Picture this. I’m about to lift a significant amount of weight at the gym.
I have my watch timing the length of the session that I am about to complete.
All around me are men and women doing ultra-long sessions. I know that because sometimes they are in the gym multiple times a day and for over 2 hours at a time.
How do I know? I have family members who go to the gym and report back the habits of these nocturnal gym members!
Anyways – back to the point. I take some slow steady breaths. I relax my whole body. I hold my core muscles in place but also in a relaxed way.
And now I lift. I take 10 seconds to raise the weight. It requires a major effort but I am calm and measured. And at the top of the lift I actually pause for 1 second and then lower the weight for 10 seconds.
Now here’s the key to success. I am going to do this until I fail! Failure is good! It places the muscles and mind under positive stress. I requires a high level of physical and mental control.
This level of self-mastery can be taken into all walks of life.
I am talking to myself while I do this routine. I am saying to myself – “If you can lift this weight until you can no longer lift it then you can achieve ( I fill in the life challenge that I am currently working on, you can use whatever life challenge you are involved in ).
I continue. All around me people are dropping weights to the ground ( no judgement but is that really necessary?! ) and making loud groaning noises as they hold their breath and grunt with every action.
4 repetitions and I am struggling. % repetitions and I am almost spent. I maintain my calm and focus on what I believe will be the very last lift. I cannot get the weights to the end of the apex but I am still in control and slowly return the weight to the resting position.
My muscles have never been free of sustaining control throughout the sequence. There has been no resting place until the very end.
Failure? Give me more. This Super Slow approach guarantees a physical and mental wellbeing and ability to overcome life’s obstacles.
The whole session of 8 sets of exercises takes 18 minutes. I leave the gym to the sound of weights crashing to the floor and groaning! Once again no judgement. It is not my style. Meanwhile I feel absolutely fantastic!
