Have Some Fun In The Gym

By Sam Suska

Today I had a lot of fun in the gym.  I moved a lot of weight.  Heck, I accomplished some things that are important to me.  And I did it while having a good time.  It was fun to put in my best effort at lifting relatively heavy weights for almost an hour and a half today.  I didn't put too much pressure on myself; there was no clock ticking in my head and there were no numbers that I expected to "hit". I relaxed between sets and even had a few little conversations with other guys at the gym; and I don't always do that. 

This is in contrast to my former approach to the gym where I "dialed in" and got in my zone, ignored everyone else and applied pressure to myself with lofty expectations while counting down breaktimes in my head.  In my former workout style if I allowed myself to consistently get distracted between sets, or failed to live up to my own expectations I would get frustrated, occasionally to the point of negativity regards to my physicality which would prevent me from associating fun with exercise.

If you've been reading my blog for a while or following me on Facebook then you

likely know that I'm all about helping people find lasting health and fitness.  In my time as a personal trainer working within small and quiet as well as large and busy gyms I have noticed that those people who seemed to (or say they do) truly enjoy the act of exercise and display the ability to easily shift between relaxed and hyper-focused states made it to the gym consistently and stayed in shape year-round.  

I'm not saying that these people were the picture of health and fitness, but I am confident that each one of us can learn a lot about ourselves and benefit from their approach to fitness.  These people have fun at the gym.  Some of these 'happy gym goers' have the remarkable ability to 'zone in' during their exercises and operate at high levels.  It is becoming progressively easier for me to set my P.R's (personal records) when I make it a point to myself during my workout that 'this is for life' and that 'this is for fun'; and I am pretty sure that you can too.

In the following video all you will see is my hyper-focused moments, but I assure you that these were made possible by my laid-back mindset and commitment to having fun with exercise.   You don't have to work out for 80 minutes like I did today, and you don't have to focus on strength training like I did, but you should know that it was easy and enjoyable to push myself to new, higher limits with this approach.  

Here is a quick recap of my fun workout that seemed so easy:

5 min warm up
1. Deadlift 5x (365x5, 385x2, 405x1)
2. Bent over dumbbell rows 3x (85,95, 105x5)
3. Seated cable rows 3x (140,180,200)
4. Neutral grip pull downs 3x (140,160,180)
5. Barbell curls3x(85,95,95)
6. Horizontal curls 3x (8,10,10)
7. Supination dumbbell curls drop set 50,40,30,20
8. Strict Chin ups 2x (7,4)
9. Straight arm cable pull downs 3x
10. Dumbbell Snatches 3x (3x70,3x75,3x75)
Cool down

The Transformation Decision

Deciding on Transformation

by Sam Suska

If you want to transform yourself then you have to make the DECISION to live a significantly healthier life.  I've seen thousands of people linger in the zone of 'wanting to change'.  These people tend to slightly clean up their diet, eat less and exercise more, or irregularly, overlook the stress aspect and do a minimal amount of research into the controversial science of diet and health.

Often times these people pick and choose the nutritional information they see fit in order to justify their habits or fit into their previously determined stance.  They may even give some lame excuses as to why their exercise is poorly structured (over-cardio and under-resisitance) or inadequate/inconsistent.  These people tend to make insignificant physical transformation; and when they do, they are very likely to hit the 'sticking point' after a few months or so.

The 'sticking point' is metabolic down-regulation which creates a fragile psyche (neurotic behavior or depression may develop) and prevents the body from restoring itself properly leading to overtraining, muscle loss and fat storage/creation.  You can prevent the 'sticking point' and transform your body by making the DECISION to live a significantly healthier life.

This means that you have to find a comprehensive approach to healthier living and stick to it for at least a month.  The approach has to address how you sleep and manage your stress in addition to eating much higher quality food and exercising with purpose.  Do not pick and choose the suggestions as you see fit. In my research the best diets and lifestyles are not rigid (unless they are designed to improve a pathological condition) and are based on real food, stress preventing habits (like thought process and sleep) and practical amounts of exercise.

Remember, you are not in position to 'pick and choose' the suggestions you like.  You are not very knowledgeable of health/fitness/nutrition/stress management, nor a professional in the field.  And, if you are in the field or consider yourself knowledgeable then the best thing you can do is immerse yourself in a different approach to see how it works for you.  

My advice is to follow the basic plan for 28 days, and when you do things "outside" of the plan be honest with yourself and hold yourself accountable.  This is key.  I strongly feel that someone has to give themselves uncomfortable consequences for when they make choices that are outside of their plan and out of alignment with their goals.  If you do not give yourself uncomfortable consequences then you are very likely to make "cheating" a regular thing and hinder your transformation and never truly be able to evaluate whether or not the plan works for you as well. 

Your transformation begins with making the DECISION to live a significantly healthier life.  I have developed a comprehensive approach to living a healthier life after thousands of hours of research, thousands of hours of professional experience in the field and more than 7 years of personal experiences. I personally have a superhuman ability to transform myself; and I believe that you do as well if you make the DECISION to change. I know that physical transformation is always accompanied (or created) by personal transformation, and that begins with committing to meaningful changes for a significant timeframe.

My comprehensive approach is presently being put together in a relatively small book that will be made available in a few months.  But, I can help you now if you contact me.  I can give you some free basic information and even a somewhat individualized plan if you just email and message me.  Or, I can refer you to some other helpful comprehensive approaches.  If you are not ready or willing to make the decision then you can wait a few months and purchase my text when it is published. 

"Self-Empowerment: How to Create Lasting Vitality" will be available after I fully evaluate my scientific resources and put them the entire text into a better writing style for presentation to my editor.  But, I can be a resource for you right now.  If you want a customized approach with regular professional input I do consultations for a small fee.  If you would like some more info and general outline with a small degree of individuality then I will help you free of charge.  All you have to do is email me, message me on Facebook or give me a call.

I still love you all.