Strength: defined in the New Oxford American Dictionary: the capacity of an object or substance to withstand great force or pressure.
What if we substituted object or substance for an individual?
You see how that would change things? I have my own thoughts, and came up with the definition below:
“Strength is the ability to do what one sets out to do.”
Peruse any of my previous articles, and you will see that I steadfastly believe that in order to build the body, one must begin with the mind. It is a prerequisite that is often overlooked by individuals overzealous to rid themselves of unwanted pounds and unsightly body fat.
They mistakenly believe that losing weight is easy. Go to the gym, pick up some dumbbells, and their corpulent state will cease to exist. Obstinate in this erroneous conviction, they become disillusioned, dispirited, and discouraged at the lack of progress made.
My aforementioned definition is far reaching, and does not only apply to the physical exertion one must endure, to transform one’s body, but to the mental paradigm shift as well.
A wish is merely a goal without a date on it.
As a Certified Personal Trainer, one of the things I do in the gym, when I am not training someone is to walk the floor and query an individual, what he or she is working on. Not surprisingly, the answer is a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
Without a well-conceived plan, no credible roadmap is created, resulting in abject failure.
Which brings me full circle. Strength lies in the ability of an individual, to accomplish what he or she sets out to do.
Let me elucidate in the hopes that what I have been alluding to will become clearer. In order to achieve anything worthwhile in life a plan must be formulated.
A goal must be established by setting a date for its completion.
I want to lose weight! How many pounds and by when?
I want to gain muscles! How much each week, and by when?
I want to reduce my body fat percentage! How much resistance and cardio training are you willing to do, and for how long?
A goal needs checkpoints along the way.
How else would the individual know that he or she is on the right track? Sadly, and all too often, the individual has not planned that far in advance. So, they bumble and stumble along the way. Disillusioned, dispirited, they eventually become discouraged, and give up on their goals.
Setting fitness goals has a serendipitous effect.
This effect, cultivated properly has been known to traverse all aspect of an individual’s life.
Big things cannot be accomplished by small mind thinking. . .
B.M.Booth (NASM-CPT)
Strength & Vigour 