Intestinal fortitude…. That’s what is takes to be Born Stronger in the weight room. Many people have big dreams but it takes a special person to withstand the pain of the journey to accomplish something great. I have had the rare opportunity to help numerous athletes and individuals chase bigger than life dreams. In every case major sacrifice and gut wrenching mental toughness were involved. Win or lose the pressure cooker is worth every ounce of pain, sweat, and tears. There are a number of great quotes I have hanging around my life that some up this experience… My favorite “The Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt… No matter what anyone else says I truly believe the Born Stronger lifestyle is the life that brings out the best in each of us.
 
With that said here are the top 3 things that will help you be successful in the weight room on your journey.

1. Honor your Body!!!! I see too many athletes with all the talent in the world who have zero honor for themselves. You want more from your body, HONOR IT!!!! Stop staying out late filling your body with toxic alcohol. Stop eating crapping food, your body is a Ferrari not a Pinto put the right fuel in it. You’re only as good as your ability to recover from your workouts. Chasing a dream is a sacrifice; trust me the results of the journey are way more rewarding than what you think you are missing out on at the bars tonight with your friends. GO to bed early and get more out of your next workout.

2. Every Set, Every Rep, Every Second Matters!!!! Words that rang through my world ever day when I was chasing my dream. My strength coach and mentor Chris Watson pounded this saying into my head every workout. You have to train harder than your competition. Someone out there wants your position just as much if not more than you do, are you willing every workout, every set, every rep to push harder than the next guy??? I don’t care if you’re sick get your a*# to the gym and train (puke between sets if you have too) you cannot miss a scheduled workout!! You only have so much time to get as much out of your body as possible. You should be training so hard you don’t want to train, that is where the mental battle lies. The strength to get to the gym is the greatest strength of all. I don’t care if you had a long horrible day and its 9pm at night, get to the gym and get your workout in. I have found most people give up and crumble way too easy. This is the foundation of Mediocrity!!! You are not this person, you have what it takes!!!! Training at this level is a mental mine field, it will take everything in your power to survive.

3. Your Strength Coach is your Greatest Asset!! Your strength coach can make or break you. He/she is your rock, your foundation to grow from. It helps to have a coach who has chased dreams themselves, who knows the great sacrifice needed to make great things happen. He/she must be highly educated in his/her field to protect you from crashing on the rocks of burn out and overtraining. Your strength coach must have a complete grasp of training, nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle to produce your greatest results. Beyond his/her training he/she must be able to motivate you and push you past your own personal mental road blocks. You need someone who has more belief in you than yourself. Someone who sees your potential and will extract it at all costs. I have received the nickname “The Heckler” over the years because I won’t shut my mouth when one of my athletes is not giving me his best. This skill will probably cause me to end up with a black eye one of these days but hey it’s all for a greater cause right ;-)

I hope these first 3 steps have given you a little insight to the commitment that is needed to be a Born Stronger athlete!!! Stay tuned as I will be leaving you weekly training tips and insights to my athletes on the Born Stronger blog to help motivate and guide you to your Born Stronger strength.
 
Yours in Strength
Brad Davidson, Strength Coach
VP of Performance, Research and Development
Synergy Training Centers, LLC
www.synergyworkout.net