Pump up your work ethic with our 7 ways!

You're lazy, I'm lazy, everybody's lazy. In many ways, we're just born that way. It's natural. If we want to achieve anything in the gym, we have to acknowledge our laziness and fight it! In fact, a poor work ethic is the biggest obstacle in the training of any exerciser!

I have come to this conclusion thanks to a few observations.

• Successful weightlifters, bodybuilders, triathletes, strongmen, and recreational muscle mountains have all gotten to their goals using different strategies. But one thing they have in common is a legendary work ethic. (Some, of course, are genetically highly endowed and abuse various drugs, but certainly not all.)
• The basic premise of muscle growth is a willingness to constantly get close to or right at the edge of momentary muscle failure. People who do this get surprising results, regardless of repetition count, tempo, splits, diet, or technique. However, it's very difficult because we are evolutionarily set up to seek pleasure, not pain.
• Avoiding hard work is the basic brain setup of most people. I'm talking about any activity. Getting from point A to point B is a matter of maximum speed and convenience for most people.

So it is correct to assume that we are lazy. Especially if our results don't match the time put into working out. The following strategies will help you force yourself to work harder than what you've been capable of so far.

1. Know the power of incremental addition

You have to realize that you can't turn a slacker into a worker in a day or a month. Just try to work a little harder every training day. Examples might be getting a little closer to failure in sets, trying for a new high, or shortening your usual breaks between sets. It can also mean:

• On a day when you would normally skip a workout (due to poor sleep, stress, or some other reason), get over yourself and go work out, even if the workout sucks.
• Regularly undertake training and nutrition challenges in difficult areas. You can try German Volume Training (GVT) or a 24-hour fast.
• Occasionally try to limit some of the things that bring you comfort, such as knee bands, a belt, or the number of warm-up sets.

There are basically endless examples of demonstrating an unbreakable work ethic. Trust me, it's not a problem to come up with them. The problem is actually keeping them.

2. Give preference to gradual overload

Morality should be seen as a means, not an end. If you persistently strive to improve your numbers in the gym, morale will have to come with it. This, of course, requires a training log or app. You can't crush your highs if you don't know what they are!

3. Reduce the resistance of the environment

Real hard workers will get the job done regardless of the conditions, but there's no need to endlessly fight the conditions unless it's really necessary. Try to minimize long commutes to tragic gyms, time spent with toxic people, and unnecessarily complicated eating habits or the amount of irresistible junk you have at home.

On the flip side, you can add environmental influences that encourage discipline. Find a gym somewhere close, friends who inspire you to work out, and make sure you love your workouts and diet regardless of what science thinks of them.

If you hate squats, for example, and are constantly shifting your workout or taking work away because of them, choose something you'd rather do. At least temporarily. One day, you may return to your enemy.

I'm not saying you should go on the belt instead of squats, but you'd be shocked to find out how many elite bodybuilders don't squat (or even bench).

4. Don't focus on the unnecessary

Many factors go into a great physique, but not all are equally important.

Sculpting is a matter of calories. Yes nutrient ratios, frequency of meals, timing and quality of food all play a role, but calories are simply much more important.

As far as training goes, it has been shown that exercising each muscle group three times a week is most effective, but if you get to the optimal volume of work, you can achieve almost the same effect by exercising twice a week, or even just once.

What I'm saying is that you have to educate yourself and leave your soul on the fundamental techniques. The less important things don't need to be pursued with maximum effort.

5. Make a firm distinction between reasons and excuses

One of the most insidious human traits is that when we fail at something, we can find a good excuse to mask it as a legitimate reason. This is rarely true.

You could have gone to the gym for a top body workout but your shoulder hurt. The one-arm presses would have gone, but you didn't because you couldn't bench.

Or at 25% fat, you loosened up your diet because you're afraid that one pound you lost last week was too much muscle. You certainly won't have to look far to find your latest excuse. If you're like most people, it hasn't even been 12 hours.

In short, the best cure for bad decisions is brutal honesty.

6. Be proud of your morals

Focus primarily on the systems and processes that bring success, not the success itself. You have much more control over the process than the end result. One such process is to be proud of your work ethic.

Let me put it this way, genetically speaking, it's quite possible that you will never be overwhelmingly strong or muscular. However, you can definitely have an admirable work ethic that will earn you respect regardless of your strength or muscle volume.

Having an unwavering work ethic is more likely to get you closer to fulfilling your potential, whatever it may be. What's more, if you know you've done your absolute best, you'll more readily accept any outcome. That's a feeling that not everyone gets.

7. Create interesting workouts and make smart choices

This is actually another example of reducing environmental resistance. However, this topic deserves a few paragraphs of its own.

Interesting training will make you work. Discipline means you have to force yourself to do something, this is the opposite. With interesting training, you won't have to force yourself to work as hard,

If a decision makes you look forward to training, it may be worth rethinking your training routines for it.

For example, you usually practice the same exercises throughout the training cycle. Every Monday you practice the same exercise that you're trying to get better at each time. However, the thought of squats tomorrow makes you consider skipping the workout. But you're looking forward to the Bulgarian squats. Such a change may defy rational training planning, but you'll be much better off with a good workout of Bulgarian squats than a half-hearted (or skipped) workout of classic ones.

In a traditional program, you train the same number of reps (or a narrow range, say 10-12) throughout the cycle. What if that number of reps is already repelling you? Maybe you'd like to try something harder. Go for it. A super-heavy set of 6 reps will surely be better than a sloppy set of 12.

Let's say your program plans to improve in the teens on the weighted push-ups. That seems impossible, but you feel up to trying to improve your max to 5 reps. Such an idea even seems considerably appealing to you. So give it a try.

Of course, you need to distinguish between a smart decision that saves you from a botched workout and simple laziness. Only you can judge that. The rule of thumb is that if you're not sure if it's not simple laziness, it will be. In that case, bite the bullet, and practice what you plan to practice.

Get to work!

Work ethic isn't genetic, and it's not about luck. It's a talent that can be greatly improved even if you're naturally lazy like me. Step out of your comfort zone today. It might change your life.

It could be anything from attending a yoga class, running a 15k or a series of 50 rep squats, even if it's just with an empty axle. Once you start exploring your limits, you'll find that they are much higher than you thought. And when you realize this, your progress will be unimaginable.

Source: www.t-nation.com - 7 Ways to Muscle Up Your Work Ethic
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