Do the hard stuff:
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I often talk about the importance of challenging yourself in the gym by doing the ‘hard stuff’.
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By this, I am referring to the exercises that place the biggest demand on your body.
Eg. A rack pull, pulldown or pull up variation will always be more taxing on your whole body/system than a bicep curl. Exercises that are typically compound movements that work more than one muscle.
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The ‘biggest bank for your buck’ if you like.
I tend to place the ‘hard stuff’ at the beginning of the workout when the body/mind are both fresh and energy/focus is at its best. Typically as the program goes on, I would then lean more towards the less harder stuff and finish with some higher rep isolation work.
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My goal is to create a challenge when training, & by choosing the ‘hard stuff’ I am required to switch off from all other external stresses & simply focus on the job in hand.
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Doing the hard stuff in the gym & out the gym is also FAR more rewarding:
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Think about it:
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I’m sure there are tasks within your job that you can do almost blindfolded?
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Are these tasks rewarding or challenging?
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Do they help you develop your role?
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Or are they often just tedious?
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Is passing an exam that you found easy rewarding?
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The reality is to move forward & grow, challenge & adversity are both essential.
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I’m not saying you need to be killing yourself in the gym every single session & there are pros & cons to most exercises, but including some ‘hard stuff’ will certainly help you develop, both physically & mentally.
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Tristan ‘did some hard stuff earlier’ Buttle.