Building Toughness
Toughness isn’t relegated to the physically strong. Actually, many of the “jacked dudes” you see in the gym probably aren’t all that tough. Toughness has more to do with the mind and the spirit than the body. Having a body that’s in great shape simply gives you the tools to be a tougher guy – but it doesn’t mean you’ll actually do it.
How do you build a strong mind and a strong spirit?
Fear
Fear can be a debilitating thing, or it can be an exhilarating thing. It all depends how you react to it. We all have fears. Some of us let those fears rule our lives, other’s rule those fears. We help them make us more successful and happy people.
You can walk through life on a safe path. You can make a bit of money, have a decent house. Be relatively happy and live life without knowing what you truly could have accomplished. Deep down there are going to be regrets. You’re going to have wishes: things you wish you had tried but were too scared to pursue.
OR, you can grab life by the balls and stare your fears in the eye. You can take control of your life, make it your bitch, and live a truly successful life.
That’s toughness. It isn’t winning a fight, it’s going into a fight that you know you’re probably going to lose, but giving it your all anyways.
Give it some time
Toughness isn’t something you’re innately born with. Some people are definitely naturally tougher than others. But it’s something that can be developed, cultivated and grown. Our experiences make us who we are.
If you’re the kind of person that looks for the easy way out. The kind of person that quits and backs down. Then you’re never going to develop this toughness or thick skin. But you can change that today by doing a few things.
1. Don’t back down when you’re faced with a challenge. That challenge could be in your life or even a confrontation. Stand firm. Have a backbone and stand for something.
2. Stand for something. Write down your greatest values and the principles you want to live by. What matters to you most? Is it your morals, you family, your God? Wear them on your sleeve with pride.
3. Train for it.
Try the following workout. Don’t do it more than 3 times a week, because it’s going to be pretty tough on your body. 4 days a week of rest will help you see the benefits from the training.
It’s a challenge workout. The idea is to go through each exercise in order – or you can mix up the order – but complete the total amount of reps in each exercise (with minimal rest) before moving on to the next exercise. Time how long it takes for you to complete the entire workout.
The goal is to quit as little as possible, both with frequency and duration. The shorter your time is, the less time you’ve spent resting. Which means, you’re quitting less, and you’re not giving in to pain. You’re becoming tougher.
It’s a simple premise but it’s also more of a mental test than a physical one. You’re training to be a tougher person with this workout.
Start with a 5-10 minute warm-up – don’t go into this Challenge Workout cold!
1. Squats – 50 reps
2. Bench Press – 50 reps
3. Upright Row – 50 reps
4. Deadlift – 50 reps
5. Push-ups – 50 reps
6. Yates Row – 50 reps
7. Dips – 50 reps
8. Jumps – 50 reps (12-24 inch box as fast as possible)
If you want to get an abs workout in too – add hanging leg raise (30 reps) on to the end of the workout.
Weights for all exercises done with a barbell:
Group 1 – 95 lbs
Group 2 – 115 lbs
Group 3 – 155 lbs
I also recommend doing some rotator cuff exercises after each workout as well.