You're Doing It Wrong

You're Doing It Wrong

Whether it be at Crossfit or training for a marathon or bodybuilding or power lifting, what I’ve noticed is that many people, regardless of endeavor, tend to be able to do and look like most other people doing most other things…

By that, I mean this - If I had a dollar for the number of times that people told me they did X sport or Y fitness regimen to “get to where they are,” ultimately resulting in me thinking to myself, “not working, pal,” I’d be a millionaire. Without fail, at some point in time in during this conversation, I am reminded, time and time again, that "no matter what they do, they just can't (insert measure of improvement)."

Here is where solutions are provided to said individual - all of which are met with nonsense. Most of the time it starts with "Yeah, but you don't understand..."

And before I continue, I want to get this out in the open: I am a jerk when it comes to many things; however, I am NOT a jerk when it comes to giving people credit for working hard toward something they want badly. But here’s the problem: Most people stink at what they do.

They stink.

And here’s why:

Most people stink because they are of the understanding that doing will result in progress. They've gotten caught up in the whole “It’s about trying and failing. It’s about learning. It’s about the journey” crap that you read on bumper stickers and T-shirts and tasteless cliche poetry.

Newsflash: It’s not a journey if you don’t GO anywhere…

They’ve missed the boat on the whole “adaptation” thing. These people are either the products of the “everyone gets a trophy” generation OR they are the proponents of it.

They stink because they have become horribly disillusioned into thinking that it’s about the “doing.”

They don't understand that, at the end of the day, if you aren’t running faster, throwing father, jumping higher, lifting more, or looking better… then, despite all of your work, it don't mean nothin'.

Sometimes this happens because people are genuinely afraid to ask for help. Sometimes this happens because people are so terribly full of themselves that they think they know everything - i.e. the "everybody gets a trophy" crew. Other times, people are afraid to hurt, and because they are afraid to hurt, they just tap dance around actually training. For them, knowing that they have a gym membership they "use" helps them go to sleep at night.

Here is something I see typically at most gyms: 

Turd enters gym. Turd does curls and shrugs. Turd goes home. Turd enters gym. Turd uses elliptical. Turd goes home. 

Sometimes turd will wear cut-offs. Sometimes turd will walk around with a bottle of Red Line. But you get the idea. Said turd is the same person who says "No matter what I do, bro, I just can't grow." or "No matter what I do, bro, I just can't get stronger." Or they blame whatever problems they're having on a high school injury that robbed them of a sweet D3 partial academic scholarship at a 40k/year school. Shucks.

I could go on for hours about this, but the solution for it is very simple for many/any/all people: 

Try harder and work backwards, you idiot.

Think about the end result. If you don't have an end result, that's probably your first problem.

Next, find a person/people who has/have already accomplished said task. If you don't know any, that's your second problem. 

**You are currently sitting in front of a machine that can provide you with resources this guy didn't have, and he made out okay (If you think it's because of steroids, then you now have a third problem).

At the end of the day, don't be the guy or girl who spends hours or, worse, years, doing the same thing over and over again with nothing to show for it. Most of the time, in order for you to progress, it will require you to reflect on the fact that you stink at something, it will require you to humble yourself a little bit, and it will require you to find someone who is better than you and *gasp* asking them for help.

Or you can ignore all of this...

Because someone’s gotta pay to keep the lights on at Planet Fitness...

Big ups to Big Steve at Iron Sport for this pearl:

All Best,

The Poet and The Platform

- One more time, in case you missed it: