Check your ego.

If you want to have a few good laughs at the expense of others, do a Youtube search for "ego lifting". I think it's one of the largest contributing factors to gym injuries. It's probably also one of the biggest reasons people stop going to the gym. Their ego that is. We see other people doing something or lifting something and then we decide we can do it too. Many times we can't. For various different reasons. But sometimes we try anyway. And then we get hurt or we get discouraged and we don't go back the next day. Or we can't. So it's usually best to leave the ego at the door.

Having said that, sometimes (and only sometimes) it can help. I don't go to the gym to impress anyone, I don't care what other people think, the only person I'm in a competition with is myself. But, sometimes I look around and think "if they can do it then I should be able to do it". I suppose it's a form of motivation. And occasionally it pushes me just a little. Encourages me to put on a little more weight, do one more rep, or even try something new.

Seated leg press machine

My gym being what it is doesn't have a huge variety of equipment. I have access to two different types of leg press machines. One is of the seated variety and only has 395 pounds of weight on it. Yesterday I let my ego get the better of me, maxed it out and did 4 sets of 25. To my astonishment it was actually kind of easy. So today I finally decided to use the other machine. It takes free weights and can hold up to 1000 pounds. A bit more of a challenge.

Now I'm not really one for "maxing out" but I really wanted to see just what I could push. 315 was easy, so was 405. Stacked on some more plates and tried again. 585 made me grunt but still managed 12. I actually made it to 810 pounds. And boy can I feel it. My legs haven't felt like this in years. And I like it. I'm not sure why I did it, curiosity mostly, with a dash of ego. The ego is what drove me to keep pushing after about 600 pounds. On the plus side, I know my body and I know when to stop. I think that's the important thing. Ego is fine, to a point. You cross that point and enter the land of injury.

The other kind