Im sitting here eating breakfast: 11 egg whites, 1 yolk, A wheat pita, a slice of cheese, a cup of oatmeal, a protein shake, and a 6oz glass of cranberry juice with which i will be putting a super foods powder and liquid fish oil into- And im thinking to myself of what to write.
I do a google search for “Best Bodybuilding Advice” to see if i can spark some ideas. To my absolute horror, 95% of what i see is all supplement bullshit. I nearly bitch slapped my interwebz. To the supplemental noobs out there, do your research on vitamins, minerals, compounds, etc. Dont listen to mainstream products. If M-tech had backing to their claims, you could put on about 40lbs of pure muscle in a month. But i digress…
What are most people lacking in the gym? Intensity…Focus…Drive. I see Bro’s doing their Curls, not so much as a breath out of rhythm. I see 160lb guys squatting a good inch or 2 in the Smith cage, thinking that he is ACTUALLY lifting the 5 plates he has on each side, then finishing his set and chatting to his buddy as if he were sitting on a couch. You hear the perpetual “Dude i was so wasted,” and watch as he attempts to curl in a HS row machine, or atleast thats what his form portrays…
Then i look at my partner and i…just racked a 400lb 1 legged leg press… my facing seemingly melting…gasping for air. My quads tensing up, and blood pouring in, to the point where i need to stand. Our chatting and chuckling kicks up, only long enough to put on more weight.
Once the weight is on and the lifter takes form, the only words that escape the spotter’s mouth are numbers, reps…the occasional “Come on, half way done,” “Get it,” “All you, you got it,” “cant quit with 2 left, Go. You got it.”
Intensity… “great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling.”
I get asked a lot in the gym What i do. “What exercises are best for arms,” or “What can i do to make my chest really grow.” The answer doesnt change. Its not really what is done, but rather HOW it is done. There’s a difference. DB curls is not DB curls if you do them half assedly. Any movement can be a truly great movement if you perform them properly.
Focus… “a central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.”
Do you have a single goal, one of which you can see, through thick and thin, through pain and anguish, through the fogs of the world, and concentrate on? A beacon of light, a watch tower; forever lit, forever guiding you. Do you flop back and forth? Im bulking this week, im cutting the next? That results in wasted time.
Drive…“a vigorous onset or onward course toward a goal or objective.”
A goal or objective that takes years to achieve. Its that drive that pushes us, that fuels the fires of desire. Its that drive that drags us to the gym, smashes us up against these walls of limitations, and drives us through them via the force of pain.
Physics would say that Force is = to Mass x acceleration. I see this applicable in our world. Mass is obviously You…Acceleration would have to be your drive…And the product of those two would equal your Strength, the force you give off, the energy surrounding you, your musculature. So, S = Y x D, Strength = You x Desire.
So what do i ask you take away from this long winded message?
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Be intense. Lift with purpose, lift with meaning. Put yourself into what you do, and you will never be disappointed.
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Set goals. Bodyweights, measurements, competitions. Focus on something. You keeping that in your vision will keep you on track, it will not allow you to stray off the path.
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Keep your feet on the ground, and keep pushing forward. Keep pushing, keep striving for more. When you become satisfied, when you become content with what you achieve, is when you start slipping.
Strength = You x desire… And we all know that strength is a product of struggle, so Strength = You x Struggle… so with some basic math insertions, we see that-
You x struggle = You x Desire
Your Struggles are equal to your Desires, and that is what produces Your Strength.
Keep lifting, keep pushing. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength…There are only two options regarding commitment, You’re either in or you’re out.
