Many people like to lie.
Sometimes the lie is a grand lie and sometimes it is a little white lie.
At the end of the day, lies are commonplace. Every single person on the planet is guilty of lying at some point albeit to varying degrees.
Many people lie about their upbringing.
Look at some of the fraudulent figures in the music industry who want to appear “harder.”
They had a pretty good childhood but now all of a sudden they move weight (not iron) in the hood, took three shots, and have more tattoos than A.I.
Many people lie about their relationship situation.
Look at the folks who claim to be happy on social media but are beyond unsatisfied and on the verge of a full-blown break-up.
Years ago when I was on social media more frequently I’d see couples who would be here today smiling and gone tomorrow trashing their ex in multiple posts.
Many people lie about their financial status.
Look at the folks who drive a super nice, pimped out car (that they cannot afford) and at the same time are underwater in a sea of credit card debt.
Many people lie about their education and knowledge.
Look at the folks who try so hard to be seen as all-knowing, prestigious, or “woke.”
Meanwhile they could not even spell the word education or know anything about the history of anything.
Many people lie about their occupations.
Look at the folks who always make their current position seem bigger than it is. It’s OK to be at the bottom at the beginning of your journey because the vast majority of people start at the bottom.
Many people lie.
Who Cares?
I personally do not care whether you went to Penn, East Stroudsburg, or Montgomery County Community College.
I do not care if you are from the middle class suburbs, highfalutin Beverly Hills, or if you are from the darkest and most dangerous hood in America.
I don’t care if you are making 100k or 30k.
And I also don’t care if you are currently working at Wal-Mart or if you are running your own business.
As long as you are constantly striving to improve your situation you are on the right path. Everybody has to start somewhere.
I have been in good scenarios and bad ones. You are not always hot like a Billboard number #1 single because sometimes life deals you a bad deck.
I have had lousy jobs.
You better believe I have been up to my eyes in debt due to bad decisions from my youth.
I have also been in relationship situations that looked fantastic on the outside but were rotting on the inside like a corpse.
This is life. However, you can overcome it and prosper with the right attitude and work ethic.
Why Do They Lie?
Why do people just not tell the truth about their current situation?
The answer is that REALITY BITES like a rattlesnake.
The majority of folks would rather tell a lie and embellish their situation instead of being truthful with themselves about where they are.
The truth hurts. Sometimes the truth hurts so bad that to make ourselves feel “better” we create a fictional situation or story to “try” to cover up the pain.
That plan, however, leads nowhere.
[bctt tweet=”The majority of folks would rather tell a lie and embellish their situation instead of being truthful with themselves about where they are.” username=”fitman83″]This phenomenon of stretching the truth is so blatantly obvious on social media that it sticks out more than a modern day stripper with a fake butt.
This is the photoshop era and many folks are addicted to editing themselves into someone who they are not. Filtering levels are at an all-time high.
In the fitness game, you see these pictures online that can fool folks into buying lame products that do nothing for the physique.
When you see waist trainers, bogus supplements, and photoshopped pictures you can be assured that you are being duped to spend your hard earned money. You do not need those lies in your life.
The truth is that real results require time and accountability.
There are two things that will always keep you accountable and never lie to you. They are:
Mirrors Don’t Lie And Neither Do Barbells
1) The Mirror
The Mirror is the ultimate loner.
Mirrors have no friends and will tell you exactly who you are the moment you look into it. Mirrors do not have to lie to you like most online dating profiles.
Tired? The mirror will show you those heavy Louie Vutton bags under your eyes and a weathered face.
Skinny? The mirror will show you a bird chest, spindly arms, pipe cleaner legs, and the lack of muscle that you have.
Flabby and Sick? The mirror will show you exactly how bad you have been eating (that gut) and how inactive you have been.
Lean and Muscular? The mirror will show you exactly how well you have been eating and how your hard efforts have paid off.
When you look in the mirror you will instantly know exactly where you are.
When it comes to building your physique you must rely on the mirror and pictures vs. the scale to gauge your progress.
If I told you one year from now that you would weigh around the same (+/- 5 to 10 lbs scale weight) but you would have a drastically improved physique would you even care about the scale at that point?
Mirrors don’t lie.
2) The Iron
The Iron is incapable of telling you false truths.
Barbells and dumbbells are only capable of holding you accountable to how far you have progressed.
Many trainees do not make any progress in the gym.
This is not because they are “destined to be weak” or “I’m just gonna have to accept that I’m skinny.” That is self-defeating, garbage talk.
Many trainees are incapable of making progress because they are scared to increase the weight on the bar.
How can you expect to build those stallion legs when every single week of the year you squat 135lbs for 3 lame sets of 8?
What progress can you truly make on developing a wider back when you perform the same 2 sets of 6 alligator arm chin-ups at the end of every upper body workout?
By adding weight to the bar (or belt) you are going to force your body to grow and get stronger.
[bctt tweet=”Many trainees are incapable of making progress because they are scared to increase the weight on the bar.” username=”fitman83″]By increasing the weight used in a given exercise you are giving your body a new stimulus. Your body responds greatly to challenges.
With that being said can you add weight to the bar forever? No!
But if you have not added any weight to any exercise since baggy jeans were hot in the 1990’s, then you need to reevaluate what in the blue sky you are really doing in the gym.
No progression equals no changes in your performance or physique.
Conclusion
Mirrors don’t lie and neither does the Iron.
Unlike filters and phony friends, the Mirror and the Iron only have your best interests at heart which is showing you exactly who you currently are.
Commit to pumping Iron to track your performance and use the Mirror to gauge how good your physique looks.
The truth will always set you free.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer,
Fitman
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