Inside all of us there lurks an inner “Animal”. This “Animal” is a very primal creature. It has no fear. It never hesitates. It never backs down or takes the easy way out.
When we workout we need to search for our own individual inner “Animal”. This is your quickest route to achieving your Fitness goals. You have already seen a glimpse of your own inner “Animal” and you probably don’t even realize it.

Do you remember a time when during a workout a weight that normally seems quite heavy to you, seemed to weigh 10-15 pounds less than usual? Or the time when you wanted to go for 8 reps and instead achieved 15 reps? I bet you putt he weight down and said out loud “Where the heck did that come from?!”

Moments like that seem mystical, almost magical because they rarely happen.
What if we could tap into that power at will? Focus that extra strength and endurance when it benefited us most? What kind of gains do you think you could make towards your Fitness goals?

I am on a Quest when I workout. I do my best to make whatever workout I am doing on a particular day as brutal and tough as possible. Of course I adhere to strict form when lifting weights or doing high intensity cardio. You can’t push to your maximum if you get injured because of sloppy exercise form.

Often times people see someone is incredible shape and say “Its all genetics.” Or “They were probably in good shape to start”. This is a cop out. Amazing conditioning and strength come from one thing: HARD WORK.

Make the decision today to take the road less traveled in regards to your workouts. Workout hard enough that you exercise and develop your mental strength as well as your physical and cardiovascular strengths.

When I was in the Military, I used to turn loose my inner “Animal” when I ran my 2 miles in my ABU’s, Combat Boots, Body Armor, and Kevlar Helmet on a snowy road in the middle of winter in Maine when its 1 degree outside, I don’t see any other runners on the road. My goal is to run my 2 miles fully geared up in a good old fashioned New England Nor’easter! (That is a Blizzard for those folks that don’t know!) Why? Because I don’t know of anyone else who would do it. Its easy to run in shorts and running shoes when its 75 degrees out. What fun is that? Again, take the road less traveled!

I am turning loose my inner “Animal” when I get over 200+ consecutive reps of 2 Hand Swings with my 53 pound KB and all I can think about as I put the weight down is how many more I WILL do next time.

I am turning loose my inner “Animal” when I do an Insanity workout and I absolutely refuse to let my knees drop to the floor and take a break.

I am constantly fighting an internal war with myself in regards to my effort during a workout. When a workout is complete, I find myself asking questions like, “Did I work as hard as I could?” “Could I have pushed a little bit more?”

Each person’s inner “Animal” is a bit different. I have seen glimpses of Tami’s inner “Animal” on many occasions. I’ll be watching her during a set of a particular exercise when she is really struggling with a weight and then it happens….its like she “relaxes” while giving 100% effort. I know to my core that she won’t quit until she reaches her goal or betters it with whatever weight she is using. There is no quarter asked…or given. 

My inner “Animal” has ALLOT in common with Wolverine, the Comic Book/Movie Character.

Wolverine has certain anger, a fury that bubbles just below the surface, waiting to be let out of its cage. When my inner “Animal” surfaces, I get angry, very angry. I can feel it happening. I grit my teeth, snarl, and suddenly whatever exercise I am doing does not take as much effort. I am capable of extraordinary feats of strength and endurance.

When I turn loose my inner “Animal” I am more resistant to pain, and fatigue. Mentally, I am an unstoppable force. I reach a point where I am more afraid of failing or selling myself short during an exercise/workout than I am just “getting it done” and finishing a workout.

When you realize your inner “Animal” exists and you can bring him/her to the surface almost at will it becomes quite addicting. That is why I am constantly searching for ways to workout harder. Searching for new ways to punish myself during a workout. New ways to “suffer” that push my Fitness to a new level. To accomplish physical and mental tasks that other think are a little “crazy”.

When I don’t search for the most difficult path I am disappointed with myself. I feel like I let myself down. There is no better feeling when exercising than to finish a brutal workout that you didn’t think you could make it through. To stand tall, with your shield held at the high port, and say to yourself “I gave everything I had!” “I left it all on the field of battle!”

Your nutrition and body fat levels work hand in hand in regards to your inner “Animal” as well. When your nutrition is 100% and you are taking your supplements each day you will see advances in your physical conditioning. You see new definition. New veins where you didn’t have them before.

A perfect example is the nice vein that Tami has in her lower abdominal wall. I can tell you point blank that little vein is a point of pride with my wife. She has worked very hard with your nutrition and workouts to have that little vein pop out. That to her, and everyone else, states clearly what kind of shape she is in.

My nutrition is spot on right now. I am eating the way I am supposed to and I am seeing increased definition every day. Because of this, my will power is IRON CLAD. Nothing can tempt me when my nutrition is firing on all cylinders. Remember: “NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS LEAN FEELS….”

This is a perfect example of my inner “Animal” guarding my willpower to its dying breath.

Have you ever wondered, “Just how far can I push myself?” If you are not achieving your Fitness goals, maybe you need to have a sit down with yourself and ask some tough questions. “How bad do I want to be in the absolute shape of my life?”

Sure, you could take the easier way out and plan to achieve your Fitness goals over the next 2 years. Before my first Round of P90X in March 2007, if you had said to me “Mike, if you give this 90 day program everything you have. Work harder than you have ever worked before and don’t cheat on your nutrition you will lose 44 pounds in 90 days. You will reduce your body fat from 12-15% to 5-6% and get into the best shape of your life.” I would have told you that you are CRAZY! But that is exactly what happened.

Would you rather hit your Fitness goals in 90 days or 290 days? If you release your inner “Animal” as often as you can, I know for a FACT that you will achieve your Fitness goals more quickly that you ever thought possible….

Let your inner “Animal” off the chain and be prepared to be amazed at what happens….

Live Strong ~ Live Lean

Mike