CHECK THE EGO

Growing up (and honestly still kinda), my two favorite superheroes were the Hulk and Wolverine. The thing that I liked about both is that they not only were super strong, but they were ultra intense and seemed unstoppable.

While that is truly awesome to any 10-year-old kid (or adult for that matter), there’s a lot of you reading this that have the same mindset.

Going to the gym with the absolute ultra-intensity focus, while admirable, is not a good scenario for multiple reasons.

What does this person look like? Here are some examples:

● Taking every set to failure.

● Not taking days off from the gym.

● Going so heavy that form is compromised.

● Not taking rest periods in between sets.

● Screaming at the top of their lungs (okay, that’s not high intensity, that’s just being stupid).

This all-or-nothing mindset is counterproductive and risky.

It’s not surprising that many have developed this. We are always told that high intensity is important for muscle development. This is true. Also, we see videos of people doing extreme stuff, and so we want to emulate that.

Here’s the rub. When we are stuck in this mental space, we set ourselves up for failure. Our recovery-to-injury ratio gets way out of whack. It’s like a bottle rocket ready to explode. It’s not a matter of “if,” but when.

Additionally, even in the best-case scenario, we actually can regress due to overtraining. Not being fully recovered causes us to hold back in the gym and not be able to push ourselves fully. When our body is extra stressed, cortisol levels rise, which then negatively impacts hormones.

Okay, so bloodshot eyes, torn muscles, and tears are bad. Hopefully I’ve convinced you of that. So what’s the alternative?

Going back to my earlier point, we do want to keep intensity high (2-1RIR), but not to the extreme. In other words, there’s the other side of the coin, which is not training intense enough. This is just going through the motions and not pushing it in the gym. Those of you reading this likely don’t fall into that category.

But then why do you see those videos of people going nuts and to the extreme? Well first, these are highlight reels, not the everyday norm. Second, occasionally touching 0 RIR isn’t a bad thing. However, it’s the exception, not the norm or rule.

One of the best things you can do to prevent the scales from tipping in this direction is to keep a training log. This way, it is easy to go back and look to see what needs to be done to improve.

Progressive overload is the key and ensures that progress is happening.

Additionally, keeping form in check, focusing on mind/muscle connection and keep the reps quality.

Lets leave the green skin and metal claws to the comic books (but of course it's okay to flex and wear camo shorts).

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