The Grind

6th June 2012

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The Grind →

robindoesrunning:

The Grind is that time in your physique transformation where you just put your head down and grind it out.

It’s often the time between the initial fast “newbie” results and the final results. Changes are occurring in your body, but you may not see them from week to week.

Mentally, The Grind is also where some of that new program and new diet enthusiasm wears off and it all becomes routine, even boring. There’s nothing left to do or say really; you just work the plan, day to day to day.

But toward the end of The Grind, what’ll happen is that you’ll glance back at your “befores” and realize you’ve made some major changes. Other people will begin to notice. And that positive feedback will reignite the enthusiasm. And that will cause you to kick the training up a notch, leading to more results.

I think The Grind applies to life in general too, not just to losing fat and gaining muscle. There are simply times when we have to put aside all distractions (even the good ones), put our heads down, grit our teeth, and grind it out. At the end of The Grind lies an achievement, something great, or some reward or pay-off. But The Grind always comes first.

Thing is, most people won’t make this sacrifice; they won’t even begin The Grind, much less finish it. And that’s why most people don’t succeed. The Grind is often what separates the great from the average.

It’s as simple as that sometimes.

-Erik Ledin

This…

because i need to remind myself of this yet again

I think this amazing post includes a couple of magical ideas.

The first is that old AA slogan: it works if you work it. Whatever your program, you really have to stay on it for it to work. Whether you’re a Wendler fan or a Rippetoe disciple, whether you rock Paleo or 30 Bananas, you have to stay on your program for it to work. You have to Grind It Out. You have to get on your mat yet another day and do another 15 Down Dogs. There’s simply no substitute for actually doing the work. And yeah. It can be boring or uninspiring or even painful. But you already did your research; you already made your decisions based on the best information you could dig up; you already made your choice. So grind it out.

But in order to be able to do that, you need something slightly more ineffable: you need faith in the process. You have to surrender your own stubborn willfulness a little bit and give in to the nature of the process you have chosen. Today, for example, I did my allotted segment of P90X, which was Kenpo X. Now, I happen to feel that Kenpo X is a hilariously stupid workout and I wanted nothing more than to skip it and just do some yoga instead. But I chose to have faith in the process, faith in the thousands of other P90X users who got good results, even faith in crazy Tony Horton. And I did that Kenpo X and I tried my best to work hard and turn in a good effort. I have faith in the process.

Because once you’re already whooshing down the water-slide, that is no time to say, hey, I don’t know if I want to do this. You’re already sliding! Lean into the turns and ride that puppy all the way down!

You chose the path. You did. So honor yourself and have faith in yourself and stay on your path. Grind It Out!

Tagged: the grind reblog good stuff ideas weight loss plateau frustration hard work faith