Concentration

Here is a video of the guys at Westside Barbell lifting. I don't find that they have particularly attractive physiques, that is not the point of this post, and in fact, some of them look rather comical when they are lifting, but they all do something alike, something very, very important.

They concentrate. They psych themselves up. They set themselves up. They are thinking about what they are going to do.

This is more important than you may realize. Often you will see someone in the gym and you think they are an oblivious jerk- they don't look at you, they don't talk to you, they don't even notice that you are there.

Most likely they are not oblivious, they are serious, they are there to train.

When I am at the gym, I will chat to the others as I warm up on the treadmill, or I may stop to talk to a friend for a moment, but the rest of the time, it's me, my music and my binder. I am there for a reason, I am on a mission, I have a goal. Don't get in my way, I have no time to play.

If you are not seeing the results you are expecting, take a look at your attitude at the gym. Is your heart and soul there with the physical body?

Do you spend a lot of time in between sets talking, or even worse, do you bring reading material into the gym? The gym is no place to read unless you plan to spend an hour on a stair mill (bad idea too).

Do you go in knowing exactly what you want to accomplish?

Do you have everything you need? I carry my own lifting traps, interval timer (Gymboss), jump rope, cut up socks to protect my hands with snatches, band aids, music. No, I don't wear gloves, ever.

Have you ever seen the motivational poster that is in almost every office?

Your attitude determines your altitude.

I wholeheartedly agree, I do not believe in blaming others for my failures or lack of progress, I am my own person, I depend on myself.

Watch the guys from Westside Barbell here (email subscribers must navigate to the blog to see the video):