I have been training seriously with weights since 1979. DAMN! that's a long time. In that time, I have made every mistake in the book when it comes to training, exercise selection, crappy form, you name it. So I am sitting here thinking, maybe I can help some folks not screw up like I did. Give them some tips and such to speed up their progress. So I am gonna just spit some out and then add some more when I think about it. Here is Tip #1-
1. Have Patience.
I tell this story all the time, but when when I was in 9th grade, I was gung-ho about lifting. I mean, I devoured every damn thing about training and nutrition, and supplements and rest-pause and going to failure and everything. So I'd come into Physical Training class and go crazy; drop sets, forced reps, partials, all of it. What did I get out of all of it? Weaker. And a good case of tendonitis that persists to this very day if I am not careful.
Meanwhile, my buddy Carlo was doing his squats and benches and leaving 2-3 reps in the tank each set. He'd do a few sets of curls, maybe some pushdowns and some rows. He was eating well- steak, pasta, milk. He was sleeping soundly and was pretty stress free about the whole thing. He got freakin' huge, and strong. His arms were crazy big for a high school kid.
I was eating tuna, and choking down Weider shakes and worrying about every gram of everything that I put in my mouth.
If I had just stepped back a little(or had a coach who was worth a damn to advise me) and realized that working hard and smart was better than just going crazy, I would have been better off.
So what am I saying? You wanna get big and strong? Patience. Follow a program(percentage based is best) that calls for a certain amount of sets each day and brings you to a peak after weeks of training. No matter if you feel wonderful, stick to the program. And on the assistance work? Work for a maximum pump with short rest, but don't go so nuts that it makes inroads into your recovery and also gets you injured.
