Checking your EGO before you enter the Gym

Well another week has passed and hopefully you have all set some SMART goals and have started working towards them :)

Today’s post has been brought about by a series of things all in which have related to people accumulating an OVERINFLATED ego when it comes to the gym and training. Everyone has an ego, it is described by Cambridge dictionary as “one’s opinion of themselves, how they rate their self-importance.”

In my personal opinion it is good to have self-confidence and if there is one thing that I have built (more than muscle, strength and fitness) in the gym I would have to say it’s my own personal confidence levels. But there is a BIG difference between being confident and being over confident just like there is a big difference between having an ego an having an OVERINFLATED ego.

One of the most common pieces of advice I have heard when it comes to the gym is “Check your ego at the door” however every gym has at least one person who comes in every day, thinking they are the next Ronnie Coleman,lifting super heavy weights for a couple of reps every 5-10 mins with poor form and then spending an hour or so flexing in the mirror.

Sure it might feel great saying you hit a new PB (personalbest) of 150kg on the bench or 500kg on the leg press, but if your form is poor, you can't actually complete a set or if your spotter is having to do half the lifting for you than what have you REALLY achieved? Other than giving your ego another (FALSE) boost.

A problem I see a lot of the time with ego’s in the gym is with the people who are competing against the other people in the gym. “Oh that guy over there just did 20’s in shoulders but he looks smaller than me so surely I can do 25’s”. Fact is that other guy may be smaller but he’s probably going to end up twice the size of "Mr Ego Lifter" because he is doing the smart thing, focusing on form and gradually increasing his weight. He’s also not worrying about what everyone else is doing which is the second reason he will more than likely succeed. Why?Because he’s competing against HIMSELF, which is another great piece of advice I have heard been given in the gym “stop competing against others and start competing against YOU.” 

 At the end of the day your goals are your own and only you can achieve them and only you are going to be disappointed if you don’t. You are your biggest competition because you should be striving each day to be better than the person you were yesterday.

The people who are going to succeed and progress the most in the gym are those who “check their ego at the door”, who don’t worry about what anyone else is doing, or how much they are lifting etc. They aren’t worried about the ridiculous face they might pull pushing out that final rep, just pushing out that rep is their onlyconcern. They focus on their form and progress their weight in a realistic manner. They don’t worry about the ego lifters because they know that in 6months they will be 6 months ahead of them in their progress. These are the people who will succeed because they have the right amount of confidence, the right amount of knowledge and most of all the right attitude.

So next time you head to the gym make sure to check that ego at the door and enter the gym for you and no one else.

Fit FREAK of the week will be coming tomorrow, in the meantime as always eat CLEAN, train MEAN (without too much ego) and live LEAN :)