Fear is a learned trait. As a child, you did not know that fire was painful until you tried to grab the tip of a lit candle. While fear can be helpful in keeping us out of danger (as in the example of the fire) it can also prevent us from reaching our goals. Sadly, as adults we sometimes allow past experiences to keep us from enjoying future ones. You’re probably thinking that will never happen to you; you will never make that mistake.
It’s Easier Than You Think
Allow me to put things in context. On Wednesday of this week I failed miserably at my workout. I started late and I was unable to complete the two sets of 30 rep squats that were scheduled. I don’t know if it was because I knew I was out of time or what but I just couldn’t complete either set. I was greatly disappointed. How could I go on to the next level if I couldn’t even complete the present one? Nonetheless, what was done was done. What does that have to do with fear? Keep reading and it will make sense.
Showdown In The Iron Coral
This morning, Saturday, the workout called for me to do one set of squats with the empty bar, one set with the starting weight, one set with Wednesday’s weight and one set with 20 lbs more. Think about that for a minute. I couldn’t even get two full sets on Wednesday and today was supposed to do one set at that weight plus another set at a progressed weight. That may not seem like a big deal but the truth is I was scared. I was really afraid of failing again. My fear was so strong that I wanted to skip that part of the workout. It would have been so much easier to just skip it and “come back to it later”. But I knew that if I ran from this I would fall behind two workouts. Worst yet, I would let fear win.
So I stepped up to the bar and pumped out the first two sets with the previous weights. The next set was with the previous workout’s weight; the one I failed at. I was nervous. I paced around and around. I told myself I was just allowing sufficient recovery time but the truth is I was just plain scared. I made myself take the bar and I started going through the reps taking a deep breath in between each one. After about the 10th rep I started to feel the new weight bear down on me. I took extra breaths and kept going. I started getting nervous at rep 20 because that’s where I had stopped before. Would I have to stop again? I was only 10 reps away from my goal but each successive made it harder and harder to breath. At 25 reps I knew I was close but it was still hard to keep going. Even then I considered that perhaps I just wasn’t ready to go through all 30. I told myself that I HAD to go on; I couldn’t go that far to just stop. I couldn’t fail again.
Okay, I made it to 30. I know I could have just said that at the beginning but I was trying to make a point: that you can’t let fear stop you. I know it’s uncomfortable and I know you won’t enjoy it but you WILL enjoy the taste of victory afterwards. And the confidence you get from overcoming fear will allow you to reach even high goals. How do I know? Because after beating the second set of reps I had the confidence to go 20 lbs higher on the last set.
Something amazing happened tonight. I reached a new personal record but in doing so I achieved a new understanding about my own capabilities and what can truly happen when you exceed your own expectations.
Tonight I did a session of 30 rep squats.
Yup, you read that right: 30 reps. You think doing 5 x 5 is tough, you have not lived until you’ve done a set of these. That’s not to say that they were easy, oh no. This was by far the most BRUTAL workout I’ve ever undertaken. Allow me to explain.
Yesterday I picked up a copy of Dan John’s Mass Made Simple. Dan is a big believer in doing squats. So much so that he structures his program a little differently. Most programs will start with the “big” lifts so as to target the larger muscle groups before working the smaller ones. Not Dan. His program starts with exercises for the upper body then moves into a barbell complex that in itself includes some front and back squats. But he saves the best part for last (or “worst” part depending on your point of view). The workout ends with a single set of squats for 30 reps.
When I first read that I figured I would just do a set of 30 with the empty bar and slowly add weight on subsequent workouts. Alas, Dan had other plans. His program states (not recommends, states) that if you weigh over 135 lbs you must start squatting with 95 lbs on your back. Dan does not apologize for it either:
Since you are only doing high-repetition squats, you’re going to spend a lot of time under the bar. Some of you may complain it hurts your neck or shoulders or whatever.
Well, tell someone who cares!
He’s not trying to be mean, he just wants your full commitment. And, amazingly, I did commit. The upper strength part seemed to go pretty well and the complex got my blood pumping but when it came time to put the plates on the bar for the high-rep squat I began getting nervous. Was I really going to try this? Squatting has never been my strength and I hadn’t really been working my legs lately so I didn’t really expect to make very far. Still, I couldn’t just ignore the squats so I figured I would start and see how far I’d make it.
I got through 10 straight reps before I started getting tired. When I got to rep 12 I knew that I was only good for one more. Then it occurred to me that maybe I didn’t have to get all 30 reps in without pausing. Maybe I was allowed to stop and catch my breath as long as I needed to in order to finish the set. So after rep 13 I stopped and took in a few moments to gather myself before proceeding to the next rep. Reps 14 and 15 were tough and after each one I stopped and gasped for air. By rep 16 I was tempted to just rack the weight and call it a night. Rep 17 came and went then 18 followed. By the time I reached rep 20 my arms were getting numb and I was taking longer and longer between reps. By rep 21 I figured I would’t last much longer. At rep 23 I told myself that if I just made it to 25 I could be proud of myself for a valiant effort. Then a funny thing happened–and this is where it gets all Tony Robbins–I made it to rep 26. I came up and realized that I had actually just squatted for 26 reps without giving up. It suddenly dawned on me that if I could just crank out 4 more reps I will achieve something I’d never done before. Something that just a few reps earlier had seemed impossible. I was only 4 reps from exceeding my expectations!! All of a sudden the reps started coming faster. No more long pauses between reps, just quick gusts of breath and lots of grunting. Reps 27 and 28 were a blur and at rep 29 I swear I was counting out load but all that came out of my mouth was muffled noises that sounded like a wounded wilder beast (don’t ask me how I know that). Then I came up and there I was:
30 REPS!!
When I racked the weight I actually let out a scream and I held on to the bar to keep from collapsing. I waddled over to the bench and proceeded to take it all in. I had proven myself wrong. Part of me had just said, “You’re crazy, you’ll never make it.” And another part of had just said, “Oh yeah, watch THIS!”
All of a sudden I understood what people mean when they talk about going beyond your limits. How it opens up a whole new reality. How in that moment you realize that if you just keep going, even when you feel like stopping, you really CAN obtain what you thought was out of reach.
This is a very surreal moment. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with this knowledge. I’m probably not going to go climb Mt Everest but you can bet that I now know that I really can achieve great things. Whoa, did I just write that?
When you get to be my age you start to think more and more about time and how much of it you may have left. You begin to take seriously the passing of each year because each new year may be your last year. That sounds morbid I know but this last year I saw a lot of people pass away. In the beginning of 2011 a kind, older gentleman I knew passed away. His oldest son followed him just eleven months later. My Godmother passed away right before Christmas. So did the mother of one of my co-workers. All these things make it painfully evident that, although death does not discriminate, it does have a preference: older people.
So when December 31st came I didn’t just watch the news highlights of 2011, in my mind I made up my own highlights of the same year. And much to my chagrin, there weren’t many. I did finish writing a book in January (I finished writing it SuperBowl Sunday 2011) that I had only started writing in October of 2010 but I never made an attempt at having it published. It was more a memoir than anything and I didn’t feel it had anything to offer anyone other than myself. Just a way to solidify my thoughts, much like this blog.
In April of last year I participated in one of those obstacle/endurance courses called a Mud Run. That, sad to say, is probably the highlight of last year. Not that it was a bad thing but I had hoped to achieve many more things. It had hoped to gain some muscle mass so I bought several electronic products. One of them I even followed religiously for 12 weeks straight, five days a week. While following a program that intensely was another first for me it didn’t yield the results I had hoped.
Instead of moping about what I didn’t accomplish I want to take those experiences and figure out what I did wrong. Why didn’t that program work for me? I probably should have added some rest days in between workouts instead of going hard at it Monday through Friday. I see now that if I really want to gain some muscle I HAVE to start eating more. I’m already feeling kind of queazy because of the meals I have but if I can squeeze an extra couple of shakes during the day maybe I can reach my goal of adding three inches to my shoulders by May of this year.
They say that goals without deadlines are just dreams so, there, I’ve written my goal (three inches on my shoulders) and I’ve given it a deadline (May 1, 2012). Now I’ve got to go the grocery store and start planning out my meals for the week.
Last night I was walking through the kitchen when I noticed that there were some bananas in the fruit bowl that were getting past their prime. They were beginning to get spots on them and usually that means that no one wants to eat them anymore and they get thrown away. I hate throwing away food so I started to think of ways I could consume these bananas before they really went bad. I thought about eating them outright but eating just one banana make me feel full; three would make me explode. Here’s the funny part: I went to bed and woke up trying to figure out how to save these poor bananas. Sad, I know. But after all that consideration here’s what I came up with.
My First Recipe
I’ve never been much of a cook but I can scramble eggs if I have to. This is the first time I’ve had to dream up a recipe from scratch. I’m sure I could have found lots of recipes on the internet but I didn’t want to have to grocery shopping just to finish off three bananas. I needed to make something with what I already had available. So I looked in my kitchen cabinets and here’s what I found that I though would go well with bananas:
a box of Grape Nuts cereal
whole wheat pancake mix
slivered almonds
a small package of shredded coconut
a package of vanilla pudding
My first thought was to just make whole grain pancakes and use the sliced bananas as a topping. The problem, again was how to use three whole bananas as topping for a short stack of pancakes. Then I considered mashing the bananas and mixing into the pancake mix. I abandoned that idea because that’s what you do with berries, not bananas. I then thought about making the pudding and adding the bananas to it but I was concerned that the sweetness of the pudding and the sweetness of the bananas would be overbearing. I finally decided to make my own banana pie. Here’s how I did it.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Take a 9″ round pie pan and put a coat of something on it so the pie won’t stick. Some people like cooking spray, some use a small layer of olive oil, use whatever you want.
Put a layer of Grape Nuts on the pan and pat it down with your fingers until it’s evenly spread. Keep adding the cereal until you can’t see the pan.
Peel the bananas and put them in a food processor. When the bananas take a pudding-like consistency, add three scoops of vanilla flavored whey protein.
Pour the banana mixture into the pan and top with shredded coconut.
Bake the pie for about 20 minutes or until the banana mixture feels more like a solid than a liquid.
I didn’t add any sweetener because I was afraid it would be too sweet. You, of course, can an add some if you wish. So the next time your bananas get spotted don’t throw them out, make a tasty pie! Keep lifting!!
When you take a trip into a place you’ve never been before you have to periodically stop and assess whether or not you are headed in the right direction. You know what I’m talking about: you have a print out of the Google Map directions and you’re looking for an address but rather than just follow the directions blindly you periodically stop and make sure (of course, if you’re a guy, you never stop and ask for directions). What if the road is under construction and you have to take a detour? What if they closed that 7-11 and now you don’t recognize any of the landmarks Google told you would be there–bad Google. If you suddenly find that you’re not where you wanted to be you have to back track even if it means starting over from a few places back. That’s where I am this week.
I Though I Knew Squat(s)
I’m not a total newbie when it comes to weight lifting so I figured I was squatting properly. After all, my weights were slowly climbing; surely I was on the right track. Then it dawned on me make a video of myself squatting–not pretty. I realized that my legs were NOT going to parallel with the floor. In fact, all this time I had probably been stopping quite a distance before parallel. So in yesterday’s workout I decided to use a wider stance so I could squat lower. Well, low and behold, the weight I thought I was going to use was too heavy for a deep squat. Since my hernia surgery last year I am very careful about squatting and deadlifting heavy weights so I dropped my intended weight by 10 pounds just to get through a set. BLAST!!
Starting Over Is No Fun…But Necessary
So even though I basically took a huge step back I now know that I was cheating at squats and that goes against my goal of optimal muscle development. Who knows, I may have been headed for an injury and I corrected my form just in time. Honest assessment and re-alignments are not pleasant. It’s no fun admitting to yourself that you need to change and it’s even less pleasurable to enact that change but in the end it is the right thing to do. Here’s to all of us who have the guts to go back a few steps and then start moving forward again.
I don’t know about you but there is nothing that gets my heartbeat racing like deadlifts. I try to do my entire workout with intensity and I feel week after doing squats but something about the deadlift requires that I use every ounce of my strength. When I do these I don’t just feel light headed, I feel worn out.
What About Your Back?
The deadlift is one of those exercises that has gotten a bad rap because of the possibility of injuring your lower back. That’s just because people are doing them wrong. Using proper form is absolutely necessary because when you deadlift you go heavy or you go home. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that Eric Cressey has produced a series of articles on the deadlift complete with videos (yayyy!).
One Exercise, Three Forms
I won’t regurgitate what Eric has written since I’m sure he can do a better job of explaining the benefits of each form but I do want to include his videos so you can get a quick idea of the three forms of the deadlift.
The first is the conventional deadlift which is the one I perform.
The second form is the sumo deadlift which is allows you to remain more upright and may be better for guys with shorter arms.
The third form requires the use of a trap bar but if you are just starting out with deadlifts it might be a safer option.
I would recommend that you not shy away from the deadlift, just read Eric’s articles and find out how to do them right. You may not enjoy doing them but you will like the results.
If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.
According to the internet, that was said by Thomas Jefferson. He probably said that after a set of squats and deadlifts (maybe?). This week’s installment finds me moving dangerously beyond my comfort zone as I recently started a program that requires me to work out five days a week. Yes, you read that right: 5 days. Truth be told, it’s not that different than other programs I’ve tried in the past where you work out “heavy” on three days and the other two days you perform some sort of cardio. The difference with this program is that you work with weights on all five days. Perhaps it’s because I never really did any cardio on my off days or perhaps it’s because I just didn’t even get up early on my off days but I can definitely tell you that this is a tough program for me.
Am I A Masochist?
No. I have a very low tolerance for pain, just ask the last nurse who tried to give me an injection. This goes back to that quote from Tommy J. Up to now, I’d been doing the three-day workout week and making some progress in the weights I was lifting but never any noticeable progress in size (except for in my waist). So why not try a five-day program? What have I got to lose except my gut?
Is It Fun?
Kinda sorta. I mean it’s not fun to get up all five days in a row even when you go to bed late because something came up. I’m not making excuses, I’m just saying that when the novelty of starting something new wears off you have make an effort to finish what you started. In a strange sort of way I do enjoy the soreness I feel all week in my different muscles. One day I’ll feel it in my biceps, the next day I’ll feel it in my legs, etc. It’s kind of nice knowing that I’m keeping my muscles moving. I like knowing that I’m not just turning into a giant jelly doughnut (mmmmmm, that sounds good–but I digress).
Adaptability Is Key
The determining factor in successfully reaching a goal is how you react to exterior circumstances. I’ll give you an example: I got up late yesterday. My fault, no one else’s. I set my alarm for 4:30 and it went off just like it was supposed to. I hit the snooze button and the next thing you know it’s 6:00. Normally I time my workout so I finish at 6:30 because that’s when I have to wake up the kids and prepare their lunches (it’s the least I can do considering all my wife does). I knew I wasn’t going to get my workout done in only half an hour. At first I considered just moving the workout to Saturday morning when I wouldn’t have the pressure of waking up early and having to finish at a certain time. But then I reconsidered. I mean I’m only two weeks into the program and I’m already going to start slacking!? No way, not this time. So I got up and prepared lunches then waited until 6:30 and woke up the kids. I told my wife what had happened and that I was going to get my workout in while they got ready (thank God for supportive spouses). So it was a win-win for everybody; I got my workout, my kids got their lunch and nobody missed a beat.
So here’s to getting out of your comfort zone and seeing things through no matter what comes.
A recurring theme these days is self-experimentation. Well known-author and lifestyle guru Tim Ferris uses years of self-experimentation as the basis for his books. I find that when I post a question on a fitness forum as to whether or not I should try this or that protocol, I usually get an answer that is to the effect of “try it and see what happens”. That all makes sense because everyone reacts differently to a stimulus. Just because a supplement or training regimen has worked (or hasn’t worked) for someone else doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for me.
Tell Me What To Do
Part of the problem, and this is my humble opinion, is that we don’t like to think. It takes a lot of hard work to put facts together and come up with an ideal plan. So we prefer to have others tell us what to do. That’s why we hire personal trainers and life coaches. There will come a time, though, when you will have to take an educated dive in the deep end. What I mean by that is you will have to gather as much evidence as you can about what it is you want to do (try supplement X, change your routine, etc.) and then you will just have to give that old college try.
Time Will Tell
Keep logs of what you did and monitor your progress at weekly intervals. If you’re lazy like me just buy an iPhone app that will help you log your workouts in real time (more on that later). The point is that if you are following a pattern for some time and it’s not yielding the results you want you have make a change. That sometimes means that you have to challenge your belief system. Making mental changes is tough but so is doing the same thing over and over and not getting any closer to your goals (insanity, anyone?). So here’s to the Dr. Frankenstein in all of us who is not afraid to say, “I’m going to try something different.”
It occurred to me the other day that there is a direct correlation between things you don’t like to do and their benefit to you. For those mathematically inclined the equation would look like this:
In non-mathematical terms, the lower the pleasure factor, the higher the benefit. Things that fall into this category are activities such as: going to the dentist, filing your taxes, squats and deadlifts. Okay, I know that going to the dentist is several degrees less pleasurable than squatting but I’m trying to make a point here; let me finish.
Bad Boy Basics of Building (Muscle)
Right now I’m going back to basics and the absolute minimum you should be doing when trying to add muscle is squats and deadlifts. Why squats? Think about it: you’re trying to go sit down then stand back up while sustaining a weight on your shoulders. To accomplish that you’re going to work more than just your legs. When I squat I feel it in my arms as well as my legs. The day after I squat I feel it in my glutes. The deadlift is another exercise that recruits major muscle groups. And it’s one of the few exercises that is mimicked in the real world. When was the last time you had to do some reverse crunches on the job? We lift all the time and performing the deadlift can only make your lower back stronger which means you are less likely to injure yourself when you’re lifting that one last case of beer.
“But it’s good for you…”
How many times did you hear that when you were growing up? Each time you heard it it just convinced you that the aforementioned “it” was going to either hurt or it was going to make you gag. Well I’m not your mother and I’m going to be honest: these exercises are hard. They hurt. A lot. That’s why I don’t like them. Notice I didn’t say I don’t do them. Notice I didn’t say I don’t like what they do for me. I’m just saying that they are not necessarily fun. Right now I’m doing a 5×5 program and when I’m finishing the fourth set I start getting light-headed. At the end of the fifth set I’m making noises that make me glad I train alone in the garage. My legs are like jelly afterwards and I don’t have the strength to do one chinup. But that’s okay. I know that I’ve made progress and I’m getting stronger.
So the next time you are standing in front of that squat rack staring at the bar just remember, you may not like it but you will like what it does for you. Now to make that dentist appointment.
I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to lose weight. When I realized a couple of months ago that I was getting a gut I started all kinds of programs to get a six pack. Unfortunately, I was not willing to stick to the extreme diet necessary for me to achieve that goal in such a short amount of time. The six pack will have to wait. Instead I’ve decided that I’m going to enjoy my summer and eat whatever I want. The funny thing is that I find myself not deviating far from good foods. After a few meals of fast food I suddenly crave some veggies and lean meats. I guess that means I’m developing good habits.
Super Hero Inspiration
The other day I gave my girls the option of going to the movies to see either the Winnie The Pooh movie or Captain America. I really thought they would opt for the Disney movie and was fully prepared to spend some “quality time” with them watching Pooh and his friends in a new adventure. Much to my surprise they chose to watch the super hero movie. In retrospect I realize that their choice in movies should not surprise me since they are growing up and beginning to notice boys (yikes!). The movie was more entertaining than I expected but the main thing I got out of it is that I want to make another attempt at gaining muscle.
I could totally identify with the Steve Rogers character being a scrawny weakling and wanting to be powerful and built. Man if only there were some secret government experiment (preferably run by Tommy Lee Jones) designed to give skinny guys muscle in an instant. The reality is that the experiment exists but it takes more like six months to achieve and it takes a lot of work. So now I’m inspired to add 20 lbs of muscle in six months. Is it doable? Sure. Will I make it? Time to find out.
