Setting a goal is the what. It’s the data. It’s thinking strategically. Whereas asking the deeper question of what is driving us to make a goal happen is the why. It’s the true motivator and the primal fire that fuels our drive. If we haven’t done the work of establishing this why, we won’t have an answer to what’s next.
With my somewhat teleological bent, this article really resonates with me.
If your rear delts suck, then your entire upper body looks weak. Here’s how to fix them.
“This will hurt. Your rear delts will grow. You will thank me later!”
That’s kind of the money quote for me right there…
Snatch-Grip Deadlift +357 pts
Dips - Chest Version +186 pts
Only 3 reps at 255# on SNDL? What is THAT horseshit???? Grrrrr….
Barbell Bench Press +489 pts
While variety is good – even necessary, too much of it derails your continued progress. In order to get better at anything (and indeed, in order to accurately assess the value of something), you’ve got to put your time in.
You’ll never know if benching 5 times a week, or doing most of your squats to a box, or deadlifting from a deficit will really pay off unless you run the program for several months at a minimum.
I always put it like this: imagine that you take Spanish in 9th grade, Italian in 10th grade, French in 11th, and Japanese as a senior – how proficient do you think you’ll be in any of those languages, as compared to just studying one of them for 4 straight years?
"Because I busted out some 115# barbell curls last night…not toooooo heavy by some standards, but still heavier than I expected to be able to do :D
EZ-Bar Curl +81 pts
Push-Up +75 pts
Think you can beat me, or want to comment?
Barbell Deadlift +776 pts
Barbell Bench Press +544 pts
Think you can beat me, or want to comment?
In keeping with my recent “economy of effort” theme, an article from the consistently great Bryan Chung.
“Every little bit doesn’t really count”—The MUCH longer version - Evidence Based Fitness
T NATION | Grow, Ectomorph, Grow
While this has proven correct in my experience, I would add that this is best looked at through the lens of “training age.” I have some solidly ectomorphic tendencies, but I can handle quite a bit more volume now than I could when I first started training.
That being said, I’m still all about training economy: maximal results for minimal relative effort, and the tips here are fairly solid for many beginning trainees.
