In my career as a Strength Coach I have observed many things. As my life is primarily surrounded by women. Inside the gym and out I have learned that there are some differences from the opposite sex.
For this reason, I don't approach them the same. Any experienced Coach would know that to be true. I want to outline some specific considerations and foster some advice to those who may be in the position of advisement or support of female athletes. Female Athlete Triad In sports that require athletes to stay lean or perform in specific weight classes there is an underlined pressure for that athlete to maintain a certain bodyweight. Some sports that require such restrictions may be gymnastics, strength sports (weightlifting, powerlifting), etc. For this reason young female athletes are at highest risk to the Female Athlete Triad. Although, you may not have all three tenants, having some of them can cause real damage. The Triad consists of three clinical entities: menstrual dysfunction, low energy availability, and decreased bone density. This complex was first classified by the American College of Sports Medicine in 1992. There was a pattern evident amongst young adult female patients who were in athletics with such restrictions. Factor 1: Disordered Eating The pressure to lose weight means there is an urgency to lose it quickly. As humans we expect instant gratification. If you were told you would need 3 months to lose 10lbs with slow diet behavior modifications then you would not be so enthused. So here comes the crash diets, the fad pills, or the disordered eating behaviors. These can range from not eating enough calories to suffice energy demands, avoiding foods that are deemed "bad." To more serious eating disorders like anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. Factor 2: Amenorrhea If you mix intense exercise with insufficient calorie consumption you will disrupt your hormone balance. Your hormones help to regulate your mentrual cycle. This isn't a tell-tale sign that your athlete has the Triad as there are so many other factors. It is although, something to consider. Factor 3: Osteoporosis Estrogen levels are lower with female athletes in the triad. Prolonged bouts of poor nutrition can lead to the weakening of bones due to density loss. This can lead to stress fractures and other serious injuries. If this athlete is in a high joint impact sport we may be creating the perfect storm of a myriad of injuries. Further Considerations I believe that it is a misconception for us to only believe that young female athletes are the ones at risk when it comes to unhealthy practices to excel at their sport. Females want to look good. Males want to look good. If you are telling me that you only joined the gym to get "healthier" I'm going to call you on a lie. It may not be the only reason, but we all want to look healthy. With the suffocating pressure that society places upon women to look a certain way, to be a certain size, and behave "accordingly." It would seem that there isn't much of a chance for them to do it "the right way." For the above, the path laid before any female athlete is difficult. To the Female in the Arena To the female athletes who are bogged down by pressure to be "that weight" know that in order to grow into a better athlete you must be willing to grow. This may require the numbers on the scale to raise. This doesn't automatically mean that you are failing. Building muscle means increasing lean mass. Lean mass moves your body explosively, powerfully, and more efficiently. Don't fixate on a number that will inhibit performance increase. Chase the right way. The slow way. Nothing came to anyone instantly that was worth it. Chase the feeling of accomplishment not associated with a number on a digital scale. If there was anything that I learned while coaching female athletes it was that training was never a way to build a strong woman. It was a way to show them how strong they always were. In Strength, Dan
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Bedrock brought us back into the use of external resistance. Our barbell was back in our hands and we were happy to be reunited.
Baseline gave us the data we needed to move forward. We had a better understanding of where we were and what we needed to do from there. Hard 2 Kill is our return to our “Normalcy” a return to the Black Sheep Training we have learned to love. If you are a seasoned athlete this looks familiar. You may be driving a different vehicle. Maybe one that isn’t quiet as tuned as the latter but it’s still moving. If you are a beginner athlete this may look daunting. Please be reassured that we got here in one piece. We intend to get out of this 10 week cycle with much stronger pieces. Maybe some blood and sweat in our rear view mirror. But that’s ok. In this four part blog I will outline the differences in this training cycle. I will explain what’s new and why it’s important in your training protocol. The facets of this cycle are as follows: Max Effort Variation, Dynamic Effort Pendulum Waves, Anaerobic/Aerobic Conditioning, and Beginner Level Plyometrics. For the sake of being long-winded I will begin with Max Effort Variations and nothing else for today. Why Max Effort? Maximal Effort is the method of training that is the most demanding on our bodies. It requires the most amount of energy. For this reason, It also produces the most drastic change. When done properly our bodies will feast upon the results of this method. You will get stronger, your body composition will change, your tendons/ligaments will become more sturdy. You will be on your way to that Hard 2 Kill level of human existence. Mark Rippetoe said it best, “Strong people are harder to kill and more useful in general.” Why Variations? You can expect two Maximal Effort days. One being lower on Monday and the other being Upper on Wednesday. You will not see the Classic Lifts unless it’s testing time. So Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift in it’s simplicity will not be involved in this protocol. We will add variation of the above instead. Changes of angles, Range of Motion, Grips, Stances, and Bars will create a stimuli in the body for our needs. Instead of the latter you may see Wide Stance Box Squat, Close Grip Floor Press, or Deadlift at Mid-Shin from a Block. All of these will be performed to YOUR Maximal Effort for 1 rep. You will be expected to build up in the variation. Warm Up reps are encouraged. Lighter sets of 8s, 5s, 3s, and progressively to 1s until the final Max Effort attempt is completed. Law of Accommodation: This law states that after three weeks of the same movement you will see minimal return and possible become worse at the movement entirely. For this reason it’s essential to vary our movements to keep the body progressing. But I Need To Practice It is a common misconception that if one performs variations that they will not progress in the classic lifts. The Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift have existed a long time in the history of training. They have been programmed in many athletes protocols to help improve strength, speed, power, and body composition. Athletes have used these general movements to help enhance their specific skills in the arena of play. These movements do not function under the same black and white idea of practice makes perfect. In reality, alot of athletes cannot perform movements properly not because of the lack of muscle memory but the lack of strength in musculature. Barring any extreme technical ignorance most Athletes cannot progress because the weak links are not being addressed. You will see an Athlete perform a bench press perfect with a 45lbs barbell but when they get close to +90% of their known one rep max it goes to hell. This usually isn’t because they lack form. It’s because they are not strong enough to put the bar where they want to. The external load is influencing their posture and position. Contrarily, in alot of Sports you can improve an athlete by practicing. The muscle memory can be ingrained. Take an athlete through a 5-10-5 Cone Drill enough times and their proficiency will improve. This is because they can ingrain movement pattern absent of external force. Take that same athlete through that cone drill but add 3 defenders wishing to bring him to the ground and you will see their speed, power, and movement competency challenged drastically. These variations help to show a much larger picture of the Athlete’s weaknesses. Do they crash to a box on the eccentric portion of the lift. If so, what can we implement to improve that? These variations can be the Crystal Ball into our Athletes future. They show us the chinks in the armor. If we catch them in the weight room we can prevent them on the field or in the grocery store. You do not need to break a personal record on Max Effort Days Common thinking believes that in order to get the most out of this day we must break personal record in top weight or weight on the bar. This is incorrect. There are so many factors in the body outside of our control. To believe that our body is always in Maximal state of readiness is inaccurate. Even professional athletes that dedicate all their time to peak performance have bad days. So it’s okay for you to do the same. You only need to perform a Max Effort lift. Meaning you lift as heavy as you can without form degrading rapidly. This is enough to create the demand for change in your body. 20/80 Rule We perform 20% of our volume in the Classic Lift Variations. The other 80% is spent on accessory movements and conditioning. This method has yielded the greatest results with the fewest injuries. When inverted most athletes will burn out or find injuries more often. Take an athlete wishing to grow their leg strength. They perform 80-90% of their volume on squats and less than 10-20% on accessory work. While they may get initial gains. Their progress will eventually slow. This isn’t because the squat is an inefficient movement. It’s based upon their leverages or their style of squat that are missing other supporting muscles. For example, a taller athlete will have a longer femur length. This will cause them to track over their toes more, engaging more quadriceps than hamstrings. They may begin to feel knee pain in time. No matter how much they squat they will never target their hamstrings like they need. Accessory work will be necessary for improvement. If the abundance of classic lifts is causing injury so much so that you can no longer do them, what method would you seek to rehabilitate? You would perform no Classic Lift and use Accessories only. If this is the case then why not reduce the Classic lift volume enough to create a demand and increase the accessory work for increase in strength and injury prevention? This is why we stick with the 20/80 Rule. Our level of benefit must always outweigh the level of risk with our athletes. Remember, on the road to progress two cars are moving. One is marked towards our goals and the other is injury waiting to crash us in a ditch. Create as much of a gap between both cars as long as possible by training intelligently. How can you get the most of your Max Effort Days? 1. Eat Good Foods: Eat Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats that you can be proud of. They should FUEL you. If you eat like crap you will perform like crap. 2. Stay Hydrated: It has been proven that a dehydrated body will have a drastic decrease in performance. Water carries nutrients throughout our body. These nutrient aid in recovery and reduce inflammation. Also, dehydrated muscles shorten and don’t fire fast or efficiently. 3. Seek Optimal Sleep: Your sleep is needed for you to recover from the day before and aid in the performance for today. You set an alarm to wake up, make sure you are setting one to go to sleep as well. 4. Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable: Lifting heavy is hard. Being weak is easy. You will be uncomfortable and here is where you will receive the most amount of change. Trust that your spotters will keep you safe. In closing, It is exciting to see the gym progress with a slower approach. For this, I am noticing alot of basics being covered properly. It is much easier to establish those sooner than later. In strength, Dan Goodbye Bedrock
Four weeks of the Bedrock Training Cycle have passed. In that time, you have reintroduced external resistance into your training regiment. The gym has been open and some normalcy has returned to your training. The barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells and all the things you love to hate have put the work on you! If you have stayed consistent throughout this cycle then you would note that not only have you felt better but all your strength hasn't escaped you like you believed initially. The question is, what's next? From here what's the next approach? A responsible approach. The Next Step Baseline consists of a two-week transitional phase into our Conjugate System. That totals 8 weeks slowly working into our "Normal." During this two week period we will introduce the Maximal Effort Method back into our regiment. It's time to load up the bar and strain. Our bodies have slowly and progressively moved into heavier weights each week so our preparedness should be ready. The Maximal Effort Method means to move heavy weights as powerfully as possible. Building up to a 1 rep max variation. This is essential to making sure we build that "Hard to Kill" body we need. Our three main compound movements (Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift) will be pushed to 1 rep maxes. This will also give us new baseline numbers going forward. As alot of our accessory movements are based upon percentages of our 1 rep maxes it is essential to bring these analytics back into our program. During this two week period we will also look into some conditional tests so that as athletes we are seeing improvement in our GPP as well. Expect to see Time and Rep tracked workouts throughout your week. Do your best to push as hard as possible. Creating complete athletes is what Black Sheep is all about. Approach these blocks with the same intensity as you do our 1 rep maxes. How Do I Prepare? Hydrate properly: Make sure that you are taking in plenty of water. The weather is unforgiven and the work is content. To perform at your very best you will need to stay properly hydrated. Eat well: Don't eat junk. Make sure the food you are eating is FUELING and not just FILLING you. Plenty of Healthy Proteins, Fats, and Complex Carbohydrates. Rest: Getting good quality sleep is huge. Unfortunately, it is one of the most overlooked facets of a good recovery program. Get your sleep so that you come in ready to crush the tasks before us. Know: Know the purpose of the day. Mentally prepare for what you are doing and what it is doing for you! Mobility: Do your ROMWOD. Stretch daily. at least 10-12 minutes per day. This will help improve your range of motion as well as your recovery! **MEMBERS contact us for access if you are having trouble. In closing It's your time to reset or begin your strength journey. Bring the correct attitude and work your ass off. The rest is awaiting you. In Strength, Dan Here we are. Here we are. Week two is upon us. But let's process some things that may or may not have went down this first week back post Shelter in Place.
"Everything is heavy and I suck." Yep, lifting weights is hard. Resistance is defined as the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument. So to say there was a disagreement between you and the barbell or even the alarm clock may be an understatement. If you made your way in the gym, no matter the resistance and walked through those doors then take that win. Take it with a smile. Take it, damnit! I am here to assure you that not all is lost. You didn't lose all your strength and your months or years of training hasn't flown out the window. It's in there. You just need to get to know each other a little bit longer. This is more the reason we have opted away from the traditional Max Effort Principles. It was a 10RM for three working sets the first week. It will be an 8RM for 3 working sets this week. Just making our way ever the bit closer to building that confidence to handle that heavy weight again. I suck Sucking air, I'm sure! Why do I feel like a Polar Bear running on a treadmill? Never mind Florida's temperamental weather conditions as some days it rained, some it was hot, others the humidity was almost unbearable. Same concept as before but something you may see a resolution of sooner than later. Conditionally you are ill prepared. Your body is going through a state of distress and trauma while you are training. It's basically wondering what the hell is going on out there! It doesn't like being uncomfortable and it feels a need for change. So it is responding. That's what we want! Keep pushing. This will improve in no time. I can't feel my legs, arms, face, and where am I? Well, your body is repairing all of that trauma it just went through. Week one probably hit like a ton of bricks and your body didn't see it coming at all. Be proactive in your recovery. Use your ROMWOD, if it hurts then fight back. Hamstring on fire? Stretch, roll, smash...be proactive. Eat nutritious foods, drink plenty of water, and sleep. I wish I can say it's okay and it will all be better. But you know I won't lie to you! It's still going to be strenuous. That's in the name of improvement. We won't compromise that. Battle the Bullshit You may have had a rash of feeling overload. Totally understandable. Is it a coincidence that every time you try to do something for yourself that it seems like the universe is hell-bent on stopping you? Probably not. There is going to be a cornucopia of bullshit laid out before you. I'm going to need you to push that to the wayside. Whether it be internal or external, if it isn't your immediate loved ones, If it doesn't pay your bills, If it doesn't bring you direct happiness then it needs to go. Battle that bullshit and press on. In retrospect, during this quarantine you said things would be different. You said you wouldn't take the things you loved for granted. You said you would be better. Fulfill that promise to yourself. Do it now because no one else cares more than you. Battle the Bullshit, because the Bullshit is Bullshit. Always in Strength, Dan This is truly an awesome time for growth at Black Sheep. I feel that we are stepping into a unique era. As your personal fitness goals are constantly evolving some things remain true. We all want to look good. The need to look like we lift is ever apparent. Our Supplemental Cycles allow us to take a day out of the week to focus in different aspects and subjects of our training. For that reason, I hope you take advantage of this as any chance to grow mentally/physically should be done! So with that in mind, Let's start our inaugural Supplemental Cycle with ARMageddon!
This 6 week program will challenge us to push the growth in our arms. Specifically, our Forearms, Triceps, and Biceps. But let's first address some common questions or concerns. *As a female, you will not look like a man after this program. Your arms won't blow up into 22 inch pythons and your voice won't change to a deep tone. If anything you will develop that "tone" look that most females aspire towards. You can expect the shape and definition to pop out before anything. Assuming your diet is congruent with that. *You will not automatically grow your arms into gargantuan levels. You have to push your diet to help you to recover. Make sure if at anytime you push the workload that you are accomplishing the same with your recovery! This program is going to be high volume with a focus on blood flow and the contraction of the muscle. For that reason, the weights DO NOT have to be heavy. They just have to be enough to illicit the change in the muscle. Learning the mind and muscle connection with the groups you are trying to grow is such a valuable lesson that is typically overlooked. I am confident by the end of this cycle you will learn that skill very well. I look forward to seeing alot of you getting this program in! We will see you by the dumbbell rack real soon! Always in Strength, Dan
Our unique problem You may be a seasoned athlete but you are also slightly detrained into a beginner. You have been pulled away from your normal training protocol. Gyms shut down everywhere and you were forced to make due with what you had. Most of that was ALOT of bodyweight movements. Thousands of squats and push ups. If you were diligent then you have built an amazing base. Now, does this mean all is lost? Can you no longer squat a 45lbs bar when you were so close to that 300lbs mark?!?! No! But what we lack is a little bit of that Proficiency. So as a Coach it is very important that we recognize that our athletes may not be ready to do everything that they did before they left. It's our job to always push our athletes safely towards progress. All this considered we will begin our 4 week, Bedrock programming on Monday the 18th of May! Main Movements For some that just begun they will progress as needed. That could be via a dumbbell/kettlebell or just bodyweight. For those seasoned barbell warriors. It's in the rack with the power bar. Your percentages will lie to you. Expect to see a very loosely based, auto-regulated method of strength training. This will be in the form of 10RM, 8RM, 5RM, and 3RM. You will build to a "Working Set." Once found you will start your reps and sets. You will find this a very low stress way to build you back up. Proprioceptive Awareness Proprioceptive Awareness is the internal sense that tells you where your body parts are without your having to look at them. This internal body awareness relies on receptors in your joints, muscles, ligaments, and connective tissue. With this time away you may find that your athleticism will not quiet be what it was before. This is completely normal. With a little attention it will be one of the quickest markers to return. Primal Movements We need a Tune-Up! The barbell movements will help but it's not everything! We will introduce Primal Movement Patterns into our accessory work! We all use Primal movement patterns everyday. Whether its efficient or not, it's being done! This is the opportune time to refine and improve these very functional movements. All of these are done across Axis. Axes are lines, real or imaginary, along which movement takes place, and are named in relation to their orientation. As body movement occurs in a given plane, the joint moves or turns about an axis 90-degrees to that plane. Body movement occurs within a plane, the joint moves or turns about the axis 90 degrees to that plane. You will see squats, hinges, step ups, individually or in combination. Some weighted some with just bodyweight under extreme control! Our goal is to further push the gym performance to the outside performance! Speed Training Dynamic Effort Day as you know it will take a change. Specialty bars and accommodating resistance will be absent of this 4 week program. We will be learning how to move with speed under barbell weight only. The Conjugate Method uses Dynamic Effort work to push speed and force production. This was slightly adopted after the findings of the late Dr. Fred Hatfield. He was one of the first men to squat 1,000lbs in nothing more than ACE Bandage wraps. His contributions to the world of Strength and Conditioning still resonate today. We will be utilizing his CAT system for our speed work. CAT: Compensatory Acceleration Training CAT is a training methodology in which an athlete deliberately tries to accelerate the bar throughout the concentric phase of the movement (the shortening of a muscle as it acts against resistive force—i.e. the upwards phase of a back squat), instead of applying less force to a lift because the load is lighter. Sound familiar? DE Day minus bands and chains! We got this. Accessory Work Building upon small movements responsible for the structure of our larger ones is and always will be a staple at Black Sheep! It moves us into the upper echelon on strength performance while mitigating injuries. You will still see all your posterior chain accessories. Your Reverse Hypers, Inverse Curls, Sled Pulls, and abs, abs, abs! In Closing We have another unique opportunity to build a stronger base than before. Embrace it! Be open to some improvements and refinement. If its your beginning of Black Sheep Training then welcome! You couldn't have joined at a better time! Let's get to work! Always in Strength, Dan The run can be looked at in its many intricacies. But I like to simplify things. As being a Coach isn't about the big words you use or how many peer reviewed articles you can cite. It is about communication. If you can get the athlete to understand the purpose of the daily task then you can get them to reach the desired stimuli for the day.
The Run Your run can be broken in sub categories. You have the potential to create force on the ground and the speed at which you can repeat. There are many other factors such as technique, coordination, speed patterning, gait, etc. But in the effort to keep it simple let's dive into that at a later time. All you need to know is these letters. GCF and GCT. GCF Ground Contact Force is the amount of force you can apply to the ground with each stride you make in your run. How much ground do you pull behind you? Much like a skateboarder rides. He is using one leg to propel himself forward. Every step you make your posterior chain is pulling that floor further behind you, thus propelling your body forward. GCF is typically improved by resistance training. As building a squat and deadlift can help improve your Force production against the floor drastically. Your strength training helps to cover this! GCT Ground Contact Time is the amount of time your stride makes contact with the ground while it is generating force into the ground. As your stride cycling speed improves you can move from your left to your right leg in the shortest amount of time possible. My right leg drags the ground away from me and almost instantly my left leg is now doing the same. You can improve your GCT through plyometric training. As no other form of training requires the same amount of speed. Bounding, Skips, Repeated Broad Jumps help to improve this trait. In conclusion, The improvement of both of these factors will help you to put some serious speed in your arsenal. Speed is King. The one who gets there first is the one who eats first. Always in strength, Dan We are experiencing one of the most unique situations in the past decade. We have had our day to day lives shook in a way like never before. Our priorities have been re-arranged whether we know it or not.
In the matter of training, we have had our most basic idea of training re-aligned into a more "archaic" style of training. Our ergonomical tools have now been, for the most part taken from us. The Gym Building is now an abandoned structure. The sounds of plates clanging on a barbell are silenced. We have been told, "It's ok, this is a great opportunity to build upon things that we have been neglecting. Let's make the best of it and push and evolve further into our training. When this is all over we will come back even better than before!" What we want to say. Athletes and Coaches alike is... “Fuck this.” Let's break it down. The obvious For the most part, we have no external load. We have been using bodyweight movements to elicit stimulus unto our body. Some of us have kettlebells, dumbbells, or even resistance bands. But for those who don't have a garage gym it's back to the basics. Frankly, this kinda sucks...no, it really fucking sucks. If we loved doing push-ups and bodyweight squats we probably wouldn't have joined our gyms to begin with! No one cares how many bodyweight squats you can do. We want the sexy and it's not going to be bodyweight lunges. We miss the mental battle before a max effort variation. Feeling that challenge, the looming fear of failure. It has defined alot of us for so long. We want something heavy. We want something to defeat. Conditioning work sucks If I have to do another AMRAP, For time, or Interval Circuit I'm going to fucking throw up. Not because I just finished it but because I am mentally over it. I understand it's important. Our General Physical Preparedness drives up so many markers in our overall fitness. It helps recovery, vitality, reduction of fat, etc. etc. Yes, I understand. But seriously, I don't give a fuck. I'm a grown up. My main course has always been my strength work. It's my meat. That shit excites me. Throughout my day I'm looking at my training app drooling over what squat, bench, and deadlift variation I have on the agenda. I'm not doing the same for my GPP. That's the shit I got to do before I leave. I'm okay with doing that because it creates the glistening sweat on my chest and shoulders after I got that amazing pump. If it wasn't for that I wouldn’t do it. Now it’s like some fucked up dinner. I have to do my "warm up shit" as my main shit. My "have to do shit" is now my everyday shit. It’s a a dinner I didn't order but I have to force feed. Training alone is bullshit I like training. I like training around people. I can honestly say that when other people are watching me hit a heavy top set I push even harder. Call me a narcissistic ass. Call me whatever you want. I like that. It fuels me. Do I need other people to be around for me to work hard. No I do not. But you know what? I don't need wet wipes to wipe my ass. But it still works better. Give me back my training partners. They never worried about what my personal life was like. Al they cared about at that moment was all of us getting better. We battled through every rep together and when the smoke cleared we finished. Thats what mattered. I want to lift heavy shit with dope ass people. To be honest, There are alot of people I would have no problem Social Distancing from. But most of them don’t go to my gym. Let’s be positive If I learned one thing during my stint in the military it was the art of building a "Shit Sandwich." Top bread is Positive things to say, Middle portion is the Negative or Constructive things to say, The bottom is Positive once again to rear back the motivation and reassurance that we are in this together. No matter how much shit is in the middle. I have been absent of the uniform for a good amount of time so my “Sandwich Making Skills” are out of touch. During this I have given more of an Open Faced Sandwich but I will do my best to finish strong. If during this Pandemic you have wasted time, you have let your diet go to trash, you have barely trained at all. I'm here to tell you. IT'S FUCKING OKAY. No one cares if this guy over here trained everyday and read 100 books on self improvement. Good for him. If you didn't that's perfectly fine! You have the undeniably right to react anyway you want. It's your life and your time. I'm confident that anyone that really loves training will be back in the gym and back on the train of progress. This time didn't define you. Honestly, no one is much better than you because their perception of productivity is above yours. The only opinion that matters is yours. Don't beat yourself up for not getting all those home projects done or not losing that 20lbs that you said you were. Training in a lifetime is a Sine Wave. It moves up and down. Things happen and we do the best we can. That is exactly what is going on now. So hold your head up and relax. The one take away If you could pull one lesson from all of this. I hope with everything in me it's "Don't take anything for granted and enjoy things thoroughly." So... When doors finally open to those places you couldn't go. Walk through them a little bit slower. Smile a little bit wider. Enjoy it just a little bit longer. Always in Strength, Dan January
(1-12-2020) So many times I wish that I was “Mic’d” up in the gym. The lessons learned within those warehouse walls could not be anymore genuine. There’s something so raw and gritty about being at the gym during a Max Effort day. Be it Lower or Upper body. It’s a type of atmosphere like no other. People walk in knowing whats about to happen. They know the mission for the day. With that they have a standard of expectation. With that in mind, we expect to exceed what we used to be. Progress is our motivation. We need it. It’s the fuel for our journey. But it’s not that simple. When dealing with the body there are so many determining factors that can play a huge role in how we perform the next day. Here are a few things to consider and try to master: Sleep: How intensely are you approaching your sleep protocol? Probably not that intense, huh? Im placing this number one for a very good reason. This is when your body recovers. It’s pretty much that simple. Without a good night rest your recovery from today’s training is garbage. Your training next day is garbage. I’m keeping it that simple. Get some sleep. Set your alarm to start your nightly routine. Pick activities that will help to “wind you down” rather then stimulate you. These can be a warm bath, reading, stretching, or even meditating. Wake up on time. When your alarm goes off, don’t “snooze” get your ass up. If you didn’t get enough rest well then do better tomorrow. It doesn’t change the fact that it’s time to get up and get after it. Being adult is hard and it means sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to. Focus on getting this solid and you will be very surprised how much progress it will give you in other areas of your fitness. Nutrition: Eat good foods. Don’t chase fad diets. Just keep it simple with REAL food. You know...meats, vegetables, and alot of water. Its simple, and also very affordable. Is it sexy? Hell, no. Frankly, in the beginning it really sucks. It’s like the whole world is having this awesome party and your the only one not invited. So, fuck them! Let those people make the same goals every year while your smashing them and pushing forward. Your Nutrition is your energy. You eat to perform well. So if you are not getting what’s expected on your lifts then that’s derivative of the things you put in your body. Along with that, your nutrition helps to build your QUALITY of sleep. Good nutritional habits will lead to better and deeper sleep. It’s a vicious cycle the other way. If you have lack of sleep you will actually produce hormones that induce more hunger. That’s not hunger for Kale neither. Its fatty and sugary foods. We don’t want that! These holes in your diet will lend you a more restless sleep, hence crappy progress. Lock in your diet sooner then later. Unfortunately, It has to be the one thing that people address at the latest point in their athletic career. If your just starting get this right first! You won’t regret it. Stress: Stress is universal. It's accumulating and the body knows zero difference. Meaning the stress you feel from work, relationships, etc. mixes with the stress you place upon your body in training. This is one of the hardest areas to improve. It’s not very practical to just quit your job. You have to make money to buy good food. You have to make money for a shelter over your head so you can sleep well. You can’t help (sometimes) the drama that ensues in your life. But what you can do is try to BE PRESENT in your training. You have made it to the gym. For most of us this is one of THE BEST parts of our day. So it’s okay to enjoy that and really take that in. If you can leave all your outside stress out of the gym then you can really dig deep into your training. You could focus on the task at hand and really get the benefits of your training. Know that anything that may be stressing you outside the gym can literally wait for this moment in time. You may find that taking some time for yourself may bring alot of clarity and perspectives to these stresses. Which may actually help to solve or eliminate them! Relax: Seriously, you don’t know everything. To think that you have it all figured out is a little unrealistic. The body is a complex organism that works much more like a Sine Wave then a Linear Graph. Ups and Downs are alot more times constant then anything else in your fitness journey. Accept them as a part of the journey. Because honestly, if it was that easy then we wouldn’t really have anything worth chasing. Its perfectly fine to have an idea of what you want to achieve. I think everyone should have a scope of that. But don’t linger. If you didn’t get the numbers or results you expected. Take a second to accept that and then move on. Your expectation was truly a false sense of entitlement. Look at your entire scope of self-care. Your sleep, nutrition, stress levels, etc. If any of those are out of alignment then you can expect that you are not at your very best. This is by no means an excuse or a “cop-out.” You should analyze yourself and make the appropriate changes. Then make sure they are at the highest levels for the longest duration of time possible. Track all of these factors and make the reasons to fail at anything minimal. Always in Strength, Never in Weakness, Dan I have reserves that my very first article would outline a subject so “cliche” to this time of the year. But, I have to remember that everyone starts their fitness, health, or strength journey at different times. What might be so common to me is actually very new to someone else. So here’s hoping that this will be one of many articles that may help someone out there seeking guidance in their journey!
Last year flew by quicker than any year before. There was big movement around every corner. I feel that is true of everyone. As we all are on this Earth going through life as best as we can. We are inherently connected through the same pace that the universe determines. On that note, I wanted to make an effort to realize that we are all creating our story and no one is truly looking to cause resistance in anyone else’s journey. We are just “figuring it out.” New Year, New Beginnings, New Challenges. Going into this New year let’s work together and make it the most successful yet. On that note, I have created three principles that can help you create a true heading in your journey. Are they “New Ideas”? Most certainly, not. But they will help you to get started and hopefully keep you going into the next year learning and loving life. The Three D’s (no not that “D” you sicko”) Determine: Determine what your mission is. Where is your heading? Every journey deserves a defined destination. Make it simple yet strong. I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT. Okay, that clear. Remember, creating too many goals can spread you too thin. If I’m chasing too many rabbits I will most likely catch none. I want to lose weight, have a 29 inch waist, fit in my old wedding dress, eat only carrots. No, keep it simple. Make your goals complimentary. Do they align with each other realistically? If your goals end up pushing and pulling at each other rather then working mutually then you will have a more difficult time accomplishing them. I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT AND SQUAT 100 MORE POUNDS. This is an example of that. You have to understand that if you want to lose weight efficiently you may lose some strength. Changing our body changes our leverages. If I was to lose 20 lbs my Bench Press will feel much different. Make sense? Determine your destination. Make it clear. Don’t chase too many rabbits Devise: Devise the plan. With no plan we essentially only plan to fail. Outline what lifestyle and behavioral changes need to be made in order for you to succeed. Be truthful with yourself. Act as if you are a third party looking within. Do you really eat healthy? Or are you under your own delusional spell? Be open-minded. Obviously, what you have been doing hasn’t been working. If it was then you wouldn’t be resolving to change or improve. So doing things you haven’t done before will create something you haven’t been before. Devise the habit that will enforce your success. If I want to lose weight what habit will complement that? I WILL DRINK AT LEAST 1 GALLON OF WATER PER DAY. If you are someone that consumes alot of liquid calories then this habit will enforce your success. Devise your plan to pave your way. Discipline: All the above means nothing without discipline. Discipline is doing the task no matter the time of the day or how you feel. I have a saying in the gym. Whenever an Athlete expresses fear, disdain, or anything pushing them away from accomplishing the task. I tell them, “Sometimes the heaviest things we lift are our feelings.” This is obviously meant in jest. But the point is that we tend to overthink and overanalyze when the action is so much simpler. Just get shit done. In all of the above be disciplined. Execute no matter how you feel. In summary, know that it is YOUR journey. Along that journey you will come across hard-ships, distractions, and set-backs. How you react after will determine your success. If you fail in one thing. It’s just that one thing. Get back on that fucking horse and ride. You are worth not giving up on. Best of luck in the New year! Let’s make these goals old goals next year. Stay Strong My Friends, Dan |
AuthorDan Schlemmer Archives
July 2020
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