Musings Episode 35: Strength Training – It’s Not Just Physical…

So for about 3 weeks I’ve been getting used to this new, rigorous workout that combines strength and cardio for intense muscle development and fat loss – not that the latter’s necessary but hey – never hurts to stay fit right?

…just kidding. Sort of.

Anyway, aside from that I’ve been revamping a section of my official site – it’s mostly the online store side of it, where eventually I’ll be making it one huge place with all my e-commerce ventures neatly in one place. The whiteboard in my office is chock-full of notes, reminders, and milestones – the other one is too.

As a side note, a friend and I are looking to start a new business venture together, but lately he’s been having a bit of a tough time with his girlfriend – younger than him she’s going abroad to study for some years and he wants to make sure he can visit her often, months at a time if he can. He’s been engrossing himself in getting the venture started, you could call it a good way to keep him occupied and his mind off the whole thing. We had a long talk about it this Friday.

This got me thinking – strength training isn’t just a physical thing – besides our exteriors we’ve also gotta train our minds and fine tune our mental thinking. It took me a while to get where I finally am today in terms of thinking, but I’m glad I pushed on and came through. I respect my buddy a lot in the way he’s handling the situation, and I give serious props to him for the way he’s actually going after a solution instead of just giving up.

Often, people start something but have a tendency to give up or not follow through with it if they don’t see immediate results. I think it’s bollocks – if you create or build something – doesn’t matter if it’s business or personal, and you’ve built it to such magnitude, it’s always better to see it through to the end, and during the homestretch remember why you started whenever you feel like quitting.

I use this thinking in business a lot – I’m not one to trade time for dollars but ideas for serious $$$ instead – and when I think up something brilliant, all it takes is a pen and paper and away I go. I’ll structure and build the concept until the end, tweaking as I go along, then get right into action.

It takes practice, learning perseverence, but it’s all worth it. It’s how successful people such as athletes, actors, or financial geniuses learn to become so good at what they do – they understand that it’s a combination of physical AND mental effort, all while learning to let go of mental restraints your brain’s gotten used to….

…oddly enough I published a post on mental practice and awareness for Fitness Fridays last week. Give it a read if you haven’t yet, it’s definitely got some valuable information.

The more you expand on a thought or an idea and actively start growing and accomplishing it, the faster it gets done. At first it’s painful, and draining – a lot of mental energy goes into it if you’re not used to exercising your mind outside of it’s usual routine – your brain is lazy, sometimes it needs a bit of a push…but then so do your muscles when you don’t exercise them at least 3-5 days a week.

The same way you exercise your muscles 5-6 days a week (or 2-3, if you’re starting out) if you did the same thing with your brain, do you have any idea how much you could get accomplished? Yeah – a shit ton.

This is what I mean when I say strength training goes beyond physical. There’s so many sayings out there that reinforce the message:

“When the fear of things staying the same becomes greater than the fear of failing, then you’ll be successful.”
“You have to want it more than you’re afraid of it.”
“When you’re about to quit, remember why you started.”

The list goes on and on man…and really, when you think about it, physical and mental exercise go hand in hand. When people work out, they don’t just get stronger because they lift more weights, do more pull ups, or crank out more clean and presses – it’s their thoughts that keep them going:

“You can do it.”
“Don’t give up now.”
“Last set.”
“Come on, you’ve done better before you can do your best now.”

I say these things to my fitness clients all the time. It’s why some people listen to music, to get that “pump” to steer their mental thinking in the right way – it all starts with the mind. If you believe you can do 100 sit-ups or 20 pull-ups straight off, it’s gonna make it a hell of a lot easier than the guy who thinks he can only do 50 sit-ups and 1 pull-up.

So this week I want you all to get out there and push to be better – don’t dismiss great thoughts or ideas you have – and stop leaving projects undone. Watch how much better you’ll feel when you start acting on an idea or thought and see how motivational it is when you finally finish that project you’ve been lulling over for months.

The minute you start believing in yourself, is the minute you’re unstoppable. It’s the moment when you know no fear, and have no hesitation.