  Discipline is something that seems to be largely lacking in the training world today. As consumerism grows, more outlets for training programs, tools, supplements, gear, and social media "inspiration" are created on an almost daily basis. It's like fitness has become more about a market and less about developing a lifestyle based on the pursuit of excellence and personal growth.
With the constant creation and marketing of new products - and yes, diets and training programs are products - it's easy to see how an unwary trainee can fall into a continual cycle of consumption with minimal return. After all, the nature of selling is to create need. If a person believes and experiences they have all they need to succeed, then they really don't need your cool gear, supplements, or programs. This past Christmas, my wife bought me this awesome banner from Jim Wendler's website. It's a simple message - discipline over motivation. Motivation is fleeting - subjective to how you're feeling. Discipline will carry you through the ups and downs. Discipline is how you win. That banner hangs in my gym. It's a powerful symbol and a reminder to do what's necessary - no matter what. The trouble people have with discipline is that it has to be developed, and , generally, the way it gets developed is through doing what you need to, despite how you feel. Discipline is a constant action, a skill that - like a blade, must continually be honed lest it lose its edge. That means that, to truly be successful, you can't exercise discipline just once or twice, but every time in order for it to start becoming a part of who you are. The sooner you get this, the sooner you'll start seeing success. What I've noticed about people who don't get the discipline angle (at least in the training world), is that they get bedazzled easily and chase after the coolest, latest, flashiest fitness toys, gear, clothing, programs, resolutions, challenges, etc. believing within these things they'll find the keys to unlock their success. Disciplined people know and trust that continual, consistent execution of a good plan will bring results. It's good math. Disciplined people understand that, while a solid program is needed, the execution of it is where the magic lies. They must put the time and effort in consistently with focus and attention to detail, giving their best every time, to truly get what they want. My advice is to start today. Decide on a goal - one that's important to you - that means something. Make a realistic plan that you know you're capable of. If you need help through training or programming, than get it - any way that you can. Stick to your plan. Don't waver from it, or allow yourself to get distracted, and don't let yourself off the hook. Get used to finding a way, and do what's needed. Draw a line in the sand, and watch your confidence and self belief grow, along with your strength, conditioning, and mental toughness If you don't know how to start, or you need help, feel free to drop me a line. I'm here to help.
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  It's through the hard things in life that we get the most benefit. This is not always a welcome truth. It's natural for us to seek the path of least resistance to get what we want. It's part of our survival mechanism, so it takes a little work to adjust our mindset and then follow through with our actions.
About 10 years ago, I found this meme. It had such an impact on me that I never forgot it. In fact, it's so old, that I had to search through the photos on RFC's FaceBook page to find it, and yet, that simple phrase and image has stuck with me all this time. Deep down, I think I was always afraid that I was still untested, that in the face of extreme hardship I would break down and quit. There has been a lot of quitting in my past, being overwhelmed by the magnitude of effort it would take to get what I wanted, and so, I simply chose the path of least resistance - most of the time finding some seemingly noble or understandable reason for why I couldn't or wouldn't move forward in that direction - an excuse. I'm happy to say that I've come a long way from that guy. I have dealt with a lot of adversity over the past few years - in training, in business, and in life, and it has showed me both strengths and weaknesses in myself. One of my biggest weaknesses is letting anger and frustration dictate my thoughts, attitude, and actions. One of my greatest strengths has become finding a way and pushing through, regardless of the circumstances. The other day I was training - Bench and Pullups, and the stupidest thing happened. My Bluetooth speaker quit working on me suddenly, and I couldn't get it back up. Tech problems can really get to me - I'm not great with that stuff. Anyway, I started letting it all out as I was training. I channeled it into my training, but still couldn't bring the anger under control. I unracked the bar for my next set, and that phrase from above - "Adversity introduces us to ourselves", came clearly to my mind. Still angry, I realized that I allowed the smallest thing to effect me in such a large way, and that I still have a problem with controlling my temper when things don't go my way. My next thought was that this circumstance had allowed me to see how I really am, and I now had an opportunity to change that. That's exactly what I did. I can't control the circumstance, but I can control my response, and therefore change my mind - changing my outcome. It's through adversity that we find who we truly are. Do we lose control of our minds and bodies, allowing emotion to dictate our thoughts, actions, and speech? Do we allow circumstances to dictate our outcome? Do we succumb to the magnitude of a challenge and give up, or do we find a way and press forward? To me, training has to be about more than changing your body and how it performs. That's great stuff, and, of course, the primary goal, but it's going to get hard - if you're doing it right. There are going to be times where you don't feel like doing it, the results aren't coming as quickly or easily as they once did, or you're dealing with pain, discomfort, or maybe even an injury. Your life might start to get busy, or you just get tired of the effort. This is where the mindset comes into play. You look at what you want, dig in, and find a way through. This done over and over develops a strong mindset - a winning mindset, and few people really have it. Mental toughness is easy when you're into what's happening. It's a completely different thing when you don't even want to be here today, though. Learning how to do what's necessary, regardless of the circumstances or how you feel about them is an enormous reward. Your belief in yourself will change. How you view your circumstances will change. How you perform, and your progress toward your goals will change. Embrace the hard work. Open yourself up to adversity. It's your opportunity to change - but you have to accept and embrace it. If you need help, feel free to reach out. That's why I'm here. - Eric   I read a short Instagram post from Sheena Potts the other day. The first line, "Keep worrying about your future or living in the past, and you will miss what's happening for you right now," sparked an immediate thought process.
Many of us, including myself, are guilty of looking backward or forward - in a way, partly living in the past or future instead of focusing our time, energy, and effort on being better today. I have been guilty, and at times still am, of this. I have wasted too much mental and emotional time and energy living in regret of the past and in fear or doubt of the future. I'm willing to bet that some of you have, too. Here's the thing, though - and this is where we get hung up - neither the past nor the future are real. Yes, there are pictures, documents, and memories. Events that happened in the past effected and created events, beliefs, and actions that are happening today, but you can't touch it, feel it, or experience it. It is no longer there. It exists only in memory and monument. As for the future, what is the future, but hopes, dreams, and plans? It hasn't happened yet, and therefore is not real. To illustrate my point, these were my two favorite campaign posters from this past election cycle. Funny (at least to me), but imagine if either of these had happened (Lovecraft readers will know that the meteor would be the preferable choice). What happens to your plans, hopes, dreams - in essence, all the crap you're worrying about? So now, as the warrior poet Nacho Libre once said - "Let's get down to the nitty gritty." This is, after all, a newsletter about strength. Sheena's point in her post (the freakin' link function won't work) was that spending your time in the past or future takes you out of the present - the one place you can effectively control, and the one you are experiencing immediately. If you are unhappy with your past - today is the day to move away from it, and toward who you want to be. If you are worried or doubtful about your future, today is the day for you to start to put better plans in place, and work on the strategies and actions that will take you there. The beautiful thing about strength training - any training for that matter, is that you are, in a sense, recreating yourself. I wasn't strong in high school, and I wasn't that strong through my 20's. At 44, I'm capable of more than I ever was. This act of self creation, of self actualization, is why the dedicated train - to transform their bodies into instruments that follow their will rather than emotions or circumstance. Training is not about fear or regret. It may start out that way. These negative thoughts and emotions are many times the catalyst to set you in motion. In fact, your anger, your sorrow, your fear can be used to fuel the fire in you to become something greater than you ever were before or you are today. That must be replaced, though, by commitment to your cause and bold dedication to winning. There is no need to be held back by your past, or even your present. When you wake up tomorrow, this day will be behind you - gone forever. Who you are becoming is all that matters. One of the biggest mistakes made, and a potential pitfall when engaged in training (and business or any long term endeavor, for that matter) is to look too far ahead. It's like looking into the proverbial abyss. It WILL swallow you up. When things are hard or slow going, the thought of the light at the end being so far off can break you and make you lose heart and quit. Don't quit. Not ever. I don't care how hard it is, or what you can or can't do. Neither does anyone else. You don't look for the light at the end. You look for the light today. "What progress have I made today?" "What can I do today that moves me forward?" I want you to win. It's why I'm sitting here at 12:09am writing to you. In fact, you want to know what one of my favorite things is when training people? It's not the new people who just get it right away. Don't get me wrong - I love that. We can start crushing it right away. But the ones who have trouble, and still find a way, the ones who modify exercises without being told to because they're having difficulty, the ones who practice on their own because they're struggling, the ones who can't do walking lunges, so they pick up weight and do Farmer Walks - these people inspire me. They get it. Don't get caught looking too far ahead, wondering what it will take, and how hard the struggle will be to get there. The elect know that there is no end to the journey, there is only continual progress, or stagnation and death. Focus on what you can do today to move you forward, and CRUSH that. Develop the mindset to look at failures as nothing more than opportunities to learn and EVERY progress as continual forward momentum. This develops an unstoppable mind and unconquerable spirit. As someone who's been there, listen to me - Don't look backward or forward into the abyss. Look to today - to how you can live a greater, more heroic life - and take a step forward. If you need help, feel free to contact me. I'm here to help. - Eric  In Monday's issue, "You're Not Too Busy", I talked about controlling your time, and I mentioned that you could get a great training session in with minimal time. Let's go deeper with that today.
Let's start from square 1 by assuming you have no equipment. What can we do? Pushups and Squats using your bodyweight. This is not optimal, since I'd rather work a pull to complement the Pushup, but we'll get there. So here we go. Option #1 - 1a.) Pushup x 5 1b.) Squat x 5 Depending on your level of experience and strength, do 3 -5 sets. This would take you about 5-10 minutes. If you're a beginner, or your pushup or squat could use work, this will go a long way if done 3 -5 times per week, with honest reps and effort. If you're pushup and squat are good, you can go for max reps each set, or you can increase the difficulty with a 2-3 second pause at the bottom of each. This will actually improve both movements due to the isometric hold at the bottom and the level of body control required. These are just 2 examples. The possibilities are limited only by your current ability and creativity. Let's level up, though. Chances are, if you're here, you want to get stronger. You realize that you need some upper body pulling, so you decide to invest in a Jungle Gym or similar suspension trainer. You put this on top of your door, close it, and there you go. So Now... Option #1(Improved) 1a.) Pushup x 5 1b.) Bodyweight Row x 5 1c.) Squat x 5 As above, 3-5 sets. This will take about 15 - 20 minutes, depending on your level of intensity. Here's a clip of an extended warmup from Monday night. The chains weigh 20lbs. each. The rep count was 5,4,3,2,1 for both movements - totaling 15 reps, or 3 sets of 5. This literally took them less than 5 minutes. This could be laddered back up for 5,4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4,5 - totaling 30 reps in around 10 minutes, give or take, or even 5,4,3,2,1,5,4,3,2,1. It's just one example. Let's say you start getting excited about being able to squeeze training in, so you buy yourself a Kettlebell. Now you're ready to rock and roll... Option #2 1a.) Pushup x Max 1b.) BW Row x Match Pushup Reps 3 -5 Sets 2a.) Squat x 10 2b.) KB Swing x 10 3-5 Sets With the proper intensity, still about 15 - 20 minutes Here's the deal - these are just a few examples of how, with minimal equipment, you can get a great training session in. You just need the determination to get it done, and the willingness to bring the intensity. The thing about minimal time is you need to focus only on what absolutely needs to be accomplished that day, cut away everything else for that session only, and attack it in a way that keeps you engaged with no distractions. As much as I like having the training time to work in everything I want, I enjoy the cramped sessions because they force me to do only what is necessary and to attack it hard. Two weeks ago, sandwiched between an all day business mastermind meetup and my evening training classes, was 40 minutes of time to train. My sessions lately have been around an hour. I'm 16 months into a training program that's been yielding great results. I knew I was going to be busy with the mastermind followed by training the next day as well, and that would cause me to have to double up my lifts on Saturday. I decided to do only what was necessary, and to attack it hard enough to get it done in that time frame. I hit 8 sets of Bench Press and Chins followed by 3 high volume sets of Bench Press and 1 Arm Rows. I finished in 30-35 minutes. There were no junk reps. I walked out of my gym with an enormous sense of accomplishment, knowing I had resisted the temptation of letting the day's training slide, and I did what was necessary to make progress. I didn't let my schedule dictate my outcome. I gained strength physically and mentally. I went to that evening's classes fired up and ready to train! Training doesn't need to be complex or flashy. It needs to be purposeful and attacked with the appropriate intensity to elicit the desired effect. If you had a barbell and 20 minutes and decided that the most important thing for you to get done in training was the Deadlift, and you set the bar up for a moderately tough 5 reps, and then put a clock in front of you and proceeded to pull 5 reps every minute and a half - how much stronger do you think you'd be - mentally and physically? Cut out what's nonessential. Focus on what matters, and attack it with robust intensity and purpose. It will change you. If you don't know what to do, where or how to start, or you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out. I'm here to help. - Eric You're not too busy. Trust me, you're not.You may not have the time to take care of yourself - to get in some training time, to eat like a grown up, to read real things, but it's not because you're too busy.
Don't believe me? Start logging your social media, tv, and game time. Any time you get on a social media platform, flip on the tv, or play a game, make a note of the start and end time. At the end of the day, add it all up. Do it for a few days. I'm willing to bet that within your social media and entertainment time you'll find the time needed for a training session, to cook proper meals, to read and learn something new, or to connect with a friend or relative you haven't seen or spoken with for a while. Don't get me wrong - I'm not bagging social media or entertainment in general, but when it gets in the way of real life, there's a problem. The average person spends around 4 hours a day on social media. Think about that. What could you do with 4 hours a day? Imagine if you prioritized yourself. If strength, health, and performance were a prominent, non-negotiable standard in your life. What if you developed your body and mind through the labors of regular training, eating strong meals to fuel that, and getting the proper rest needed to support the development of your mind and body? Would that not be better than getting pulled into the black hole of never ending news, gossip, and opinions of social media? Why view someone else's life digitally when you can work on living out and improving your own? People seem to have less time than ever these days. Between more work, longer commutes, and family, it can seem like your schedule is full. If this is you, than you absolutely must control your time and make it work for you. You would be surprised at what a dedicated individual can accomplish with a minimal amount of time in a day. In fact, in the past, I've been the most focused and most effective with my training when I only had 30 - 45 minutes to train. Recently I had a great training session that took 30 minutes. I only had time for an incredibly brief warmup, and then an aggressive attack of 2 exercises. I did everything I needed to in that session to make progress and I didn't let the circumstances dictate whether I would be strong that day or put it off for tomorrow. I was fired up at accomplishing my training for the day, and in a robust manner - despite the little time I had to do it. For me, part of the training is developing and maintaining a mindset to overcome, persevere, and push through - to find a way, no matter what. This really has carried over to my life. When things go wrong, I may get upset, angry, whatever, but I'm able to focus through that and find a way to deal with the situation, thereby growing as a person and becoming harder to kill. Let me encourage and challenge you to disconnect from virtual life and connect with the real one you're living right now. You don't have the time to lose. If you don't know what to do, where or how to start, or you have any questions at all, feel free to reach out. I'm here to help.  I found this photo on RFC's FaceBook page from a few years ago.
I rigged squat stands using two 1/2 kegs for a girl in class to do Zercher Squats from, since both racks were being used. It brought me back to a time when I really didn't care about what I didn't have in equipment. I knew what I wanted to get done, and I just made it happen. In fact, that became a kind of trademark of my training in the early days. I would pretty much build, make, improvise - whatever was necessary to get the job done. I was more interested in the training effect. I was more interested in the result that I could get for my client or myself, than whether I had the proper equipment. So, until I could get the proper equipment, I made due. I built stuff, I rigged stuff, I did what I could to get it done, and I attacked it with robust programming and coaching. I think the people I was training appreciated that more than whether or not I showed up with $500 worth of tools. A byproduct of the "Get It Done" mentality, is that it builds a mindset, focus, and drive that transcends the superfluous things that distract people from getting results in strength and conditioning. When you become willing to put the work in and get your training done by any means necessary - doing your best with what's available - you develop physically, mentally, and emotionally. You become harder to stop and what Mark Rippetoe has called "Harder To Kill". This is where the training room and the rest of your life intersect and become synergistic. The lessons you learn in training begin to strengthen and support your life, and your life begins to fuel your reasons for being strong, conditioned, ready and able. Don't wait for perfect or ideal. Get started, get moving, and get it done. If you're unsure of where you're at, what you need, or how to do it - drop me a line by your favorite method. I'm here to help. |
AuthorEric Chasko is the head of Redemption. He is a Performance Enhancement Specialist, Certified Underground Strength Coach, Progressive Fighting Systems Full Instructor, and Blauer Tactical Systems SPEAR: Personal Defense Readiness Trainer. From young athletes to busy professionals, he helps people develop the physical, mental, and emotional strength to win on the field, on the street, and in life. Archives
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