Monday, February 11, 2013

Learn From These Mistakes- Tip #1

I have been training seriously with weights since 1979. DAMN! that's a long time. In that time, I have made every mistake in the book when it comes to training, exercise selection, crappy form, you name it. So I am sitting here thinking, maybe I can help some folks not screw up like I did. Give them some tips and such to speed up their progress. So I am gonna just spit some out and then add some more when I think about it. Here is Tip #1-

1. Have Patience.

I tell this story all the time, but when when I was in 9th grade, I was gung-ho about lifting. I mean, I devoured every damn thing about training and nutrition, and supplements and rest-pause and going to failure and everything. So I'd come into Physical Training class and go crazy; drop sets, forced reps, partials, all of it. What did I get out of all of it? Weaker. And a good case of tendonitis that persists to this very day if I am not careful.

Meanwhile, my buddy Carlo was doing his squats and benches and leaving 2-3 reps in the tank each set. He'd do a few sets of curls, maybe some pushdowns and some rows. He was eating well- steak, pasta, milk. He was sleeping soundly and was pretty stress free about the whole thing. He got freakin' huge, and strong. His arms were crazy big for a high school kid.

 I was eating tuna, and choking down Weider shakes and worrying about every gram of everything that I put in my mouth.

If I had just stepped back a little(or had a coach who was worth a damn to advise me) and realized that working hard and smart was better than just going crazy, I would have been better off.

So what am I saying? You wanna get big and strong? Patience. Follow a program(percentage based is best) that calls for a certain amount of sets each day and brings you to a peak after weeks of training. No matter if you feel wonderful, stick to the program. And on the assistance work? Work for a maximum pump with short rest, but don't go so nuts that it makes inroads into your recovery and also gets you injured.

All About Being a Lifer

What's a Lifer? Someone who isn't in to something for just a day, a month, a year...it's for life. Whether its training or your family or your job...it doesn't matter. You work at it, you build on it, you see the big picture . You don't miss workouts because it means something to you. You are like a Shakespearean actor- no matter what is going on in your life, you block it out when it's time to train. You walk into the weight room and all else disappears. Worry about it later.