Training progress is the missing part in most peoples training. There are many reasons why, i will offer my 2 cents on this issue.
1) Failure to stick to solid logical training principles. I understand everyone is on a different level of thoughts and beliefs on what is and is not productive–so lets only discuse the things no one disputes. Squat or Deadlift, pick one or do both. Do not skip them. I am not going to say how you should squat- Back, Front, one leg, safety bar, lever tech machine, KB, DB, Rock, log, what ever. If you do not do one of these, your short changing your progress. I do not care what you want to do or what your goals are–Squat or Deadlift.
2) Failure to rest enough. This is what has slowed me down the most. If you are working your tail off and you still are not gaining fast, you likely need to find more rest. Remember the strength does not come from the work, it comes from the rest and recovery. Don’t get all wrapped up in how much work someone else does-focus on Yourself.
3) Failure to correct weakness. I am amazed that every strongman show i do i am approached by someone who tells me how they are in to fitness-blah blah and how they think their wrist is weak, or their hands are weak. If you know something is wrong, than work to fix it. Remember the Chain. Grip in particular is the weak link in at least 40% of trainees. The 40% of other people is lower back and hip strength. The other 20% is weak abs and core. Funny thing about this- Deadlifting addresses all three areas to some degree. Interesting…
4) Listening to everyone but their body. Public discussion forums-Man i love them. I have learned a ton right from the horses mouth over the last few years, and they are a powerful tool to increase knowledge…and stupidity. How many times does some say things indicating they know they have a problem but ignore what their body says and listens to total strangers out here in cyber space?
5) Listening to people whos training is not of benefit to you. Here is my favorite of all. There are some people who think they have a golden training system. They believe everyone not only should, but must train exactly as they do. SO you have to understand what your doing, and why you do what You do. Because its easy to get side tracked following the wisdom of gurus and experts who will fill you mail box every day with their secret of the day spam. My dislike of these people is so high these days, because all i see is the same info rehashed and repacked over and over. There are only a very few number of trainers who i listen to. I listen to them because they are not full of BS and because they understand strength training. If you want to know who i listen to-look on the side of this page. There is not a hundred links to pages all over, there are a few.
So figure out who you think knows somethings and decide if you want to listen. Beware of anyone who offers answers to questions that everyone else says “I don’t know”
These are just thoughts i have, Progress is most important for training. All of the talking, all of the ideas and debates mean nothing when there is no progress. So if you have been stuck for a while, sort it out and get moving again.
{ 3 comments }
You hit the nail on the head Adam. So many people out there are in a rut, lifting the same weights, hitting the same numbers at meets, closing the same grippers, bending the same nails.
They never take a minute to look at their training and see what the hell is going on. There is a reason you peak, a reason you get stuck, it happens to everyone. The trick is learning that it is coming and adjusting to avoid it.
There is a reason last June I benched 350 at Worlds and now, late April and 8 weeks out from 08′ Worlds, I just hit 475 off of 1 board. I adjusted, I changed, I fixed what was wrong, and I got stronger. Period.
Louie Simmons said, “Don’t chase your tail!” Exactly…
-Rick
Too true. It’s as if people are afraid to leave their comfort zone.
Recently I have made considerable forward progress when I started resting more and making dead-lifts a core part of my training regime .. sounds like its no accident.
Great post .. thanks!