Required reading for all IM members:

[trucelt]

Just wanted to post this observation:

while its true that laziness and sloth afflicts a great many of our great nation, i have to say that is not the case of with our little band of brothers at IM.

In fact, the opposite is true to almost an alarming extent. i see quite a few guys here working full-time, attending undergrad or graduate courses or recieving similiar professional training, training and in many cases competing in either bodybuilding or powerlifting or both....and all the while trying to maintain relationships with significant others and raising kids.

some guys can do it (at least for a time), some guys even seem to thrive on it but i think for most it comes at a cost. Constant physical and mental hyper arousal, constantly working thru fatigue eventually lead to a break down of some sort.....whether its a compromised immune system and getting sick, emotional burn-out, or injury. When your juggling keep in mind that at least one item is always "up in the air".

i guess all im trying to say is perhaps it would be wise to simply slowdown a bit, prioritize your goals and focus on one at a time. Its great to achieve, but remember that life is ALWAYS equal parts journey and destination. There are times where it is absolutely necessary to be a "hard-charger" and simply grind thru, BUT if you get so accustomed to that when you find yourself with a few hours of free-time you dont know what to do with yourself, perhaps you need to slow it down and prioritize.

[Sammich]

[SAHD]

That sounds like you are relying on good judgment and experience,

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment." Will ROGERS 1935.

In essence that sounds like the good advice I never took when I was young and would freely give to young now and likely be ignored.

[Adam2433]

A large portion of that post directly applies to me and you have even said those things to me before. I can attest to the burn out. I am juggling quite a few balls right now as you say. It is funny how for a while keeping up with it all is not so bad. After a while though the constant mental stimulation starts to weigh heavily and I can see that as leading to disaster and dropping all of them.

Just recently I felt things start to get stressful from keeping up and knew I HAD to back off. Sure I could press on and just "grind" but at what risk? Maybe I could fight through the stress... Or, maybe I would encounter a major problem and have to lose one or more of them completely. Not worth the risk in my opinion. At least not anymore. SAHD mentioned your words coming from experience and I know they do. In my younger days I would have ignored them but experience is the greatest teacher.

So to put it on other people... Maybe you will be able to keep up? And maybe you won't. Do you want to take that chance?

It is a fine line but sometimes we all need to error on the side of caution. Especially when it comes to mental health.

Great points buddy.

[RobbHensel]

Just wanted to post this observation:

while its true that laziness and sloth afflicts a great many of our great nation, i have to say that is not the case of with our little band of brothers at IM.

In fact, the opposite is true to almost an alarming extent. i see quite a few guys here working full-time, attending undergrad or graduate courses or recieving similiar professional training, training and in many cases competing in either bodybuilding or powerlifting or both....and all the while trying to maintain relationships with significant others and raising kids.

some guys can do it (at least for a time), some guys even seem to thrive on it but i think for most it comes at a cost. Constant physical and mental hyper arousal, constantly working thru fatigue eventually lead to a break down of some sort.....whether its a compromised immune system and getting sick, emotional burn-out, or injury. When your juggling keep in mind that at least one item is always "up in the air".

i guess all im trying to say is perhaps it would be wise to simply slowdown a bit, prioritize your goals and focus on one at a time. Its great to achieve, but remember that life is ALWAYS equal parts journey and destination. There are times where it is absolutely necessary to be a "hard-charger" and simply grind thru, BUT if you get so accustomed to that when you find yourself with a few hours of free-time you dont know what to do with yourself, perhaps you need to slow it down and prioritize.

I knew my ears were ringing for a reason, I do however know when to pull the reigns back and relax by the pool with a couple beers.

[Joe P.]

Just wanted to post this observation:

while its true that laziness and sloth afflicts a great many of our great nation, i have to say that is not the case of with our little band of brothers at IM.

In fact, the opposite is true to almost an alarming extent. i see quite a few guys here working full-time, attending undergrad or graduate courses or recieving similiar professional training, training and in many cases competing in either bodybuilding or powerlifting or both....and all the while trying to maintain relationships with significant others and raising kids.

some guys can do it (at least for a time), some guys even seem to thrive on it but i think for most it comes at a cost. Constant physical and mental hyper arousal, constantly working thru fatigue eventually lead to a break down of some sort.....whether its a compromised immune system and getting sick, emotional burn-out, or injury. When your juggling keep in mind that at least one item is always "up in the air".

i guess all im trying to say is perhaps it would be wise to simply slowdown a bit, prioritize your goals and focus on one at a time. Its great to achieve, but remember that life is ALWAYS equal parts journey and destination. There are times where it is absolutely necessary to be a "hard-charger" and simply grind thru, BUT if you get so accustomed to that when you find yourself with a few hours of free-time you dont know what to do with yourself, perhaps you need to slow it down and prioritize.

So very true! We need to step back and look at what is truly important at that very minute or moment and remember to keep family where it should be..priority one. I'm guilty of not always doing that. This week I'm being a dad first. My oldest has her second dance recital this weekend and she has practice every night this week and I'm taking her so my wife can get our youngest daughter to her stuff and her homework done. I missed back and bi's Monday and might miss Friday's workout too....but my kids and wife need to come first this week.

Thanks for posting this Trucelt!

Joe

[mentalflex]

This hit home for me right now...wow, talk about timing. I often find myself going full bore in many areas all at once and after so long I come crashing down and it isn't until I get nailed by something that I realize I have been trying to do too much.

This was a good post to help me reflect on what has been going on at the moment and made me aware that I need to take a step back more often.

Thanks Trucelt

[breck]

Good post and so vital...I have 1 hour out of 24 available...need to find something to fill it with

[Sammich]

Along the same lines; if you are unreduceably busy and/or stressed, it's vitally important to find healthy and constructive ways of coping with the emotional, physical, and psychological loads.

For example, right now I've put the thought of competitions aside and I am using the gym as a way to blow off stress. I turn my phone off so I'm completely unavailable while I'm there, so it's just me and the iron (and the inevitable post-warm up but pre-working set deadlift bowel movement).

[v1hyp]

Nice post. I think my dog got this down.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[bmp]

This post is really resonating with me...

It's hard to manage stress.

What do you guys think about daily meditation? I've heard that with enough practice, intense meditation can have potency similar to narcotics (affect your neurochemistry). For instance it is possible to create endorphin/natural opiate release just by using your mind and not by using a drug...

[bmp]

^^Disclaimer: Not sure if this is broscience or not...

[p2geo]

Just wanted to post this observation:

while its true that laziness and sloth afflicts a great many of our great nation, i have to say that is not the case of with our little band of brothers at IM.

In fact, the opposite is true to almost an alarming extent. i see quite a few guys here working full-time, attending undergrad or graduate courses or recieving similiar professional training, training and in many cases competing in either bodybuilding or powerlifting or both....and all the while trying to maintain relationships with significant others and raising kids.

some guys can do it (at least for a time), some guys even seem to thrive on it but i think for most it comes at a cost. Constant physical and mental hyper arousal, constantly working thru fatigue eventually lead to a break down of some sort.....whether its a compromised immune system and getting sick, emotional burn-out, or injury. When your juggling keep in mind that at least one item is always "up in the air".

i guess all im trying to say is perhaps it would be wise to simply slowdown a bit, prioritize your goals and focus on one at a time. Its great to achieve, but remember that life is ALWAYS equal parts journey and destination. There are times where it is absolutely necessary to be a "hard-charger" and simply grind thru, BUT if you get so accustomed to that when you find yourself with a few hours of free-time you dont know what to do with yourself, perhaps you need to slow it down and prioritize.

Very well said.

[Sammich]

^^Disclaimer: Not sure if this is broscience or not...

Not broscience; that shit WORKS.

[theroymccoy]

This post is really resonating with me...

It's hard to manage stress.

What do you guys think about daily meditation? I've heard that with enough practice, intense meditation can have potency similar to narcotics (affect your neurochemistry). For instance it is possible to create endorphin/natural opiate release just by using your mind and not by using a drug...

I'm starting to really 'enjoy' the times I extreme stretch between exercises and after my workout. You just lay in a certain position for a minute or two, close your eyes, big deep breaths, and just let the muscle relax.

Sure some stretches are supposed to induce muscle pain (especially if there's tons of blood in there) but it's weird...I've managed to kind of numb myself to the pain, and the numbness/clarity carries over for a few hours. Rather than letting emotions get the best of me if a certain situation arises, this 'clarity' helps me look at things objectively, handle the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible, then the situation goes away = no need for stress.

Trying to cram so many things within 24 hours can be tough. Sure you can call me stupid and dangerous, but what has helped me is getting my meals and shakes in while I drive. Pre-cut your meal into a bowl, use a fork, and stab-and-eat. That saves me an hour more-or-less every day that I can use to do more work or relax a bit when I'm in a comfortable environment. Oh God if you guys get in an accident trying this don't sue me.