More months, more insights, more lessons learned...
By the time this is published, we should be zeroing-in on the mid mark of 2013, and hopefully all of you are stronger, smarter, and generally just more powerful versions of yourselves. If not, it's still not too late to start. That aside, here are six points that are certain to make you better, smarter, stronger, and hopefully more discerning in who and what you spend your money on.
1) I've said this before, but it bears repeating: Your pre-workout isn’t steroids.
It's never going to be steroids. No “supplement stack” of protein, creatine, and tyrannosaurus PUMPX is going to magically equal steroids. The same thing goes for the proteinbolic crap you bought at GNC. Also, taking advice from 17-year-old wannabe bodybuilders who weigh 170 pounds is probably very stupid, so get off the forums and go train.
2) “Did your lifts go up?”—No, they haven’t. Well, then I guess your system isn’t working.
Before you argue with someone about his training system, ask him if he and/or his clients have gotten stronger, bigger, faster, or just fucking improved in actual athletic quality. No? Well, then your system sucks (whatever it is). If he did get stronger, good for him. I hate arguments about what “system” is best for “XYZ.” It's always going to depend because different people respond to stimuli differently. Ultimately, as long as there is a performance improvement happening, then everything works. If improvement isn’t happening, then what you are doing isn’t working. Yes, it's that simple.
3) The Barbell Rules
In an era where commercial gyms are often stocking “functional” suspension equipment (I’ll avoid ranting on that), strongman training with odd implements is increasingly popular, bodyweight training is YouTube sexy, “relative” strength is more emphasized (insert your own definition of relative), and there is an ever-increasing variety of conditioning tools, the barbell is still preeminent. I'm readily amazed by the number of work-arounds everyone has developed to avoid picking up the barbell. Yet, then again we also live in age where standing on one leg while doing curls is considered “core activation”...
But the barbell...Is your back is pathetic? Row the barbell. Skinny legs? Squat the barbell. Weak like a baby kitten? Deadlift the barbell. No chest? Press the barbell. Abs are weak? Do Zercher good mornings off pins with four plates and shrug it every rep. Do 20 of those and tell me how your abs and obliques feel. I mean, come on! It’s the one thing that literally does fucking everything. And don’t start with, “straight bar gripping is bad for your elbows/wrists...something something...I'm an ectomorph with bad joints.” Then order fat gripz, use a close-grip position, learn a hook grip, use boards, clean up your technique, don’t lift with your ego, and stop with the fucking excuses. Oh, and on the subject of genetics…
4) Everyone has better genetics when they are working harder than you.
One of my new clients commented on the fact that I have a very strong grip and thick wrists. (I was pinch gripping the dumbbells that he was using for shoulder presses). He then said something along the lines of, “you must have great strength/size genetics.” Now, at 6-foot-2 I weigh 205 pounds. The idea that I have great “genetics” is completely laughable. In his perspective though, I am a big guy, and I must look like I have good “genetics” to be the size that I am. I broke down my training history a bit for him and pointed out that I have been training for almost five years. I also explained how I used to weigh much, much less and that my current physical state is the result of training and studying over many, many, many hours. It changed his perspective, but it did make me consider how many use the “genetics” excuse so readily. It used to be very in vogue to reference “genetics” as being the limiting factor as to why one sucked at something. Biceps are slow to grow? Long tendons and short muscle bellies. Not very explosive? You must not have very many fast-twitch fibers. Can't seem to get ripped? You must be an endomorph then. Let's be blunt: Fuck your “genetics.” No one comes out of the womb running a sub-ten 100-meter sprint, no one benches three plates his first day in the gym, and no one makes it to the All Star game because his “genetics” got him record-breaking stats. No one does anything “elite” or “pro” level without years and years of preparation. Now, to a point I will concede that yes, Olympic and pro athletes are usually very well-suited for their respective sports. At the same time, however, they still did not get to that level by half-assing training and simply relying on genetics.
Far more educated coaches than myself have vigorously deconstructed the myths of “genetics,” and there have been a multitude of popular books on the subject of what constitutes a “talented” or “gifted” individual. But what's the one thing all of these people have in common? They practice, train, and perform way more than the "average" athlete/person. The word “genetics” has become this broad scapegoat that is brought up anytime someone fails to progress. The idea that the human genome is somehow so dysfunctional as to make you bad at so many things runs counter to the biological imperative of adaptation. The entirety of your biology is designed to keep you surviving and adapting to whatever you subject it to. Work harder, smarter, and better and don’t believe that your “genetics” represent some sort of personal limit. Such thinking is self-defeating and can hold you back before you’ve even started to work towards anything.
5) Bro, do you even lift?
Within the “broscience” realm of social media, this comment has become an increasingly popular meme when questioning the expertise of a declared health and fitness expert. And, in all honesty, I believe it’s a completely valid question. I've reached a point in my training where I’m only going to listen to someone who is either A) comparatively stronger than me and/or B) used to be stronger than me and has trained way more than I have. If that sounds simple, it’s because it really is that simple. The majority of the population is without lats, asses, backs, or traps, and most people haven't the slightest idea how frustrating it is to try to find a dress shirt that actually fits your shoulders or pants that don’t get stuck at your kneecaps when trying to put them on. Before I apply advice from a health authority, internet coach, or anyone else, I want to know if he or she is a lifter. Listening to someone with less experience and who doesn’t lift is not likely to be of benefit to you. The doctors on TV don’t put thousands of pounds on their backs every week. If they did, their protein recommendations would likely be a lot higher. That brings me to another point though…
6) Everyone is suddenly a “popular expert.”
What does this mean? It simply means that there are many gurus, trainers, and coaches who now claim to be experts at whatever happens to be popular within the fitness industry at any given moment. They constantly reposition themselves as being the go-to experts on hardcore training, football training, high-frequency training, old school training, athletic training, youth athlete training, powerlifting, and so on and so forth. The majority have little experience in any of these things, and they are either recycling a more reputable coach's information or just making shit up and trying to cash in with a shitty eBook. You will never hear me talk about training for football or any team sport simply because I have never done any of those things at a competitive level, nor have I trained in them long enough to offer any worthwhile opinion on them. I offer what I have learned so far, and if I have any advantage over my peers, it’s that I’m constantly looking for multiple perspectives on what I do and don’t know (and what I don’t know is a lot). I’ve witnessed many people waste money and time following the advice of these pop experts. Before you invest your money or training time into anything, take an objective look at the individual and his or her experience of the respective modality. Dave Tate has never called himself a “Westside Master Expert,” and it's in my experience that the best coaches never use those terms in the first place. Don’t let yourself be fooled.
That concludes the third chapter of “It's not that Complicated.” Keep using the barbell, don’t get suckered into buying crappy supplements or shitty eBooks, and be discerning in terms of who you take guidance from. And please, don’t use genetics as an excuse for being bad at something. You are bad at it because you haven’t put the time into getting better at it. Put forth the effort and go improve!
