Post by Steve Gardener on Sept 3, 2006 23:52:13 GMT
Is training now stale? Are you going through the motions? The old fire you had not there any more? Hopefully I'll offer ya a few ideas to get things moving again.
Set short medium and long term targets
No miricle cure here but suprisingly effective. Far too many go to the gym with a vague idea of what they are trying to achieve 'I wanna get big' or 'make myself stronger' but with no plan and certianly no targets.
Sometimes the simple act of writing down in your log or better still on a note to pin to the gym wall with your targets for next month, by Christmas or next year will allow you to see what you are there for and focus on it.
Write down what you want - see above
I keep a training diary. I write down in the diary what I want from the session before I go. Let's say 4-5 x 1 with 140-kilos on the close grip bench press (as per tomorrow). If I do what is written nothing is changed but if I do more or less the tidy written plan gets scrawled over by a tired hand and a biro.
It then becomes easy to see what was done and write down what I want for the next session with the same weight.
Get the 'little gems' working
Less of a focusing technique and more of one helping you to get more reps and more weight thus wringing every ounce from a plan and so keeping you on track - and thus focused.
Put your name down for a competition
This makes such a difference that everyone ought to compete in their chosen sport or hobby at least once. Never mind seeing how good you are compared to the others on stage or in the arena now you have a real reason for doing what you do. It is one of the best ways to make progress.
Change gyms, equipment or exercises
The analogy, oft used, of 'change is as good as a rest' is so true in training. I will work and work and work a movement for months. Yet article after article says 'try shaking things up'. They try and convince you that the body needs it for 'all round development and strength' but that's horse shit. Your biceps don't care a fig what you do anymore than your lats, triceps or quads.
No it's for a mental change. Instead of the challenge of seeing how well you can do on lets say dumbbell rows you can change to seeing how much of the stack you can use doing one arm cable rows using a low row pulley or any number of other similar back movements. There is some argument to this idea with DC training which has you rotating chest movements (as well as more frequent chest etc sessions due to the changes) every workout using 5 core movements (so 5 differnt chest workouts rotated).
Change routines
If you use low reps, got high, if high go low. Look at other trainees routines and adapt them for you use and give them say 12 weeks before coming back to yours.
Expect a plateau now and again
It's gonna happen - you cannot training full bore, full of piss and fire each and everytime you workout. It's just not gonna happen. The key is to not allow it to go on and on. But it can and will happen from time to time. Plow on through and keep training hard. By doing so you'll be better than 95% of those in the gym just going through their paces without thinking.
Fini
I've given you some ideas so now you have no excuses
Set short medium and long term targets
No miricle cure here but suprisingly effective. Far too many go to the gym with a vague idea of what they are trying to achieve 'I wanna get big' or 'make myself stronger' but with no plan and certianly no targets.
Sometimes the simple act of writing down in your log or better still on a note to pin to the gym wall with your targets for next month, by Christmas or next year will allow you to see what you are there for and focus on it.
Write down what you want - see above
I keep a training diary. I write down in the diary what I want from the session before I go. Let's say 4-5 x 1 with 140-kilos on the close grip bench press (as per tomorrow). If I do what is written nothing is changed but if I do more or less the tidy written plan gets scrawled over by a tired hand and a biro.
It then becomes easy to see what was done and write down what I want for the next session with the same weight.
Get the 'little gems' working
Less of a focusing technique and more of one helping you to get more reps and more weight thus wringing every ounce from a plan and so keeping you on track - and thus focused.
Put your name down for a competition
This makes such a difference that everyone ought to compete in their chosen sport or hobby at least once. Never mind seeing how good you are compared to the others on stage or in the arena now you have a real reason for doing what you do. It is one of the best ways to make progress.
Change gyms, equipment or exercises
The analogy, oft used, of 'change is as good as a rest' is so true in training. I will work and work and work a movement for months. Yet article after article says 'try shaking things up'. They try and convince you that the body needs it for 'all round development and strength' but that's horse shit. Your biceps don't care a fig what you do anymore than your lats, triceps or quads.
No it's for a mental change. Instead of the challenge of seeing how well you can do on lets say dumbbell rows you can change to seeing how much of the stack you can use doing one arm cable rows using a low row pulley or any number of other similar back movements. There is some argument to this idea with DC training which has you rotating chest movements (as well as more frequent chest etc sessions due to the changes) every workout using 5 core movements (so 5 differnt chest workouts rotated).
Change routines
If you use low reps, got high, if high go low. Look at other trainees routines and adapt them for you use and give them say 12 weeks before coming back to yours.
Expect a plateau now and again
It's gonna happen - you cannot training full bore, full of piss and fire each and everytime you workout. It's just not gonna happen. The key is to not allow it to go on and on. But it can and will happen from time to time. Plow on through and keep training hard. By doing so you'll be better than 95% of those in the gym just going through their paces without thinking.
Fini
I've given you some ideas so now you have no excuses
