The Swim Back

In training, psychology can often be the most important factor. Losing your concentration or drive cam kill your progress. Getting your head set right is the best way to ensure a good workout and to ensure your ultimate success. That is not only true of fitness but in all other areas of life as well. Deep, I know so I'll move on

Common mistakes in training have more to do with mental blocks and have nothing to do with physical inability. One mistake I see is saving energy for later sets. Whether conscious or unconscious the result is the same. They know that there are more grueling sets to come, so they save some energy in reserve to complete later sets. What they fail to realize is that the workouts are designed with that in mind. If you can do more in later sets that means you have not given all out effort in previous ones. I've been at this a while and I can always tell when a client is not giving it their all. Some even try to fake it by feigning fatigue and making false pain faces. It's amusing to me, but it does them no good.

When I see this happening I always use the same example of a guy who succeeded against all odds, simply because he refused to give up. Yeah it is a fictional example, yes it is from a movie, but it is a cool movie so shut up. It's a fairly long setup, but stay with me for the payoff.

In the 1997 movie Gattaca, Ethan Hawke play's Vincent. Set in the near future Vincent it one of the only natural born people, born into a world where the rest of the population is genetically enhanced. Anyone natural born is referred to as "in-valid", while the genetically enhanced are known as "valid".

At birth it was determined that Vincent would not live past 30, and had no real chance of achieving anything in life. Not being one of the elite, his dreams of going into space are denied to him based on his genetic inferiority. Vincent refuses to let that stand in his way and begins his journey into space by impersonating an enhanced person, and conning his way into the space program. This is of course no easy task.

There is a murder within the space program so an investigation is launched, headed by Vincent's enhanced brother Anton. Vincent had nothing to do with it, but he must avoid any suspicion that could uncover his true identity while avoiding his brother who believed Vincent died years earlier. Of course he and his brother finally meet up.

Anton cannot believe that Vincent is alive yet alone successfully masquerading as a valid. When they were children, Anton and Vincent had a swim race in the ocean to see who could swim the farthest. . Vincent won that race, and in fact had to save his enhanced brother from drowning. This was of course unimaginable. Now adults, Anton challenges him again. As they swim away into the darkness, Vincent pulls farther and farther ahead, beating his brother once again. Finally Anton calls out and says they are too far out, they must turn back. But he first asks this question:

Anton: How are you doing this, Vincent? How have you done any of this?

Vincent: You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton: I never saved anything for the swim back.

Like I said long set up, but there's the pay off: Never save any for the swim back. Think about that for a moment.

The most successful clients I train hit each set like it is the only set in the workout. There is no other set, just the one you are doing now. Apply that philosophy to your training and you will see your results skyrocket. Get your head in the game and give it your all.

PS: Go rent Gattaca. It's a great story (I left out quite a bit) and actually very inspirational. Uma Thurman and Jude Law are in it as well. Definitely worth seeing.

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
joshua@carterfitness.com

http://carterfitness.com
818-337-6175