This morning I had the chance to workout with some MMA guys at my gym.  For those of you who don’t have a clue what MMA is, it’s mixed martial arts or most commonly known as ultimate fighters.  These guys are tough and their workouts are even tougher.  After my workout I realized how easy it is to fool ourselves into thinking we are working harder than we are.

I have been training seven days a week for nearly three weeks now.  I am feeling good and am glad that I still feel pretty good after I get done with a workout.  I have been chalking it up to the fact that I am getting into pretty good shape.  Today I realized that the reason I have been feeling so good after my workouts is because I have been holding back.

I think a lot of people feel like they are working hard when they workout by themselves, some do but a lot of them aren’t going as hard as they think they are.  I for one know I work harder when I work out with a group.  First, it’s a pride thing.  I don’t want to look like a sissy.  Second, we tend to feed off the atmosphere we are in.  If we are in a group that is working hard we tend to work harder.

It’s easy to slip into a comfortable place when we are doing workouts.  Most of us do the same thing every time we step in the gym.  I, for one, see other people doing stuff sometimes and wonder if I could do what they are doing.   I’ll admit it, sometimes I will even go and try it after the person has left.

There comes a certain boost to an ego when you try something new and succeed.  Unfortunately, the opposite is also true.  We can get ourselves all kinds of messed up in the head when we try something and fail.  Here is what I think.  Try it anyway.  Try a new class, try doing a group workout, try doing a workout that you think is impossible.  Give it an honest try.  If it is hard, do the best you can.  If the class is an hour long and you don’t think you can make it, just keep moving the entire time and try to go a little longer each time.

I think you will amaze yourself if you will just give yourself the opportunity.  Next time you go to workout ask yourself, “Am I really pushing myself?”  I hope you can answer yes!

See you tomorrow!

Biggest Loser, exercise, fat loss, fitness, Matt Hoover

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010, 2:19 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.