Attempting vs. Trying

Friday I went into the gym feeling a bit off. I told my brother, I wasn’t feeling as strong as usual and to keep an extra eye on my squats because I may have trouble. True to my word, I wasn’t able to complete the set and my Bro had to bail me out. 

When I reached deadlifts, my favorite lift, my trainer told me to add another 20 lbs to my lift. The Wednesday before I had completed 8 reps with 225lbs for the first time and I protested to an extra 20lbs. I said I should get comfortable with the weight I’m at now before I try to increase.  After some talking to, I reluctantly added the 20lbs onto the bar I positioned myself for pull. Time to Dip, Grip, & Rip(position, grip the bar, lift the weight). Only problem was, the weight didn’t move. I stepped back from the bar, looked at the weight again, and tried a second time. Dip, Grip, &…. Nothing. I was defeated. I told myself it was because I was not feeling strong and it was too much weight. 

So I took off the 20lbs and tried again. Dip, Grip, &….. Nothing. Then was when I knew something was wrong. My trainer walked straight up to me and told me he knew I wasn’t going to lift it. “I could see it in your eyes. You can’t doubt yourself.” He explained that because I pulled 225 for 8 reps, my one rep max(most amount of weight for one rep) should be over 300 lbs. And the only reason I wasn’t getting this weight off the floor was because I didn’t think I could. After he told me that I was able to do my regular workout with the 225lbs.

This got me thinking about self belief. Many times in our lives we doubt ourselves because we think that our progress should be normal, steady and consistent like 'everyone else'. This mindset may not stop us from attempting but it stops us from truly trying. 

If in our mind we don't believe we can achieve it, the moment we encounter any difficulty our mind tells us this is where we were meant to fail and we stop genuinely trying. Our mind then reinforces the idea that we could not have achieved it, limiting ourselves.

If we can’t even do it in our mind how can we hope to ever achieve it in real life.  

So maybe you have an extra 20lbs to add to a lift or a project you wish you could do. But you’re thinking ‘I need to get more comfortable with this weight’ or ‘I need more experience before I try that.’ Truth is, more than likely you can do it. But it’s not just a matter of attempting it. It’s a matter of believing it. Otherwise you’d never truly try.

As for my extra 20lbs? Well I’m back in the gym tonight and let’s just say I’m feeling strong. Lol

I’ll keep you’ll posted.

* Update - Since this post I've been able to add another 10lbs. to the previous 20lbs. One word, Believe.