Kill the Ego

Kill the ego. Sounds easy enough. I recently learned, it's anything but.

I always had really good leg strength. But years ago I gave up squats. Partly due to major sports injury. Mostly because they made me feel like I was going to break into pieces. My ankles, knees, hips, back - all hurt. I decided I was too old for squats. I retreated to the leg press.

The squat is the single most effective lift for building leg strength and burning calories. The leg press just isn't. Yet I settled because I felt stuck, with no options.

Until I watched a video about leg work. It was all technique, control, and ego. How bad form causes pain. For real growth, real strength, you must strip all the weight and start over. Perfect your technique. Then add weight.

Terrifying. Noone wants to go light. The gym can be the most judgmental place on the planet. We constantly compare ourselves to others, and vice versa.

I started with the bar. Then 95 pounds. Ya, I got funny looks. Doubt creeped in. Girls were squatting more than me. A guy was squatting three times my weight. Suddenly I noticed my legs were jello! Proper form loaded my muscles like never before. The best leg workout of my life, without joint aches and pains.

Everything changed because I was willing to change. Funny how that also applies to life.

Feel trapped? Hit a plateau? Think this is as good as it gets? Doing things a certain way because it's how you always do it?

Strip it down. Analyze it. Start over. Try a different approach. Do what others won't. Don't miss out on the very best because it requires an unusual sacrifice. Don't be prisoner to your ego. This applies to gym, work, or relationships.

To get something you've never had, do something you've never done.

Kill your ego. Strip it down. Start over. Then enjoy your breakthrough.