It seems that in the world of “fitness,” you can find evidence for anything to work.
Fasting, low carb, low fat, paleo, pilates, crossfit, powerlifting, power walking, bodyweight, squat 3x a week, foam rolling, pain science, natural method, oly weightlifting, vegetarian, vegan, GOMAD, starting strength, heavy duty, carnivore, chiropractic care, circus arts, lemon juice cleanse, straight up giving up, glutes only glutes…
What the hell is true? It sounds like everything is. To make it simple, I wanted to put together a few key truths that (almost) everyone can agree on (because Lord knows we as a people / creature can’t agree completely on anything).
ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS IS AS SIMPLE AS THIS: CONSISTENT, INTENSE, HARD WORK WITH GREAT FORM & PROGRESSIVE RESISTANCE, COUPLED WITH REST & GOOD NUTRITION ON A BEDROCK OF COMMON SENSE & PASSION.
Hard Work
Look, this won’t be easy. Absolutely nothing worth having is. That’s kind of the point. As long as you enter this knowing there’s no elevator to success, that you’ll have to take the stairs every single day and grind away, then you’re leaps and bounds ahead of others. Don’t look for a shortcut, get in the gym, resistance train, and keep an eye on your nutrition. That’s as simple as it gets – but sometimes simple doesn’t equal easy.
Consistency
If you’ve ever taken a road trip then you can get this idea. You hit the road and boom, you have to stop for something. Get back on the road and you pull over for lunch. Finally, time to really hit a good long stretch of road- oops, lunch kicked in, bathroom break. You’ll never get anywhere in decent time if you start and stop constantly. Just like with hard work, if you commit to this knowing you’ll have to stick with it for a long time (usually forever, it’s a lifestyle) then you’re well ahead of others. Just be consistent.
Intensity
Even with all the gear in the world, no bodybuilder put on muscle simply doing bicep curls with 5 lbs. You have to push the envelope a bit. Your body grows and thrives off a challenge, so challenge it! Do you need to deadlift until your back snaps? No, that’s silly. Should you be out of breath? Yes. Attack this challenge. If you try to train with a defeated, “I don’t want to do this,” mindset then nothing will change.
Good Nutrition
You build a mansion out of marble, not cardboard. Put the right foods into your body and it will thank you. Can you periodically enjoy yourself by going out for restaurant food with friends, yeah, of course. Can you eat fast food for your 3 to 5 meals a day and expect to feel like superman? No – at least you can’t unless you’re 16 (I miss being 16 sometimes). It’ll help to plan ahead and go from there. And remember, we’re always learning. We’re always improving. If you hit road bumps along the road, that’s fine, just don’t give up and keep improving!
Programming
Put simply, this means to increase the volume slowly over time so your body can adapt. Put on a couple more pounds on the bar. Knock out an extra rep or two. Rest a little less between sets. The variables are endless and that slow improvement over time is key here. Slow consistent progress.
Great Form
Our bodies are amazing at adapting, but even they tend to break if used wrong enough times. You want to progress the resistance slowly over time, but if there’s a weak link in the chain, then it will snap. Make sure you’re lifting properly. Trying to achieve a goal now isn’t worth any long-term issues you’ll deal with for the rest of your life. Watching a few videos on form, reading some articles or (shocker) getting a coach can help with this tremendously.
Rest
SLEEP! It’s that simple – so simple babies do it all the time, just sleep! Don’t get me wrong, I get it, a lot of people have trouble sleeping, I’m not trying to be rude here, but don’t just accept it or put a band-aid on it. Clean up your sleep hygiene and make sure you’re getting 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night. The other point of this is to take rest days. Give your body a chance to grow. We don’t grow in the gym, we grow when we’re resting.
Common Sense
“Yeah, but I saw this guy on Instagram who was doing decline sit-ups with two 45’s on his chest and he was ripped, why am I not doing that?” (this is an actual question I’ve had to answer). As easy as it is to say or chuckle at, keeping common sense in your training & nutrition will help you get where you want to go. Does something like only drinking lemon juice with cayenne pepper sound like something a pro athlete, or better yet, a doctor, would do? No.
Passion
It may take time, this may be the hardest to develop over time, but it will come. Find a passion for what you’re doing. Find a pride in the fact that you’re making changes and growing as a person and an athlete. Relish in the fact that you’re better than you were yesterday. There’s no shame in growing. Take passion in who you are and how much better you can be.