The Effort Factor Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Alpha LifePowerful Words The Effort Factor by Christian Thibaudeau August 1, 2013June 8, 2021 Tags Motivation, Opinion, Powerful Words, Strong Words No one will ever tell you they don't work hard. They'll never tell you that they're lazy in the gym. In their minds, they're gym warriors. Well, in all the gyms I've trained at or worked at, I could say that on average only around 10% of the lifters really work at a level that I consider sufficient to elicit maximum gains. The rest of them just think they're working hard. Quite simply, nobody works as hard as they think they do. Even those who actually work hard can improve somewhere. Working hard isn't about grunting and growling, nor is it about dropping your dumbbells on the floor after your sets so you can look hardcore. Working hard, with maximal effort, is about one thing and one thing only: mental focus. When you set foot in the gym, you must enter the zone: only think about training and focusing on getting the most out of every single muscle contraction. Don't waste your time between sets and don't engage in any conversation. (I can't recall a time in the past three years where I said more than one sentence at a time during a workout.) Don't think about anything else other than your workout. Don't allow pain to stop a set if you still have something in the tank. Remember, the difference between the champ and the chump isn't what he does, it's how he does it. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Alpha Life Estrogen s Dirty Little Secret As it stands now, sooner or later, your prostate will start to swell up like the dinner rolls momma's baking in the oven. At best, this unwanted hypertrophy will just obstruct urine flow. At worst, it'll develop into cancer. Health & Longevity, Living Better TC Luoma August 24 Alpha Life 15 Tips for Success The older and wiser you get, the more you start to realize there are certain "universalities" common to successful outcomes in all of life's endeavors. These realizations are as certain as the law of gravity, albeit less obvious. You should know and understand these common threads because they make success less random and more predictable. Opinion, Powerful Words, Strong Words Charles Staley May 21 Alpha Life 4 Biggest Lies of The Biggest Loser It's a show about fitness that keeps people dumb and in the dark about getting fit. Here's the big fat truth about The Biggest Loser. Opinion, Powerful Words, Strong Words Dani Shugart February 5 Alpha Life Tip Stop Crying About Steroids Insecure males scream about drugs anytime they see someone stronger, more muscular, or more dedicated than they are. Pathetic. Opinion, Pharma, Strong Words, Tips Paul Carter April 11