10 Lessons from a Decade of Training
I've been in training in the gym seriously for nearly a decade now
Here are 10 Non Obvious Lessons I've learned
Build Your Bases
Don't worry about hitting heavy singles
Hit heavy 3's and 5's
These are your bread and butter for maximal strength, power, and hypertrophy depending on the sets
When these numbers climb, your max climbs
Don't Overthink Shit
I've psyched myself out of jumps, lifts, throws, and everything in between because I got in my own head
I've also hit PRs when I did my math on the plates wrong
It's crazy how mental training can be
Don't think - just go
Get Strong before you get Big
Everyone wanna be big
but no one wants to lift some heavy ass weight
Ronnie Coleman was the first man to say this
and none of y'all on twitter take it to heart
Strong people are harder to kill
Get Strong
Barbells and Dumbbells are superior to bodyweight for MOST people
It's great to do push ups and pull ups as accessory movements
but for true progressive overload you need a barbell and weights
bodyweight aint gonna get you far naturally (in a short timespan)
Make your strength usable
No one on the field or IRL gives a shit about how much you bench or squat
But everyone can see and know how fast you run, how high you jump, or how athletic you are
Use your strength to DO THINGS
not chase numbers
.People are gonna give you shit for committing to training
Screw em
Most folks on twitter and IRL don't have a decent physique despite all their online course sales
I'd rather have my health and fitness, and figure out how to make money after
Ask Questions everywhere you go
I asked questions to people at every gym I went to
- powerlifters
- bodybuilders
- weightlifters
- strongmen
everyone has a tip or trick to make you a better athlete
it pays to listen , because the "lessons in Iron" are worth their weight
Use Google or Get a Damn Coach
I was fortunate to do my own research and found good solid programs to follow
Follow a program (as it's written) and figure out what works
This is the easiest way to gains
Flexibility is useless without Stability
Work on Mobility = Flexibility + Stability
Be strong in precarious positions
eg - bottom of the squat, bench, overhead pressing
No one cares if you can touch your toes if you can't pull some serious weight from there
Don't worry if you screw up - because you have your whole life to go
I've beat myself up when I've missed a workout, didn't do the right reps or sets, or confused the exercise with something else
Fast forward to today and it doesn't matter
Screw up, learn, build