Speaker 1: 0:01

Hello and welcome back to another episode of Train for a Great Life Ego in the gym. When I say that, what I think of, and what probably a lot of people listening think of, is like the really off-putting stuff, you know, like the free weight section in a big globo gym where women feel uncomfortable around the big guys with the spaghetti strap tank tops. That's not what I'm going to talk about today, because that's just not the type of gym that we operate in and I think that we've done a really good job at narrowing in on on, you know, people that don't have sort of that off-putting ego. But I'm going to talk about it in a way that it does hit and it's a little sneakier and and I will be first to admit that this gets me from time to time as well so yeah, ego in the gym it's a thing. It shows up in ways, more ways than we like to admit. It might be subtle, like pushing harder than you should on a day when your body is very clearly asking for a break. You know, maybe it's skipping the lighter dumbbells in a workout because you think to yourself, like I shouldn't be scaling this. I never scale this, this isn't the weight that I use right.

Speaker 1: 1:19

Here's where it gets tricky, because having high expectations of yourself it's not a bad thing, that's a great thing. It's what's what drives you and what it's what progresses you. It probably serves you well in many ways outside of the gym too. It's what gets you out of bed and gets you to show up and makes you give a damn. But that same expectation, unchecked, can also lead you straight to overtraining, injury, burnout or just kind of being disconnected from your body. And it's not always about what you expect of yourself. Sometimes it's the expectation of what you think others expect of you. That's the one that I think gets people most of the time. It's sort of the double-edged sort of group training right it, it gets you there, it gives you the energy, but then it's also like it can. It can lead you down that path, right.

Speaker 1: 2:09

So, um, you know, maybe you've been at the gym for a few years, people know you, you're the strong guy, or you're the guy who rx's murph with a vest every year, or you're the the girl who always goes unbroken on the pull-ups or the muscle-ups, right. So you start to feel like you are that title right and that's who you need to be every single day. So, instead of listening to what your body needs, you try to live up to the version of yourself that you think other people see. So let me say this loud and clear you don't owe anybody a performance not your coach, not a workout partner, a friend, not your past self and not even the whiteboard. The only real responsibility is to show up, and to show up honestly. So that might mean lifting less some days. It might mean staying at like a 70% effort because you slept like crap and you're still feeling the deadlifts from the other day. You slept like crap and you're still feeling the deadlifts from the other day. It might mean scaling a workout, even though you probably could get through it, just because you know it's not the right move for today. And, honestly, that's that's strong in in a way that it's, it's mature, right, there's, there's strength and maturity. That's what training for a great life looks like. That's what training over long-term looks like. It's not always pushing the limit, it's knowing when.

Speaker 1: 3:27

Not to A recent one for me. I can't remember exactly what the workout was, but I know it was like a bunch of step-ups and I just my body just wasn't feeling up for it. It was a bunch of steps up, step-ups, of v-ups, alternating v-ups, and I went lower box. I had lower weight and you know, there's always that that moment of like am I being a wimp? Like am I just, you know. And by the end of the workout I realized I did, I knew I did the right thing. You know I I still got a good, some good movement movement in, got some, some hard work in and didn't end up in a heap by the end of the workout.

Speaker 1: 4:10

Right? So the ego can be loud. It wants recognition, it wants to protect an identity. Training isn't about identity. It's about progress. It's about resilience, smart and consistent and humble enough to play the long game. Smart and consistent and humble enough to play the long game. So the next time you're tempted to ignore that little voice saying, hey, maybe today's not the day to go full send, I want you to pause and ask yourself am I making this choice for my growth or my ego? Because there's a big difference. Train smart, train for longevity, train for a great life. I'll see you in the gym.