What gets you fired up? What is it that implodes from within that allows you to attack the weights with such ferocity that your body has no choice but to grow to adapt? How do you bring yourself to the brink of insanity on those scary sets that you lose all sight of what could happen and just simply make it happen? Those are the questions being asked of you from those on the outside of your training world who are looking in with astonishment, fear, and envy in that they have no idea how to exist in such a place.
Intensity, aggression, and any other type of positive emotional response that you can use, harness, and then apply to your training will be the catalyst that sets you apart from the masses and makes your experience in the gym that much better than anyone else.
When you hit the gym, you have a mission and that mission is to improve. That mindset is necessary every single day if you want to see changes occur and to get there, you need certain triggers that will cue your frame of mind as to where it needs to be for the duration of your workout. If you have been struggling in this regard, here are a few strategies that may trigger your own intensity while you train.
Memories
These go deep. Think of the times when you weren’t the king of the gym. Think about when people scoffed at the idea of you even lifting weights let alone reigning supreme amongst the iron warriors. Those years when you were skinny or chubby out on the playground and always got picked last for any sporting event or activity.
Think about the words that came from others that discouraged your initial efforts and placed doubt in your mind. Remember that time you got bullied for just simply being you. Or when you thought you had a friend only to realize they were a friend of only convenience and not in its truest form. Think about all of the haters that have come and gone that you have proved wrong and now UNLEASH! (side note: you don’t have to prove anything to anyone, but it’s a heck of a way to get fired up).
Competition
The driving force of competition (friendly or otherwise) can be a significant trigger while you train. Just the thought that someone, somewhere out there might be training harder than you should be enough to fire up those engines and get your gears grinding. Perhaps you train at the same gym as some of your competitors. Do you really want to show weakness or do you want to send a clear and resounding message right across the gym floor that you’re here and ain’t nothing going to stop you or get in your way of being number one?
When you think you’re training hard enough and then you get slapped right in the face with reality once you see what you’re fellow competitors are doing and what they look like, your inner rage to catch up and surpass what you’ve just seen will light a fire under you that will never flame out. You just triggered an entirely new level of effort from within and everyone else better lookout.
Fear of Failure
The last thing you ever want to do is to let yourself down. Secondly, you never want to let those in your inner circle who love and support you down either. That is a lot of pressure to put on yourself but it’s that fear of failure that can trigger a response second to none and propel you to the level that you need to get to in order to ensure success.
Those that have nothing to lose are dangerous. Those that do have much to lose are frightening. The thought of being less than what you set out to be can and will trigger significant energy from within and raise your awareness of what needs to get done in order to ensure success.
Remember, failure is not an option unless it becomes a learning mechanism from which new heights of greatness can be achieved. Aside from that, fight failure with all you’ve got.
Endless possibilities await and your success is there for the taking. As long as you make the time you spend in the gym as productive as possible, your mindset is where you should and need to be by deriving energy and power. Perfect the mental side and your efforts will be rewarded.