Are you comfortable with being UNCOMFORTABLE?

What do I mean by the statement above??

I work with a lot of beginner weight lifters.
I enjoy helping them become empowered in the gym - and I want them to embrace their potential to be powerful, strong, and fit in a world that has come to accept weakness and disease as the norm.

Now, because of my work with this group, I have come to understand the phases that a beginner goes through when learning how to exercise properly.

One thing that all beginners have in common?

They tend to 'freak out' a bit during the last leg of an intense exercise.

I'm sure many of you have seen it happen. Or experienced it yourself.

Example #1:
You finally learn how to bench press. Your trainer or lifting partner racks a relatively heavy weight for you. You calmly complete your reps, a bit concerned by how the bar seems to be getting heavier and more wobbly. And on the last couple reps, you start to panic because a) you start believing that you simply cannot do any more, b) the bar moves SO SLOWLY and even gets stuck, and c) it doesn't seem like your trainer/partner is helping you at all!!

And by panic, I mean... wiggling like crazy under the bar, puffing out "I can't, I can't!" or "help me!!", hyperventilating, or even doing all three at the same time. It's chaos, I tell ya!

Example #2:
You're doing a crazy circuit of bodyweight exercises for time. Your trainer/instructor wants you to push yourself and keep going until time is up. As you run from station to station, completing your squats, then your burpees, then your lunges, then your pushups, etc, etc... you begin to realize that a) you can no longer breathe, and b) your entire body is shaking, twitching, and aching. You begin to hyperventilate, you stop (even though your instructor is yelling, "Come on! Keep going!!"), and you even start whimpering and spouting out four-letter words...

(I'm talking about "can't" people... what were you thinking??) ;-)

Yeah, these reactions are completely normal!!
Our bodies have signals that let us know when we have reached a point near our limits.

But you know what?
Those signals come on WAAAAYYY before we absolutely have to quit.

Our bodies can take so much more intensity and strain that we ever thought possible.

And when you're a seasoned lifter, you understand this.
You work through the discomfort of those final moments... because you realize that it'll pay off in the end.

Beginners haven't learned that they will be okay. That they just have to stay calm and push that bar steadily upward - even if it takes 10 seconds more than normal! They just have to keep breathing when the body starts to tremble - and try to let positive thoughts override the body's signals to stop.

Becoming COMFORTABLE with all that yucky DISCOMFORT is key to getting a really great workout. It's the key to becoming stronger, to shedding large amounts of unwanted fat, and to improving performance in the gym.

And by being comfortable, I don't mean being "happy" with the situation. Far from it!

I'm saying that there's no need to freak out when it gets hard. In fact, putting all your energy into the act of completing your exercise (instead of putting energy into the "freak out") will help you finish that exercise successfully.

So, next time in the gym, I want you to actively work on becoming comfortable with being UNCOMFORTABLE.

Good Luck!