Someone asked me what was my proudest achievement on my fitness journey. Naturally, they were taken aback by my answer. A few days earlier I had watched a video on Ronnie Coleman, and thought the last line he uttered was succinct . . .  

“Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights.” Ronnie Coleman 
 

What I had told the person was something along the above quote . . . “Most individuals want to transform their physique, but lack the temerity to kick their own @ss in order to achieve it.” B.M. Booth 

The person I was talking to was aghast by what he perceived to be an incredulous statement.  
 

“Why would you want to kick your own @ass?” 

“Why would you not want to?” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“I didn’t think you would.” 
 

What this particular person wanted was an easy way to get fit. The thought of going to the gym and working hard to change his physique was foreign to him. He hoped that he could just take something. He lamented on the prospect of spending hours in the gym. 
 

Let me elaborate on what I told him. 
 

The first component before lifting a single weight is to prepare your mind for the arduous journey. Nutrition plays a vital part but making a commitment to watch what you eat is even more important. Tracking your macros on a daily basis to get a baseline requires discipline.  
 

The second component is cardio. I don’t mean the way you have been accustomed to doing it. Lazily walking on the treadmill while watching videos on your phone. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), to increase cardiovascular fitness and build muscle strength is what’s needed. 
 

The third component is resistance training. Any fool can lift weights, and most do. What I want to do each workout session to create microtears in the muscles which causes the body to signal for nutrients and blood to the affected area in order for it to heal. This is how musculature is grown. 
 

Ronnie Coleman was right in his assertion, but you don’t necessarily need to lift heavy to make a muscle grow. You need to make the particular muscle your exercising work, in order for it to grow. So, just don’t lift, build. 
 

This is where the kicking your own @ss stems from. You will have to lift a challenging weight, but more importantly, you have to be efficient, utilizing strict form and proper movement in order to elicit maximal muscle growth. 
 

Are you willing to kick your own @ss . . . 

B.M.Booth (NASM-CPT)