The mental before the physical.

In all my years of coaching , I’ve dealt with many types people. Different ages, sizes , training experience levels. As strength coach, mostly dealing with general population, I’ve learned you have to be quick with your ideas and modifications. I understand that my gym is only an hour out of their day, and that the rest of their time may be devoted to work, family….and problems on top of that. So you have to be able to relate to a lot of different personalities and situations ……or at least I try to. Then somehow have all these characters Co-exist for an hour. That’s the easy part, put a ton of burpees in the work out and they’ll work together to over throw you 🤣.

My growth along with the growth of my members has come through repetition and consistency. Good enough, end of post. …… not so fast! Sure repetition and consistency are great traits to develop that will help you grow , in all aspects of life. But all will be for not if your mental isnt there to keep your path to success in check.

Let me get back to gym setting and try to explain how important your mental focus is just as important as all those repetitions when you exercise. As I said earlier, I’ve come across a lot of different people that want to train/ get in shape/ get stronger. Let’s take 10 people(all the same age and experience level) and they all come in for a trial for the gym . 5 decide its isn’t for them….for whatever reason(probably my music🤣). 5 decide to sign up. After about 2 months , 3 quit… again for whatever reason(burpees). 2 members left, they’re in for the long haul . After say 5 months you should be able to see some change in the bodies of the 2 members….but we’ll say #1 is significantly noticeable/in shape than the #2 . Why is that? …..to much rap, not enough burpees, to many visits to Surf City?

What was lacking in the one that the other possessed? Both did the prescribed workouts. Both went to the same amount of sessions. The mental was stronger in the one than in the other …. but still, what are we talking about?

Well, there’s a mental conditioning that occurs every single time you step into a gym and begin your workout……but it can be negative or positive. Now let’s break down the mental a bit more. To keep it simple I’ll just use two categories , Fear and Dicipline/Focus…. and each in the realm of negative and positive.



FEAR: positive every workout client #1 did not let pain/ burn/ hard breathing of every workout deter them . The fear of attempting a higher weight , or higher repetitions was always met or attempted. Failing would not stall their motivation. They would not run from trying something new.

Negative every workout Client #2 would probably slow down their pace, or pull back at the first sign of a muscle burn or hard breathing. Repetitions were half assed executed or didn’t complete all of them. They probably wouldn’t try heavier weights for fear of failing or fear of “getting to big” or getting hurt.

Focus/ Discipline: positive Client #1 always maintained focus in and outside the gym. During a set, client 1 could maintain technique while under duress or can adjust themselves if prior repetition feels off. They know their limits and stay within themselves to achieve the highest quality of work. Outside the gym , they maintain good eating habits, good rest. Keep a food log. They would do extra training outside the gym .This person was just consistent everyday across the board.

Negative Client #2 , although they consistently come to the gym, that’s as far as it goes. 1 hour in and out. No extra work outside the gym. Technique breaks down because they’re concentrating on just getting through the hour or cant focus under duress. Eating habits aren’t the best or they’re always switching up different diet fads. They try and can’t sustain.

#1 was mentally focused and disciplined throughout their 5 months of training and reached a goal. #2 only went through the motions and wasn’t disciplined to be consistent in all aspects of training.

They say that it takes 10,000 reps/ hours to reach success in a field or master an ability,..that’s a lot 😟. Repetition can’t get you to where you want to go if you don’t have the MENTAL STRENGTH to keep adjusting and moving forward. FOCUS and learn from each hour and make the next hour better. DO NOT FEAR what the next hour brings, embrace what is to come, good or bad. The path to success requires the mental before the physical.

I can promise you one thing, if you’re doing something you love/enjoy, those hours will fly by .

Coach O