Push It. Push It Real Good.

Yep, you read that right. I'm quoting Salt-N-Pepa shamelessly. Because when it comes to the glorious space that is the gym, that's what you've gotta do. Yesterday I had a wicked workout. And the only reason it was wicked was because of the last 4 minutes and what they entailed. They entailed pushing it. And I pushed it real good...

(PS: I promise something amazing at the end of this post, so just read the whole stupid thing...)

The workout itself is a part of my program, something designed by one of my #fitfam members (I swear, every time I type #fitfam, I like myself less...but I can't stop. Won't stop. Nike. If you don't get that, too bad for you). It's a dope program & generally speaking, I'm always jacked at the end of a training session. Yesterday, however, nearing the end, I was struggling. It's a 4 round workout that likely has a specific name for how it's structured, but considering I barely know what my quads are, knowing what my workout style or structure or whatever is called isn't going to happen. See below to attempt to understand - translate at your discretion! I've been doing these workouts for 6 weeks and I still don't know what half the shit means...Zeus/Zeke, the program designer, has likely grown weary of my redundant questions.

Anyway, so I was halfway through the second round of the last 4 movements (you'll notice that there are 8 movements in total, divided into 2 sections), and I started having a little chat with myself. I had killed the first half, upped my weights for my bench presses & rows, and was pleased with myself. Unfortunately that dissipated rather quickly, as the second half involved dumbbell military press, which I suck at. Period. I was getting super tired, super quickly, and wanting an out badly. Hence the chat. 

I started explaining to myself that since I was pretty tired and had done a good job to start, I could likely just do 3 of the 4 rounds, and that would suffice. I mean, I was super sweaty and still had to do my finisher, which involved treadmill hill sprints (Zeus is a warlord, essentially). So that was that. I started the 3rd round, finished it up, panting like a rabid dog, looking as attractive as physically possible, and mentally preparing myself for the reward of quitting! Except it didn't really go that way...

As I went to rack the barbell I was using for my push press, literally holding it so it was already partially replaced, I stopped myself. I almost tripped on the bench (super smooth), and brought it back down, because I felt like such a loser quitting. And suddenly I needed to finish my workout. So I did. I pushed through it, and guess what? I lived. And I was stoked. It's almost comical how that little piece of pushing through fatigue/laziness/fear/discomfort is so very gratifying. Now to be clear, I don't advocate pushing to the point of injury or anything like that. There's a reason that I used the work "discomfort," rather than "pain," because for me, there's a difference and discomfort is acceptable. I don't want to hurt myself but I definitely need to feel uncomfortable. It's the only way to improve, in my humble (abrasive?) opinion. Pushing through that last round didn't hurt me...I was just that much more tired. And guess what, you should be tired when you leave the gym. That's the point.

Moral of the story, ignoring my inner dialogue that was offering me the opportunity to bitch out afforded me the opportunity to be oh-so-very stoked about a training session that could have been average, had I not pushed it. So I guess I'm just saying that it's worth keeping in mind, that pushing it could be the difference between feeling proud of your efforts, as opposed to knowing deep down that you had a bit more in you. Because it isn't just about trying, it's about how hard you try. Period. You won't be able to convince me that "almost all of it" is enough, because it's not. Your tank should be on empty, because it's the right way to do it.

I guess I could have entitled the post, "Try. Try Real Hard," but then I wouldn't have had a reason to share a sweet music video. And really, that's the only reason I write this stuff...