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You're Not Working Hard Enough.... and other gym realities you're affraid to admit

I would like to talk a bit about what I've been seeing at the gym lately - or rather, what I haven’t been seeing at the gym lately.

Everyone has different reasons for training, and different goals they're trying to reach. Some people are training for endurance, some for power, and some just to stay healthy and active. We can all agree that having a balanced diet, getting adequate rest, and having a well-rounded training program are the tools you need to obtain your fitness goals. But when all theses components aren't getting you the results you expected, you need to ask yourself - what am I doing wrong? The answer from what I observe around me at the gym is that you are not training hard enough. You could be running through the motions every day, with no goddamn intensity! It’s a plague at the gym - the same people in the gym standing there lifting the same weights, doing the same exercises, barely even sweating. The gym isn't a spa - it's a battlefield - Get out there and kill it!! You need to throw in your headphones, turn on your blinders, stop texting and quit talking to your buddy about your Tinder date last night, and start lifting some weights.

I often have people ask me, "what can I do to get better results?". They say things like, "I think I need to change my diet," or "some of these exercises I'm doing aren't working". I watch them training at the gym, and for the most part, they look like they are half asleep. You need to work out like you are preparing for war. Competing with yourself to be better than you were the day before is the only way to improve. Set a micro-goal for the week, leave your phone in the car, challenge yourself to change . I know not everyone will be benching 400lbs, but you need to set daily, weekly, and monthly milestone for yourself, and keep striving to achieve these benchmarks. Move up even 5lbs in weight this week. Push out 2 extra reps. Add a set at the end of your typical “three”. Superset. Sweat. Try HIIT. Tell someone your goal and stick to it.

It just seems like everyone is looking for the quickest way to be in and out of the gym. If that is the case, then go out and buy "7 Minute Abs" and do your 20 minutes a day on the Bow-Flex, because that stuff really works - to dry your laundry on.

Results are earned with hard work and no gimmicks, plain and simple. Like I always say: you can put the weights in their hands, but you can't make 'em lift. Actually, I've never said that, but I'm saying it now. The bottom line is: if you're having troubles breaking thru plateaus, maybe there is no new method, gimmick or program you need to try. The simple fact is you need to work harder at what you’re already doing. Get out of your comfort zone and leave the gym feeling like you got hit by a train, not just pumped thumbs from texting while hogging the bench, brah.