Lost Reps

Today was back day at the gym.  To most of us back day is just another day in the books but to me it's more than that.  I really look forward to training back, not only because I love it, but because I get to train with a couple guys most people only read about in magazines and on supplement labels.  Pete and Derik both have big shows coming up and the closer they get to show time the more focused they become.  I've really noticed it in the last few weeks, that every rep is accounted for.  Tonight while we were doing rows Pete was squeezing out one last rep and I thought to myself, 'What if he would have lost that rep?'  What if he never did that one last rep?  I probably wouldn't have noticed.  Nobody would have even known that he had it in him to do just one more but decided not to.  Like I always do I kind of lost myself in a thought....

Lost reps.  I'm sure we've all done it.  Knew we could get one more good rep but decided to save it for a later workout.  Think about if you did it once a day.  That's 260 lost reps a year which is about a whole day lost at the gym.  Most of my habits at the gym are subconsciously converted into my day to day life.  The reps I was losing when I was younger got me in a lot of trouble.  Those lost reps don't just disappear, they turn into unused time and energy which for me turns into trouble.  (Idle hands are the devils playground)  I really try every single day to not lose a rep.  If you start losing reps then you aren't living up to your potential, and not living up to your potential doesn't do anyone any good.  

Living in an area where there is an abundance of drugs and alcohol might be a distraction to some people but to me it's nothing but motivation.  I get wasted guys and girls coming into my shop every day embarrassing themselves and all it does is make me want to be better than them.  It's ok to feel better than someone else if you are truly a better person than them.  I always think, where would I be in life right now without wasting all my time, energy, and money on partying when I was young?  Where would I be in life if I didn't lose those thousands of reps? 

A couple weeks ago Derik wrote a blog about all the "Geek" stuff he's into and after Steph and I read it she said, "Derik is really talented".  I thought, well he's pretty much devoted his life to fitness and instead of wasting his down time on getting wasted, he learned to; draw, wrestle, roller skate, race bikes, Active Release Therapy, personal train, teach personal training, learn everything there is to know about supplementation and nutrition, and happened to become a IFBB pro bodybuilder to boot and I'm sure a plethora of other things.  What if everyone in the world quit losing reps and started living up to their potential?  Bettering yourself to make those around you better.   

My good friend and business partner Scott said the other day that he surrounds himself with people who are better at certain things than he is in order to learn and grow and become a better person.  Maybe people do notice you squeezing out that one last rep after all.