Tip: To Win, Expect Pain

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.