Mainlining Massive Motivation from Makaveli

I can barely move my legs today, but what I feel more than the pain is the pride that comes with having gone to the gym when REALLY I didn’t feel like it.

And, once I got there, putting in more effort than I thought I could give. 

What helped me do that - besides going through years of forcing myself to do uncomfortable but necessary things that I didn’t want to do, so that eventually it became “normal” for me - was one specific YouTube channel that I want to share with you today.

Honestly, I’ve been watching videos from Makaveli Motivation for YEARS, and they’ve been responsible for the strongest parts of my mindset today.

They’re obviously not for everybody - if you’re not into fitness (and that’s cool if you’re not), then you may not love them as much as I do.

They’re basically speeches, interviews, and soundbites from famous bodybuilders, along with training footage set to epic music.

I f***ing love that stuff.

But again, maybe it’s not your thing.

The mindsets and attitudes that you can learn from these guys, though?

They can help ANYBODY, and they’re literally life-changing. I’ve probably watched an average of 2 Makaveli Motivation videos every day for the last 3 years, and today I’m a totally different person.

I even watch some of them before I start work, to really amp me up into doing my absolute best. I watched one of my favorites just before writing this post, to get me in the mood to really give my all for you guys!

One of my favorite bodybuilders now, Tom Platz, features in a lot of the videos, and I’ve gone entire workouts with his voice in my earphones, screaming at me:

“HOW BAD DO YOU WANT LEGS?!?!”

See, Tom Platz had some of the greatest legs in bodybuilding, and he’s just all-around inspiring AF. He’s a legend, in and out of the sport, and he’s one of the first people who taught me how to “go there.” How to really GIVE, and how to never leave the gym a loser.

The important point here is that it’s not about how much you lift.

It’s never just about the weight.

The person who can lift 600lbs without even really concentrating, or the super jacked guy checking Instagram the whole time he’s at the gym, never really putting his mind inside the muscle - these people are nothing compared to the person lifting “only” 25lbs while giving it everything they have within them. 

It’s about the EFFORT and not the outcome.

Of course, the outcome does matter. We go to the gym (or do anything else in life) because we want a result. We want success. We want to achieve something important.

The outcomes we create and the results we get, though, never determine whether or not we’re a “loser.” The externals don’t define the internal. 

But what Tom Platz means by “never leave the gym a loser” is that we can never give anything less than our total commitment. We can never put anything less than our total being toward whatever it is that’s important to us.

That transcends bodybuilding, transcends the gym, and goes way beyond having big muscles. It’s…life. 

People think: “Oh, well yea that’s just the gym.”

But the gym is life! 

At the gym, just as when we’re trying to achieve anything important, we pit ourselves against something heavy, intimidating, and something that’s currently just beyond our present ability. Then we give everything we have within us to move beyond where we are now, to create something in our lives or with our physiques that never existed before.

And to be able to do that, for years and years and years…that’s where all the pride, confidence, and self-worth comes from.

So yea, definitely check out Makaveli Motivation if you’re into that stuff (the channel has like 900,000 subscribers, so it’s not like they need my help to promote them haha), and go create something that never existed before!

All the best,

Matt Karamazov