New Years Workout!

 

Well today is the end of 2011 and so it was my last chance to hit the gym for this year.

As some of you know I’ve been really struggling in the gym. My skin has been a little tricky to handle of late in one tiny little area on my left arm. The consequences of that tiny little 2mm area has been that the skin around my left shoulder has been particularly tight since that little issue arouse. That has meant that I’ve had to change my technique in the gym because of the reduced flexibility and movement that I’ve now got in that shoulder.

That small little issue has made getting back into the heavy weights in the gym a lot harder then ever before. Technique is so crucial to lifting the really heavy weights that I regularly lift. So I’ve been struggling to get my form and technique at the level I need to lift big and have struggled in the gym at weights I normally eat up for breakfast. Weights like 115 or 120kgs that to most is very difficult for me is usually a stroll in the park. Not so much anymore. It’s been a real fight for control and stability as my technique has had to be re adjusted many times since then.

The past few weeks or couple of months actually I’ve not enjoyed my gym workouts as much as normal while I adjust to the increased pain and adjust to the new technique and new style in the gym. Granted most non gym people probably would not see or notice the slight differences but to me they have been huge.

So with today being the last chance for the year to get into the gym I was keen to send the year out on a high note. Before I went into my gym I sat down and thought about my technique. I focused on four things. 1) Technique 2) Control 3) Power. and the 4^Th) and final thing was to focus on how fun this is and how easy these weights sessions are for me. Pain is no issue. Never has been an issue for me. I focused on the mental side of enjoying it and knowing that this 115kgs is an absolute piece of cake for me. “It’s easy. Simple. It’s nothing.” I kept telling myself. The mental side of life is something that I focus heavily on these days and so I focused on the mental side of my gym workouts more then I have done for a while of late.

Today’s gym session ended up being an absolute piece of cake. I only went up to 115kgs (253 pounds) but it’s the first time in a number of weeks that I felt like my old self in the gym. I could have gone a lot heavier but I’m working towards another record attempt in the not to distant future so I stuck to my plan that I’ve created to get me to my next record.

It felt fantastic to be back lifting like my old self again and reminded me again of the need to focus on the mental side of everything that we all do in life because that is the difference that turns hard work into easy work.