I'm honored to have a blog here at M&F (hell, I'm even honored to be in the building). The object of the game here is to try my best to tell the truth about sports, lifting, and whatever else I feel like railing about here.
I've been a lot of things in my life. In context here, I've been an athlete, a coach (yes, an actual TEAM coach) and a trainer. Now I'm a writer. Who knew?
I've been a lot of things in my life. In context here, I've been an athlete, a coach (yes, an actual TEAM coach) and a trainer. Now I'm a writer. Who knew?
Saying "Yes" to Change
I'm changing my program.
I'm not doing this because I'm unhappy with what I've been doing. I'm doing it because I've been leaning more and more, these days, toward making a return to competitive powerlifting, and because my training has been going very well lately. I'll give you a little history here.
I've been doing the same thing for about two years. The program I've been working off is something I designed for myself in order to gain strength and size like a "regular guy." What this means is that I'm a normal guy with a job and responsibilities, and all I've wanted has been to get in and out of the gym in an hour or less while still making progress. I haven't been competing in anything -- not football, not bodybuilding and not powerlifting.
Without getting into specifics, I'm changing things around to gear my training more toward competitive powerlifting -- to specifically increase my bench, squat and deadlift numbers so I can compete at meets and get my total where I want it on the platform. I'm blogging about this today because thinking about the changes I'm making, and the reasoning behind them, has made me consider some things regarding why people change their programs. There are a few rules I think people should follow when they embark on any program, and I think they'll help you if you're not making progress right now.
1. Think Long Term
Too many people try programs out for a few weeks, fail to make progress, then move on to something else - especially here in the internet age when so much training information is so readily available. In order to experience success on any program, you need to take the time to allow your body to adapt to the changes you're making. It's just that simple. Whenever you try out a new program, figure you're going to be doing it for at least a year, otherwise you're not giving it a fair shake and you're going nowhere. This doesn't mean you can't change your exercises or your rep schemes, but if you're not using something of the same "general spirit" on a consistent basis, you're not giving yourself a chance to improve.
2. Know What You Want
I'm switching things up because I have a specific goal in mind - success on the powerlifting platform. In order to make a program work, you have to know what you're getting into, and you have to have an end in mind. You might get bigger doing Westside, but it's a primarily a strength program. You might get stronger doing DC training, but it's mainly a bodybuilding program designed to build mass. I've seen way too many people start programs for the wrong reasons - because the programs "look cool" - then fail to realize the ultimate objective of what they're doing. Then they switch to something else and waste a month of their lives. That's not what you want.
3. Read and Research
#2 segues nicely into #3, because you need to know exactly what programs do and how to work them before you start. And because all the information you'll ever need is already "out here," there's no excuse for ignorantly wandering into the gym, grabbing a barbell and claiming you're on some well-known program without getting the results you're after. I'm not saying it's easy, but there's no excuse nowadays for being unprepared or under-researched. It's all out there for you.
The main point here is that you have to give everything you try the full treatment. You need to learn as much as you can about what you're doing, then give it ample time to "take." If you don't, you'll spend the next five years just like everyone else you see in the gym - chasing your tail and going nowhere.
I'm not doing this because I'm unhappy with what I've been doing. I'm doing it because I've been leaning more and more, these days, toward making a return to competitive powerlifting, and because my training has been going very well lately. I'll give you a little history here.
I've been doing the same thing for about two years. The program I've been working off is something I designed for myself in order to gain strength and size like a "regular guy." What this means is that I'm a normal guy with a job and responsibilities, and all I've wanted has been to get in and out of the gym in an hour or less while still making progress. I haven't been competing in anything -- not football, not bodybuilding and not powerlifting.
Without getting into specifics, I'm changing things around to gear my training more toward competitive powerlifting -- to specifically increase my bench, squat and deadlift numbers so I can compete at meets and get my total where I want it on the platform. I'm blogging about this today because thinking about the changes I'm making, and the reasoning behind them, has made me consider some things regarding why people change their programs. There are a few rules I think people should follow when they embark on any program, and I think they'll help you if you're not making progress right now.
1. Think Long Term
Too many people try programs out for a few weeks, fail to make progress, then move on to something else - especially here in the internet age when so much training information is so readily available. In order to experience success on any program, you need to take the time to allow your body to adapt to the changes you're making. It's just that simple. Whenever you try out a new program, figure you're going to be doing it for at least a year, otherwise you're not giving it a fair shake and you're going nowhere. This doesn't mean you can't change your exercises or your rep schemes, but if you're not using something of the same "general spirit" on a consistent basis, you're not giving yourself a chance to improve.
2. Know What You Want
I'm switching things up because I have a specific goal in mind - success on the powerlifting platform. In order to make a program work, you have to know what you're getting into, and you have to have an end in mind. You might get bigger doing Westside, but it's a primarily a strength program. You might get stronger doing DC training, but it's mainly a bodybuilding program designed to build mass. I've seen way too many people start programs for the wrong reasons - because the programs "look cool" - then fail to realize the ultimate objective of what they're doing. Then they switch to something else and waste a month of their lives. That's not what you want.
3. Read and Research
#2 segues nicely into #3, because you need to know exactly what programs do and how to work them before you start. And because all the information you'll ever need is already "out here," there's no excuse for ignorantly wandering into the gym, grabbing a barbell and claiming you're on some well-known program without getting the results you're after. I'm not saying it's easy, but there's no excuse nowadays for being unprepared or under-researched. It's all out there for you.
The main point here is that you have to give everything you try the full treatment. You need to learn as much as you can about what you're doing, then give it ample time to "take." If you don't, you'll spend the next five years just like everyone else you see in the gym - chasing your tail and going nowhere.
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