The Gym Always Wins.
If you think you’re strong, you can be stronger. If you think you’re fit, you can be fitter. If you’re fast, you can be faster. The moment you get complacent, you’ll stop improving.
I had a client once, and they won’t mind me saying this, but they had an ego about them. Yes, they were strong and fit etc etc. However, I’ve had to be knocked down a peg or two several times in my experiences with different training camps, and I wasn’t going to let them go without getting one too.
You can always put more effort in.
So I put them through utter hell. A heavy weights session followed by an acidic 60 seconds on 30 seconds off watt bike block, finishing with a heavy bag session. They threw up and had to wait to drive home for about half an hour.
I feel like I can do this as a coach because I’ve been through it all before. I had a 2 week training camp in Portugal at 18 with a professional Rugby team, where I just got beaten up 12 hours a day for 14 days in the heat.
Moral of the story is, going to the gym is not a fashion. You don’t go to be the strongest in the room, you’re there to be better than you were when you walked in. Boxers do shadow boxing in the mirror because they are their own toughest opponent. When they throw a punch, their reflection throws one straight back at them. You’re at your best when you beat up your own reflection.
So when you’re not actively resting & recovering, you should be bettering yourself. Go get what you want.