Ear drums rattling, I step into the squat rack, and under the bar. Next I tighten my body, grasp the bar, lift it from the rack, and take a couple steps back.

Inhaling, I look ahead and descend until I seemingly can’t go any lower.

Time to beast. I exhale, push through my heels, and explode my hips forward and back up to the starting position. One down…

It Doesn’t Matter How Many Plates Are On The Bar

Not if I don’t crush each repetition.

Too often people sacrifice form to lift another ten or twenty pounds. I admit, I’m guilty too. It’s all too easy to let your ego get in the way. Or the false sense of progress that comes with it.

But think about it. If you can’t properly control the weight, then what the hell are you doing? Whether it’s bouncing the bar off your chest on the bench, or coming up half a foot short of parallel on the squat – all you’re doing is putting your shoulders, knees, and other awesome body parts at risk. Moreover, you aren’t coming close to properly activating the correct musculature. AKA you’re not getting stronger OR building muscle.

The worst part? You don’t enjoy it. Not when your whole body is shaking just to lower the weight.

Executing a clean, controlled repetition through a full range of motion is far more satisfying. It just feels right. 

4 Simple Ways To Crush Each Rep

Here are a few pointers I use to help myself make the most of every repetition:

1. Drop some weight.

Take what you’re lifting now, and subtract 10-20%. The point is not for it to feel easy, but to remain confident throughout the entire set.

2. Exaggerate the range of motion.

If you’re squatting, go below parallel, and then squeeze your glutes at the top.

If you’re benching, allow the weight to touch, and almost even rest on your chest. Just for a brief second.

If you’re rowing, allow your shoulder blades to completely stretch apart at the bottom, and then squeeze them together at the top. Imagine pinching a quarter in between them.

3. Use a slow eccentric.

Put simply – lower the weight in a slow, controlled manner. Take about 2 full seconds. This forces you too use an appropriate weight, as well as increasing the time under tension and strengthening your ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissue.

4. Focus on the muscles.

You have to develop a superior mind-muscle connection. For example, try and feel your pecs contracting as you push the weight upwards while benching.

Why You Must Treat Every Rep Like It’s Your Last

When you apply an intense focus to every repetition, a few things start to happen. Here are the top three:

1. Your form improves, and the risk of injury decreases.

2. Your true strength starts to increase at a steady pace (granted you may have to drop weight initially), and this leads to superior hypertrophy.

3. Weight lifting becomes infinity more enjoyable – almost like a super intense meditation.

Before you begin your your next set, pause for a moment and reflect on what you are about to do. Then focus intently and beast out each repetition like it’s your last. I promise – it will change the way you experience strength training.

Do you concentrate on every single repetition or are you just going through the motions? Respond below.

I make my way to the kitchen and open the fridge. “Hey David,” calls out a deep voice from over my shoulder. “Quick question for you.” Ugh. More work. All I want is to eat my sandwich - London broil roast beef and three pepper Colby jack cheese on a plump onion roll.  MMmmMMMMmmm. And my cookies – Pepperidge Farm Genova. Of course.

“Do you take creatine monohydrate?” WHAT!? My hunger has me questioning whether or not I’m hallucinating.

But I’m not. Someone has simply noticed that I lift. And that I’m doing at least a couple things right, apparently.

Cool Story, Bro

I do. Take creatine, that is.

But what is the point of my super-exciting story? You have to enjoy the journey. You must live for moments like these. While I’m not close to achieving my goal physique, comments like these remind me that I’m on the right path. I’m making progress. No matter how slowly.

Too many people want a shortcut. I blame it on the microwave. I never owned a microwave until a year or two ago. I thank my parents for that. You know… never mind, I won’t get completely sidetracked.

Forget Your Goal

I recently read about an interesting study. It compared the productivity of three groups performing the same project. One group simply performed the project, one group visualized the end-result beforehand, and the final group visualized the entire process that would lead to the end result beforehand. Which group do you think did best? The result (no pun intended) – the first group did significantly worse that the two visualizing groups – they failed to start the project on time in most cases. The surprise is that those who visualized the process did measurably better than those who visualized only the goal. They were more likely to finish the project on time and reported it to be far easier.

Results oriented thinking is all the rage, but why? We all realize that there is no free lunch. No gaining 30 lbs of muscle in just 30 days! But we still manage to lose interest and fall off when we don’t achieve these unrealistic results.

Focus On The Numbers, Not The Mirror

We all want a visible six pack. We all want bigger arms. Bulging shoulders. A Thick back. The list goes on.

To (hesitantly) quote Tony Horton: “Rome wasn’t built in a day. And neither was your body.”

It’s true, and we all know it. But it still tests your patience when you kill yourself in the gym for a month and look virtually the same in the mirror. The visual changes will come. In fact, they might have already came. It is common to miss these changes when you see your body every day, because it happens so gradually (a good reason to take progress photos).

More importantly, focus on the numbers. Did you add 5 pounds to your bench press this week? Maybe 10 to your squat? Boom! Your strength just increased by a measurable amount. Take a second and congratulate yourself. If you are making consistent progress in the gym, the aesthetic changes will follow. When you start to treat lifting itself as a game, one where you are always trying to surpass your previous best – you have already won. The intrinsic motivation this brings will ensure steady progress towards an amazing body.

How To Love Lifting And Guarantee Steady Gains

Once you start to enjoy the journey – the actual process of going to the gym and lifting, and the eating that goes along with it – you will undoubtedly crush the weights and make constant strides towards your muscular potential. Stop waking up expecting to see the hulk in the mirror and instead focus on getting stronger and adding pounds (or kilos) to your lifts. It is extremely satisfying. It becomes addicting.

The 3-5 hours I spend lifting each week are awesome. I am always looking forward to my next session. Always excited to see if I can pump out that extra rep.

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
Ernest Hemingway

This same principle applies across the board – whether it is your job, meditation, or basketball. As soon as you begin to love the act of doing a given activity, you are sure to improve your skills and eventually excel at it.

Have you crossed the barrier yet? Does just the thought of lifting weights arouse you? Respond below.

It’s a question we’ve all been asked. And it’s no wonder – a large chest and a strong bench are defining characteristics of the alpha male. But your answer to the question means nothing.

We’ve all seen the skinny guy benching hundreds of pounds. Impressive right? Wrong. The stacks of plates on the barbell don’t mean shit if you’re doing it wrong. It doesn’t equate to strength, and it’s probably the reason your chest isn’t growing. So browse the list below, identify any mistakes you’re making, and fix them.

Note: Drop the weight you’re using by 10-20% while you experiment. Lifting with correct form will be harder at first, but the returns on strength and muscle mass will be far greater.

1. Incomplete Range of Motion

Contact with chest

You should be lowering the bar all the way to your chest. Not half-way there. Not almost there. It should make contact with at least your t-shirt.

2. Bar Bouncing

Lowering the bar to your chest does not mean bouncing it off of your chest. This is cheating. Your muscles should be doing the work – not the momentum generated from a good bounce.

3. Flaring Elbows

Correct elbow position

Your elbows should not be sticking out directly sideways. They should be tucked in towards your rib cage. This protects your shoulders from injury and helps properly activate the correct musculature.

4. Loose Shoulder Blades

Squeeze them shits together. Imagine pinching a quarter between your shoulder blades. They should be the primary point of contacts between your body and the bench. This forms the base for your bench press. The stronger the base, the stronger the bench.

5. Happy Feet

How many times do you see people tapping and moving their feet around while struggling to get the bar up? Remember, the stronger the base, the stronger the bench. Maintain constant contact and pressure between your feet and the floor. Pushing forward through your heels while raising the bar will drive greater force into your shoulder blades and make that base even stronger.

6. Sloppy Wrists

Left is sloppy, right is correct

Your wrists should remain flexed and maintain a straight line in between your forearms and hand. You’re hand should not bend backwards. That’s sloppy.

Why Your Chest Isn’t Growing

It all comes down to form. Take a step back and evaluate your bench press. You may have to drop some weight initially to accommodate the changes. It sucks, I know. But give your ego a rest – the benefits you get from doing it right (a bigger, stronger chest and virtually eliminated risk of injury) are worth it.

Drug tests are beatable, and the lack of off-season testing by many organizations facilitates usage.

Bodybuilders aren’t alone. The recent events surrounding Lance Armstrong demonstrate the prominence of steroid use across professional sports. He passed literally hundreds of doping tests while using and under tremendous media scrutiny. He is proof that anyone could be using gear (ie. steroids).

A Couple Real Naturals

I could post hundreds of impressive photos of bodybuilders who do use gear. But I won’t. The purpose of this article is to show what is possible naturally. A series of recent videos by Jason Blaha of the YouTube channel IceCreamFitness (my favorite fitness-related channel) goes into detail about the telltale signs of gear users. He goes on to give a couple examples of guys who he is absolutely convinced:

1. Do not use any performance enhancing drugs.

2. Are not gifted with godly genetics.

In other words, these two guys are regular bros who represent what is possible for people like me and you, given several years of dedicated training and nutrition.

Example One: Nick Wright

Here is a true example of someone who was born to bulk. This dude was skinny and a half. He is 14 on the left and 21 on the right. Let his transformation give you motivation to keep beasting (it motives the hell out of me).

Example Two: Omar Isuf

Not a great pic, but this guy doesn’t have many pics on the web. Check out his YouTube channel and you can tell he’s built some serious mass. Naturally.

Conclusion

If you want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman, or some other unworldly creature then I suggest you hit the juice. Those bodies don’t come naturally. However, if your goal is to put on some quality muscle mass, get stronger, and build an aesthetic physique then you’re in luck.

You don’t need to dedicate your entire life to the gym. A few hours a week of squatting, deadlifting, pressing, and rowing with proper form along with a solid diet will get you where you want to be.

A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.
- Larry Bird

1. Peanut Butter: I Like It Chunky. Super Chunky.

I could live on peanut butter. It’s taste is prolific. And its nutritional profile is superb – featuring a whole bunch of unsaturated fats to bump up that good cholesterol, fiber to keep your bowels crispy cool, and some potassium as a kicker.

Put it on bread, ice cream, oats, crackers, or my fave – a spoon. Oh, and the giant tub of Stop & Shop brand is like a nickel and it lasts… longer than the regular ones.

2. Oats: My Carb Of Choice.

Like Luda said – eat them in the meantime, or in between time. I eat them for breakfast or as a convenient snack.

They have fiber. Your bowels like that.

I get the big tub of quick oats. 30 something servings for roughly 3 dollars. Mix in protein powder, fruit, pop-tarts, peanut butter – literally anything.

3. Milk: Whole Milk.

Protein, carbs, fat, calcium, oh my. Man up and get the whole variety. It’s more calories. For the same price. Enough said.

4. Protein Powder: Pick Your Poison.

It comes in every flavor, but usually chocolate. Every popular brand comes packed with all of the essential amino acids. And its CHEAP!!! Close to 50 cents per serving if you buy online (bodybuilding.com has good prices).

You need to eat at least 0.8 grams of protein for every pound of lean body mass (or just bodyweight x 0.8 grams if your lazy) to maximize strength and muscular gains. Protein powders make hitting this number far easier.

5. Pizza: I Just Went There.

When you need to gain weight – you need calories. Pizza’s got you covered. While it won’t help you with your vitamin and mineral needs, it does contain a solid balance of fats, carbs, and proteins.

Plus you love it.

6. Hamburgers: Protein. And Calories.

Hamburgers are my favorite food. Nothing beats a thick, juicy burger. With bacon. And pepper jack cheese. And jalapenos. And guacamole.

I get the frozen 8-packs and make them on my George Foreman Grill. Bingo.

7. Ice Cream. The Finisher.

It shouldn’t be a primary dietary source. But it’s good. And it helps fill in the extra calories (ie. the extra energy your body needs to build muscle).

Bonus: Pop Tarts

A new love of mine. 200 calories per piece / 400 per packet (mainly carbs). I wouldn’t touch one if I were trying to cut fat, but they’re awesome for bulking.

Try putting one in the freezer - NOM nom NOM.

You must arrive at the gym the same way a soldier arrives on the field of battle – with complete focus and clarity of mind.

To make progress you must always push yourself beyond your limits. Follow these 7 pre-workout rules and you will have consistently amazing workouts, where setting PR’s (personal records) is the norm.

1. Don’t Train Tired

If you do not have sufficient energy, you have no chance of surpassing your previous best. Furthermore, lifting heavy loads while tired is simply dangerous. Same goes for being hungover.

2. Caffeine is your friend.

Caffeine is a magical substance. It provides energy, and more important – focus. Studies have shown that caffeine can blunt pain responses leading to delayed fatigue in high intensity weight training (1). I suggest a coffee or a solid pre-workout supplement. I prefer White Flood (check it out on amazon). I will write an article on what supplements I use in the near future.

3. Showers are also your friend.

I know I am not the only one who feels amazing after a shower, but I am the only person I know that takes showers before going to the gym. It gets me in the zone. Try it.

4. Review your goals.

Reviewing the sequence of exercises your are about to perform, and your previous best is essential. Without knowing exactly how much weight to use and how many repetitions to aim for, your sense of purpose is lost. Personally this is what makes lifting so fun/addicting for me.

5. Don’t perform cardio.

Warm up like a real man and do a few light sets of each exercise. This is known as a specific warm up, and it prepares your body for heavy load to come by increasing the blood-flow to the active muscle tissue and priming your central nervous system (2). Cardio tires you out and hurts your performance – do it after lifting if you like.

6. Don’t stretch.

Another bad warm-up. Studies show that stretching compromises your strength when performed just before a workout (3).

7. Prepare the tunes.

Having a solid playlist ready for your workout is a must. I don’t have any studies to prove this one, but I swear that having the right track bumping though my headphones give me something extra. If you have a smartphone I snuggest downloading the Songza app. It is similar to Pandora, but way better. Epic Trance and Southern Rap Workout are by far my 2 favorite stations.

Paleo, Keto, Atkins, and Slow Carb all advocate limited carbohydrate intake. And you know what? They work.

Moreover, many people drop 5-10 pounds in the first week or two of the diet. Sounds amazing, right?

Yes – but it is important to recognize why lower carbohydrate intake leads to weight loss, how the initial 5-10 pound weight drop occurs, and what implications it has.

Fewer Carbs = Fewer Calories

Every gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. Naturally, when you eat fewer carbs you are also eating fewer calories. Eating fewer calories than you expend is what leads to weight loss (1). This is known as The Law of Thermodynamics. Thus, the same result can be achieved by eating fewer fats or proteins. In other words, eating less in general leads to weight loss, not limiting carbs.

One Reason To Eat Carbs

Glycogen Stores And Water Weight

Glycogen is the form of carbohydrates stored by your body. It can be quickly converted to glucose through the process of glycogenolysis, offering a source of readily available energy to your body (2). When you are eating carbs, and not losing weight, your body stores ample amounts of glycogen. However, when you start to diet and lose weight, you begin to empty these glycogen stores to make up for the lack of energy (ie. calories) you are getting through food intake (3). Because glycogen is a form of stored carbohydrates, this effect is exaggerated when you also limit carb intake (ie. the glycogen stores empty more quickly and to a further degree).

The Glucose Molecule

So, from a purely performance perspective, limiting carbs limits the amount of readily available energy your body stores. Not good. In addition, glycogen is stored in your body in a hydrated form (3 to 5 parts water) (3). Thus, by emptying the glycogen stores you subsequently lose a lot of weight – most of it water. This is the quick 5-10 pounds of weight you see drop in the first few weeks of a diet. It is not true weight loss (ie. a reduction of actual fat/muscle tissue). If and when you reintroduce a solid amount of carbs back into your diet, this weight will quickly return.

Conclusion

In conclusion, low carb diets can lead to weight loss, but not because you are eating less carbohydrates. Rather it is because you are eating less calories in general. Also, one reason they have become so popular is the large weight loss that occurs at the beginning of a period of carb restriction. However, it is important to recognize this is the result of changes in water weight, not the burning of fat. Personally, I believe eating diet with a balance of carbs, fats, and proteins is best – whether gaining or losing weight.

Staggering back from the squat rack, I rest my hands on my knees. I pause to catch my breath.

Next to me, a noticeably small man steps into the position, preparing to squat.

There are 3 plates loaded onto each side each side of the barbell. 315 pounds. I eagerly watch in anticipation. A couple of good reps would be impressive for someone of his stature.

Grunting, he lifts the bar from the rack, almost losing his balance as he steps back. This will be good.

He begins the descent. Hold on, he comes back up. Quick breather? After a brief pause he starts back down. Wait a second. He’s back up again? He proceeds to pump out about 10 of these mini-repetitions. 20% range of motion. Tops.

Don’t be this guy.

Squattin’ Ain’t Easy

When it comes to the squat, about 75% of people I see at the gym are doing it wrong. And that is probably an under-estimate. I give them props for not ignoring it altogether. After all, it is my favorite exercise. The best one. It adds strength and muscle to your lower body at a remarkable pace, and you build a strong core in the process. Not to mention it is a fundamental movement in our everyday lives – whether you are dunking a basketball or getting off the toilet.

But squattin’ ain’t easy. Prematurely squatting runs the risk of injury and embarrassment. Plus it won’t develop the muscle or strength you desire. A lot of people avoid squats altogether because they’re intimidating  Rest assured, the following method will ease you into the process of full-on squatting. An essential part of becoming a beast.

Teach Me How To Squat

The best way to learn to squat properly is by progressing through a set of simpler exercises that emulate the same movement. This will acclimate your body, and once these tendencies become second nature, squatting with a barbell on your back won’t feel so strange.

Focus on the following 3 points for each exercise:

1. Get low.  Low meaning that your thighs are about parallel with the floor at the bottom of the movement.
2. Move the weight through your heels. Keep the weight off your toes. This puts pressure on your knees and activates the wrong muscles. Gently lift your toes off the ground if this is unnatural.
3. Maintain a tight core. Suck your stomach in towards your spine and tighten your midsection. This helps maintain a neutral spine  and strengthen your core.

Step 1: Stability Ball Wall Squat

These are simple. Do them a couple times per week for about a month. Progress the dumbbell weight you are using as you go, but use a higher rep range and focus on strict form.

Step 2: Goblet Squat

Also pretty basic. These remove the training wheels that is the stability ball. Go for another month with these before moving on. Don’y be afraid to use a relatively heavy dumbbell here, if you feel comfortable – you can build good strength and size using these.

Step 3: Box Squat

You are almost ready. Step into the squat rack, but bring a friend. A plyometric box or a bench will do. Just make sure whatever you use is short enough so that when you squat down you can get low. I don’t suggest using much more than a plate on each side (135 lbs) at this point. Just get used to the motion.

Another month here and you’re ready to get dirty. Remove the box but maintain the full range of motion. Then start adding weight, little by little.

I understand it is not something most people want to hear, but your body cannot add tissue (of any kind, be it fat or muscle) while in a state of energy deficit. It simply isn’t possible.

When the human body does not receive sufficient calories from food intake to fuel itself it must “burn” existing tissue (fat and/or muscle) to generate the needed energy. There is no magic that will allow tissue to be added as it is subtracted. Therefore, adding muscle while losing weight is mathematically impossible.

And every study I had ever seen supports this idea.

For example, body composition was monitored in a group of women during a period of weight loss. Some of the subjects lifted weights, others did not. Those who lifted weights maintained their muscle mass, cutting only fat. The group that did not lift lost measurable amounts of muscle along with the fat (1). This is the normal trend, and the reason lifting weights when losing weight is important. However, recently I was conducting research for a completely unrelated article and I came across an interesting study that challenged this notion.

The Evidence

Fourteen obese women followed a low calorie diet for 90 days. Seven of the women remained sedentary during this period, while the other seven followed a weight training routine. Their weight was monitored and measurements of the cross sectional area (muscle size) of the vastus lateralis (a quadricep muscle) were taken. The result? After 90 days both groups lost roughly the same amount of weight. However, the cross sectional area of the vastus lateralis increased in the group that engaged in weight training. They gained muscle. While losing fat. (2)

How Did It Happen?

It is difficult to determine exactly how this occurred, but one would venture to guess that because the study occurred over a 90 day period, the group that lifted weights experienced brief anabolic periods (ie. they actually gained weight/muscle). That is, most of the time they were losing weight but at some point(s) this process had to reverse to allow the new muscle to be formed. Now this is only a hypothesis, but I cannot think of any other viable explanation.

What This Means For You

First of all, it is important to recognize that this study was conducted using obese test subjects. Not college athletes or even recreational weight lifters.

The truth is that it appears to be possible to gain muscle while losing weight for obese and relatively untrained (ie. those new to weightlifting) individuals. However, if you do not fall into either of those categories, it is far more effective to gain weight if your goal is to gain muscle. Losing weight while lifting weights is still effective for cutting fat, but not for gaining muscle.