Cycle everything! The human body is most of all an adaptive machine. Whatever you’re doing daily will eventually lose efficacy over time. I therefore cycle/rotate everything - food, supplements, stims, carbs, calories, workout volume, friends etc etc. It requires some forethought and planning to maintain an upward trajectory (and progress is not always linear) , but it has been the one thing that has worked the best for me in terms of lifting, life, and happiness.
[quote]Random Weights wrote:
Balance consistency with change.
Cycle everything! The human body is most of all an adaptive machine. Whatever you’re doing daily will eventually lose efficacy over time. I therefore cycle/rotate everything - food, supplements, stims, carbs, calories, workout volume, friends etc etc. It requires some forethought and planning to maintain an upward trajectory (and progress is not always linear) , but it has been the one thing that has worked the best for me in terms of lifting, life, and happiness. [/quote]
[quote]Random Weights wrote:
Balance consistency with change.
Cycle everything! The human body is most of all an adaptive machine. Whatever you’re doing daily will eventually lose efficacy over time. I therefore cycle/rotate everything - food, supplements, stims, carbs, calories, workout volume, friends etc etc. It requires some forethought and planning to maintain an upward trajectory (and progress is not always linear) , but it has been the one thing that has worked the best for me in terms of lifting, life, and happiness. [/quote]
LOL at cycling friends:
“Sorry bro, I’d love to hang out but you are not in my cycle until Spring time”
I kinda know what you mean, its just an interesting thought to see written out
Nutrition - Make it the simpler the better or your unlikely to follow it.
For me this means having 2 scoops of ultra fine oats instead of oats+milk/water done in the microwave. More carbs, less milk, MUCH MUCH less time- like 20 seconds versus 20 minutes. Make nutrition as easy as is possible IMO
Training- Doing the little ‘annoying’ things like some basic active stretching/little bit of static and some foam rolling CAN make a big difference in hitting PRs and generally feeling good. Also pre-workout caffeine.
[quote]1morerep wrote:
less weight - full ROM[/quote]
More weight - Full ROM
Looking killer 1MR, always happy to see you posting.[/quote]
Thank you much - and yes I agree…more weight + FROM would be ideal but now you’re asking for the moon. I’ve dubbed my current gym “half-rep heaven” in honor of every knuckle head in it loading up the bar with way too much weight and BARELY coming down half way. The old adage “check your ego at the door” is sadly forgotten.
1morerep: I love limited ROM. It’s so funny to see guys doing 1.5 inches ROM on smith machine seated presses with too much plates. And, safety pins of course.
I never understood that how can someone compare raw, ATG back squats (without that funky looking sponge on the bar and without belt, knee wraps, etc.) to the thingy what people do on the smith with 2-3 inches of up-down motion, belt, 3 towels wrapped around the bar to protect their necks (want to avoid brachial plexus compression? hah) and using safety pins on SMITH? And they still call it “squats”.
After all, girl is girl. But there can be hweeege differences in looks
[quote]Vejne wrote:
1morerep: I love limited ROM. It’s so funny to see guys doing 1.5 inches ROM on smith machine seated presses with too much plates. And, safety pins of course.
I never understood that how can someone compare raw, ATG back squats (without that funky looking sponge on the bar and without belt, knee wraps, etc.) to the thingy what people do on the smith with 2-3 inches of up-down motion, belt, 3 towels wrapped around the bar to protect their necks (want to avoid brachial plexus compression? hah) and using safety pins on SMITH? And they still call it “squats”.
After all, girl is girl. But there can be hweeege differences in looks :)[/quote]
I think of them as semi weighted curtsies when I see them.
Weighted curtsies indeed. I honestly think that these people BELIEVE they are genuinely going all the way down on the squat. Or at the very least they believe they are doing “a squat” just the way we do. I watched this guy the other day start out with 1/4 squats with 135, and then just proceed to continue piling on the weight and eventually building up to 275 1/8 squats.
I know at times in my lifting career, when I was younger and was chasing the numbers more, I would sacrifice depth as the expense of lifting more without realizing it. Then I would step back from the situation, really evaluate my lift and shave 30-50 pounds off for the next session and build back up again.
I don’t have any such excuse for the guys who do top-half only bench presses with their feet hovering above the bench though.
The douches that squat like that are actually getting a knee workout, lol.
I agree with Lonnie actually. When I FIRST joined this site, I saw big numbers from big lifters. I thought, “hey, I should be able to lift ~1/2 as much as guys like ebomb, etc…After all, I’m 6’2ish and I weigh 180…”
So I ended up squatting 225-250 right out of the gate, in the smith, going about 4 inches above parallel, lol. But I THOUGHT I was doing it right.
Live and learn.
But I remember all that changed when Mark Rippetoe (I believe) wrote a front page article here. He mentioned how sad it makes him to see guys doing this, and how to properly squat. He mentioned intervening on these people like raging alcoholics, lol. Anyway, I began front squatting, this time using 95 pounds as a top set, and now I’m up to 205 with a FULL, ATG, 100% legit ROM. I truly believe that to benefit from squats you NEED to go below parallel.
And my contribution to the ‘tricks up your sleeve’ part.
ALWAYS do mobility work. It can be the Agile 8 before lifting, foam rolling, or whatever. But always, always, always do mobility work. 5 minutes or less to insure safety and longevity in this sport is pretty dumb to pass up.
Always have a general plan, but don’t overanalyze (unless you’re about to compete). Too often, guys and girls on this site spend so much time obsessing about what they eat, how they train, etc. Just go to the gym, crush some weights with an intelligent program, and eat enough for your goals. I follow nutritional principles, but since I stopped counting every macro and worrying excessively about GETTING FAT, I’ve become much more enthusiastic about this sport. And the results are much better
Always do some sort of cardio. A lot of people say not to, but I disagree. I think keeping AT LEAST 1 HIIT session a week (even deep into the offseason) is a good thing. First of all, it really is NOT hard to out-eat a tiny amount of cardio, and second, it will keep you healthy.
If you’re not enjoying it, just stop. If this feels like a chore, then you’re doing it wrong, or this isn’t for you. That goes for anything.
For any more advice, PM me, and include your paypal account. More tips like this for only $19.99! LOL
- and yes I agree…more weight + FROM would be ideal but now you’re asking for the moon. I’ve dubbed my current gym “half-rep heaven” in honor of every knuckle head in it loading up the bar with way too much weight and BARELY coming down half way. The old adage “check your ego at the door” is sadly forgotten.