The Grind

Over the last week or so I have really thought about what I would write about next.  There were a lot of things that came to mind, but top on my list was what I really think makes the difference in training.  I'm not talking about nutrition, and even though I 100% believe that Westside is the best side, there is one thing that is at the top of my list.  This one thing separates good from great.  Attitude. mindset and the ability to, what we call, love the grind.

I believe there are 2 types of mindsets.  One is a fixed mindset.  A person with a fixed mindset is someone that tells them self they are no good at something and no matter what they do that it will never get better.  This is also the person that when you try to help them and coach them, they have an excuse.  Excuses like, well I've never been good at the squat, or I've never been fast off the floor on my dead lift. In there mind no matter what they do or how much the work, they will never get any better.  Bring in the "Growth Mindset".  People with this mindset know that the more work they put in the better at something they can get.  They don't let limitations of not being good at something or something not coming easy to them stop them from getting better.  People with a growth mindset, can learn to love the grind.  Now looking at those two, you should be able to pick out which one is you.  You should really strive to be a growth mindset and if you aren't, guess what?  You can be!  All you have to do is stop living inside your little box.  Use the power of your own mind to learn to push.  

Now that we have that out of the way and you can see if you are a fixed or growth type we can move on.  Let's get into what the grind is.  The grind, or grinding is not giving up.   Not allowing yourself to say, that's enough.  You must learn to push yourself harder and longer than the average person does.  When they say that's good, you say nope and press forward.  When they want to quit early and cut everything short, you don't stand for that shit.  These people may get slightly better at doing something but they will never, ever be great.  Learn to love the Grind and it will reward you.  

If I told you that there was a way for you to get just 1% better each day would you take it?  I sure as hell hope you would.  Shit lets even say .25 of 1% better each day.  You better fuckin say that you would.  This is what is possible for you if you can learn to grind, push hard, have a positive mindset, and quit with all the fucking excuses.  

Now that you know what's possible, set yourself on the path to make it happen.  Learn to love the grind.  It will reward to 10 fold.  I will leave you with some quotes.  Maybe you have already seen them maybe you haven't, but after readying this I hope you can relate them to your own training and life a little more.  

"People need to quit looking for the easy way out and get to work" 

Dave Tate

"Get your head right.  Training isn't east and won't always be a walk in the park.  There's more to getting strong that just lifting the weights.  You have to get an attitude with the weights and bust your ass.  Louie once told me that he would NEVER train with anyone that didn't scare him in one way or another.  This is the best advice I've ever heard.  I'm not saying that you should be a dick, but there is a HUGE difference between "training" and "working out"." 

Dave Tate/ Louie Simmons