The Ego: Everyone’s Greatest Obstacle

POWERED BY TRUCKS : Anthony Trucks 

   I have spent the last 12 years of my life in the health and fitness industries, whether it was playing professional sports in the NFL, being a professional trainer, owning and operating a gym or consulting for billion dollar companies in health and ergonomics. Although each area has different factors affecting it in the realm of physical demands for the individuals involved, there is one constant: They are all looking to physically improve in some way or another. 

   Conversely, they all encounter the same obstacle as well “” their EGO (Everyone’s Greatest Obstacle). This concept can honestly be applied to anyone’s life, but for this article I want to apply it directly to the weightlifter in all of us.

   Have you ever walked into a high school weight room and witnessed some of the poorest form and technique you had ever seen? No, well then I am sure you have possibly gone to the place where it’s even more prevalent, the public gym. These places are breeding grounds for egos that are quite literally standing in the way of someone getting better. 

   It usually goes like this: A person walks into the weight room and sees everyone around them. They don’t want to look weak or incapable of lifting a lot of weight, so they stack on more plates than a Denny’s sink after Sunday church. They get ready to lift it and boom, they move the weight through a quarter of the range that they should, and then start to writhe under the bar like they’re having a seizure. 

   The weight is so much that they cant even complete a good rep. This not only hurts their body “” because the joints aren’t prepared for it “” but it crushes their nervous system. Now they wont even be able to get in a good lift or possibly even have a good workout because their body will begin to shut down early and fatigue quickly. 

Check out the rest of the article in our digital edition of SportStars Magazine: The Ego: Everyone’s Greatest Obstacle

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