by Michael Plank
I’ve talked at length about how every workout you do doesn’t have to be the hardest workout you’ve ever done; about how you don’t always have to redline; about how “your best” won’t be that good sometimes and that’s ok. And I stand by it. But sometimes, you should do things that are really hard.
Sometimes you should go faster than you think you can. Sometimes you should go heavier than what you feel confident with. Sometimes you should come to that workout you’re dreading precisely because you know how much it’s going to suck.
Will doing that make you a better athlete? Yes, definitely. But more than that, it’ll make you better at being uncomfortable. And that’s a life skill that is super valuable.
People ask me when the hook grip starts feeling better, or when cold showers get easier, or when workouts stop being so hard… The answer is: never.
But the more exposure you have to getting uncomfortable, the more exposure you have to doing hard things, the less it bothers you that things are uncomfortable and hard.
And that’s valuable because life gets uncomfortable. Life gets hard. And if you can learn how to deal with discomfort and difficulty without also being desperate to stop feeling like things are uncomfortable and difficult, it makes things a little easier.
In other words, doing hard things is a skill. And it’s a skill that you can practice, and one where you can improve. And that makes your workouts better. But much more importantly, it makes your life better.