Remove The Distractions…Today’s Quick Strength Advice!

So the one thing I see today more than FREAKING ever is the prevalence of distractions! Yes, distractions are everywhere and people fall victim to them all the time. I mean for crying out loud we can’t even entrust a harmless cell phone in the hands of teenagers anymore. I mean leave it to today’s society in lacking common sense for people to in some way transform a cell phone into a killing device. Now all the sudden there are laws made to enforce penalties from the act of texting and driving. Distractions are restrictions people!

Distractions Are Restrictions…

The way I see it is that any strength program with any high level of success has to be one of your main priorities, especially if you want to be fit and competitive. The fact is though in real life people will choose just about everything else over the success of their strength programs other than athletes that make their living directly with their physical bodies…and even they fall victim to distractions from time to time. How surprising is it though that we all TRULY earn our living with our physical bodies?

Rant #1

Nevertheless I hear parents complain about Junior not getting to play when football or baseball season rolls around and all Junior did during the summer months was sit in the air conditioning and play video games. Would we consider this to be a distraction? You’re damn right we would and it doesn’t end there.

It’s a funny thing that the parents generally get angry with coaches too because Junior is sidelined, yet they chose to go on vacation for 3 straight months during the summer break. I see this behavior all the time and it’s frustrating and in my view represents the thought process of the country this day and age. You can’t have the cake your way all the time people. Well, I know you’re probably not one to fall victim to such nonsense if you’re a regular reader here to this blog, but I know you’ve witnessed exactly what I’m talking about.

Don’t misunderstand me I’m not demonizing a family wanting to enjoy one another’s company for a summer getaway. If you are going to do that then do it, but if you want to compete then COMPETE! People need to learn to own up to their choices. Life ain’t all about sunshine and rainbows, it’s about earning your way…period! Remove the distractions.

Rant #2

Now on to some other common distractions. The other thing that really shifts me into pissed off gear is this technology epidemic. It’s clear that with the explosion of technology the mental state of the human race has been dumbed down. I remember a few years back walking into a traditional health club to meet a good friend of mine for a nice little training session. As we entered the weight room area I noticed a couple of younger guys over by the squat rack with their Beats By Dre headphones (or something fairly comparable) firmly wrapped around their heads.

As me and my friend started into a heavy deadlifting  session the headphone music freaks were setting up their bar in the squat rack. Both had on a pair of headsets and both were demonstrating their horrible dancing skills probably to the tune of some terrible American  Idol crap that everyone except me seems to enjoy these days. Anyways, as they started to set up the rack the distractions from the headphones started to become more and more apparent. My friend and I just watched in amazement as one guy loaded up one side of the bar with considerable more poundage than the other side.

So what did I do to help? Absolutely nothing. Both my friend and myself just continued to watch more out of shock than anything else. Suddenly one of the guys went to get up under the bar to make an attempt at a back squat. He’s dancing around like moron and the next thing you know he pulls the bar off the rack and as he starts to descend into the squat the bar immediately topples over to one side crashing on the ground as the other (lighter) side of the bar flies up into the air narrowly missing his training partner’s head which was still firmly and comfortably covered by the pleasing sound producing headphones.

As soon as both realized what had happened they tore off the headphones and continued to train without the distractions. The distraction from their addiction to technology almost caused some serious bodily harm. You probably noticed my Red Hot Chili Peppers picture (one of my favorite T-shirts) at the beginning of this article. There is still some good music out there, but even it belongs on the stereo coming out of speakers that everyone can hear, not through the headphones of someone in the weight room.

Rant #3

How many times have you heard people say I’ve got to get in shape for summer? Now I know you have so now the next question is where is the distraction in this? Well the distraction my friend is in the misconception of only getting in shape for summer. People that put a goal such as getting into shape into a compartment that is only valid at a certain time during the year is really just ignorance getting the best of them. Getting in shape is about devoting yourself to the cause of transforming your life. It’s no different than the example I used earlier with Junior not getting to play for his team.

I’ve talked a little about this before, but there is a big difference between inspiration and motivation. Many people confuse the two pretty much all the time. Inspiration really only serves as a catalyst to get you interested in doing something in the first place. Motivation is what comes afterwards by you having what it takes inside of you to keep grinding at the behavior in order to achieve success. This is the difference and motivation comes from within.

Because of this people allow themselves to become distracted and would rather take that 3 month summer vacation break without the devotion of maintaining a habit of throwing around some iron or getting out to do some much needed sprint work. It takes devotion! Distractions with all this other stuff will only restrict your progress my friend.

Remove the distractions and make your mind up. You can’t do everything! You just CAN’T. However, you can make up your mind as to what you want and if it is to pursue a physical strength culture then get rid of the distractions. Otherwise I’ll just watch you take your head off with the barbell at the squat rack. Ok, I wouldn’t do that to you! 😉

If you need a plan to help you move forward then make sure you get yourself a copy of my Brandon Richey’s Better Than Steroids ebook right here. The proceeds from the sales go towards the continuation of all these killer strength training knowledge bombs that you’re getting from arriving at the site. Plus you’ll be getting a ton of knowledge bombs from the ebook itself!!! Feel free to click on any other ads you see as well, it all helps my friend. 😉

In addition to this if you’ve witnessed how distractions have been restrictions either for yourself or someone else I’d love to read about your story in the comment box below this article. Remember that most anyone can train hard, but only the best train smart my friend!