Mastery across skills is more similar than different. It takes the same dedication, sacrifice, and training to be a top ballerina, bodybuilder, or creative.

Most of all, it requires full concentration.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is special because he made it as the world’s top bodybuilder before he was 22 years old, moved on to success in Hollywood, and then to a political career. Well played muscle man 💪

I’m reading his book Education of a Bodybuilder and it isn’t really about working out at all. It’s about mindset.

This quote stuck out to me.

“I knew the secret: Concentrate while you’re training. Do not allow other thoughts to enter your mind.”

When I went to the gym I got rid of every alien thought in my mind. I tuned in to my body as though it were a musical instrument I was about to play. In the dressing room I would start thinking about training, about every body part, what I was going to do, how I was going to pump up.

Schwarzenegger, Arnold. Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder (p. 104).

He goes on to describe the consequence of not putting yourself into it.

I’d seen guys reading the newspaper between sets day after day, and they always looked bad. Some of them had been going through the motions of training for years, and you couldn’t tell that they had ever picked up a weight.

I’m guilty of this too. Going through the motions. I’ll be working out sometimes with a podcast or letting my mind wander. It’s fine if I’m using it to emotionally process my day, but I shouldn’t expect to see any changes running on semi-auto pilot. Call it what it is: Emotionally processing the day.

How many gyms out there are just physio-emotional processing centers? Maybe they should lean into that.

Three years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, I gained 20 lbs in 3 months doing nothing more than gymnastics rings. I remember watching a video of Arnold’s at that time and he talked about how he treated every repetition as if it was his last set. Going in with full intensity. This was my guiding principle and it worked – it help me stay focused and connect with my body.

If you want to see gains, put your full attention into what you’re doing. This applies to any activity where you’ve made progress and now can run the process without thinking. You can go on autopilot practicing guitar, at work, and even in relationships.

There is nothing wrong with maintenance mode if that’s what you’re after.

Put your full concentration back into it to get to the next level. 💪 🧠