Working out and lifting weights is one of my favorite past times. Heck, I've been doing it ever since I was about 6 years old and at the time of writing this post, I'm nearly 32! Obviously my routines are significantly different now than they...
Working out and lifting weights is one of my favorite past times. Heck, I've been doing it ever since I was about 6 years old and at the time of writing this post, I'm nearly 32! Obviously my routines are significantly different now than they were when I was 6 - which brings me to the point of this post. In order for success in the gym, you need to set goals and know what you're striving for or to be. You're not going to get the results you want without goals. Hitting the gym and heading straight to the flat bench for a few sets, then over to curls before you get bored and leave isn't going to cut it. You need to decide if you want to be lean, trim and toned, big and bulky, super strong, or high endurance and really lean. Below are some of the goals I had during my career and a brief explanation on the training I implemented to reach them.
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Grade School More Brute Strength than the next guy
During grade school, my dad had us doing pretty basic movements fundamental lifts to build general strength and fitness. We were involved in wrestling and since most other kids our age didn't work out, our main advantage was our strength. Therefore, we worked out with weights about 3x a week and did a regimen of chin-ups (usually 5 sets of 12 or 3 sets of 20), bench press, military press and curls. Five times per week we would have a 45 minute wrestling practice in the basement. This met our goals for simply having more brute strength than our opponents.
High School Goal: Train for sports
During high school, our goals shifted a bit. We still wanted to be strong, but also needed more endurance as we were playing football and wrestling. During football, we focused on power moves and getting bigger while still keeping up the endurance at practice. The goal was fundamental strength again with little worry on asthetics or super low bodyfat. During wrestling, we increased the reps and lowered the weight as the strain and cardio involved with wrestling and wrestling practice along with cutting weight made it near impossible to pack on significant mass (and keep it on). The regimin during this time was 5 times per week lifting along with practice.
College Goal: Get Big
During college, and just out of college, the goal was to get as big and strong as possible. The training program was heavy on everything. Heavy bench pyramid, squat pyramid, heavy curls, heavy dips, heavy db press you get the picture. Lifting heavy wasn't enough, I also had to eat like crazy. 3500 4000 calories per day and in a few months I was up to 225lbs and bench pressing 385. The routine was five days per week with little to no cardio.
Current Goal: Lean, hard muscle, functional fitness and endurance
Currently my goals have shifted from heavy lifting to building lean, hard muscle, increasing endurance and working on “functional fitness†meaning my training programs will supplement my everyday life. To meet this goal, I've been doing a mixture of P90X, Insanity, MusclePharm fat burners, bodyweight workouts and crossfit. The routines are usually circuit style with no more than a minute rest. My goal is to remain at about 185 lbs, have a high endurance and shed as much body fat as possible. To meet these goals, my nutrition also needs to be spot-on. I am sure to get in at least 185g of protein per day, and then a balance of carbs and healthy fats. I shoot for around 2300 calories per day and a gallon of water.
So, as you can see, your success in the gym isn't always measured by how much you can bench or squat. Your goal may be to run a marathon, get a six pack, or maybe it is to bench press 450 lbs. Whatever your goal may be, you need to ensure you at least have a goal and then tailor your training and nutrition in such a way that you can meet your goal and then set a new one.
