This is the sign that hangs on the wall of my garage at my squat rack. I hung it up as a reminder to... well... not quit!
I need the reminder because of something I've been experimenting with -- 20 rep squats, aka "breathing squats," aka "man-makers," aka "super squats," aka "squats and milk" (named for the drink that helps pack on the muscle).
Here's the concept: Take a weight with which you can squat about 10 times (not 11 or 12), and stand there until you're done with 20. It just may be the hardest exercise you'll ever do. It's physically and psychologically brutal. It makes you feel like you might pass out, throw up, cry, shout things you shouldn't, and QUIT.
Reps #1 through #10, simple enough, just like an ordinary set of squats. Rep #11 can only be done after pausing a bit to get some air into you. Stand there with the weight on your back... breathe... deep and slow... and squat... #12, stand there and breathe, squat #13... etc. Somewhere around #15 to #17, your body starts getting to your mind... "What in the world are you doing? Rack that weight and be done with this nonsense! Just quit!" Then I look at my sign. DON'T YOU QUIT. It's my reminder to keep going, now matter how bad I want to give up.
It's a simple and short phrase, because at the time of the greatest struggle, long or detailed arguments are not going to register very well. Breathe... huff, huff, huff, inhale BIG and... squat... back up again... #18. "I can't do this anymore, I'm going to quit before I pass out or puke."
At this point, it is nearly impossible to reason thusly, "Jerry, if you intend to get the maximum benefit of this very difficult exercise, you need to complete the set. It is precisely these moments of great struggle that provoke the physiological response that you seek. If you continue and finish the set, your body will release growth hormones and testosterone, and your muscles will grow bigger and stronger. Also, Jerry, before you put that barbell down, you may want to consider that your heart is also getting quite a good workout from these breathing squats. I urge you to continue until reaching your original goal of 20 squats with your 10 rep max."
No, no. That's not how your brain is working right then. It's more like, "oh.... huff, huff, huff, I can't do this... huff, huff, huff, I think I'm going to die...I quit, I quit." Then, I look at my sign again... DON'T YOU QUIT. Short and sweet. Very effective. "Why shouldn't I quit? I don't understand... this hurts!!! I should quit." DON'T YOU QUIT. Ok, ok, keep going. Yes, keep going. You'll understand it later, just obey it now.
After finishing the squats, some people collapse on the floor, others go the bench and do pullovers to help breathe and expand the chest. Me, I just head towards the door on my wobbly legs and try to get as much air as I can, knowing that I just finished a very difficult thing, and I didn't quit. Now I can go have some milk and enjoy the benefits of my workout (well, after the Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness becomes tolerable).
Ok, what's the point of this post? DON'T YOU QUIT!!! That's the point. Consider this workout story to be some sort of metaphor for life. Times get tough. Our patience is tried, our energy gets zapped, our faith gets shaky, and sometimes we want to quit. DON'T YOU QUIT.
Need a sign telling you not to quit? Here it is. Post it up in your memory:
"If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small" -- Proverbs 24:10.
Note, 1. In the day of adversity we are apt to faint, to droop and be discouraged, to desist from our work, and to despair of relief. Our spirits sink, and then our hands hang down and our knees grow feeble, and we become unfit for anything. And often those that are most cheerful when they are well droop most, and are most dejected, when any thing ails them. 2. This is an evidence that our strength is small, and is a means of weakening it more. “It is a sign that thou art not a man of any resolution, any firmness of thought, any consideration, any faith (for that is the strength of a soul), if thou canst not bear up under an afflictive change of thy condition.” Some are so feeble that they can bear nothing; if a trouble does but touch them (Job_4:5), nay, if it does but threaten them, they faint immediately and are ready to give up all for gone; and by this means they render themselves unfit to grapple with their trouble and unable to help themselves. Be of good courage therefore, and God shall strengthen thy heart.
--Matthew Henry.
