Life takes grit. Everyone who has pursued excellence in any area of their life knows this well. There are times when setting a goal or pursuing excellence in an area of our lives requires that we sacrifice some of our comforts. Grit is costly, but it is necessary as it relates to success.

To face challenges means that (intrinsically) you are risking the possibility that you could fail. That said, the risk of living your life without grit is that you may never rise above your circumstances. You might never truly see what you’re capable of. Those who choose to embrace the necessity for toughness in life have the highest capacity to embrace who they really are. To press through adversity is one of the primary ways in which a person reaches a higher level or character. Exhaustion allows us to come to the place where begin throwing away the false impressions and the obvious attempts to make ourselves seem like we are better people than we really are.

Having the grit you need to get through your life is almost perfectly manifested in how you treat your own personal fitness journey. When you train, you must have “grit”. The focus should never to push yourself until injury- or even to push yourself to complete exhaustion. No. The goal is to push yourself into where you are truly “challenged”. A person who practices this principle will have profound opportunities to grow.

This idea of facing challenging and building your body and mind is nothing new. The idea of doing this as practice is relatively simple. The squat exercise (performed with a Barbell) is one of the best examples of this. When you step underneath the cold metal bar in the gym and you lower your body to a seated position only to stand yourself back up in that same starting position you are exercising this simple principle in your physical body. You are telling your body, that the challenges of exercise is worth more to you than your comfort.

The squat exercise is one of the fastest ways to increase your heart rate, use dynamic and explosive muscle groups, and to build your overall strength. The squat is essential if you want a stronger core, a faster sprint, or a more robust boost to your overall athletic (or day to day) performance.

So get off the couch, find yourself a coach, and get in the squat rack. Meet yourself in that place where challenges present themselves so that you can grow. It will be painful at times. It will be difficult at times. But it’s worth it. Build your grit.

See you at the gym!