#37 Why So Extreme?

A long time ago, I realized something.  People that expected the norm, get a normal result.  Fast forward years later, I began reading the powerlifting teachings of Louie Simmons.  One of the ideas that came out of his teachings particularly stuck with me: "Regular people get me regular results with regular output.  Extreme people or crazy motherfuckers give me crazy results."  To be clear, he’s talking about in terms of strength.

The Extreme Version

If I do what everyone else does, I'm going to get the result that everyone else gets.  As I am my own science project and testing things out, why not always think of the extreme version?  Here's a good example…  When I was lunging and it was difficult, I'd be going up and back in the gym with 135 or 225 on my back.  But what if I did this for longer distances?  

I didn't do this for a period of time, meaning I didn't really come upon the 400-800 meters of lunges until later in my career.  That said, it was that thought process of, "No one else is doing this.  Let me try a lap.  Let me try two laps.  Let me try three laps.  Let me try a mile."  I did a mile four days in a row one time.  I did a mile with a 40-pound vest.  I did three quarters of a mile with an 80-pound vest.  I was testing the limits to find a baseline.

Why?

This is kind of my thought process.  Why am I so extreme?  I pushed it to the point where I was having a hard time recovering.  But what was the baseline?  400 meters all day.  Then the baseline became 800 meters all day, every day.  Streaks of 100, 200, and 300 days.   

What is your expectation of your baseline of fitness or business or the way that you operate?  That's what I started to push the limits on.  The limits with how I looked, my strength numbers, my business operations, and the way I operated overall.  As I started to push in a more extreme fashion, I started to get a more extreme result.

Self-Talk

I began to understand what I needed to do in order to get extreme results.  Whether it's conditioning, strength, or business.  It doesn’t matter.  I've always processed my thoughts in this mind frame, and when I understood it even more, I began to go straight to the extremes first.  A lot of people build up to that.  That doesn't mean I go and do that right this second.  I'm just saying that's where my brain goes first.

What’s the craziest version of it?  Then, what's a version of this that I could maintain for a while?  What should I try?  What should I push?  I'm always pushing my mind to that extreme angle.  I don't know if I was born this way, and I don't know if I learned it.  I just know when I heard Louie say that it made all the sense. 

What’s the Baseline?

Ask yourself: what's the baseline of the norm?  What am I going to attempt, and what is pushing the limit?  How can I operate at a consistent level that’s above the norm in order to get exceptional results?

Take squatting for example.  I was unhappy with my results from a back squatting standpoint.  Through my research, Squat Every Day emerged.  Two years later, I hit all my goals.  It was extreme, and guess what?  It made a huge difference in my career, because it separated me! 

People were like, "All right, this fitness model-looking dude is squatting every day, and now he’s squatted 540 at 181 drug-free, raw, and in his late thirties."  There were some things that came from that that made me a stronger human, made me understand how to push, and made me understand what I'm capable of.  We have extreme people like David Goggins out there that people aspire to be like, and they watch him, and they draw motivation from him.  That dude takes it to where he almost died, he’s so crazy.  People can’t even conceptualize what this means.

Personal Expectation

I'm not saying you have to be like this.  I'm simply suggesting trying to demand more out of yourself.  Stretch the limits a bit with your personal expectations.  Whatever you do, whatever your craft is, or whatever you're pushing yourself towards, ask yourself, "What happens if I would do this?"  Try it for a few days.  Test yourself.  You are your best science project.  

Have I tried extreme things that haven’t worked?  Yes, but did I learn a ton and then try a second version that maybe worked a little better?  Of course.  Then, maybe on the third try, I found out what worked really well.

An Example

You know how many motherfuckers are lunging right now instead of doing traditional cardio?   People that used to run three miles, that weren't getting the results that they wanted, now lunge 400 or 800 meters and look completely different.  They're stronger and more locked in.  Walking lunges are a one-of-a-kind cardio and conditioning combination. 

Those that are doing the walking lunges aren’t doing additional cardio.  I don't do the stepper.  I don't then go run two miles.  I lunge, and I made it mine because I tested it to the extreme.  Consistency and commitment.  Seven years of trial & error has turned into something incredibly unique that I couldn’t have foreseen.

Apply Apply

So, why not apply these same concepts into other areas of your life?  Same with my studies.  I get two hours a day in from reading, from audio books, from learning and trying to push myself.  The results, compounded over time, can be exponential.  I’m getting better, sharper, and more confident.  Even if it’s just for 15 minutes each day.

Look at the extreme version.  Test yourself out, no matter what.  Push for a result that's not normal.