Today I learned just how powerful the mind is when it comes to working out.
I got back from the UK at 11pm last night (31 hours travelling fml) and, despite the fatigue and killer jet lag I didn’t just complete my arm workout, I demolished it. Why? Because of photos.
Once, I abandoned a back workout ⅓ of the way through because my head just wasn’t in it and I got so frustrated. I got home and sat deflated in front of my lunch. Then my partner showed me a picture on his phone.
“Damn, that dude’s back looks cool - I’m so jealous that he’s even got lats. Wish I had lats 😞 Huh…he’s got the same table and chairs as m-”
Then I was fucking shooketh. Bear in mind I had never seen my back before, and until then, I was sure I was born without any lat muscles. And later, when I took photos of myself from similar angles, it just never looked as good.
Fast-forward to yesterday. Family shared photos of me on the beach, and if there’s one thing I can say about my gym-free eatathon of a trip, it’s that I’ve now got a lot of ‘BEFORE’ photos.
So, today I did my arm workout. I haven’t been to a gym in a month and before that I was recovering from an arm injury, yet today I was lifting heavier than ever, getting more reps in than before and waiting for the next set felt like forever. I even had time to do cardio afterwards, and despite Japan feeling like Satan’s armpit, I could have easily doubled the time.
Ole Kristian Vaaga has been a great source of inspiration today, but honestly, those Weight Watcher-level photos the family took of me motivated me the most. I might post some of them here when I have some ‘AFTER’ photos to go with them :P
So the lesson of the day is:
Seeing yourself through the eyes of others is powerful - have them take a photo of you candidly and you'll see what you’re like without all your bullshit.
Anyway, konnichiwa from Japan