It all comes down to this, doesn't it? You can have the best training program, the best equipment and facility, even the best, most motivating trainer, but if you don't put in the work none of it means shit. Tell me one thing in life where someone can put in mediocre effort and get above average results. It doesn't happen, certainly not in the gym. Anything worth doing well takes effort and enthusiasm. If either one of those things are lacking then even the perfect training program is just a piece of paper. Without effort your trainer is just some asshole that doesn't know shit according to you.
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| Huge asshole. |
This effort is when you are in the actual environment, be it the gym, the office, whatever. This effort is usually the easiest to give. When there are watchful eyes everyone wants to be a superstar. Everyone wants to be the workout all-American. I'm guilty of it. My situation is a bit different being that I'm a fitness professional that regularly trains in the gym I work at. I want my clients to see the effort I put into my training. Then when I demand the same they have only one choice; put out or get out. They can't come back and say, "Do you do this stuff?" Yes I do. And you've seen me.
A word on what effort is not. If you can talk on a cell phone, read a book, or do a sudoku puzzle you're not trying hard enough. When you come to the gym you should come ready to sweat, breath heavy, and feel the sting of lactic acid in your muscles. 40 RPMs on the recumbent bike while looking at business reports on your Blackberry is going to get you where? Fucking nowhere.
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| Awful. Take a lap. |
The other aspect that makes this an easier effort to give is that it is the least time demanding. An hour or two a day for three days a week doesn't add up to much. If you know how to lead people getting them to bust ass for a few hours a week isn't hard. I don't know too many people that couldn't go balls out for three or four hours per week. Those that train alone this may be a bit tougher. In the words of George Washington, "Tough titties." If you can't commit to training then nothing is going to happen. If you can't commit to three hours per week in the gym, then how the hell can you commit to the other 165 out of it? You can't. So get up and get it done. The number of hours in a week leads me to my next point.
Effort Out
This is the one that gets most people. Effort in the gym is easy. People are watching, you've usually got a nice support system with friends, trainers, etc, and there is a definitive end point that is always in sight. Giving effort outside is hard. If you want results from your three hours of being in the gym then you've got to give effort the other 165 hours of the week. Seeing people bust ass but get no results is hard to watch and it is the direct result of their actions outside the gym. Do they eat enough of the right kinds of foods? Do they stretch and do soft tissue work? Do they sleep enough? It's usually one or all of these that lead to stagnated results and even back sliding.
In fact, the hours outside the gym are even more important than the hours in it. No one can out train a shitty diet. Leaving the gym and saying I earned that pint of ice cream is only going to take you to Fattsburgh. Population: You. If you don't sleep enough you won't recover well and your hormone profiles will usually suffer. Poor hormone function equals poor results, not to mention poor sex drive and overall health. If you don't stay on top of mobility issues on your off days they are never going to stick and you will be battling them forever. Doing the right things outside the gym makes the time in the gym that much more efficient and enjoyable. No one likes working out and getting no results.
100% Or Nothing
I once read that 99% is hard, 100% is easy. In many ways that is true. When you give yourself a choice it becomes all too easy to chose the easy route, which is almost invariably the poor one. Don't give yourself the choice of going to the gym or not going to the gym. Don't give yourself the choice of eating clean or having the row of cookies. Don't give yourself the choice of going to bed at 10pm or going to bed at 1am. Go to the gym, eat healthy, get some sleep. You will thank yourself in the end.
Take A Break
Like anything, nobody is perfect. We all have break downs. There are two types of people that this happens to. Here is a hypothetical situation: You've been eating clean for two weeks with no cheats. You're at work and someone brings cake for their birthday. You tell yourself you've been good for two weeks and can afford the cake. You have a small piece, and another, and another. You end up eating A LOT of cake and some ice cream to boot. Now what?
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| OH SHIT! |
Person 2: You say, "Fuck it. Off the diet. No going back on this now. I'm such a fat ass and always will be. I'm just not meant to be in shape. Whatever, I'm happier this way. I can eat whatever I want. Not like those poor suckers that have to eat meat and fruit and veggies. Sucks to be them. I'm going to get some pizza and breadsticks and cookies for dinner. I'm never going to the gym again." You never go to gym again.
That's a hypothetical involving food. The same situation could be reworked for going to train, getting sleep, or working on mobility. The point is that you can't be perfect every second of every day. That's called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. A person with OCD is invariably not fun. This stuff should be a major component in your life, but not so overpowering that you can't enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixin's or go out to dinner with friends without bitching about how the menu isn't "paleo". The purpose of life is to live, not to be an uber strict asshole.
The Take Home
Effort is pushing yourself to be better at all times. Better at the gym, better at the dinner table, better between the sheets. We all have room for improvement but don't take it overboard. That leads to boredom, disillusionment, and ultimately crystal meth use. You've been warned, now go kick some ass. Worry about the names later.
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| She missed a few workouts and look what it led to. Awful. Take a lap. |
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