Lifting weights isn’t the enemy. Eating more food isn’t the enemy. Getting enough sleep isn’t the enemy.
Resistance is the enemy.
But what is resistance?
As Steven Pressfield in explains his book, The War of Art (which is mostly related to creative work, but is relevant in all aspects of living), resistance is all the junk that stops you from doing what you want and need to be doing.
He suggests that the hardest part of writing isn’t the writing itself, but the act of sitting down to write. We lack the fundamental desire to put ourselves in situations that may require hard work, even though the reality is always far simpler than the concoctions we form in our mind.
With this idea in the mind, the hardest part of lifting weights isn’t lifting the weights, it’s putting ourselves in a room with weights to lift. Think about that for a second. It may seem unbelievable, but what if it is true?
If it’s resistance that is holding you back (and I can assure you, if you’re not making progress, it is) then all it takes to move forward is to kill the resistance.
Here are 3 quick ways to kill the resistance:
- Set no expectations. Don’t tell yourself “I’m going to do 3 sets of 10 reps.” That’ll psyche yourself out. Instead, ease the pressure and only commit to putting yourself in a room with a set of weights, or maybe just doing a single rep. Give the resistance less to resist.
- Work with reality. Will eating more literally “make you explode”? Or is it truly “impossible” to get eight hours of sleep per night? Be careful of how you use your language and avoid exaggerating circumstances. Understand that your life is a series of choices and not a predefined set of events.
- Clarify importance. What about strength training matters to you so much? I see myself living life in a way that is not within my physical capabilities at the moment. That inspires me. I want to be able to explore the world and experience the best it has to offer. When you understand the importance of a goal with unwavering clarity the resistance fades.
Don’t lose your life to resistance.
