Words of wisdom and thoughts.

Sometimes people ask me "What do I have to do, to get stronger, or how can I be a champion, or why do you do this stuff?" My first answer for most of it besides the how do I do this stuff, is you have to be willing to sacrifice. I know for myself I sacrifice alot, I sacrifice time with my wife and daughter, I sacrifice getting to watch my favorite football team, I sacrifice eating some of my favorite foods to be healthier, it is all about sacrifice. People always say to me why don't you drink? Quite frankly I don't care to, but for the most part, I don't think it helps my training. I get a better buzz going after a PR and getting it.

Her are some examples of sacrifice I see at my gym. Ian one of our newer team members drives 2 hours each way to come and train with us every week. And every week he gives 110% in his training. I am sure there are better things he could be doing with that 4 hours he drives, but he wants to be the best at what he does. Joe, Melissa, and Troy drive 1 hour each way and give up time with the families on sundays to come and train. I know all of them also have many nights that they don't get to train until sometimes 9-10 pm at night. Chuck right now has a torn MCL and maybe a torn ACL, but for right now he is dealing with the pain, cause he has a goal. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but really if any of us were smart we wouldn't be trying to walk with 800lbs on our backs, or picking up 400# stones. Its not that we are stupid, just a different breed of people.

Why do I put myself through this pain and time away from my family every week. I do it because I love it. While some people would rather go out and drink beer, I would rather be lifting weights and hanging out with people as the same goals as me. There is no better feeling than lifting some weight you have never picked up before or knowing if it came down to it you could probably pick a car up off someone. I love going out every week and seeing my friends lift things they never thought possible.

Last thing I wanna touch on is do not allow people to bring you down. If someone wants to try and make you feel bad or tell you that you can't do something, get rid of them. Negative people are not worth being around. Also always believe in yourself, if your mind is weak so will your body. If you have a friend or training partner who is constantly telling you negative thoughts, get rid of them or don't workout with them, it will diminish your gains. One thing I always emphasize at my gym is giving positive reinforcement, we always root each other on, even it means that person might be lifting more weight than us or breaking one of our records. Most of them I even do this at contest for people I am competing against.

If you wanna be winner, you have to sacrifice and you have to be positive.

Jesse