Category: Mindset

THIS was me greasing the groove, as some term the art of practice, with double kettlebell front squats in my five-star training headquarters (rickety garage).

Go deep if your mechanics are not compromised. This movement works so much more than your legs.

I don’t mind the cobwebs, leaking roof and dusty floors, because successful training just requires space, tools, the willingness to practice and an intelligent program

Be mindful of how your body feels. Listen to the signs. Push harder on days you feel great. Back off when you know you need to. Always pay attention to your movement quality.

Something I read the other day, written by Marty Gallagher, a world class powerlifting coach, really hit a chord with me: “The optimal workout creates stress. The poison is in the dose.”

YOU are only as strong as your weakest link. So it makes no sense to avoid movements you struggle with the most.

For me it’s shoulders, which is why I practice handstands and Turkish Get-ups. I like to also spend time hanging. All are fantastic for shoulder health. Get hanging and have fun with it.

In time, once you begin to improve and so long as you concentrate on moving efficiently, you’ll discover you enjoy movements you once disliked. The burpee is a classic case in point.

So often I’ve heard “I hate burpees” and when I watch them performed I realise why – they suck!

SOMETIMES the biggest challenge to strength training is knowing how to recover between sets, for how long and – this is the key bit – allowing yourself to adequately do that.

We exist in a world where doing nothing has become so much more challenging. We are in a state of almost constant stimulation. And in these times I see a great emphasis placed upon working (in the gym) to exhaustion, almost to the point that the routine/workout is deemed a failure if you can leave the gym in one piece.

Training for strength is a different proposition. If you don’t permit yourself enough time to recover adequately from one set to another, you aren’t going to be able to lift with maximal strength. The purpose of the training will change.

So if my goal is strength, I make sure I take my time, so that whenever I go to lift I can not only achieve my objective but also do so with the best possible technique.

Developing strength doesn’t mean working to failure repeatedly or even often. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. As Paul McIlroy taught me, “No-one ever got stronger trying to lift something they can’t lift.”

I’m in it for the long game, which means taking an intelligent, structured approach and avoiding injury by focusing on keeping good form. Repeated failed attempts will take more out of you than you realise and you’ll go backwards, not forwards.

How do you define a good workout or training session? Covered in sweat? Feeling broken? Aching from head to toe? Crawling on your knees? Gasping for breath?

For me it’s simple: did I make progress? That’s it. I’m in it for the long haul and to get better one step at a time. Enjoy the process as much, if not more, than the result.

SOMETHING I’ve found many people still don’t quite understand about training (which shouldn’t be confused with exercising) is that training doesn’t get you stronger or fitter. What does get you stronger or fitter or faster or whatever your goal is, is your recovery from training.

Rest doesn’t mean doing nothing. Recovery comes in many guises: sleep; rest; good nutrition; stretching; lighter exercise; mobility work; massage; yoga. Understand why you train and do what you do.

Continual training without any recovery can only lead to either burnout or injury. But I encounter so many individuals who are convinced or fear any benefit from training will be lost if they skip a session.

It is always worth remembering that sometimes less is more.