Training revelations, specifically.

Share one or two of your (personally) most valuable things you've learned that has helped you to push your limits farther. Me...



-Don't lift for other people. If you lift to impress other people, you'll avoid doing exercises that may hugely benefit you, prevent injuries, help make main lifts stronger, etc. It doesn't look impressive for me to do a couple high rep sets of overhead dumbbell extensions at the end of a workout. Other people probably look, thinking "Damn, that big guy is struggling with a 35 pound dumbbell, he must be all show and no go". But if it strengthens my triceps, allowing me to bench better in the long run, who cares? Remember why you're doing things to begin with. Don't just do them because they look cool, or impressive.

-Boring shit gets you a long way. Eating and training consistently, intelligently, and hard, trump virtually everything in this game. That shit isn't cool. It's not always fun. It can be a drag. But if you ever plan to surpass the norm, you've gotta do it, whether or not anybody is watching. At the same time, don't be the guy that is mortified by the thought of a beer or two, terrified at the prospect of eating a twinkie instead of drinking surge post workout once a month, or never goes out with friends to eat and hang out, for fear of missing a single meal. In the days/weeks leading up to a contest, sure, those things may be necessary. But if you have NO social life, never do anything worry-free, and obsessively stress out about eating exactly every 2.67 hours, consuming 38.5 grams of protein with each meal, you can lose perspective. It can wear you down, you forget why you started taking this so seriously to begin with. Don't be afraid of a good time. Besides, stress is bad for you :)

Your turn.

Great idea for a thread, Hungry! And I completely agree with your first two statements. I'll do my best to contribute with my experience so far:

-This goes for any new guys starting out. It's funny how when I first started, the terms "beginner", "intermediate", and "advanced" get thrown around and I always considered myself an intermediate because I had always benched and did the typical mindless, "going through the motions" workouts. It's not until recently that I actually think I'm still mostly in the beginner stage lol. Whatever your passion in the gym is (i.e. bodybuilding, powerlifting, strongman, etc.) you have to realize that the iron game is more of a marathon than a sprint. Results don't come over night, and this is a hard fact for some to accept. BUT, that is why I love it, and it's exactly what separates those who "want it" and those who "REALLY WANT IT" if that makes sense.

-Just to repeat what you said in your second point, don't be that guy who is afraid to have fun! this goes hand in hand with the first point: yes, you have to be disciplined and consistent to get whatever it is that you want, but at the same time, one slip up with diet/training/sleep here and there isn't going to destroy your chances at reaching your goals. Just last night I was about to stay in (extremely tired from dieting and being up since 3:30 am studying for an exam), until I thought "This is lame. I'm in college and I want to go to bed at 10:00" lol. So i called up some buddies and went out to a party. I didn't drink, I was home at 1:00, and I had a GREAT time. You can always go out and have fun without killing your training the next day. It's just important to balance out your training life with your social life. You're only given one life, you have to make the most of it.

Always be courteous polite and kind in the gym. Gets you a long way. When people say stuff that you know is bullshit, smile and move on. When PTs get in your way for minor trivial things, being polite rather than arrogant makes the difference between them tolerating and not tolerating you.


Do what works for you.
Always try and make progress in some way, whether in total reps, weight, finesse, fatigue, whatever.

99% of people in the gym are making no progress whatsoever. Do you want to be them or do you want your friends who haven't seen youfor a year do a double take when they see you in a t shirt?

This video really spoke to me yesterday:

Listen to others who want to help, especially those know what they're talking about. Sometimes it's easy to do your thing and think you know what you're doing but always be open to hear what people have to say. Someone may just tell you that trick you need to get over the hump.

Keep it fun, challenge yourself each week to be better than you were last time.

Do things you're not good at, more than likely that's where you need the most improvement.

Dont know if this is big revelations, but here is a few things I learned recently

-Getting back to training after a long break is hard
-The least you talk and think about training, the better it is. It is better to avoid defining yourself with lifting. It is just a ''composant'' (dunno if this is a english word lol) of your life.

Things I've learned:

-Do whatever it takes to reach your own goals not anyone elses. Not some ass on a forum, not that trendy guy on his cell phone, not those power lifters, or those bodybuilders. Identify your own goals and don't fuckin worry about anything but achieving them.

-Quit reading articles after a certain point its the same shit over and over.

-Consistency is what gets the biggest lifts, the best physique, and outside the gym the best investor of all time Warren Buffet doesn't go looking for quick fixes either. He does the same boring thing every day for years and years. Consistency works in life.