Lift
Lifting to get stronger is a slow process. It is slow, steady, strategic and consistent. It is a path. It is a lifestyle; a life struggle; a campaign. It is not comfortable, not quick, but if the correct mindset is applied it will pay back tenfold. Proper training is a balance between too much and not enough. The great thing is that EVERYONE and yes anyone can improve. Wherever you are at in life, there is some aspect of you that can be better, faster, smarter, stronger, or more skilled. My hope is that this website can either get you well rounded and, on that path, and/or move you forward.
Everyone needs to be lifting weights. I am not saying to that everyone has to become a power lifter or Olympic lifter. I am saying that until we all need to be pushing weights until the day we die. There are two things that are constants, and we cannot change. One, is the fact that we have to deal with gravity everyday of our life. The second constant is that as we get to be older adults, we will get weaker. This second statement needs a framework to make such a declaration. If someone has never lifted weights, or seldomly lifted weights, then getting stronger as you age is quite reasonable. However, if you have been consistent over years of training it is inevitable that strength will decline as we get older. It is not possible nor reasonable to think that our ability to get stronger year after year until the day we die will occur. Having said that, it is very reasonable to maintain certain levels of strength well into our later years.
Collectively, there are probably millions of books, articles, studies and systems out there on lifting weights. Having lifted weights my whole life, read, studied and coached, here are some very valuable concepts that may help you put it all into perspective.
Early in your weightlifting journey you will need to decide the end goal. Some human beings have been born with great strength genetics. These natural born abilities might put them on a competitive path if they decide to pursue and train hard. There is nothing wrong with that. There are hundreds of valuable programs out there that you can implement. There are great world renown coaches out there that can get you to your goals. Their programming will improve your performance, however, none of them has the magic formula and you have to know when enough is enough. If you don't have that self-awareness, eventually, the weight will win, and your body will lose.
So, the rest of us mere mortals need to be able distinguish and separate hype from reality. Unfortunately, there are so many steroids ridden money crazed individuals on social media that will say anything for the buck. Many of them will claim to have discovered the magic program. As decades have passed there are more and more crazy programs and supplements that will promise the sky and not leave you any better off than slightly better than where you are now. Don't waste your money on all these "snake oils".
Here are some basic guidelines I would recommend you follow: There is no hack that will short cut your progress. The more they promise it will deliver, the less likely it will. If you have to pay for it, don't. With some slight deviations, there is nothing new under the sun.
Training systems have to be balanced. What do I mean about that? Well, it is not in your best interest to continually push new records, get bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger. No matter what program you utilize, it will probably work up until a point. The goal should never be more and more weight. I have to always come back to what exactly is health and fitness. How can it be pursued maximally without causing long-term damage. I really like the CrossFit model of defining athletic skills. I like to call them athletic performance objectives. To be well rounded, one should not sacrifice one for another, as many strength performers do. Here are those performance objectives. Thank you CrossFit.
Typically, we categorize professional athletes into two columns. Strength athletes and endurance athletes. More often than not, each of those extreme athletes will have compromised other skills to be the best in their category.
We, as average individuals do not have to do that. It is possible to be good in all and become more rounded in our health, fitness and athleticism. We do not have to train toward deadlifting 900 lbs. or running 4 and a half minute miles for 26 miles. I would argue that these extremes are not in our overall best interest over the long hall. Our hearts, joints, ligaments and muscles cannot sustain these over years and years.
Through many years of study, application through trial and error here are some solid rules. Train the basic systems of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. We are all born different in the proportions of fast twitch and slow twitch that we are blessed with. Understand that all gains should be slow. Fast twitch fibers need explosive ballistic type training. Slow twitch will need slower movements, and more time under tension, many times accentuating on the negative portion of the exercise.
Understand energy systems. Glycolytic (carbohydrates) vs phosphate (ATP) vs Oxidative (fats & proteins)). Try to train on all three systems. For example, if you are training for explosive power then your energy systems will be primary phosphates and sugars. If you are training for strength and fat lose, well you may explore how to minimize glucose and maximize fat as that primary energy source. Long distance endurance type activities will need to utilize a healthy balance of fat, sugars and proteins. Your macro balance is critical to understand if you want to have fats be your primary energy source.
I am just a lay person in nutrition, but I have learned a few things along the way. It is so broad and wrought with debate by various experts in the field. After doing countless years of reading and researching, here are some of my conclusions. Proper nutrition will include your knowledge of the needed macro-nutrients. These are fats, carbohydrates and protein. It would seem the majority of experts believe that because of our American diet you will probably find you are too high in carbohydrates and too low in proteins.
Just because fats hold the most calories, they are not your enemy. The right fats are very important. The quality of your fats matter. The prevailing thought has been to reduce carbohydrate intake and increase protein intake. Fats need to be from high quality sources. Animal fat seems to not be as bad as they once said. Having the right plant sourced fat is also important. Those fats should be in the form of avocado oil, coconut oil and olive oil. Stay away from seed oils. Be careful about the good oils you purchase because many of them are adulterated with the cheaper seed oils.
How much protein do I need? Some "experts" will say a gram of protein for every lean pound of body weight. Some will say a gram of protein for every pound of body weight. And others might say a pound of protein for every pound of the weight you want to be. And still others will say it really depends upon how active you are. This might put you at .7 grams of protein for every lean pound of body weight. All have valid arguments but there have been no definitive answers. The main point is Protein is very important. You are going to have to decide how much is best for you and you are going to have to do a little science experiment on yourself. Dr.Gabriel Lyons has very good information on studies that show if you get 30 to 50 grams of protein per meal, this is enough to cause a process called protein synthesis. This means, the body can make its own protein. Usually, no matter which advice you follow, you will see that you have been shortchanging yourself in the protein department.
The micro-nutrients side of the coin is also a very broad subject as well. In my years of trial and error, I seem to see a continual thread of opinion from the experts in this field. That thread is this. Most people are short in vitamin D, Zinc and Magnesium. Vitamin D is sort of a hormone regulator. So, if that is low, the rest of your hormones will get off kilter. Mediterranean salt carries a bunch of nutrients that your body is typically low in. The more you sweat, the more you will need.
Here is something I have researched that is interesting. If you have too much protein and fats on any one meal, your body will poop it out. If you have too much salt your body will sweat and pee it out. However, If you have too much sugar in your system, it causes all kinds of hormone imbalances that will ultimately make you fat and unhealthy. This statement seems to be backed up by most.
No pain, no gain had it's time back in the 80's and 90's, but the majority of these catchy slogans came from athletes who were avid steroid users. The average Joe would ultimately crash and burn his Central Nervous System as well as flooding his muscles with so much lactic acid that quickly put him into a recovery hole. To try to follow the typical Arnold Schwarzenegger routine will not cause the average person to become like Arnold. No matter how much protein was consumed, getting out of that hole and making extensive gains would be impossible without the aid of anabolic steroids.
We are all individuals that require different stimulations to make our bodies adapt in a positive direction. Unfortunately, it almost seems the individual with the most drive will ultimately overtrain his/her ability to recover and adapt. The individual who is not motivated enough, will not put in the necessary work to stimulate positive adaptation. Honest self-awareness to understand the balance is super critical!
As I became older, I learned that less is better. We do not need to drive ourselves into the ground to create gains in muscle, strength, endurance, fat loss and overall health improvement. David Goggins is a great motivator and an awesome athlete, born with some great genetics. His deep dive into the extremes of fitness and what the body can do is impressive. However, I believe the average individual who tried to do what he does, would find themselves in a deep overtrained state. There is a definite dichotomy between not enough and too much! You're going to have find the sweet spot. AND that sweet spot is always going be a moving target. There is no formula or prescription that will get you there.
Here are some things I believe we should consider, especially as we past our prime. We have to be consistent. Doing a little each day is way better than destroy - recover - destroy - recover. I really like the part of the CrossFit model of being constantly varied and functional. This does not mean to just do anything and have no plan. Always have a plan that also delivers variety. That plan has to be flexible, depending on what your body is telling you. Some days we feel strong or powerful. Some days we feel weak. Some days stiff. Some days we may have a little tweak in a joint or muscle. Being flexible to recognize these conditions and adapt is critical for true consistent progress. A lot of people seem inflexible to their set routine. Especially with guys, we have to put our egos in check. If we don't for every three steps forward, we will ultimately have to take two steps back, or worse two steps forward and three steps back. Progressive weight resistance is important; however, we are not going to be able to endlessly get stronger. To continually chase that carrot will ultimately end in destruction.
I really like the theories and teachings of the StrongFirst methodology. Founder, Pavel Tsatsouline, a world renown Russian strength and conditioning coach that brought kettlebells to the United States, says that "strength has a greater purpose". "The price of admission is a strong spirit, patience and attention to detail." A training system needs to be simple, but not easy. When we are young, all we have to do is apply any progressive weight resistance program and we will get stronger. The challenge comes into play as we get older. How do we continue improvement without injuring ourselves, is where I feel he rises above others. Looking him up will most definitely put you on a correct course.
Everyone needs to be lifting weights. I am not saying to that everyone has to become a power lifter or Olympic lifter. I am saying that until we all need to be pushing weights until the day we die. There are two things that are constants, and we cannot change. One, is the fact that we have to deal with gravity everyday of our life. The second constant is that as we get to be older adults, we will get weaker. This second statement needs a framework to make such a declaration. If someone has never lifted weights, or seldomly lifted weights, then getting stronger as you age is quite reasonable. However, if you have been consistent over years of training it is inevitable that strength will decline as we get older. It is not possible nor reasonable to think that our ability to get stronger year after year until the day we die will occur. Having said that, it is very reasonable to maintain certain levels of strength well into our later years.
Collectively, there are probably millions of books, articles, studies and systems out there on lifting weights. Having lifted weights my whole life, read, studied and coached, here are some very valuable concepts that may help you put it all into perspective.
Early in your weightlifting journey you will need to decide the end goal. Some human beings have been born with great strength genetics. These natural born abilities might put them on a competitive path if they decide to pursue and train hard. There is nothing wrong with that. There are hundreds of valuable programs out there that you can implement. There are great world renown coaches out there that can get you to your goals. Their programming will improve your performance, however, none of them has the magic formula and you have to know when enough is enough. If you don't have that self-awareness, eventually, the weight will win, and your body will lose.
So, the rest of us mere mortals need to be able distinguish and separate hype from reality. Unfortunately, there are so many steroids ridden money crazed individuals on social media that will say anything for the buck. Many of them will claim to have discovered the magic program. As decades have passed there are more and more crazy programs and supplements that will promise the sky and not leave you any better off than slightly better than where you are now. Don't waste your money on all these "snake oils".
Here are some basic guidelines I would recommend you follow: There is no hack that will short cut your progress. The more they promise it will deliver, the less likely it will. If you have to pay for it, don't. With some slight deviations, there is nothing new under the sun.
Training systems have to be balanced. What do I mean about that? Well, it is not in your best interest to continually push new records, get bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger. No matter what program you utilize, it will probably work up until a point. The goal should never be more and more weight. I have to always come back to what exactly is health and fitness. How can it be pursued maximally without causing long-term damage. I really like the CrossFit model of defining athletic skills. I like to call them athletic performance objectives. To be well rounded, one should not sacrifice one for another, as many strength performers do. Here are those performance objectives. Thank you CrossFit.
- Endurance (Cardiovascular)
- Stamina (Ability to utilize food as an energy source)
- Strength (Ability to apply force to an object)
- Flexibility (Ability to have muscles and joints work harmoniously through mobility)
- Agility (Ability to quickly change direction)
- Accuracy
- Balance
- Coordination
- Speed
- Power (Ability to combine all the above into the athletic endeavor)
Typically, we categorize professional athletes into two columns. Strength athletes and endurance athletes. More often than not, each of those extreme athletes will have compromised other skills to be the best in their category.
We, as average individuals do not have to do that. It is possible to be good in all and become more rounded in our health, fitness and athleticism. We do not have to train toward deadlifting 900 lbs. or running 4 and a half minute miles for 26 miles. I would argue that these extremes are not in our overall best interest over the long hall. Our hearts, joints, ligaments and muscles cannot sustain these over years and years.
Through many years of study, application through trial and error here are some solid rules. Train the basic systems of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. We are all born different in the proportions of fast twitch and slow twitch that we are blessed with. Understand that all gains should be slow. Fast twitch fibers need explosive ballistic type training. Slow twitch will need slower movements, and more time under tension, many times accentuating on the negative portion of the exercise.
Understand energy systems. Glycolytic (carbohydrates) vs phosphate (ATP) vs Oxidative (fats & proteins)). Try to train on all three systems. For example, if you are training for explosive power then your energy systems will be primary phosphates and sugars. If you are training for strength and fat lose, well you may explore how to minimize glucose and maximize fat as that primary energy source. Long distance endurance type activities will need to utilize a healthy balance of fat, sugars and proteins. Your macro balance is critical to understand if you want to have fats be your primary energy source.
I am just a lay person in nutrition, but I have learned a few things along the way. It is so broad and wrought with debate by various experts in the field. After doing countless years of reading and researching, here are some of my conclusions. Proper nutrition will include your knowledge of the needed macro-nutrients. These are fats, carbohydrates and protein. It would seem the majority of experts believe that because of our American diet you will probably find you are too high in carbohydrates and too low in proteins.
Just because fats hold the most calories, they are not your enemy. The right fats are very important. The quality of your fats matter. The prevailing thought has been to reduce carbohydrate intake and increase protein intake. Fats need to be from high quality sources. Animal fat seems to not be as bad as they once said. Having the right plant sourced fat is also important. Those fats should be in the form of avocado oil, coconut oil and olive oil. Stay away from seed oils. Be careful about the good oils you purchase because many of them are adulterated with the cheaper seed oils.
How much protein do I need? Some "experts" will say a gram of protein for every lean pound of body weight. Some will say a gram of protein for every pound of body weight. And others might say a pound of protein for every pound of the weight you want to be. And still others will say it really depends upon how active you are. This might put you at .7 grams of protein for every lean pound of body weight. All have valid arguments but there have been no definitive answers. The main point is Protein is very important. You are going to have to decide how much is best for you and you are going to have to do a little science experiment on yourself. Dr.Gabriel Lyons has very good information on studies that show if you get 30 to 50 grams of protein per meal, this is enough to cause a process called protein synthesis. This means, the body can make its own protein. Usually, no matter which advice you follow, you will see that you have been shortchanging yourself in the protein department.
The micro-nutrients side of the coin is also a very broad subject as well. In my years of trial and error, I seem to see a continual thread of opinion from the experts in this field. That thread is this. Most people are short in vitamin D, Zinc and Magnesium. Vitamin D is sort of a hormone regulator. So, if that is low, the rest of your hormones will get off kilter. Mediterranean salt carries a bunch of nutrients that your body is typically low in. The more you sweat, the more you will need.
Here is something I have researched that is interesting. If you have too much protein and fats on any one meal, your body will poop it out. If you have too much salt your body will sweat and pee it out. However, If you have too much sugar in your system, it causes all kinds of hormone imbalances that will ultimately make you fat and unhealthy. This statement seems to be backed up by most.
No pain, no gain had it's time back in the 80's and 90's, but the majority of these catchy slogans came from athletes who were avid steroid users. The average Joe would ultimately crash and burn his Central Nervous System as well as flooding his muscles with so much lactic acid that quickly put him into a recovery hole. To try to follow the typical Arnold Schwarzenegger routine will not cause the average person to become like Arnold. No matter how much protein was consumed, getting out of that hole and making extensive gains would be impossible without the aid of anabolic steroids.
We are all individuals that require different stimulations to make our bodies adapt in a positive direction. Unfortunately, it almost seems the individual with the most drive will ultimately overtrain his/her ability to recover and adapt. The individual who is not motivated enough, will not put in the necessary work to stimulate positive adaptation. Honest self-awareness to understand the balance is super critical!
As I became older, I learned that less is better. We do not need to drive ourselves into the ground to create gains in muscle, strength, endurance, fat loss and overall health improvement. David Goggins is a great motivator and an awesome athlete, born with some great genetics. His deep dive into the extremes of fitness and what the body can do is impressive. However, I believe the average individual who tried to do what he does, would find themselves in a deep overtrained state. There is a definite dichotomy between not enough and too much! You're going to have find the sweet spot. AND that sweet spot is always going be a moving target. There is no formula or prescription that will get you there.
Here are some things I believe we should consider, especially as we past our prime. We have to be consistent. Doing a little each day is way better than destroy - recover - destroy - recover. I really like the part of the CrossFit model of being constantly varied and functional. This does not mean to just do anything and have no plan. Always have a plan that also delivers variety. That plan has to be flexible, depending on what your body is telling you. Some days we feel strong or powerful. Some days we feel weak. Some days stiff. Some days we may have a little tweak in a joint or muscle. Being flexible to recognize these conditions and adapt is critical for true consistent progress. A lot of people seem inflexible to their set routine. Especially with guys, we have to put our egos in check. If we don't for every three steps forward, we will ultimately have to take two steps back, or worse two steps forward and three steps back. Progressive weight resistance is important; however, we are not going to be able to endlessly get stronger. To continually chase that carrot will ultimately end in destruction.
I really like the theories and teachings of the StrongFirst methodology. Founder, Pavel Tsatsouline, a world renown Russian strength and conditioning coach that brought kettlebells to the United States, says that "strength has a greater purpose". "The price of admission is a strong spirit, patience and attention to detail." A training system needs to be simple, but not easy. When we are young, all we have to do is apply any progressive weight resistance program and we will get stronger. The challenge comes into play as we get older. How do we continue improvement without injuring ourselves, is where I feel he rises above others. Looking him up will most definitely put you on a correct course.
StrongFirst Tutorial
StrongFirst Tutorial
Turkish Get Up