Training Philosophy Articles

NEW! The Law of Sustainable Progression

As my colleague Will Brink likes to say, "From Mentzer's 'one set to failure' to Poliquin's 'German volume training,' there is no program which recommends using progressively lighter weightloads from week to week." Brink is of course, alluding to the universal requirement of all successful strength and mass gaining programs: progressive overload.

Quality Has a Quantity All Its Own

Whether or not they realize it on a conscious level, the majority of people who lift weights for bodybuilding purposes regard fatigue as the primary goal of training. This has always struck me as odd and unproductive, yet all the current trends in modern exercise culture support my premise. In fact, two of the most popular exercise trends today, Tae Bo and Body Pump, are superb examples...

The Punishment/Reward (PR) Method

What qualities, attributes, or behaviors should you be focusing on in your training? Are they the attributes that you truly prioritize, or maybe not? This article is about a system I've created to get you to do the right things in training- it's a way to make deliberate practice more palatable. I call it the PR Model, and it's based on a simple behavior modification system that's so effective, it's prominently highlighted in nearly every major religion: punishment and reward...

Occam's Barbell: Putting An End To Paralysis By Analysis

In my experience, "paralysis by analysis" is the most common barrier to action, and by extension, successful action. Because after all, analysis is the preface to action- it isn't action itself. Analysis can certainly serve a useful purpose, but for many, it's both a crutch and an excuse for delaying action...

Why I Don't Want To Clean 315 Pounds

Do you think that motivation is a fundamental issue when it comes to successful exercise or athletic training programs? I don’t. In fact, I KNOW it isn’t! How can I say this? Easily, often, without hesitation, and with supreme confidence. Look: You are exactly where you want to be right now. You’ve already taken the steps necessary to achieve your station in life, and not one bit more...

The Principles of Progress

Trust me, we all have problems to overcome. I'd even go so far as to say that the most successful athletes are those who most effectively manage their bad workouts -- not those who simply have great intensity and consistency when things are going well...

Principles Continued: Your Operating System

This week, I'd like to challenge you to explore your personal "system" of training, and more specifically, I'd like you to take an assessment of your personal "Values" as pertains to training. In other words, what's your "Training O.S.?"

The Absence of Logic: Possible VS Likely

A few weeks ago I was having dinner at our local Outback, when I overheard the following in the booth behind me: "My trainer says that if you eat too much protein, it'll turn to fat."

Did you catch that? And if someone posed that suggestion to you, how would you respond? This is a great exercise in logic, so let's look at it for a second...

Do You Have a Protocol?

We all have habits and tendencies. All of us have habitual ways that we go about our lives, including the relatively small portion of our lives we spend in the gym. The real question is whether or not your habits are reactive and spontaneous, or proactive and procedural...

Towards a Better Way To Train Beginners

For reasons that still elude me after several years of considering this issue, most personal trainers still insist on treating their novice/out of shape/deconditioned clients in the most disinterested, condescending, and punitive manner possible...

Developing a Frame of Reference

I think it's intuitively obvious that before you can recognize improvement, you must have an innate sense of what is "normal." Once you understand your current capacity, it's easy to know when you're performing better than usual...

Living The Exerciser Lifestyle: Four Defining Practices

In past articles I've defined and described the differences between exercisers and athletes. This week, I'll present four practices that characterize the self-loathing exerciser mentality.

Three Things I've Been Thinking About Lately

I'll admit it— I think way too much when I lift. Maybe not during the actual lift, where I tend to focus on 1-2 primary movement cues, but between sets. Here's what's been on my frontal cortex lately...

6 Ways Golf Can Improve Your Lifting

My golf teacher Jeff Campbell recently remarked to me “Golf and bowling are the only two sports that you can enjoy without being good at them.” Luckily for me, I think he’s right. I started taking golf lessons about six months ago and have a total of 18 holes actual experience on the course to date. So I’m obviously a complete novice, but more importantly, I’m certain that golf is helping my lifting, in at least six different ways…

Are You An Exerciser Or An Athlete - Part I

Probably 90 percent of all American adults are sedentary, fat, and/or just generally soft and out of shape. The fact that you're reading this probably means you're in the remaining 10 percent, which is to your credit. When I look at the active minority however, it's clear that 90 percent of them are what I call "exercisers." Allow me to explain and define...

Are You An Exerciser Or An Athlete - Part II

Last week I differentiated between the "exerciser" mindset and the athletic paradigm. I equated exercisers with an amateur approach, and athletes with a professional attitude toward fitness. Most importantly, I demonstrated how the fundamental distinction between these two divergent perspectives is one of attitude: exercisers hate what they do, they do it begrudgingly, and they wouldn't do it at all except for their certainty that they have to do it...

The Hidden Power of Behavior-Based Training

Before a new building can be erected on a site where an older building exists, the older building must be demolished first. In much the same way, I’m going to start this article by demolishing a dearly-held myth that many trainees have regarding their avocation of choice:

"I’ll finally reach my goals when I find the perfect training (or nutritional) program."

WRONG...