THis is just to add to my post from a while back-always keep an open mind when training. You may read an article and think. ‘there is no way that could work’ when it could very well be the missing link that will dramatically improve training efficacy. don’t ever discredit a training philosophy until you’ve given it an honest effort. (unless said philosophy defies all logic and physiological principles known) In short keep an open mind-experiment-the gym is your playground!
“the key to immortality is to live a life worth remembering”-St.Augustine
“you are never given a dream without the power to acheive it-you may have to work for it however.”-Richard Bach
“the pain of discipline is much lighter than the pain of regret”-Jim Rohn
I would go to the FAQ, read that, and then whatever questions you have that can’t be answered there, post on the forum.
There are a lot of knowledgeable people here and there is always someone to point you in the right direction.
Becoming self-motivated is also very important. If you don’t have the will and desire to achieve your goals, you will never get to where you want to be. It takes a lot of hard work, but once you start seeing results, you’ll find that you can be happy with yourself, and that is awesome.
-Djwlfpack
Two tips that have always worked for me in either keeping me focused or keeping me consistent are:
Set a big weight goal for sometime in the future (ie. Bench 350lbs by New Years.) and then work backwards. Figure out how much poundage you will have to add bi-weekly or monthly (say 5-10lbs) and then set deadlines with yourself and do your best to adhere to them. It takes the pressure out of progress.
Make your workouts a priority in your workweek. Schedule it in as an inflexible appointment with yourself and treat it as such. Don’t treat your workouts as just a leisure activity but rather as planned out events with a purpose in mind.
For strength trainers:
Plan out your workouts ahead of time in a logbook. This helps set realistic goals and track progress. It becomes a game, and depending on how technical you want to get, a math game. A friend gave me this formula to aid in planning workouts:
To find your max for a given exercise:
((R*0.0333) + 1)*w)
Where R= reps completed and W=weight
So if I completed 11 reps of 225
I would figure
((11*0.0333) +1)*225)=307 lb max
This is more of a hypothetical max, but I find it is pretty accurate +/- 5 lbs. I find that the .0333 strength curve worked really well at first, but I had to cut the last 0.0033 off after my poundages went up significantly.
Say I want to perform 4 reps, how much weight should I use?
((4*0.0333) +1) * X = 307
A little calculating gives me about 270. I know that if I put 270 on the bar I should be able to do it for at least 4 reps, possibly 5 if I am feeling strong. I think sometimes believing I can lift a number because of the formula actually unlocks my mental inhabitation, giving me an extra mental edge. I have since gotten lazy myself, and have stopped calculating so much, but I have noticed slower progress. They could be related.
A trick I learned when progress seems to halt: Buy some of those gay looking 1 lb wrist weights and add 2 of them to the bar. Do the same number of reps you usually would. You just made progress! For the next training session, add 2 on each side. Then graduate to the 2 1/2 plates after that workout. Before you know it, you have adapted and added another 5 lbs to that lift. I know this has kept me moving when I otherwise would have stopped. It works really well when you are lifting a lot of weight anyway, you don’t even notice a difference of 2 lbs.
Buy a Foreman Grill or something like it. I cannot say how many times I have used mine since I purchased it. In fact, I bought one before, wore out the teflon coating, and had to buy a new one.
Also, shop @ Sam’s Club. You can’t beat some place that has eggs by the 7 1/2 dozen or 15lb bags of potatoes for 4.50!!
Like many people I sarted going to the gym to lose a bit of weight. For two years I went to the gym on and off. I would go for 2 weeks. Then something would get in the way or I’d make excusses and I wouldn’t go again until a month later. Until 4 months ago when I shifted the enphasis from wanted to look good to wanting to be strong. I decided to start training as a powerlifter and found a competition in June to aim for. I’ve now been consistently going to the gym since January and now I’ve cracked it and I’ll be going for the rest of my life.
So my tip is this:
Set goals.
When you first start going, forget about weight loss or gain (that’s all about diet) and concentrate on going and doing and learning.
The most important sections are the FAQ section, the search engine, and the forum. In that order.
Also you should formulate your goals. What do you want to accomplish? Then refine your goals. Try not to tackle as many as possible at once. The fewer you work on the better. For example if you want to lose fat and gain muscle, it is had to do both at the same time. So focus on one before the other. Preferably fat loss before muscle gain.
Nothing ever goes perfectly, especially at the beginning, so just try your best. There is no problem with easing into all of this. It takes years to go through college, and it can take years to fully understand everything here. The basics can come quickly, but even the experts are still learning.
One more thing. Crystal Light Pink Lemonade has saved me from my sweet tooth cravings.
package of sliced stir fry beef
soy sauce
oyster sauce
House of Tsang Classic Stiry Fry Sauce
various frozen veggies
stir fry oil
minced garlic
Marinate the beef in some soy and oyster sauce for about fifteen minutes or so. Heat your wok or pan up and then turn it to medium heat and add a bit of stiry fry oil. You can add the garlic now if you want. Stir fry beef over medium heat till done. Then remove beef and add the frozen veggies. After the veggies are thawed and mostly cooked put the beef back in. Let cook on medium for a few more minutes. Put heat on low, add some of the stir fry sauce, and let it all simmer for five minutes or so.
I like this meal because it is quick and easy, with minimal prep time. Stir fry beef is already pre cut, and frozen veggies mean you dont have to worry about washing or peeling anything.
I personally like the House of Tsang Classic Stir Fry sauce the best, but there are alot of other choices out there.
make sure you train at your best possible level all the time, otherwise you are just wasting your time. make sure you get enough protein and follow a good diet. laters pk
My tip is go to seminars. Find one of the many great trainers that have written here and go learn from them. You may think you know it all cause you’ve read it all but when you meet with people in person you really take home a lot more.
Base all your workouts around the major compound Movements. These are Bench Press, Rows, Squats, Deadlifts, Chin-Ups, Dips, and WideGrip Pullups.
It is these core foundation movements that will build the strength and muscle needed to lose weight and re-shape your body.
To newbies,
If you found this website you are allready heading in the right direction.
Read Ian Kings Get Buffed. Every element of weight training is covered very nicely and clearly. It is easy to understand and has the guidelines for time under tension and speed of motion, straight from the man who invented it. As far as I can tell, allmost everything being done in power sports training is derived from or can be found in that book.
Next, read everything written by Berrardi and Lowery. Especialy the Roundtable style articles.
Finaly, take this stuff to the gym.It works if you work it,but nothing will do any good if you don’t use it.
Now GO HIT THE WEIGHTS!
