When I was little, I always wanted to be strong and lift weights. I wanted to have the traps of Rocky Balboa, and the bodacious pecs of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. It was my dream! But I knew that if I wanted this, I had to take action. To do this, I would always help my dad move furniture…especially if it was an opportunity to lift something by myself. I even wanted to help my grandpa by pulling out a fence post in the backyard (which felt almost impossible). It just felt good to exert myself into something physical and to feel “empowered” and “valuable”.

One thing that irks me to no end is to watch “others train others”, and as broad of a statement that seems…there is a reason behind it. If you’re a true ambassador of the iron, you will put your client through an appropriate workout that entails correct movements, relevant movements, suitable volume and a calculated load. But to train a client for two hours, aimlessly and having no specific goal or rhythmic choice of exercises being utilized just goes to show how lost we can be on our quest to bang the iron. Three days ago I witnessed some slum in his torn jeans and visor attempt to train another member, and after the hours of yelping and attempts to scream with alpha dominance, I had had enough of it. Lifting only heavy loads won’t stimulate enough muscular growth and development towards a physique chiseled by the old gods and new (rest in peace Ned Stark). This statement leads me into my second part of “lifting heavy vs lifting hard” for massive gains and attaining slabs of beef for improving your frame.

If you’re goal is to gain size for growth and development…a topic we can bring up is “lifting heavy and lifting hard”. We all know what lifting heavy means…but doesn’t lifting hard mean the same thing? Lifting heavy is just as it sounds, placing the most weight on the bar for the prescribed volume. If the set requires you to lift 6 reps, you want to put on the heaviest load you can handle for those 6 reps. That’s what makes the movement heavy, the amount of weight utilized within that given working set. But to add to this type of movement, we can also start prescribing movements to be not only heavy but also hard. To make a movement hard, that means to add a modification that would make the movement more rigorous that wouldn’t require having to put the most weight on the bar possible. Read more to understand the differences which will make your programming EXPLODE HOMIE!

When I did my first powerlifting competition, the onslaught of “rituals” I witnessed were…well…interesting…

 -Chugging bottles of honey…running around the gym with sweat suits, sweat pants, sweat shirts and then a letterman jacket on top…monster drinks…an aroma that can’t be matched (and not a good one, either)

 But nothing will compare to the day I saw one man, with the look of anger and suppressed adolescent sadness in his eyes, smack another man as hard as he could on his back. I was shocked, humored, but more importantly puzzled as to how this was a normal “thing” to experience at a powerlifting meet. But as time went on…

In my previous post, I discussed how imagery was the idea of seeing yourself doing a movement before performing the movement (within the context of weightlifting). This is one of the strongest tools for competitive athletes to helps them elevate their training to a new level. Imagine that part of your training doesn’t require having to be physiologically active…to allow your body to train and recover at the same time. The idea of imagery is…

Ever heard of the “ceiling affect”? Whether this phrase was conceived in an overseas Romanian laboratory…or whether it was amongst the great philosophers of Plato and Socrates, it’s the phenomenon into which a set of values has met a plateau and can’t exceed anymore. This isn’t a direct quote, but in the world of strength training, this happens to be a concept that can be appreciated and made sense of by many. The goal is to find a way to surpass this value, and to do that is through the utilization of mental prep called “imagery”.

Once you have figured your intent on lifting, it’s time to begin programming. The general idea of programming is to map out your training in order to grow, develop, and peak at the right time. Even if you’re a weekend warrior burnin’ the midnight oil, you should consider the concept of programming as well. Many have the mindset that working towards a “peak” would be worthless if they aren’t a competitor, but to peak your training will give you a vision…a goal…and a purpose. So if you’re looking to blow your biceps twenty inches or hit a massive PR on bench, let’s discuss the ideas and concepts behind programming.

Not every athlete trains the same. You will never see a football player run a mile, nor will you see a distance runner train for a max rep on power clean. This mindset relates to the “law of specificity”, meaning specific athletes do specific things for specific goals. It’s important that once you’ve learned your intent…the next steps taken must be about how to, when to, and why certain movements are necessary for your training..