From John’s Website www.totalstrength.info February, 2004
Welcome to our first month of "operation". I hope this first installment of The Monthly Journal finds you training hard and making progress.
I want to tell you a little bit about my vision for this site. What you see now is just the beginning of the foundation. I plan on adding original material other than that which I have presented in other publications. I will be adding substantially to the Motivation Page in the form of pictures. I know the value of a good picture, of how it can inspire.
My big plan for the future is to develop the world's first "virtual gym". In this "gym" you'll be able to, for instance, go over to the bench press and with a simple click of your mouse a menu will appear and you can choose to see a video clip of proper bench press technique, to see a video clip of a trainee performing a set "live", to examine several bench press routines designed for specific goals, and to view the bench press FAQ, to name a few options that you'll have. You'll be able to come into my
"office" and learn about nutrition, program design and flexibility. Maybe you're not getting the results you think you should so you could explore the "troubleshooting" FAQ. Or maybe you just need a good
"pep talk" - you know - a good kick in the butt, or a pat on the back to keep you on the right track. If you go over to the aerobic equipment you'll be able to find out about how to use the equipment properly, how to set up an aerobic or anaerobic program (that compliments your strength training) to meet your specific goals, training heart rate zones, etc. If you go to the powerlifting platform you'll be able to learn about how to set-up a program, about powerlifting "gear", the various federations (and their drug testing policies). By going into the "Treatment room" you'll learn about the all too common injuries that plague weight training, what to do to help you heal-up, and how to avoid injuries in the first place. I have many other plans, but this should give you a good idea of where I want to take this site.
Above all else, I want this site to be all "meat and potatoes" - no unnecessary hype, or fancy window dressing. I want to focus on the basics, because the basics work, period.
April, 2004
How do you define effort? How would you describe the amount of effort that you put out when you're lifting? Do you, or have you given this much thought lately? Or has your training thought time been devoted to figuring out the best training program, or maybe the best diet, or even the best rep speed to train at? I have made many a program that was not working – start working – simply by getting the trainee to focus on giving maximum effort to every rep that is performed. I want you to really think about what I asked above. How much thought, and preparation, do you give to making sure that you are putting out maximum effort? My experience has shown me that the answer is not much. And I can state that after 30 years in the iron game that this is the number one reason why most trainees don't achieve the results that they desire.
I want to suggest that you start a routine before every workout that has you focusing on putting out maximum effort. Watch a video of someone putting out tremendous effort; read something that puts you in the mood to be a warrior for the up-coming battle, think about your workout as a competition - you verses the weights. One of the best ways to stimulate effort and gives you a way to monitor yourself is good ole video tape. It's funny that when the tape gets rolling how someone's effort goes up a notch. But whatever you do make it part of your routine - practice consistently focusing on, and then, putting out maximum effort. You need to go into the gym ready to tear the weights apart. The more you do this the better you'll get at it. And you will find a tremendously marked improvement in your workouts, your strength level, and your physique.
Putting out maximum effort on a consistent basis is one of the most essential ingredients to achieving success in the iron game, yet it is one of the least emphasized. Make sure to make this part of your routine.
May, 2004
So, how's your last month of training been? Have you stuck to the basics and made "a little" but steady progress or have you abandoned ship because progress was "okay" but too slow and are currently trying a program guaranteed to put 20 to 30 pounds on your best bench press in 30 days? I can tell you that the trainee who put 4 pounds on his or her best bench last month (and the 5 months before that) is the one who is making great progress. Think about that for a moment. By December, that trainee's bench press will be up 32 pounds. And I'm talking about being up 32 pounds on sets of 3 to 5 reps. Their one rep max will have gone up much more than that. Let me tell you that this is how great strength and development take place. It takes place one pound at a time. Now I know that many
"Nay Sayers" are thinking that this sounds good and all but you can't continue to progress at this rate forever or you would have trainees benching thousands of pounds. And let me say that is true - but you can maintain this rate of progression for a long, long time -- long enough to put any trainee into a category that most trainees will never reach.
So, what about for the long haul? Well, what happens is that the rate of progression slows - but it doesn't stop. An advanced trainee (who weighs 200 pounds) may add "only" one or two pounds per month to their best lifts - but so what? This is still great progress for someone who for instance can bench press 350 to 400 pounds (drug free and no bench shirt). Okay, so on the outside that "only"
equates to 12 pounds per year. That means that in the next five years that trainee will be benching 400 to 450 pounds! How many trainees have you actually witnessed come into the gym put on a belt (and after a warm-up) bench that much weight? I bet not many. Of course that trainee will be able to put 370 to 400 pounds up for three to five reps. Wouldn't you like to be able to do this? And remember that same trainee will be coming into the gym next week to do it again.
Now I know many of you have been "brainwashed" by the so-called 600 and 700 pound benches that you've been hearing about so that a "measly" 400 pounds doesn't sound like much. But I want you to know that it is a fact that those benchers couldn't bench anywhere near those weights without the drugs and the bench shirts that they are wearing. Do you know that a bench shirt can now add over 150 pounds to what someone can really bench? And the steroids are adding another 100 pounds or more. I recently heard a very famous strength coach say that he had a trainee who competes in the 308 pound class and benched in excess of 620 pounds in competition. He goes on to say that this same trainee (only) benches 405 pounds for five reps in the gym. That equates to roughly a "raw" 450 pound max - which isn't that impressive for a man that weighs over 300 pounds! So, the bench shirt is giving him over 170 pounds on his competition max - how absurd! That is why I used the term "so-called" in the sentence above to describe the 600 and 700 pound benchers. I've been around the iron game now for 30 years and in all that time I have only witnessed two "real" (with a pause, drug-free, and no bench shirt) 500 pound bench presses. Now I am not saying that there haven't been others who have legitimately benched more -- for I know that Pat Casey benched 600 pounds without drugs or a bench shirt - the point that I am trying to make is that a 400 pound bench is a tremendous feat for those who live "in the real world" of strength training.
I want to get back to the example I started with - the "real" trainee who is building great strength
"one pound at a time". I have found that most trainees expect more than the body can deliver in the short term - but then this same trainee goes on to sell himself short over the long term. What do I mean by this? Well, it's like the example I started with, most beginner and intermediate trainees are looking for that "secret" program that can add 20 to 30 pounds to their bench in a month or two (unrealistic short term goal), but then convince themselves that they have only average genetics, or that without drugs they need to be "realistic" and can only expect minimal results over the long term (unrealistic long term goal). This is exactly the opposite way that you need to think. You need to have realistic short term expectations - like increasing your five rep bench by four pounds per month - but then have "big" long term goals - like benching 350 to 400 pounds after ten to twelve years of training.
I'm confident that if you approach your training with truly realistic short term and long term thinking you'll stay on a program that really delivers results and you'll be able to achieve the strength and physique that you desire. Most of all don't ever underestimate what you can accomplish with the combination of proper effort and time.
June, 2004
Well, let me update you on what's going on around here. First of all I'm working like crazy to get instructional and motivational video up on the site. It's taking a while due to the fact that I need to convert much of the video that I have from analog to digital. I have completed my video introduction and it should be on the site within days.
As many of you are aware, I'm putting together a compilation book of all my writings from the past ten years. This book is not just simply going to be a bunch of articles thrown together. I will be including new articles never seen before as well as an introduction and a table of contents so that you can find what you're looking for easily. I am a big believer in the statement "a picture is worth a thousand words", and I will have many, many pictures of my trainees as well as myself "under the iron". I want to show you what can be accomplished by drug-free, smart, training.
Once I get these things done, I'm going to go to work on getting a new "instruction page" link on the site. I'm going to put together new video clips on exercise technique.
Okay, enough of that. How's your training going? We're half way through the year, and if you've been training properly you should be stronger and bigger than you were at the beginning of the year. If not, what gives? Have you been "program jumping" again? Are you unrealistic about your short term goals (please go back and read the May Journal)? Is the program you're on really failing you, or are you failing the program? Read that again, because I've seen trainees wreck a good program by not doing the simple things that they're supposed to do. Come on, how is a program going to work if you're constantly moving your workout days, missing workouts, and eating poorly for several days a week? If you put in 80% effort you'll get 80% results. Guys, it takes consistency to get the job done - consistency over many years. Yeah, we're all human and things happen that get in the way of consistency - but these should be few and far between. If you really want to change, if you really want to get results, if you really want to be big and strong (real big and strong) you will do what you are supposed to do. And what you are supposed to do does not, and should not, take away from a balanced life. If anything it will add to it.
Okay, I got on you a little bit (like a good coach does from time to time), and hopefully I've made you think about what you're doing. I want you to succeed - I know you can, but you're going to have to make a commitment to do things right. Now, make plans to finish the year as you should, with consistency in your training, eating, stretching, and aerobic work. If you do this, come December, you'll be happy with the results.
August, 2004
I just recently delt with a trainee of mine who has been having problems for the past six months or so making progress at a rate that is common for someone with his goals. His goals are simple; he wants to get as strong as his genetics will allow. And as a competitive powerlifter he can gain up to eight pounds of bodyweight and stay in his weight class (220lb.) – so he doesn’t have to try and keep his bodyweight down.
Now, this trainee has been under my guidance for many years so he knows how to train. Not only does he know how to train but he knows exercise physiology as well. So, for the past six months he has examined everything; program design, exercise frequency, rep selection, rep cycling, lifting technique, and his mental approach. (He has gotten so desperate about his bench press that he was considering studying the effects of the planets’ alignment and their effect on this particular lift.) And you know what, adjustments to all of the above didn’t help at all – he still wasn’t making the progress he should have been.
This is such a common scenario. I’ve seen it soooooooo many times. Even though I had been mentioning (harping) the solution to his problem for some time it just didn’t register – he thought it had to be something else.
Well, after talking with him after a workout in which I could see that he was experiencing “post workout depression” from a another poor bench press workout – he was going on and on about how he “couldn’t understand what was happening”, that he was “benching so much more just six months ago” -- the solution finally became evident after I asked a simple question. “What was your bodyweight then, and what is it now?” His first response was that “it wasn’t much different than it is now” – which I knew wasn’t correct. I reminded him that he was almost overweight at his last contest (fall of 2003), and the weight limit for his class (it has been changed since January 2004 to 220lbs.) was 228 pounds. Right then he jumped on the scale; 212 pounds. Now remember that he wasn’t trying to lose weight. His weight initially fell from the 230 range to about 205 in a matter of days due to an intestinal virus back in December and he has never regained the weight. So, I made it very clear that if he simply started to gain weight, he would start making progress.
One week later he was up five pounds (that just proves how depleted he was), he felt better, he looked better (it actually looked as though he gained 10 pounds!), and sure enough the weights that were hard a week previous went up strong. He actually set an all time personal record in the deadlift.
So, the moral of the story is that how you eat is very important to your success in the weight room.
Don’t ever (ever!) downplay its importance. Make a commitment to get it right starting today!