Turn Over Your Metaphorical Soil

By Chris Harms

It is well established that here on the Farm, we are obsessed with growth, and are well aware of the difficulties that go along when pursuing it. Likewise, growing as a person is no easy feat. That is why, essentially, the primary objectives of the Muscle Farm are to challenge you, to change you, and empower you. 

When putting a plant into the ground, if the soil is not enriched with nutrients in between the seasons, it will struggle to survive. The soil, being depleted from the last crop that resided in it, is comfortable with just being soil, unmoved, and unchanged. Hell, if it were up to the soil, it would probably stay like it is until the end of time. It’s not until we, as farmers, turn over the dirt and add in new soil and/or fertilizer that it is ready for more life. This disruption and stimulus gives the soil more potential to host new growth.

Similarly, it’s not until we, as coaches, task you with a new stimulus that you are able to become a more capable individual. Asking you to add weight to the bar, or to increase sets and reps, or to run farther or faster, jump higher or further, or even just to move better - it is our duty as a coach to disrupt your comfort, to turn the soil. “If it does not challenge you, it does not change you,” after all. 

Often times we shy away from challenging circumstances because our brains instinctively view them as a threat. Easier, our subconscious thinks, to just walk away from the challenge if given the opportunity. And in today's society, those opportunities are endless. While it is a rare individual who seeks discomfort on their own, I do believe it can be done. However, it might take the guidance of a coach to lead you on your path. After all, the origin of the word "coach" came from the process of transporting someone from where they are to where they want to be.

The weight room can be one of the best and safest environments to encourage growth on a daily basis. This isn’t to say it is going to be easy. You will still be put in uncomfortable situations, but I think it’s learning to embrace that feeling that is so empowering. If you slay the “I am not sure I can do this” feeling enough times, you become so much closer to blooming into the flower you were meant to be.

The next time your soil is being turned over, don’t run from it, welcome it. You’ll be surprised at what you can do.