Tip To Win Expect Pain 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 Training Tip To Win Expect Pain Stop believing the fitness fairytales and prepare for physical and mental torture Here' s why by Chris Shugart March 12, 2017August 18, 2019 Tags Tips, Training Lies That Liars Tell "It's going to be fun and easy!" You hear that a lot in the field of fitness. This lie is mainly told by people trying to sell you something, from diets to home exercise gadgets. But whether it's fat loss, muscle and strength gain, or even mobility, none of it comes easy. All of it is harder than most people think. And they need to know it. Why is this such an egregious lie? Because when people believe the lie and then struggle, they often quit. When the fat doesn't melt off "overnight" or the "fun and easy" workouts don't work, they may come to the conclusion that diet and training doesn't work, or they figure they must have bad genetics. Expect Difficulty and You ll Win There are a lot psychological studies that have come to the same conclusion: It's better to know in advance that a task is going to be difficult. That way you expect it to be tough and you push through. Your mind is prepared. Compare that to being told that something is easy. You try it and you can't do it, or progress is super slow... but it's supposed to be fast and effortless. That must mean you suck at life, so why try? That's some crappy, self-defeating, loser-ass thinking. This Sucks But Do It Anyway Although it may not sell as many diet ebooks and workout gadgets for four easy payments of 19.95, this is the truth: It's going to be hard. Building a noticeable amount of muscle is tough. Losing fat and keeping it off is very tough. It involves a lot more than just making it to the gym. There's diet to consider. And recovery. And sleep. The workout might just be the only fun part. The rest of the day is tougher. Not eating something you really want to eat is hard. Waking up an hour early to hit the gym or prep meals is hard. Kicking bad habits feels like getting punched in the gut. But that shouldn't be daunting. That should instead ignite a little fire in your belly and sharpen your focus. Can you do it? Hell yeah you can. Hard First Easy Later Doing something hard makes doing the next challenging task, well, more doable. It snowballs. So in a way, having a healthy, nice-looking body is easy because you've already smashed all those difficult obstacles and now it's just habit and lifestyle. But getting there? It's brutal... and rewarding. Be ready. 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 Training Barbells Behind Bars The author was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He started lifting to build up his self-esteem and, more importantly, to protect his ass from getting shanked. Powerlifting & Strength, Prison Training, Training Daniel Genis July 30 Training Push-Ups You re Doing Them Wrong A lot of people can't do one proper push-up. And YOU may be one of them. Here are the most common problems and how to fix 'em. Bodybuilding, Powerlifting & Strength, Training Joel Seedman, PhD August 10 Training Tip Big ROM Bigger Gains Here's why range of motion is so important for gaining muscle mass. Do your favorite exercises pass the test? Bodybuilding, Tips, Training Charles Staley December 5 Training Tip Pop Your Sacrum to Squat Better Your glutes won't fire properly if your sacrum is out of alignment. Try this and save a trip to the chiropractor. Mobility, Tips, Training Tessa Gurley August 20