In the gym, on the field, or in life everybody is looking for life hacks to exponentially improve themselves. In our quest to sprint to the finish we tend to miss some extremely fundamental aspects to our training. Some of us look to pack on extra work without fixing the core of the problems ultimately causing the individual to burnout. Before taking your training under a microscope to figure out why you are not progressing as fast I will list and explain three things to where when taken into consideration will have you progressing faster without doing any extra work.
Consistency:
No shit, you have heard this many times and yet we still find a way to make an excuse for why we cannot do this or that. Consistency should be your utmost importance when training. Some of you may have a job which hours shift around or family emergencies from time to time and that’s okay, life will happen. When you think long term, consistency is what makes or breaks you. This can be broken down to in training terms as simply as ensuring you lift 3 days a week. The best lifter/athletes will be the ones who show up day in and day out when they are expected to. Fluctuations will occur and you may be hit with some tough days, accepting fluctuations will allow you to adapt and continue to train no matter what the situation. “You don’t lift unless you lift”
Lifting/Moving with intent
You may have heard this one or not. Essentially when performing any type of exercise or training ensure that you are giving it you full attention. Half-ass your training and you will get half-ass results. The body will recruit more motor units when you lift/move with intent (check my previous post “Warming up isn’t just for Warming up” for more info on this). You begin to teach your body how to move and exactly where to go when you have intent. In the sport of powerlifting that bar better be moving with the quality of a maximal attempt and speed relative to the weight that is currently on the bar. If you want to deadlift 800 lbs. and you move 135 like a slug in warmups you are going to have some problems. Do not compromise quality of movement for speed and I get into that one in the final segment.
Have a Technical Mindset
Chances of you having perfect technique whether that is in the gym or on the field/track is slim. We all have something to work on technically and we should be consciously attempting to improve with each rep we do. For weightlifters, an extremely technical sport, it can seem overwhelming at first, as the body moves like those inflatable dancing balloons in front of stores on our first snatch, but every rep needs to be taken with the objective of improving technique in some aspect. When closer to competition this will fade off some as you need to trust your training and your body to react and think less. Far out from competition hammer technique as this training mindset will set you up for success during times of fatigue/high stress.
There you have it, three fundamental aspects that will improve your progress without adding any additional sets, reps, or work to your current routine. Apply these three things to your current training and reap the benefit of your hard work.
As Ronnie Coleman stated “Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder, but no one wanna lift those heavy ass weights”
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