this quote hits home for me when it comes to fitness plateaus and going out and achieving anything in your life. The quote is from a cult classic most of us are fond of.. FIGHT CLUB. Yes I broke rule one and two, sorry Tyler! The quote:
“This is your life, and it’s ending one minute at a time”
If that doesn’t ring loud in your head right now, just think of that quote next time you are thinking about throwing in the gym towel, pun intended. You have ONE life to live and we are literally dying more and more every breathe we take. Ironic if you think about it. But you may as well end every last minute of your life with passion and courage instead of looking back and regretting the things you didn’t do. Which reminds me of another epic quote:
“Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did” – H. Jackson Brown Jr.
So Im hear to create self empowerment in you. Sure you may have given up in the past and it is convenient and easy to do, it feels familiar even. But this time you can make an internal shift and decide to bust through your gym and life plateaus. Keep going, only good things can happen if you keep going. If you stop and quite, it will show up in your life everywhere else.
Take a week off, rest. Then come back strong and keep going. Sculpt the body of your dreams, and give it everything you have. Get to the point where most people quit, and keep going. That is how champions are made, and how legends are remembered. Another one of my favorite quotes:
“Give it all I got, or give up.” – Eminem
Like the quote says, might as well just give up if you aren’t going to give it ALL.
How do YOU want to be remembered?
Ask yourself how you want to be remembered. As someone who half assed their way through things, or someone who gave 100 percent. Do this when your gym plateaus come. Show not only others that you aren’t a quitter, better yet show yourself. This will shut off the negativity in your mind as you will have conquered the voice, controlled the negative talk showing it truly who is in command.
Instead of giving up at 7 reps, push yourself to do 9. Even if you have to pause a few seconds. When the voice in your head tells you NOT to do another set, or another rep, this is the exact time you DO another set and another rep. Have fun with the negativity, beat the crap out of it and soon it will become your friend, not your enemy. It will drive you to greatness when you push past it, instead of driving yourself into mediocrity when you submit to it. Again, another relevant quote:
“Don’t cry to quit! Your already in pain, might as well get a reward from it!” – Eric Thomas
Trust me friends, I have been there when I wanted to quit. I have been injured and made excuses. I have been dragging in a workout and want to justify not working out that day. I have even been pissed about not seeing gains after countless hours of beating on my muscles. But I crank these quotes up to full blast when I feel these things. I make them louder than the negative self talk, and push through and push on.
Live your life with NO REGRETS. Not in an apathetic, complacent way. No a life that literally has no regrets because you did EVERYTHING you wanted to to.
We are all going to be on our deathbed one day, most of those who are at this point are saying goodbye to loved ones and reflecting. Reflecting on the things they WISH they would have done. Let this motivate you friends, to go after each and every goal you have in the gym and in life in a way that you won’t have to regret ANYTHING on your deathbed.
Spend time with family, pack on muscle, check off each and everything you have on your bucket list. Which I will leave you with the last quote, probably my favorite out of every single motivational speech I have heard in my entire life:
“When you die, die on E!” – Eric Thomas
Gassed out because you used all of your energy to achieve your goals, used what you had to the best of your ability and are on E because you have nothing left to do. You have achieved everything you set out to be.
R.I.P. to Plateaus!
