4 Life Lessons I learned at the Gym

Ok so I doubt I’ll be entering any weightlifting competitions in the near future, neither is it likely I’ll be referred to as the Indian Hulk Hogan. But I do commit to my workout, albeit it being a once a week routine (we’ll touch on that in a bit). Perhaps it’s the fact that I work out alone in a semi-private environment that provides me way too much time to think in the solitude afforded to me, but working out has offered me several lessons I’ve been able to apply to my life:

When 80 is greater than 100

Let me be honest. I hate working legs. Actually, if I must be completely honest, the only thing I enjoy working on is upper body. Also, I think that if I add all the time it takes (preparing for the gym, commuting, working out, showering after, transitioning back to life), there’s no way I’d do it more than once a week, lest it become my career (God forbid). Given that muscles need time to recover, and that I’m only interested in working upper body, I figure I can get 80% of the results with a once a week routine. Perhaps if I double the amount of time I spend in my life at the Gym, and make it twice a week, I’d fetch slightly higher results. “Slightly higher,” and not “double,” because my muscles wouldn’t have fully recovered by then, and thus the net yield from the second workout wouldn’t be equivalent to that of the first workout.

And I can commit to once a week. So I figure 80% is better than 0%.

The Pareto Principle dictates that 80% of the results will come from the first 20% of the effort. If we look at learning a new language for example, knowing 20% of the vocabulary, representing the most frequently used words, might allow us to be considered “fluent.” However, if we are to perfect the language, we would need to learn every single word (most of which may never be used). I prefer to have 80% of a lot of things than to have 100% of a few.  The 20% effort to achieve 80% of the results represents the most efficiently used portion of our effort and time.  After this, we are expending 80% effort for only the additional 20% results. In these times, time management seems of crucial importance.

Could I achieve 100% of the results I want at the Gym by doubling the time? Perhaps. But a 80% result from an effort I can commit to, and more time to get 80%’s of other things seems like a much more effective use of my time.

The Pareto Principle has been a guiding force in my life as it relates to time management.

Always Push Harder

I love competition. Even if it’s with myself. The thing about working out is, if you want to get stronger, it won’t come from lifting the same weights every time.  Being able to do 10 reps of 70lbs all year won’t increase your ability to lift 100lbs with the same ease.

In order to be able to lift more, you must lift more.

Once you are comfortable lifting 70lbs, you must push to do 80, and then again the same thing for 90, etc. Getting comfortable where you are will yield no net improvement.

With anything we do in life which we want to succeed at, we must never be comfortable, or we will stop growing. If your business is one of the best in the industry, comfort will bring a pause in growth, and is a great target for potential competition. Comfortable is a dangerous place to be.

Not to mention Comfortable is boring. And boring leads to a lack of focus.

Always push harder.

Less is Sometimes More

It generally takes me about 2 hours to complete my routine. On a few occasions however, I was faced with time challenges which afforded me only half that time, or even less.

In all those times, I managed to get everything done regardless.

It’s human tendency to use an entire timeframe provided. Give a person a month to complete a school assignment, chances are it wouldn’t even have been started till the last couple days. Add to that, it would have provided a huge mental burden for the entire month. Give that same person 3 days to complete the same assignment, it’s likely you’d be doing a great service to them.

Too much time sometimes allows inefficiency. Set proper deadlines to complete your tasks.

Monitor your Results

Ok so perhaps I’m a little guilty of checking myself out in the mirror and on the bathroom scale to monitor my progress.

This feeds my subconscious enough to help guide my daily actions. Should I eat the fried chicken after my weigh in at 150lbs today? Perhaps I’ll move to 152 tomorrow.  Let’s not eat it and shoot for 149. And if I did eat it, I’d see a direct correlation to my actions almost right away, in the hope I’ll be able to avoid further damage.

Short term results also provide great motivation. Seeing that what you are doing is making a difference provides you to energy to keep doing it.

Whether it’s your job, your business, or your education, find ways of monitoring your progress. Feed your subconscious enough to guide your actions and your decisions.