Where are your limits?

The upper limits of human performance have been tested for years by athletes.  But what are your limits?  What are they dependent on?

Let’s first make clear that we are talking about work.  Work, in physics, is force times distance.  How does this translate to the gym?  To move a weight, whether it be your body or a kettlebell, requires a force – physical energy invested in the effort.  Distance can be miles run, or the length of extending your arm times twelve, like in a set of bench presses.  So the work we put in at the gym can be thought of as the effort it takes to move whatever we move, multiplied by how many times or how far we move it.  When we run, we work.  When we lift, we work.  So what stops us from working?

We can address the obvious.  Injury, past or present, and certain diseases can create a ceiling that limits you.  But what if we are healthy – injury and disease free? 

Our single biggest limiting factor in the amount of work we are able to accomplish at any given point is OUR MENTAL STATE.  The belief that you are capable, or not capable, of producing the results that you want to produce will make it happen.  Every time.

Think about the amount of work our relatives had to do, even 2 or 3 generations ago.  When we were more dependent on agriculture, and didn’t have a choice but to work to do what was necessary to survive, humans produced A LOT of work.  Their mental state was one of “must”.  To think they couldn’t, or wouldn’t do the work was not an option.  Therefore, the amount of work they produced would put us all to shame.

Take it from our forefathers – your limitation is not physical.  We are all living in the same bodies that they lived in.  We are all capable of the amount of work that they produced.  It might behoove us to think about their mindset, and also to consider our current mindset.  Do we tell ourselves we can’t do it?  Do we tell ourselves that it is an option? 

Don’t let can’t take control.  You are capable.  You are strong and energetic.  But only if you believe it.  And you should.