chrisw77's Journal, 24 Jun 21

** TIPS FOR THE LIFTERS **

Based on things I've learned over the years, here's some advice for the novice and a reminder to the veterans...


(1) Stop "chasing the numbers"

It's not a competition. Just because ___ says he/she can squat ___ pounds, don't make that YOUR goal.

Your goal should be "progressive overload". This is simply increasing the amount you lift each exercise per week.


(2) The best advice is to focus on strength and the body will develop on its own. You WILL get the aesthetic look you want eventually. Don't rush and don't get frustrated.

Remember, your body will change the way it wants. If you follow someone else's workout in order to look just like them, you may not get the same results because your muscle structure and growth pattern are YOURS.

Look to add a little weight or an extra rep each week. This will add up over time and before you know it, you'll be pushing more than you thought you could!


(3) It's not all about lifting heavier weights... Your muscles only know stress. This can come from weight, number of reps, speed (or slowness)... the goal is to grab a weight you can lift and fatigue your muscles COMPLETELY. Take a 20 second break to shake them out and get the blood back in there, then GO AGAIN to see how many extra you can do - even if it's just 1 or 2 more. This will reduce the number of sets you need in your workouts, so you'll spend less time at the gym or get you onto the next exercise quicker.

Rep ranges are a GUIDELINE ONLY. If you set out to do 10-12 reports and you get to 12... KEEP GOING!! DO NOT STOP!! If you get 15, simply increase the weight next time. Do this until you can only hit like 9 reps - THIS will be a TRUE 10-12 rep range because over the coming weeks you WILL meet the actual 10-12 reps.


(4) You'll have bad days. You'll have great days. Don't get too frustrated. If you have a bad day after a record-breaking day, it doesn't mean you're weaker. It could be sleep, food, lack of proper recovery... it could be any number of causes. You'll rebound and break the cycle soon - stick with it!

If you stall for a few weeks, that's okay too - it's normal and happens to us all. Most times, you can tell your ego to shush and reduce the weight by like 30% and then work back up. Sure, it'll take a bit to get back to where you were, but you'll be all the stronger for the step backwards!


These tips should get you to advance your workouts to where you need/want to be.

Again: PATIENCE is the most important thing!

70.1 kg Lost so far: 1.6 kg.    Still to go: 0 kg.    Diet followed: Reasonably Well.

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3676 kcal

Fat: 115.44g | Prot: 206.03g | Carbs: 464.28g.   Breakfast: Bang Cookies & Cream Craze High Protein Coffee, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Milk, Publix Quick Cooking Oats, Quaker Instant Oatmeal - Strawberries & Cream (30g), Hunt's 100% Natural Tomato Ketchup, Better'n Eggs Better'n Eggs. Second Breakfast: Kaged Muscle Citrulline, Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Powder, BSN Amino X, Gatorade Zero Lemon-Lime. Lunch: Nature's Best Perfect Low Carb Isopure Whey Protein Isolate - Dutch Chocolate, Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Casein - Cookie Dough, Coffee (Brewed From Grounds). Afternoon Tea: General Mills Lucky Charms Treats, Pure Protein Birthday Cake High Protein Bar, Think High Protein Bar Lemon Delight, Reese's Puffs Treats. Dinner: Tillamook Marionberry Pie Ice Cream, Mae Ploy Sweet Chilli Sauce, Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt - Vanilla (150g), Smucker's Red Raspberry Fruit Spread, John Soules Foods Chicken Nuggets, Better'n Eggs Better'n Eggs, Butter (Salted), Cooked Peas and Carrots (from Canned), Basmati Rice. Supper: Vitafusion MultiVites Gummy Vitamins, Vitafusion Energy B12 Gummy Vitamins, Dr. Tobias Triple Strength Omega 3 Fish Oil. more...

2175 kcal

Exercise: Cooking - 15 minutes, Sleeping - 8 hours, Showering - 15 minutes, Sitting - 2 hours, Resting - 3 hours, Driving - 1 hour and 45 minutes, Bus Driving - 8 hours, Housework - 45 minutes. more...