First, you may be asking, “What is that ridiculous abbreviation/acronym?”
LIMFAC = Limiting Factor.
It is most often used by military personnel and other technical oriented careers to describe a device or procedure’s, or in this case, person’s weakest or least efficient part.
For instance, new high-performance aircraft in the military can sustain more G’s than humans can withstand, thus making the pilot the only LIMFAC for operating at a higher level.
If you have any personal LIMFACs in fitness, it could be holding you back from your true potential and you could be missing out on, well, being a better human.
Today, we will identify your LIMFACs in fitness…and we eliminate them!
Money
A lot of people will claim money as a limiting factor when it comes to fitness, and I don’t disagree entirely. Fitness can be expensive, especially if you go the traditional route (boring).
Common expenses:
- Gym Membership
- Clothes
- Healthy foods
- Shoes, shoes and shoes
- Equipment
It all adds up! And takes its toll.
What to do?
If I could tell you how to make a crap ton of money all in one day to afford everything tomorrow…I would probably be doing that myself (and this would be a different blog), but unfortunately that is not the case. But here is what you can do:
Step 1:
You HAVE to make fitness a priority in your life!!
Step 2:
Some ideas…
- Start a budget and put fitness in it (most people don’t have one)
- Save for a garage gym
- Bodyweight routines are free!
Bottom line. Fitness will cost some money, so you will have to make it a priority. However, if you plan and save, it really doesn’t cost that much to be fit. You really don’t need that much equipment to be in amazing shape, which brings me to my next point…
Equipment
Do not let equipment be the reason you are not working out, and definitely don’t let it be the reason you are not getting as good of a workout as you should.
The reason you’re not working out:
As mentioned above you could easily start a garage gym if you just save for it a little bit. The main reason the DIY Corner on this site even exists is to show people how affordable fitness can be at home. Sure you can get really high quality equipment from a major manufacturer, and I recommend it if you have the money, but you don’t have to.
The items I recommend from the DIY Corner if you can’t do them all.
Add a barbell with some bumper plates to the above three items and you are well on your way to equipment not being your limiting factor. And you will be on your way to some elite fitness.
The reason your workouts suck:
On that same note, don’t let your crappy equipment be the reason you are not getting a good workout. For instance, don’t be this guy:
- “Oh, I can’t do cleans with my barbell because the collars don’t spin very well.â€
- “Yea, I don’t want to do that many box jumps in a workout because I am afraid my box is too old to handle it.â€
- “I can’t do heavy snatch or deadlifts because I don’t have bumper plates.â€
Seriously, don’t be that guy. Oil your collars and learn how to take care of your bar, or get a new bar. Repair your box or build a new one. Get bumper plates or lift on a platform in the grass.
Adapt and overcome!
Programming
Sometimes the only thing standing in your way, is you.
The reasons you are not getting the results you want is not necessarily because you are not working out hard enough or at the right frequency. It can come down to the simple fact that you may not know the best way to program for yourself. Maybe you have gone too far down one path and don’t know what’s next…
While it is not true for everyone, it is true for a good amount of you out there (I was in the same boat at one point). I thought I knew what I was doing for a while a few years back…but, boy, was I wrong!
It wasn’t until some of these books became regular bedside reading that I started to realize I was finally onto something:
Those are some of my favorites and I could probably recommend about a dozen others. In my opinion if you don’t know the science behind training, or at least follow someone who does know the science behind training…you could be spinning your wheels, creating a limiting factor and missing out on your true better-human potential!!
As I mentioned Monday, if you need help with programming be sure to contact me about the new Eo3 programming service (more info to come in a few weeks).
Mental Toughness
Mental toughness is everyone’s limiting factor to some degree.
Everyone has that little voice in their head that yells….STOP!!! This voice is truly nothing more than fear. Fear of the unknown. What will actually happen if you were to push yourself just a little bit more? Seriously, what would happen?
Best thing to do is something I picked up from James “OPT†Fitzgerald a long time ago from the documentary, “Every Second Counts“.
Treat that voice or “guy/gal†(if you view it as an alter ego) as an old friend. He is just chilling inside your head until you “rock the boat†too much, then he gets up and starts screaming at you to stop what you are doing right now.
Once you get to that point and you are well aware this “old friend†is making an appearance. Just say “What up!? and screw you!!â€. In fitness, you have to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. The level of comfort you can attain from being uncomfortable will determine how far you go in and with fitness.
I challenge you to go meet up with your old friend today and tell him, “Shut the hell up, I’m busy.â€
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Eliminating as many limiting factors as you can will take you a long way in fitness and getting in great shape. Sitting there blind, deaf and dumb to all of them is like never taking the training wheels off your bike.
It’s time to ride with the big boys. Will you join me??
-Jerred