Page 42 - Flipbook

Mind
Your
Muscle
by Ryan Joseph
Email: ryo7355@hotmail.com
“That last rep you grind out, that final push at the end of your last set...you know, the rep that causes your body to shake and tries to squeeze a “no more” out of you... that’s the one, that’s the rep that counts...that’s the one you came for, bro”
These were the words I'd hear every time I felt I had nothing left to give on the bench, or at least some amped up variation of it anyway. My mantra, uttered by a training partner of mine a few years back while he flexed his biceps in the mirror, almost lusting over his own results. He never looked in my direction, not once, and though meant for me I could tell from his glare into his own reflection that his words were very much meant for him as well; his own mental reminder of what worked for him and what kept him going.
Cycling back a few years, here’s a guy whose arms couldn’t fill a size small white tee who now stood torturing two sizes larger, his jersey delicately balancing holding fabric together on the one end and exploding into shreds on the other (cue imagery of Hulk’s clothing after transforming from the puny Banner). His arms were swollen, I mean more than double the size they were when he started. What had this guy been doing!?
We’ve all heard the phrase “it’s a mental thing” from just about everyone that pushes themselves to what seems to be their physical limit then smash that limit into a million pieces.
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