When we think of grit, most of us picture this hard-core athletic person, sweaty, slamming battle ropes with that look of fire in their eyes.\u00a0 Some of us look at these hard-core pictures and videos on social media, wondering if that could ever be you.\u00a0 The answer is YES.\u00a0 But how do you get to that gritty level of athleticism?\u00a0 The answer is to stick with the things that are important to you.\u00a0 Every time you fail, are told you can\u2019t do it, or have a setback, don\u2019t quit.\u00a0 Get back on the horse that bucked you.\u00a0 This is essential to success, independent of whatever talent and intelligence a person has.\u00a0 The personality trait of grit is developed by life experience.\u00a0 Every time you push yourself one step further than you thought possible, you develop a little grit.\u00a0 And like anything, the more you practice it, the better it gets.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I stacked up all my failures next to my successes, the failure stack would be at least twice the size of my success stack\u201d – Me again.<\/h3>\n
Whenever I failed, or was told no, or that I couldn\u2019t do something, I worked harder. Who has the right to tell me what I can and can\u2019t do? NO ONE.\u00a0 They said I couldn\u2019t run, so I ran.\u00a0 They said I wouldn\u2019t be able to perform at high intensity. I did CrossFit and placed.\u00a0 They said I would never win a bodybuilding show.\u00a0 I trained and competed until I won.\u00a0 And I then won again and again.<\/p>\n
This is in you as well. Choose to do one more rep when it would be easier to stop. Prove to yourself -in unlimited ways, that you have what it takes to keep on going when the going gets tough.\u00a0 One thing that helps me is that I don\u2019t label failures, obstacles, or setbacks as bad.\u00a0 I label them as an opportunity to learn.\u00a0 Perhaps you learn the way you tried wasn\u2019t the right way, so you try a different way.\u00a0 You try until you find the way that works for YOU.<\/p>\n
Here is an example:\u00a0 Start small.\u00a0 Let\u2019s say your goal is to deadlift 500 lbs using your\u00a0Olympic OB 86 barbell<\/a>.\u00a0 First, you master the deadlift form.\u00a0 Your first few gym sessions practicing your deadlift will be ugly.\u00a0 But you don\u2019t quit because you didn\u2019t master the lift on your first try.\u00a0 Boom, you\u2019ve developed some grit. \u00a0 Once you master the form, you start working on building strength.\u00a0 You master 100 lbs.\u00a0 You then move to 200 lbs.\u00a0 You failed your first few attempts at 200 lbs but didn\u2019t quit.\u00a0 Boom, your grit is stronger.\u00a0 This continues until you reach your goal of 500 lbs.\u00a0 Remember, grit is perseverance over time.\u00a0 Deadlifting 500 lbs takes time.\u00a0 You fail, you try again, but you never quit.\u00a0 This may take years to accomplish, but you WILL achieve it, all while developing grit, resilience, and working on your passion.<\/p>\n Grit is about establishing habits that allow you to show up consistently and overcome challenges and setbacks time and again.<\/p>\n Higher levels of grit and resilience are associated with greater levels of physical activity engagement and adherence.<\/p>\n Mentally tough athletes are more consistent than their less gritty counterparts.\u00a0 Gritty athletes don\u2019t miss workouts.<\/p>\n Gritty athletes are more consistent than their peers.\u00a0 They have a clear goal that they work towards each day.\u00a0 They are not distracted by instant gratification scams, negative feedback, or excuses.\u00a0 They know their priority and don\u2019t allow background noise to prevent them from making progress on their goal.<\/p>\n Those with higher levels of grit spend more time participating in high intensity and less time watching TV than those with low levels of grit.<\/p>\n At this point, you may be curious if you possess this trait of grit.\u00a0 Dr. Anglea Duckworth has created a 12-item Grit Scale.\u00a0 The purpose of this scale is to self-measure the extent to which individuals can maintain focus and interest and persevere in obtaining long-term goals.\u00a0 Scoring ranges from 1(not at all gritty) to \u2013 5 (extremely gritty).\u00a0 You can assess yourself on the Grit Scale\u00a0here<\/a>. Once you complete it, follow the directions at the bottom to determine your grit score.<\/p>\n If you are a coach or trainer, I suggest incorporating a grit scale in your client\/athlete assessment in your initial screening process.\u00a0 This may help identify a potential risk factor for poor adherence to programmed exercise prescriptions. If your athlete reflects a moderate to high level of grit, you can expect them to show up and do the prescribed work.\u00a0 If the athlete reflects low levels of grit, you can implement small steps to build their grit.\u00a0 By better understanding where you or your is at the outset, you\u2019ll be more prepared to plan the correct path to lead them where they need to be.<\/p>\n Grit is developed through all ages with life experiences.\u00a0 Yes, some are born grittier, and others must work hard to develop it (nature and nurture).\u00a0 Find your passion, set your goal, and work towards it.\u00a0 Feed that grit fire, as it just may be the thing that takes you from ordinary to extraordinary.\u00a0 I encourage you never to quit. You control your destiny no matter what obstacles you face or the negative feedback you receive. Failure is not bad; it is a necessary part of success.<\/p>\n Ashley Hromyak, BS Kinesiology, CSCS, RYT200, TSAC-F\u00a0<\/b>is a US Army Veteran, a former airborne paratrooper who\u2019s supported special operations and multiple combat tours, an IFBB professional bodybuilder, Yoga Instructor, and fitness coach. She has been training and coaching since 2007, and owning her own business, Go to Grow Fitness, LLC since 2012. Ashley has her BS in Kinesiology with a minor in coaching, and is graduating with her MS in Kinesiology in December 2023. Certifications: CSCS, TSAC-F, and RYT200.<\/p>\n Email:\u00a0ashley.n.hromyak@gmail.com <\/p>\n Ironmaster has been specializing in producing the best home gym equipment since 1978. Check out\u00a0Ironmaster.com<\/a>\u00a0to learn more about our equipment, like our legendary\u00a0Super Bench Adjustable Weight Bench<\/a>, the unrivaled\u00a0Quick-Lock Adjustable Dumbbells<\/a>, the customer favorite\u00a0IM2000 Self Spotting Machine<\/a>\u00a0(Smith Machine style half rack!), and of course learn how to build a\u00a0custom package<\/a>\u00a0to take advantage of our everyday discount program.<\/b><\/p>\n Keywords: grit, resilience, passion, perseverance, strength, courage, mental toughness, determination<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This article provides pointers on how you can develop the one crucial character trait \u2013grit –, to improve how you think, feel, perform, and be successful in any goal you set for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[128,132,10,129,133,21],"class_list":["post-163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-fitness","tag-determination","tag-grit","tag-mental-toughness","tag-mindset","tag-resilience","tag-strength"],"acf":[],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/BLOG_grit_email-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163\/revisions\/319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}No Grit, No Guts, No Glory<\/b><\/h3>\n
\u201cLife may try to knock you down but be persistent with your passions \u2013 cultivate grit, resilience, tenacity, and enduring success will come\u201d<\/b>\u00a0 – Amit Ray.<\/h3>\n
About the Author<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.ironmaster.com\/blog-assets\/profilepic_AshleyHromyak.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n
\nWebsite:\u00a0Go to Grow Fitness<\/a>
\nInstagram:\u00a0@ashley___the___amazing__<\/a>
\nFacebook:\u00a0\/ashley.hromyak<\/a>
\nBest supplements:\u00a0Metabolic Nutrition Supplements<\/a><\/p>\n