Put the Kettlebell Back

What do you typically want to do after a hard set? Drop the weights and lay down? You're not alone. But today we're going to talk about why doing that is awful for you, and why resisting that urge helps you build better habits.

After the Last Set

It's natural after we exert ourselves to want to drop. To immediately rest without going through the proper steps, and just leave things strewn about.

For example, I do high rep kettlebell swings in the morning twice a week. When I was starting out, I used to just drop the kettlebell in place, flop on the floor, and lay there until I caught my breath. Eventually I got tired of having to step around the kettlebell when I came back from showering, so I started to force myself to move it back against the wall immediately after the set.

Once I started doing this, something happened. I felt less tired, despite the extra effort put forth.The kettlebell was already back where it belonged, so there was no extra step to take later. Nothing to trip over or walk around. I had been making more work for myself just to have that temporary release of dropping the weight and laying on the floor.

This got me thinking of all the areas of life where we take shortcuts that feel good at the time, but that cost us in the long run and develop bad habits. How many times do you just drop things at the end of what you're doing? Not clean up, not organize, not set things back to a ready state? How much time does that cost you?

Returning to an Empty Bar

Few things kill your motivation to engage in something than having to do even MORE work to get it started. Nowhere was this more evident to me than when I would return to my fully loaded barbell sitting on the floor from the previous session's dead lifting. Few things are more demotivating than having to unload a bar that is already sitting on the floor before you can even start lifting.

So I started making sure I always came back to an empty bar that was properly racked. A solid start to any lifting session, one less excuse to not get under the bar that morning. You can apply this to nearly any task or area of your life. Clean your desk at work before you leave. Make your bed at the beginning of the day. Clean out your car at the end of the day.

Don't leave a mess for yourself to come back to. Not only does it make more work for you, it contributes to poor organization and overall laziness, and those only work counter to all of your goals.

Do You Empty the Bar?

As always, I want to hear from all of you. Tell us about the routines you follow that keep you organized and following good habits.