Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - Motivation Monday: Shut Up and Train

Episode Date: July 31, 2017

This episode is part of a weekly series that I have dubbed “Motivation Monday.” (Yes, I know, very creative of me. What can I say, I’m a genius…) Seriously though, the idea here is simple: Every Monday morning, I’m going to post a short and punchy episode that I hope gets you fired up to tackle the workouts, work, and everything else that you have planned for the week ahead. As we all know, it’s one thing to know what you want to do, but it’s something else altogether to actually make yourself do it, and I hope that this series gives you a jolt of inspiration, energy, and encouragement to get at it. So, if you like what you hear, then make sure to check back every Monday morning for the latest and greatest installment. Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: https://www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

Hey, this is Mike from Muscle for Life and welcome to another episode of my podcast. This episode is the first in a new weekly series that I'm going to do called Motivation Monday. And yes, I know that's so creative of me. I am such a genius. What can I say? Seriously though, the idea here is simple. Every Monday morning,

I am going to post a short and punchy episode that I hope gets you fired up to tackle the workouts, work and everything else that you have planned for the week ahead. Because it's one thing to know what you want to do, but it's something else altogether to actually make yourself do it. And I hope that this series gives you a jolt of energy and encouragement to go ahead and do all of those things that you want to do. So if you like what you hear, then make sure to check back every Monday morning for the latest

and greatest installment. This first episode is called Shut Up and Train, which I know it sounds a little bit aggressive and maybe it is a little bit aggressive, but you know, sometimes a kick in the ass is a good thing, right? Check it out. Let me know what you think. Here it is. You. Yes, you. You've got excuses and I want you to shut up and train. I know. You don't even have to tell me. I've heard the same from hundreds, no, thousands of others, quote unquote, planning on getting fit. You really want to get into shape, but something about not having time or needing more sleep or fear or lack of know-how or experience or your middle school PE teacher that forced you to run laps until you puked and made you hate exercise. I'm sorry, but I just don't care. I'm training. You're not. End of story.

No, I'm serious. Shut up. Just shut up and train. Yeah, it's hard. Some days it feels like you're trying to swallow the sun, like you're trying to walk a 220-pound dog or lift dead elephants. Training requires discipline, effort, and sacrifice. There are no free rides. There's no way to slide by on bullshit. You have to give something to get something. But let's face it, training isn't that hard. It's not Mortal Kombat. It's not quantum physics or even algebra. I'm not asking you to pick up a sword and shield and enter the arena or wrestle an alligator or eat a fried tarantula.

Hell, I'm not even asking you to make a fool of yourself in a public space or scrub the stale piss off a public bathroom floor. I'm telling you to drag your ass up to a bunch of metal every day and pick it up and put it down like a savage until your muscles burn and body aches. Clank, boom, thud. The beautiful chorus of a ritual honoring mother nature's most cherished touchstone for all of her creations. And that is the survival of the fittest, not the richest, not the wittiest, not the kindest, the fittest money can't buy strength or discipline. Wit can't make you tough. Kindness can't stop life from running you over. So shut up and train. Don't talk about training. Stop reading about it.

Don't even read my stuff. It'll be there later after you've trained, when you've put in the work and paid the admission ticket. You go train and then you come back to me. Anything else is just foreplay, masturbation even. And that's just not how it works here. You have to get in or get out. So if you're thinking, I really want to train, but, but what? But bullshit. Writers write. Salespeople sell.

Politicians politic. We train. So you want to get fit? Easy. Get training. Oh, you're scared, are you? Well, I mean, I understand. It means ditching the excuses, the self-destructive habits, the self-pity schticks. It means opening yourself up to criticism, judgment, disappointment, and maybe even a bit of despair. It means announcing to the world that you've been less than perfect and have somehow found the audacity to live up to your standards. Trust me, I know. I really do. And I don't give a shit. Shut up. I'm not telling you

to jump out of a plane without a parachute. I'm not trying to conscript you into a harem of coke-addled runaways. No one's lurking in the alleys. Nobody has written your name on a bullet. Train. Right the fuck now. Go. Train. Oh, what's that?

You don't have the time? Oh, well, okay. I mean, why didn't you just tell me that in the beginning? You're excused then. No problem. Get real. Who has time for half of all the stuff that we want to do? You know, I'm sorry that life isn't gift wrapping a chunk of time every day

so you can train in zen-like comfort and solitude. Join the club and face the fact that you're going to die with a long to-do list. I want you to make damn sure that start training isn't on that list. Oh, you're afraid of messing it up? Of quitting like all the other losers? Well, welcome to being human. Nobody wants to face plant. It might leave a scar. People might jeer at us. We might jeer at ourselves. But that's okay because everyone stumbles and falls. The strong ones, though, they get back up a little bit wiser, a little bit less likely to fall again. Oh, you're worried that nobody respects that you want to train?

Well, nothing new there. People love to ridicule what they don't understand and really what they wish they had or could do. So who cares what they don't understand and really what they wish they had or could do. So who cares what they think? Disrespect is how you know you're getting somewhere. Forget glamour and glory. Remember, they tarnish and fade. Dirt and honor though, now we're cooking. Those are the real treasures. So you're either training or you're not. Just stop worrying about what comes next. Stop thinking about how great it's going to be. Stop talking, tweeting, and promising. I'm here and I'm waiting and I can't do anything for you if you're not training. Ultimately, I can't make you train. I can't strap your lazy limbs to mine and do it for you. This is on you.

So shut up and train right now. Stop listening to this podcast and train whatever you can do right now. I don't care what it is. Start with 100 pushups and then maybe go run some sprints. Who cares if it's random, if it seems pointless? Just do the work, sweat the sweat, and admire every bead that your body offers you. And then go in for some more. Push, pull, and squat like your life depends on it. And once you have, stop and be proud. Take that self-doubt and punt it across the room because you're doing it. You're training.

So scream. No, let's say roar. Go ahead right now like a conqueror. I said roar, damn it. And tomorrow, well, the plan starts with shutting up and it ends with training. Don't call your friends to see if anyone's going to join you. Don't think about how hard it's going to be. Don't you dare tell yourself that you deserve a break. You deserve to train. And once you've done it enough, you get to say that you are doing it. So shut up and train. Then you can email me. Then we can talk. Hey there, it's Mike again. I hope you enjoyed this episode and found it interesting and helpful. And if you did and don't mind doing me a favor, then please do leave a quick review on iTunes or wherever you're listening from. This

helps other people find their way to the show and learn how to build their best bodies ever as well. And of course, if you want to be notified when the next episode goes live, then simply subscribe to the podcast and you won't miss out on new episodes. And if you didn't like something about the show, then definitely shoot me an email at Mike at muscle for life. And that's just spelled out muscle, F O R life.com and share your thoughts on how I can make this better. I read everything myself and I'm always looking for constructive feedback. So thanks again for listening to this episode. And I hope to hear from you soon. Oh, and before you leave, let me quickly tell you about one other

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