The Little Things

[Abaddon]

The little things can distract and inhibit you; make you reschedule or put off training...

The little things have so many names, and the best excuses are composed of not one but several of them.

The little things have ended many people's training, because they chose to let it happen that way.

In this thread, I'd like MABers to list their little things. I'd like to read how - in spite of what they are, and how NOT little those things might actually be - MABers make it work.

[BendtheBar]

Fatigue. Mental and physical. When I am fighting fatigue, I stop thinking. I list the steps I need to do to get to the gym...put on shoes, get protein drink, walk down stairs, and I do them without thinking.

Thinking only leads to excuses and an enabling of the condition.

A list of actions, taken one at a time, leads me to my goals. I can handle one step at a time when I am fatigued. It is more manageable than 75 minutes viewed as a whole.

[Rich Knapp]

People that let little things get in the way or stop them are in the wrong sport or only going threw the actions and looking for a excuse so they can quit and it not be there fault.

[BendtheBar]

Age.

I once thought as I approached 44 I would be a weak, aging man. I never thought I would be as strong as ever and still training injury free.

Age is a state of mind. I remind myself that most people have an achy body and back from lack of exercise, not from exercise.

[Carl1174]

Tired/Too Busy

Sometimes i think i am too tired (especially getting up at 5:30 to train), but it is just an excuse because i know its gonna be hard work.

Sometimes I think i havent got the time... Im too busy with the kids, cooing food, whatever, when really again its an excuse to put it off till tomorrow "I'll just go tomorrow" Is something i have said to myself many times.

Trouble is these little lay offs become big lay offs and end up ruining your progress...

Now I tell myself im only tired cos its early and remember that the days after i have trained i have more energy through the day than normally, i am no more tired come the end of the night than i normally feel, but i sleep better

WRT not having enough time, I MAKE time, my time in the gym is MY time, with a life like most that revolves around othe rpeople (my kids, my wife, my boss) that 'time' that i havent got is MY TIME, i relish my time and make the effort to get in the gym. If I cant find the time today, what happens if I 'really' cant find the time tomorrow.... Procrastination is the thief of time after all.

Besides which, i only need to look on here for inspiration, if the guys on here arent making excuses, with the same obsticals as me (and in most cases probably more obstacles) then what gives me the right ???

Carl.

[5kgLifter]

Headaches -They annoy me so much but I try to get a workout in as soon as they let up for a bit. Plug away one workout at a time

[Chillen]

The answer I am giving is more "general" rather than isolating one thing.

I appoligize the post is long.

At first, I had no "appropriate" knowledge of diet and fitness before starting, which made trying to implement certain motivational components even harder into my lifestyle. I started from a base of "operating in the dark" in having a educational base to define the "works" necessary to allow changes in these "works" as I progress toward my vision (goal).

This is the very first thing I needed to fix. I do not like "operating in the dark", because this puts up an impenetrable brick wall, and doesn't allow me to choose a path that would be exposed when the light switch is turned on in the head.

So I set out in a very sincere and passionate quest to educate myself........>In what I wanted to accomplish (and still do, as this never ends).

I made the decision, that since I couldn't not afford to hire a personal trainer, that I would have to become (like) one myself, and be my own psychologist as well in handling personal problems as they develop.

And, this is completed through education.

Now, I have a light bulb lighting my path, now I have many choices to make cause' all this did was show many paths to a vision (goal).

I then examined myself. No one knows me, better than me. I self examined myself--honestly, and found things I liked, and didn't like.

I have carried many things with me I have learned while in the military (and one tour of Iraq, and OCS), and to make this brief some of them are: I know the body can do more than "I think it can" while operating in undesirable circumstances and stresses. I have learned that when choices are removed (such as in boot camp, OCS), one can perform beyond expectations from what they thought "personally" were not capable, and choices (when operating in a "free" environment) can be an absolute killer. I developed a "killer" self discipline, mental methodology, and most of my meticulousness comes from this experience (again, very brief).

In addition, my police experience plays a role. For 12 years, I was required to accurately describe certain events while on calls for service, traffics stops, making affidavits for search warrants, making certain arrests, etc, etc.

You tie the military and police experience, is it so difficult for one to understand that I can adopt such a level of discipline and meticulousness?

No........

The journals and logs I keep, and problems that creep up in diet/fitness, I see no different than dealing with problems and certain aspects of living life. It is interwoven "as part of" my life, and are not "sand bags" tied to my feet. These logs serve as numerical and text data to BASE CHANGES FROM AS I GET BODILY FEEDBACK. I do not have to guess, the data is right there. So I make changes based on educational data, and not stupidity.

When I decided to do this 4+ years ago, I decided then it was going to be a lifestyle change. I was going to do this for my own reasons, a way that works for me (didnt care what people thought, and still don't), and I was not going to be "operating in the dark" while doing it. Mostly importantly, I was going to enjoy life just as I did before, but remove some personal nuisances as I walk its path.

Not one person, knows me better than: Me. Upon a more thorough self-examination with killer-honesty, I learned more completely what my strengths and weaknesses were, and how to address them. I didnt set my ego to high to ask questions or admit I was wrong, or to low to get depressed and do nothing. I always took action that was a step foward to my goal. If I was wrong, I chose another. I never gave up.

And, I never will.

I am always bigger and stronger than the little things in life.


Vitality!

[bigtim27]

Depression- sometimes if I have a rough day at work or I have an argument with my wife it leads me into a deep depression and kills my spirits and my training suffers. Once again its all just an excuse.

[Chillen]

Originally Posted by bigtim27

Depression- sometimes if I have a rough day at work or I have an argument with my wife it leads me into a deep depression and kills my spirits and my training suffers. Once again its all just an excuse.

To add to my previous post, and to give a more specific example, these our the things I analyze (if I am "feeling like not working out one day":

1. How many hours of sleep did I have?

More than 6 (I work out)

2. If deficit dieting (Check calorie content, with low carbs, not a depletion set protocol), then I expect depression, low energy, etc

This is where educating myself on depletion protocols and low carb (side effects, are kicking in to "assist" in aiding my decision).

(I work out) its expected. I suck up my crying ass

3. Did I work the night before?

Yes (workout any way)

No: Lazy ass......suck it up

4. I examine volume, frequency, rest, etc, of training

If it falls within perimeters, I train.

I use logic to guide my path. Though sometimes, I will side with an extra day of rest, if one of the criteria takes a hit more than another.

[MC]

Self Doubt - Sometimes, there is this little me in my head. He tells me I won't get bigger or stronger. Sometimes he speaks to me from the other side of the mirror. And I hate that bastard, so I set out to prove him wrong when he rears his head.

As P!ink would sing, "Every day I fight a war against the mirror. I can't take the person staring back at me. I'm a hazard to myself."