Working hard isn’t enough all the time.

You’ll probably hate us for saying this, but working hard all the time, 24/7 is a recipe for disaster. We’re advocates of pushing yourself hard in the gym, but there is a time and place for everything. It’s not always the person who pushes the hardest that gets the best results. Sure, it’ll do wonders for your mental strength by getting yourself used to pushing hard during every training session, but let’s face it, you’re bound to get burned out after awhile. This probably makes us sound like a bunch of wimps. Just what the hell are we talking about? Well pay attention.

When it comes to bodybuilding, the tried and true terminology of no pain no gain quickly enters most people’s heads. Now pain can be described as many different things. You have physical pain and you have mental pain, which is probably more of a problem than the latter, and there are countless different reasons for both. For this segment we’ll be dealing with the issue of physical and mental pain through tough dieting and tough workouts.

If you want to get massive and lean then you’re going to have to pay the consequences. You’ll never get the pecs of your dreams if you don’t work hard in the gym and you’ll never see your abs if your diet is lacking. That being said, there comes a breaking point in which measuring each meal’s macronutrients and pushing yourself to the brink is going to backfire. Unless you’re a competitive bodybuilder, the likelihood of keeping up a strict regimen is bound to bring you to the breaking point. Sometimes you need a cheeseburger to put a smile on your face. Sometimes you need to lift less weight for less reps. Sounds like a cop out, but listen up and thank us later – you’re a human, not a machine.

Working hard is essential for gains, but so is working smart. Some people may not believe in cheat days, but here’s the thing, they put a smile on your face and can inject some positivity into your diet plan. Some days you should hit the gym and concentrate less on getting your personal best or pushing to failure and more about lighter loads with proper form. Sometimes you can put away the grilled chicken and have a slice of pizza. If you’re as dedicated to getting your ultimate body as you think you are, then you’ll be happy to discover that you won’t lose your abs after cheating for one day. Besides, the joy of eating that burger or whatever your cheat food is will put you in a better mental place. Sometimes torturing yourself with a strict, unpleasant diet while punishing your body in the gym can lead to the road that no fitness fiend wishes to get to. The breaking point that sees you put down the weights for good.

So what do you think? Do you need to always be on point in order to see the results you want? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.