Overcoming Mediocrity in Weight Training

							Overcoming Mediocrity in Weight Training
At six foot seven with flexed biceps the size of my lower thighs, my older brother is set on a course to
always be my bigger brother. I would often make fun of his apparent obsession with size and
"greatness," as he termed it. Now, however, with my brother graduated and moved away and my own
graduation approaching, I've started to realize the lack of accomplishments in my life, my own
mediocrity. I admire him for his determination and drive to succeed at whatever he set his mind to,
despite the challenges he confronted, whether in school, weight training, or life in general. Despite our
mix ups and differences, he is a great example of an older brother.

At any rate, I wanted to write about what I see every
day at the gym and what I've experienced myself:
mediocrity. I've realized that this will always be my
fate unless I consciously strive to overcome it.
Greatness come to no one without determination,
and as Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "You can't climb
the ladder of success with your hands in your
pockets." So many people go to the gym because
they feel guilty or because it's just something that
they feel they ought to be doing, without any clear
drive or vision of why. Yes, there are people who
want to be "fit," "ripped," or whatever they decide to
call it, but most of these people have no idea what this looks like, at least on themselves.

Unfortunately, we often take for granted the vision that our minds can produce for us our success
before we actually reach it ourselves. We often consider it "dreaming" or "impractical," but it is this
same visualization of what we can become that allows so many to be great in whatever they choose to
pursue. As Schwarzenegger says, "You have to visualize what [your] body ought to look like in order to
make it win because that’s what creates then the will.” This is the same reason that those Monday only
gym goers are never truly committed to their goals; they can't see it. So many weight trainers too are in
search of the secret ingredient that will give them amazing bodies. You see these ridiculous ads all over
the internet, whether it be special supplements, training routines, or whatever else they can think up,
and many people are in for the quick fix because they don't have the determination for the long haul.
The secret rather lies in the vision you have for yourself. This is what creates the hope and
determination you need for success, whether you're doing Pilates or body building. When you have this
vision for yourself, the workouts, supplements and other things you do then become resources for your
success, instead of merely the means to an unclear future.