Strength Life Legacy
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Off to Columbus and the Arnold
As the title reads, I'm off to Columbus and the Arnold classic this weekend.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Training - Lower body
Hack Squats -
135x10,10
225x8
315x8
405x8
500x5
405x10
1 Legged Leg Press -
1 plate per side x 20
2 plates per side x 20
Chest Supported Rows -
4x30
Notes - Well on my last bench workout I strained my right pec pretty good. So much so that I have not been able to get my hand back far enough without severe pain to squat. There's no tendon damage and this is the first time I've ever really stained my pec to this degree (little nicks here and there). I knew I was feeling off that day and should have just ran with BBM I but bench has been going so well I got greedy with the 405 for 3 sets of 5.
Since I couldn't do regular squats I opted for hacks. I've always sucked hard at hacks and I think that's due to my poor quad strength/development. Well these pumped my quads up something terrific so I think I will include more of them in the rotation because I felt they did a great job of isolating the quads. Pretty sure I could have done 6 plates per side for 5-8 but no need in getting crazy right out of the gate.
135x10,10
225x8
315x8
405x8
500x5
405x10
1 Legged Leg Press -
1 plate per side x 20
2 plates per side x 20
Chest Supported Rows -
4x30
Notes - Well on my last bench workout I strained my right pec pretty good. So much so that I have not been able to get my hand back far enough without severe pain to squat. There's no tendon damage and this is the first time I've ever really stained my pec to this degree (little nicks here and there). I knew I was feeling off that day and should have just ran with BBM I but bench has been going so well I got greedy with the 405 for 3 sets of 5.
Since I couldn't do regular squats I opted for hacks. I've always sucked hard at hacks and I think that's due to my poor quad strength/development. Well these pumped my quads up something terrific so I think I will include more of them in the rotation because I felt they did a great job of isolating the quads. Pretty sure I could have done 6 plates per side for 5-8 but no need in getting crazy right out of the gate.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
The cost of happiness
The simple fact of existing in this world means you will be, at times, subjected to loss. There's very few things that you will ever be able to fully hold on to forever. Mainly because forever doesn't exist, and life itself is very finite. But even so, nothing remains the same.
Unfortunately, during our time here, life will eventually strip you of everything you hold most dear to you, and remind you every so often of just how cruel "existing" itself can be.
Choose wisely.
We will feel deceived, and foolish, and wronged in ways that we feel is incomprehensible.
We ask how it is that the person we loved so much, could speak to us with words that even our worst enemies would feel is harsh. How could they use the pieces we gave them that we felt were so fragile, that made us feel vulnerable, and create a jagged sword with it, and slice us apart with it? How could they ask us to open up who we are to them, and tear our walls down so that they could be close to us, only to use that proximity to run that jagged blade up our spine?
But they will. The people we love the most, will hurt us the most. For no other reason than they have the ability to do so.
The people that were once our "safe place" will at times, become something entirely different. They will emotionally enslave us and become our tormentors, dragging us across a bed of nails all the while telling us it's entirely our fault.
And unfortunately, you too will play the role of tormentor at times as well. Intermittently donning the masks of both tragedy or comedy. Playing both the roles of both puppeteer, and puppet. You will be both victim, and assailant.
We so readily identify when we are the victim, or the puppet. Those moments are incredibly apparent to us. The times when we are lied to, betrayed, scorned, rejected, dismissed, or cast aside. Or even worse...that our needs or feelings be looked upon with apathy or indifference.
"How could they just not care at all?"
There will also be things that are completely out of our control altogether.
We will wonder how it is that our child, or mother, or father, or husband, or wife, or significant other could be stricken with cancer, or some other terminal disease. We will ask how "fair" is it that they could be taken from us, when we love them more than the oxygen we breathe, and are every reason we even continue to want existence.
How "fair" is it that some asshole ran a red light and now we have to sit and watch a loved one cling to life in a hospital bed? How fair is it that we have to watch them suffer so tremendously for a wrong they didn't commit?
All of these moments engrave that very old cliche that "life isn't fair" deeply into us. And we will come to understand that no matter how "good" we are we will suffer. We will come to know loss, despair, and grief.
It is completely inevitable.
What is also inevitable, is that life always gives something in exchange for whatever it took from you. No matter what anyone tells you, there is no such thing as a "no win" situation. But there's also no such thing as a "no lose" situation either. When something is taken from you, something will remain in its place. It's not always apparent to us at first, but it's there. It often just takes time for the fog to be lifted, and for our eyes to be opened to it. It's what creates the "what I know now..." in us. Even if those moments of loss only create the awareness of loss, then that alone creates experience and association. Wisdom is invaluable, and for most of us, the cost of attaining wisdom can be very high.
Loss serves many purposes outside of bestowing wisdom upon us. It's a reminder to us that we grieve because we loved what something was. That at one time, we held something uniquely special to us. Loss reminds us of our own mortality, and the mortality of the people and things we love. Loss is often what gives us appreciation.
A few years ago, I lost the best dog I ever had. My bullmastiff, Dozer. He was with me for 11 years, and the love I had for him was greater than that of any dog I had ever owned. I had driven hours and hours to a farm to pick him up. I brought him home and he and my daughter, who was only 2 at the time, bonded immediately. As a pup he followed her everywhere, and they played together constantly. When he matured into a stout and powerful stud, he played the role of protector and guardian. If I wrestled or roughoused with her, he'd immediately let me know that he did not approve. If the gate to the fence was left open in the backyard, he would not leave the yard. He would stand watch. Making sure that no one dare enter the yard, and that his playmate was safe.
A man from the gas company learned this lesson the hard way when he opened said gate, and Dozer charged him full throttle. I'm fairly certain he pissed himself trying to get back out of the yard.
Dozer hated when we left him to go on vacation. He hated the kennel. He let me know this by tearing up his favorite blanket and bed while he was "imprisoned" there (I'm sure that's the word he would have used if he had been able to talk).
So the next time, we left him at home, with the dog door open and let the neighbors check on him.
When I returned home, he woke me in the night by getting right in my face while I was sleeping. He never came into the bedroom, so I knew something was up. He strolled casually back into the living room where he then sat right beside the elephant sized turd he put on the floor for me. Again, his protest for being left alone for too long.
After that, he always came on vacation with me.
Dozer was the strongest and most vibrant dog I had ever owned. He was 135 pounds of lean muscle, and when he ran it was almost majestic looking. He was so handsome that if I took him anywhere, anyone that saw him immediately had to come pet him, and marvel at what a specimen he was.
Dozer died from cancer. It whittled him down to just a mere shell of what he was practically overnight. When we gave him his last bath before the trip to the vet, he was so weak we had to help him out of the tub. The same dog that would jump into my passenger seat, and slobber incessantly in my face, now had to be lifted into the car and placed gently in it, and he collapsed on the seat.
Life took away what he was. And it took away something I loved so deeply.
A few days after he passed, I was getting ready for bed and going through my usual routine of walking through the house, checking all of the windows and doors to make sure they were locked. After my final check of the front door, I turned to kneel down and hug my buddy goodnight, as I had for the past 11 years.
Lost in "routine", I forgot that he was no longer there. And my legs gave way beneath me, and I fell to the floor, and sobbed for hours.
We will never understand how sweet something actually is, without understanding what bitter tastes like. We cannot truly appreciate the comfort of the light, without knowing the cold depths of the pitch black. And it is up to us to inhale as much of those sweet moments as we can, because they are not forever. It is up to us to bask as long as we can in the warmth of that light, because eventually the darkness will return.
It is also up to us to remind ourselves, that when the bitter is so sour that it contorts our face, and makes us wrench, that eventually the sweet will return as well. It's up to us to remain steadfast in the darkness, and not let it misshape us into something grotesque and ugly when the light finds its way back to us.
Life will unstich us. It will empty us of resolve and deplete us of our strength. It will also give us the chance to be restored and resurrected into something new afterwards. Something stronger, something wiser. But we have to allow ourselves to embrace the understanding that we can't grow, or get better without loss. And we have to come to the understanding that we can't allow loss to rob us of those opportunities to become something stronger. Loss can make you weak if you allow it. It can make you jaded and bitter if that is what you choose. But ultimately, you get the choice to decide the mold and shape of who you will be once the pain of loss has been lifted.
A few years ago, I lost the best dog I ever had. My bullmastiff, Dozer. He was with me for 11 years, and the love I had for him was greater than that of any dog I had ever owned. I had driven hours and hours to a farm to pick him up. I brought him home and he and my daughter, who was only 2 at the time, bonded immediately. As a pup he followed her everywhere, and they played together constantly. When he matured into a stout and powerful stud, he played the role of protector and guardian. If I wrestled or roughoused with her, he'd immediately let me know that he did not approve. If the gate to the fence was left open in the backyard, he would not leave the yard. He would stand watch. Making sure that no one dare enter the yard, and that his playmate was safe.
A man from the gas company learned this lesson the hard way when he opened said gate, and Dozer charged him full throttle. I'm fairly certain he pissed himself trying to get back out of the yard.
Dozer hated when we left him to go on vacation. He hated the kennel. He let me know this by tearing up his favorite blanket and bed while he was "imprisoned" there (I'm sure that's the word he would have used if he had been able to talk).
So the next time, we left him at home, with the dog door open and let the neighbors check on him.
When I returned home, he woke me in the night by getting right in my face while I was sleeping. He never came into the bedroom, so I knew something was up. He strolled casually back into the living room where he then sat right beside the elephant sized turd he put on the floor for me. Again, his protest for being left alone for too long.
After that, he always came on vacation with me.
Dozer was the strongest and most vibrant dog I had ever owned. He was 135 pounds of lean muscle, and when he ran it was almost majestic looking. He was so handsome that if I took him anywhere, anyone that saw him immediately had to come pet him, and marvel at what a specimen he was.
Dozer died from cancer. It whittled him down to just a mere shell of what he was practically overnight. When we gave him his last bath before the trip to the vet, he was so weak we had to help him out of the tub. The same dog that would jump into my passenger seat, and slobber incessantly in my face, now had to be lifted into the car and placed gently in it, and he collapsed on the seat.
Life took away what he was. And it took away something I loved so deeply.
A few days after he passed, I was getting ready for bed and going through my usual routine of walking through the house, checking all of the windows and doors to make sure they were locked. After my final check of the front door, I turned to kneel down and hug my buddy goodnight, as I had for the past 11 years.
Lost in "routine", I forgot that he was no longer there. And my legs gave way beneath me, and I fell to the floor, and sobbed for hours.
We will never understand how sweet something actually is, without understanding what bitter tastes like. We cannot truly appreciate the comfort of the light, without knowing the cold depths of the pitch black. And it is up to us to inhale as much of those sweet moments as we can, because they are not forever. It is up to us to bask as long as we can in the warmth of that light, because eventually the darkness will return.
It is also up to us to remind ourselves, that when the bitter is so sour that it contorts our face, and makes us wrench, that eventually the sweet will return as well. It's up to us to remain steadfast in the darkness, and not let it misshape us into something grotesque and ugly when the light finds its way back to us.
Life will unstich us. It will empty us of resolve and deplete us of our strength. It will also give us the chance to be restored and resurrected into something new afterwards. Something stronger, something wiser. But we have to allow ourselves to embrace the understanding that we can't grow, or get better without loss. And we have to come to the understanding that we can't allow loss to rob us of those opportunities to become something stronger. Loss can make you weak if you allow it. It can make you jaded and bitter if that is what you choose. But ultimately, you get the choice to decide the mold and shape of who you will be once the pain of loss has been lifted.
Choose wisely.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Some technical errors that maybe holding your bench and deadlift back
Since I opened up the floor the online coaching, I have found that programming is generally the easiest part of helping people get stronger. It's not difficult to understand that side of training when you understand how to manipulate volume and intensity, and adjust those things based on what feedback I get each week from the lifters videos.
What I find, more often than not, is that the novice and intermediate level trainee usually suffers from similar flaws in the technique of their lifts.
Today I will go over a few errors I commonly see both when I do seminars, and from videos I get from my trainees that need to be corrected.
Deadlift error - Hips too low / Shoulders behind the bar
This one is very common. A lot of guys really bend deep in the hips, thinking they are more or less doing to squat the weight off the floor. They essentially try to mimic that motion, and don't realize that it's actually putting them in a poorly leveraged position.
Here is a trainee I have that demonstrates what I am talking about.
In this picture, the lifters hips are too low, which inevitably brings his shoulders back and behind the bar.
This is a very poor position to be in from a leverage standpoint, to start the pull. When said lifter tries to start the pull from this position the bar doesn't actually start to move off the floor until this happens.......
Notice that his hips rise, and bring his shoulders over the bar. This is the proper position the lifter needs to be in in order to get leverage over the bar, and apply enough force into the bar to break inertia.
To offer up a positive here, his shin angle in relation to the bar is good in both positions. That is, he's not "over crowding" the bar. Here is an example of that....
Notice that his shoulders and hips aren't in a bad position, however his knees are VERY far forward over the bar. What happens in this case is that the lifter has gotten the bar too close to him at the start of the movement, and when the knees shift this far forward, then the lifter ends up having to apply force off the ball of the foot, rather than from the heel, and the hips are less involved in helping to break inertia. What will generally happen next is that the hips will rise high very fast, but they will still be behind the lifter and not moving forward to aid in the lockout. It turns into more of a stiff legged deadlift because knee extension and hip extension are not working in unison.
As you can see here, the hips are locked back and not moving forward. This is how a stiff legged deadlift more or less looks. Which is great....if you're doing stiff legged deadlifts. Now what happens is that the lifter has to try and finish the pull more or less with just the low back, and the hips and glutes have a harder time coming forward to help the lockout.
Here is an example of a more advanced guy I am training. Notice his shin position is up and down, his shoulders are over the bar, and his hips are in perfect position to start the lift.
His upperback is slightly rounded, which is fine because his low back is still being held neutral. This is a solid and correct position to begin the pull in.
Bench Press - Poor elbow and forearm angle
The one error I see fairly common in benching is that they don't get proper bar path in relation to elbow and forearm angle. When this happens they essentially turn the bench press into a somewhat modified tricep extension.
Here is an example of this....
The red line is the angle he is pressing in. The green line represents the angle he SHOULD be pressing in.
Here again is the more advanced lifter I am working with.
Good arch, solid setup on the bench, and proper elbow angle in relation to the bar.
Conclusion -
Lots of guys have no clue when it comes to programming. I'm talking advanced guys as well. Every week I see guys doing max singles with very little rep work, and then watch them wonder why they miss weights in the gym, at the meet, and don't understand why progress is so hit and miss.
With most novice guys I see lots of technical flaws that tend to hold their lifts back. It can take a while to get out all of the kinks, but even the most brilliant of programming won't be near as effective until these things get ironed out.
Many times guys search up and down for perfect routines or program and then wonder why they get stuck over and over again at the same weights and rarely break PR's. Poor technique will always be a limiting factor when it comes to weight on the bar. So it's essentially that you do your due diligence in regards to sharpening your form and technique if you want to get better.
What I find, more often than not, is that the novice and intermediate level trainee usually suffers from similar flaws in the technique of their lifts.
Today I will go over a few errors I commonly see both when I do seminars, and from videos I get from my trainees that need to be corrected.
Deadlift error - Hips too low / Shoulders behind the bar
This one is very common. A lot of guys really bend deep in the hips, thinking they are more or less doing to squat the weight off the floor. They essentially try to mimic that motion, and don't realize that it's actually putting them in a poorly leveraged position.
Here is a trainee I have that demonstrates what I am talking about.
In this picture, the lifters hips are too low, which inevitably brings his shoulders back and behind the bar.
This is a very poor position to be in from a leverage standpoint, to start the pull. When said lifter tries to start the pull from this position the bar doesn't actually start to move off the floor until this happens.......
Notice that his hips rise, and bring his shoulders over the bar. This is the proper position the lifter needs to be in in order to get leverage over the bar, and apply enough force into the bar to break inertia.
To offer up a positive here, his shin angle in relation to the bar is good in both positions. That is, he's not "over crowding" the bar. Here is an example of that....
Notice that his shoulders and hips aren't in a bad position, however his knees are VERY far forward over the bar. What happens in this case is that the lifter has gotten the bar too close to him at the start of the movement, and when the knees shift this far forward, then the lifter ends up having to apply force off the ball of the foot, rather than from the heel, and the hips are less involved in helping to break inertia. What will generally happen next is that the hips will rise high very fast, but they will still be behind the lifter and not moving forward to aid in the lockout. It turns into more of a stiff legged deadlift because knee extension and hip extension are not working in unison.
As you can see here, the hips are locked back and not moving forward. This is how a stiff legged deadlift more or less looks. Which is great....if you're doing stiff legged deadlifts. Now what happens is that the lifter has to try and finish the pull more or less with just the low back, and the hips and glutes have a harder time coming forward to help the lockout.
Here is an example of a more advanced guy I am training. Notice his shin position is up and down, his shoulders are over the bar, and his hips are in perfect position to start the lift.
His upperback is slightly rounded, which is fine because his low back is still being held neutral. This is a solid and correct position to begin the pull in.
Bench Press - Poor elbow and forearm angle
The one error I see fairly common in benching is that they don't get proper bar path in relation to elbow and forearm angle. When this happens they essentially turn the bench press into a somewhat modified tricep extension.
Here is an example of this....
The red line is the angle he is pressing in. The green line represents the angle he SHOULD be pressing in.
Here again is the more advanced lifter I am working with.
Good arch, solid setup on the bench, and proper elbow angle in relation to the bar.
Conclusion -
Lots of guys have no clue when it comes to programming. I'm talking advanced guys as well. Every week I see guys doing max singles with very little rep work, and then watch them wonder why they miss weights in the gym, at the meet, and don't understand why progress is so hit and miss.
With most novice guys I see lots of technical flaws that tend to hold their lifts back. It can take a while to get out all of the kinks, but even the most brilliant of programming won't be near as effective until these things get ironed out.
Many times guys search up and down for perfect routines or program and then wonder why they get stuck over and over again at the same weights and rarely break PR's. Poor technique will always be a limiting factor when it comes to weight on the bar. So it's essentially that you do your due diligence in regards to sharpening your form and technique if you want to get better.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Training - Bench and stuff
Bodyweight - 273
Close Grips -
barx400000
135x10
225x5
315x4
365x3
405x5,5,5
Bench Grip Lat Pulldowns - 5x20
Front Raises - 25 pound plate x 100
Notes - Felt shitty has hell today. Still, the 405 for 3 sets of 5 was a volume PR. However on the last rep of the last set I felt something sort of twinge in my pec. Don't think it's serious at all and I should I stuck with the sets of 3 but it felt stupid light today even with me feeling very off.
Close Grips -
barx400000
135x10
225x5
315x4
365x3
405x5,5,5
Bench Grip Lat Pulldowns - 5x20
Front Raises - 25 pound plate x 100
Notes - Felt shitty has hell today. Still, the 405 for 3 sets of 5 was a volume PR. However on the last rep of the last set I felt something sort of twinge in my pec. Don't think it's serious at all and I should I stuck with the sets of 3 but it felt stupid light today even with me feeling very off.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Underrated and overrated concepts in strength training - Part 2 - The underrated
Principles -
Truth is, it's probably a bit unfair for me to list this because training principles are something only guys that have paid their dues have a keen sense of, and an association with.
It takes a long time to really figure out the key elements that are optimal for you. By that I mean, all the various moving parts in regards to creating a solid training ideology that really resonates with you, and helps you improve on a consistent basis.
I know a lot of very good lifters that don't adhere to the principles I believe in. Likewise, I know many great lifters that believe completely in all the principles I adhere to.
The key here is that these guys eventually settled on the components that helped them the most, and then made changes as they saw fit. Some of those changes stayed, and some were tossed out. This is part of the process of getting better.
Principles are really what guys that focus on "routines" need. They focus on "routines" because they don't have the depth of experience needed yet, to build those routines.
One theory I have about the best guys out there is this; outside of genetics they have an uncanny ability to quickly theorize something and apply appropriately, or discard it. This doesn't mean they never try something new out. It just means they figure out very quickly what works for them, how to apply it, how to manipulate it, and how to wade through bullshit better than most. They figure these things out faster than most, and have an innate ability to be far more introspective about how what is and what isn't working for their body.
Dorian Yates figured out very quickly that his body liked low volume work and training to failure, or past it. Arnold figured out that his body responded to high volume work. Both guys figured out that dbol worked really well, and used it appropriately.
A big part of these guys becoming champions, in my opinion, is that they knew what worked for them quickly, and rode that horse. That could partly be because those guys responded better to training than most guys in general, or it could be that they found optimal paths for getting better far more quickly than a lot of guys do.
Developing a training ideology can be difficult. Especially for novice guys, and especially because the internet offers so much information that lifters can get very confused about what exactly optimal means. Well, it means doing what gets you from point A to point B as quickly as possible. That is putting it in very simple terms, but at the heart of it all, that's what it is.
Recovery/sleep -
It's become very much a fad lately to spout off about how there is no such thing as overtraining and to call people pussies or lazy that believe overtraining is real. I'm not sure why this hypermacho bullshit gets perpetuated but it isn't based in anything other than an ideology of "I'm tougher than you because I train more!"
Think about how stupid that is for a minute and then continue reading.
When Stan Efferding broke the 2300 total mark he said he trained twice a week.
To borrow a couple of quotes from this article that I loved so much....
It’s never the training routine that’s limiting growth, it’s always the recovery phase, eating and sleeping. The vast majority of people who want to get bigger and stronger already train hard enough to grow, they just don’t eat and sleep enough to grow.
I started lifting two hours a day, six days a week, doing endless sets and reps of every exercise in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. I struggled to put on five pounds a year until I finally came across an experienced lifter who told me I was wasting my time with all that lifting and told me to go home and eat. By cutting my training back to an hour three days a week and hiking my calories up to over 5,000 a day, I was able to put on 20 pounds in less than a year!
Truth is, it's probably a bit unfair for me to list this because training principles are something only guys that have paid their dues have a keen sense of, and an association with.
It takes a long time to really figure out the key elements that are optimal for you. By that I mean, all the various moving parts in regards to creating a solid training ideology that really resonates with you, and helps you improve on a consistent basis.
I know a lot of very good lifters that don't adhere to the principles I believe in. Likewise, I know many great lifters that believe completely in all the principles I adhere to.
The key here is that these guys eventually settled on the components that helped them the most, and then made changes as they saw fit. Some of those changes stayed, and some were tossed out. This is part of the process of getting better.
Principles are really what guys that focus on "routines" need. They focus on "routines" because they don't have the depth of experience needed yet, to build those routines.
One theory I have about the best guys out there is this; outside of genetics they have an uncanny ability to quickly theorize something and apply appropriately, or discard it. This doesn't mean they never try something new out. It just means they figure out very quickly what works for them, how to apply it, how to manipulate it, and how to wade through bullshit better than most. They figure these things out faster than most, and have an innate ability to be far more introspective about how what is and what isn't working for their body.
Dorian Yates figured out very quickly that his body liked low volume work and training to failure, or past it. Arnold figured out that his body responded to high volume work. Both guys figured out that dbol worked really well, and used it appropriately.
A big part of these guys becoming champions, in my opinion, is that they knew what worked for them quickly, and rode that horse. That could partly be because those guys responded better to training than most guys in general, or it could be that they found optimal paths for getting better far more quickly than a lot of guys do.
Developing a training ideology can be difficult. Especially for novice guys, and especially because the internet offers so much information that lifters can get very confused about what exactly optimal means. Well, it means doing what gets you from point A to point B as quickly as possible. That is putting it in very simple terms, but at the heart of it all, that's what it is.
Recovery/sleep -
It's become very much a fad lately to spout off about how there is no such thing as overtraining and to call people pussies or lazy that believe overtraining is real. I'm not sure why this hypermacho bullshit gets perpetuated but it isn't based in anything other than an ideology of "I'm tougher than you because I train more!"
Think about how stupid that is for a minute and then continue reading.
When Stan Efferding broke the 2300 total mark he said he trained twice a week.
To borrow a couple of quotes from this article that I loved so much....
It’s never the training routine that’s limiting growth, it’s always the recovery phase, eating and sleeping. The vast majority of people who want to get bigger and stronger already train hard enough to grow, they just don’t eat and sleep enough to grow.
Lift heavy weights three times a week for an hour. Eat lots of food and sleep as much as you can.
When I squatted 905 lbs raw in training, I was only squatting every OTHER week. Twice a month! I deadlifted on the alternate weeks and benched once a week. You heard correctly, I trained twice a week when I hit my 2,303 pound raw total and set the all-time world record.
 |
| Might know what the fuck he's talking about |
As Stan got larger and stronger, the need for recovery increased greatly. I've read many times from people that the mantra of "overtraining isn't real" is to spurn people on to train harder because they aren't training hard enough. I'm not sure of that. I've known plenty of guys that trained their asses off with little in the way of gains to show for it. Why? Because they trained far too often, and for far too long.
One theory I have is that some guys are training stimulus sensitive. That is, training will illicit a stronger growth response in them and they get really big and strong easily AS LONG as recovery is adhered to. This of course will vary from individual to individual, however I personally think most guys will get as big and as strong as they can ever get training three times a week, sleeping a lot, and eating a lot of quality food.
The main component here in my opinion, is sleep. It's such an overlooked facet of training and recovery. And while I'm aware that plenty of studies show that performance doesn't seem to be hurt by a lack of sleep, recovery is.
Guys will often tell me in regards to sleep, "well I only get 5 or 6 hours a night and I've made gains."
Maybe you have. But I can just about promise you that you'd be further along if you were getting 8 to 9. I don't need to find scientific data to support this. Babies grow at an exponential rate. They spend their day eating and sleep. They aren't flailing around all day trying to "grow". And you don't grow in the gym.
When you go to the gym, you're creating the stimulus for growth. But that growth cannot take place until recovery has happened. And recovery is dictated by rest and food.
Make a conscious effort to get in bed an hour earlier than you have been, and see if your training doesn't improve and if you don't get "moar gainz".
If you have trouble sleeping, try "Calm" at night. It works very well for helping you relax, and that's a big deal for many of us with insomnia. I have also found that liquid Melatonin works much better than the tablet version, and that small doses work better for inducing sleep (like 1-3mg) rather than larger doses.
Getting a massage once a month is also a great idea, and I don't mean deep tissue work either where afterwards you feel like someone beat you with a 2x4. I mean 60-90 minutes of a relaxing massage. I generally fall asleep on these which kinda sucks because you don't feel the god damn massage when your ass is asleep!
If you have trouble sleeping, try "Calm" at night. It works very well for helping you relax, and that's a big deal for many of us with insomnia. I have also found that liquid Melatonin works much better than the tablet version, and that small doses work better for inducing sleep (like 1-3mg) rather than larger doses.
Getting a massage once a month is also a great idea, and I don't mean deep tissue work either where afterwards you feel like someone beat you with a 2x4. I mean 60-90 minutes of a relaxing massage. I generally fall asleep on these which kinda sucks because you don't feel the god damn massage when your ass is asleep!
Food -
At first food may seem obvious, however if that were the case then the supplement industry wouldn't be a billion dollar a year market.
The reason that protein shakes and supplements have become such a "big picture" in training is for no other reason than the fact that it was driven by the magazines for decades as a way to make money to stay in business. In the 90's the supplement industry was full of advertisements essentially promising you the body of your dreams in mere months, if you took their magical pixie dust.
And it worked. Believe you me it spawned off mega companies in spite of the fact that the claims were like nothing a hardcore tren user had ever seen.
Supplements like Cell-tech eventually became a punch line for this very reason. It seems comical now to think about ads where they said some guy lost 33 pounds of fat and gained 22 pounds of muscle in 4 months but those kinds of claims were very common back in the day.
The Cybergenics poster boy was this guy named Franco Santoriello, and one of their two page ads was photos of him throughout his "transformation" while being on Cybergenics. Basically implying that his evolution from not so jacked greaseball Italian, to very jacked and nationally competitive bodybuilder greaseball Italian.
They never bothered to mention that he never actually took the Cybergenics stack, and that his real stack obviously consisted of highly aromatizing compounds, hence that nice gyno he was sporting. I suppose being honest wouldn't actually be good for bidness.
However dishonesty it seems, does pay off in the supplement industry.
Supplements like "Hot Stuff" flew off the shelves faster than frozen pizzas at Wal-Mart right before an impending snow storm.
Fatties.
GNC literally couldn't keep this shit on the shelf. My aunt was a GNC store manager and she told me every time they were due for an order to arrive people would literally be lined up outside the store waiting for them to open so they could buy it all up.
Later, when word got out that Hot Stuff possibly contained an oral steroid called Methyltestosterone, an inexpensive form of orally absorbable testosterone that works very well at increasing strength, Hot Stuff pulled their product from the shelves and a few months later released it again as a "new and improved formula" that wasn't improved at all.
At that point it didn't matter. They had made their money and the damage was done.
I personally have no idea if companies still try this shit, as I haven't thumbed through a bodybuilding magazine in a very long time. It wouldn't surprise me however, and "hype" does sell.
The issue is, it takes away from a bigger priority. Which is, your diet shouldn't be made up of a bunch of pills and powders. It should be made up primarily of quality foods like whole eggs, chicken, red meat, potatoes, rice, nut butters, healthy oils, and THEN supplemented (which is why of course they are called...supplements) with things like protein powder.
However we live in a "now" world, and people in general are lazy. So it's easier to shake up some powder in a shaker and chug that down than cook. I get the fact that life is busy. However if you are really serious about making substantial gains in muscular bodyweight then taking a few hours out each week to cook up some eggs, rice, and chicken to store in a few containers really shouldn't be that big of a deal. Cook a steak a couple of nights a week, load up once a week with a big cheat meal, and then throw in a few shakes as needed throughout the day.
A very solid rule of thumb is that you should never have more shakes in a day than you have food meals. So if you have 4 shakes you better have had 4 or more food meals.
Paused and bottom position work -
I'm always befuddled when I see guys who are all about trying to develop strength doing things like touch and go deadlifts, or touch and go bench.
From all the anecdotal evidence I've seen, strapped up-touch n go deadlifts do very little, if anything at all, for really developing your maximal pull. If you don't think so, do a set of deadlifts that way, then do dead stop deadlifts and see if there isn't a significant drop off. There will be.
Furthermore, I've seen far too many guys that can do reps with damn near their maximum meet pull in this fashion (using straps and doing touch and go reps).
Now initially, one might think that being able to do reps with damn near their maximal pull would in fact, increase their max pull. However the problem is, when most guys use straps they pull double overhand. This allows them to get "longer" in the pull, and the mechanics of the lift changes. Not only that, but the main limiting factor in the deadlift, hand strength, is removed. Second, the subsequent reps have the lifter in a completely different position than the one he is in when he starts the pull from a deadstop. In case you didn't know this, specificity reigns in lifting.
So then guys that train their pull are forced to pull without straps, from a deadstop, there is little carryover. If you want to develop your pull, your reps should be done dead stop each time so that the lift is mimicked on every rep.
From a hypertrophy standpoint, I can see how touch and go reps or touch n go bench presses have merit. There's more time under tension, and yes, more reps can be done. However from a strength building standpoint they offer little in the way of developing a lift to its maximum potential.
Make sure that your training cycle still includes plenty of paused benches, pause squats, and that you still do your deadlift reps deadstop. This is the best way to develop the lift and the bottom position strength that is required to take the lift to a new level.
But outside of the main lifts, pretty much all big lifts can be done with a paused variation. I really like paused db bench press, and even things like dips and overhead press can be done with paused reps. Yes, training like this will bruise the ego, however are you training to be a Youtube champion or training to actually get stronger? Figure that part out first.
Patience -
Lastly, be patient.
Every week I see shit from guys where they write "current max is 660. Gotta do 710 in 6 weeks."
Really? You're going to add 50 pounds to your lift in 6 weeks? Why not concentrate on 670?
The biggest reason this happens, in my opinion, is that guys are constantly trying to measure up to someone else. It's a nonstop dick measuring contest.
Are you going to keep training after those 6 weeks? Yes??!?!?
Well then how about you set your sights on something realistic in the next 6 weeks instead of something that might take another two or even three years to accomplish?
I could write all day about this topic however, I won't. If you're not smart enough to understand that that it's important not to let your dreams and goals get in the way of reality then either you'll fail a lot, or eventually you'll get "it". "It" being that smart goal setting and planning will win out in the long run, while the other guy is still contemplating how to take his bench from 315 to 405 in the next 8 weeks.
Conclusion -
It appears I may be beating you over the head with some very common ideas that get written about a lot.
Well, there's a reason for that.
Every gym out there is full of guys that train 5-6 days a week for hours at a time, living off of protein shakes and staying up all hours of the night playing xbox or jacking off to porn and then wonder why it is progress is either nonexistent or incredibly slow.
Train hard, but not too often or for too long.
Eat a lot of quality food. Stop debating what "quality" is. We have enough dipshits in the world. Don't add to the quota.
Train to get stronger. This means doing paused work, and not letting your ego get in the way.
Be patient. Training is really a never ending process. If you don't hit the numbers you want to in a given time frame, just stay with it.
All of the above make up principles. And with a set of principles you can and will have a plan. And Hannible always loved it when a plan came together.
At first food may seem obvious, however if that were the case then the supplement industry wouldn't be a billion dollar a year market.
The reason that protein shakes and supplements have become such a "big picture" in training is for no other reason than the fact that it was driven by the magazines for decades as a way to make money to stay in business. In the 90's the supplement industry was full of advertisements essentially promising you the body of your dreams in mere months, if you took their magical pixie dust.
And it worked. Believe you me it spawned off mega companies in spite of the fact that the claims were like nothing a hardcore tren user had ever seen.
Supplements like Cell-tech eventually became a punch line for this very reason. It seems comical now to think about ads where they said some guy lost 33 pounds of fat and gained 22 pounds of muscle in 4 months but those kinds of claims were very common back in the day.
The Cybergenics poster boy was this guy named Franco Santoriello, and one of their two page ads was photos of him throughout his "transformation" while being on Cybergenics. Basically implying that his evolution from not so jacked greaseball Italian, to very jacked and nationally competitive bodybuilder greaseball Italian.
They never bothered to mention that he never actually took the Cybergenics stack, and that his real stack obviously consisted of highly aromatizing compounds, hence that nice gyno he was sporting. I suppose being honest wouldn't actually be good for bidness.
However dishonesty it seems, does pay off in the supplement industry.
Supplements like "Hot Stuff" flew off the shelves faster than frozen pizzas at Wal-Mart right before an impending snow storm.
Fatties.
GNC literally couldn't keep this shit on the shelf. My aunt was a GNC store manager and she told me every time they were due for an order to arrive people would literally be lined up outside the store waiting for them to open so they could buy it all up.
Later, when word got out that Hot Stuff possibly contained an oral steroid called Methyltestosterone, an inexpensive form of orally absorbable testosterone that works very well at increasing strength, Hot Stuff pulled their product from the shelves and a few months later released it again as a "new and improved formula" that wasn't improved at all.
At that point it didn't matter. They had made their money and the damage was done.
I personally have no idea if companies still try this shit, as I haven't thumbed through a bodybuilding magazine in a very long time. It wouldn't surprise me however, and "hype" does sell.
The issue is, it takes away from a bigger priority. Which is, your diet shouldn't be made up of a bunch of pills and powders. It should be made up primarily of quality foods like whole eggs, chicken, red meat, potatoes, rice, nut butters, healthy oils, and THEN supplemented (which is why of course they are called...supplements) with things like protein powder.
However we live in a "now" world, and people in general are lazy. So it's easier to shake up some powder in a shaker and chug that down than cook. I get the fact that life is busy. However if you are really serious about making substantial gains in muscular bodyweight then taking a few hours out each week to cook up some eggs, rice, and chicken to store in a few containers really shouldn't be that big of a deal. Cook a steak a couple of nights a week, load up once a week with a big cheat meal, and then throw in a few shakes as needed throughout the day.
A very solid rule of thumb is that you should never have more shakes in a day than you have food meals. So if you have 4 shakes you better have had 4 or more food meals.
Paused and bottom position work -
I'm always befuddled when I see guys who are all about trying to develop strength doing things like touch and go deadlifts, or touch and go bench.
From all the anecdotal evidence I've seen, strapped up-touch n go deadlifts do very little, if anything at all, for really developing your maximal pull. If you don't think so, do a set of deadlifts that way, then do dead stop deadlifts and see if there isn't a significant drop off. There will be.
Furthermore, I've seen far too many guys that can do reps with damn near their maximum meet pull in this fashion (using straps and doing touch and go reps).
Now initially, one might think that being able to do reps with damn near their maximal pull would in fact, increase their max pull. However the problem is, when most guys use straps they pull double overhand. This allows them to get "longer" in the pull, and the mechanics of the lift changes. Not only that, but the main limiting factor in the deadlift, hand strength, is removed. Second, the subsequent reps have the lifter in a completely different position than the one he is in when he starts the pull from a deadstop. In case you didn't know this, specificity reigns in lifting.
So then guys that train their pull are forced to pull without straps, from a deadstop, there is little carryover. If you want to develop your pull, your reps should be done dead stop each time so that the lift is mimicked on every rep.
From a hypertrophy standpoint, I can see how touch and go reps or touch n go bench presses have merit. There's more time under tension, and yes, more reps can be done. However from a strength building standpoint they offer little in the way of developing a lift to its maximum potential.
Make sure that your training cycle still includes plenty of paused benches, pause squats, and that you still do your deadlift reps deadstop. This is the best way to develop the lift and the bottom position strength that is required to take the lift to a new level.
But outside of the main lifts, pretty much all big lifts can be done with a paused variation. I really like paused db bench press, and even things like dips and overhead press can be done with paused reps. Yes, training like this will bruise the ego, however are you training to be a Youtube champion or training to actually get stronger? Figure that part out first.
Patience -
Lastly, be patient.
Every week I see shit from guys where they write "current max is 660. Gotta do 710 in 6 weeks."
Really? You're going to add 50 pounds to your lift in 6 weeks? Why not concentrate on 670?
The biggest reason this happens, in my opinion, is that guys are constantly trying to measure up to someone else. It's a nonstop dick measuring contest.
Are you going to keep training after those 6 weeks? Yes??!?!?
Well then how about you set your sights on something realistic in the next 6 weeks instead of something that might take another two or even three years to accomplish?
I could write all day about this topic however, I won't. If you're not smart enough to understand that that it's important not to let your dreams and goals get in the way of reality then either you'll fail a lot, or eventually you'll get "it". "It" being that smart goal setting and planning will win out in the long run, while the other guy is still contemplating how to take his bench from 315 to 405 in the next 8 weeks.
Conclusion -
It appears I may be beating you over the head with some very common ideas that get written about a lot.
Well, there's a reason for that.
Every gym out there is full of guys that train 5-6 days a week for hours at a time, living off of protein shakes and staying up all hours of the night playing xbox or jacking off to porn and then wonder why it is progress is either nonexistent or incredibly slow.
Train hard, but not too often or for too long.
Eat a lot of quality food. Stop debating what "quality" is. We have enough dipshits in the world. Don't add to the quota.
Train to get stronger. This means doing paused work, and not letting your ego get in the way.
Be patient. Training is really a never ending process. If you don't hit the numbers you want to in a given time frame, just stay with it.
All of the above make up principles. And with a set of principles you can and will have a plan. And Hannible always loved it when a plan came together.
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