Supersets, drop sets, giant sets, single leg pistol squats, bosu ball standing shoulder presses, backwards lunges, burpees, handstand pushups, German volume training, blah blah blah! I could go on for an entire blog post just naming all the "fancy" shit I see trainers doing with clients on a daily basis, both in real life and on the internet.
And you know what, I totally get it. People want to be entertained by their workout, and many people think if they're not in the fetal position on the floor at the end of the training session, they've not had a good workout. Workout program ADD and punishment by workout are all the rage these days, and for the life of me I will never understand it.
You want to know the secret to getting really strong and in REALLY good shape? "Bookmark this page and prepare to be blown away by this secret that trainers don't want you to know." Do some form of these exercises, and do them on a regular basis:
Should you squat on a balance ball? Hell no, that's dangerous and stupid. Do you need to know how to perform a perfect sumo deadlift? Nope, a regular deadlift will be fine. Do you need to do curls to get bigger biceps? Chin-ups work just as well, and work your back and core in the process. I'm going to keep saying it. YOU JUST NEED TO LEARN THE BASICS.
If you were to go in the gym with me and watch me workout on a typical Monday, my workout would go something like this:
If you simply want to exercise, go in the gym and do random exercises that serve no purpose to achieving some kind of end goal. If that's good for you, that's your prerogative and that's just fine. If you want to TRAIN, you go in the gym knowing exactly what you're doing that day, how heavy and how many reps you're going do of it, and improve upon those numbers on a consistent basis. Training can be monotonous, it can be boring at times, and it can be brutally hard. But there are few things more gratifying than training smart and doing things in the gym you never thought you could. Exercise might be entertaining because it's always different, but it only serves to make you sweat, not get better at something. What's the point of that?
If your current gym routine is just "exercise" and you want to learn to do something more measurable and effective, please feel free to visit my services page and fill out a consultation application. One more time, if you can competently perform the basics, they will serve to make you a better, faster, stronger human being every time. Or just keep exercising. I guess that's fine too!
And you know what, I totally get it. People want to be entertained by their workout, and many people think if they're not in the fetal position on the floor at the end of the training session, they've not had a good workout. Workout program ADD and punishment by workout are all the rage these days, and for the life of me I will never understand it.
You want to know the secret to getting really strong and in REALLY good shape? "Bookmark this page and prepare to be blown away by this secret that trainers don't want you to know." Do some form of these exercises, and do them on a regular basis:
- Squats
- Deadlifts
- Bench Press
- Overhead Shoulder Press
- Chin-ups or Pull-ups (assisted if need be)
- Rowing exercises
- Heavy carrying exercises
- Occasional sprinting, battle rope work, sled pushing, etc.
- Walking
Should you squat on a balance ball? Hell no, that's dangerous and stupid. Do you need to know how to perform a perfect sumo deadlift? Nope, a regular deadlift will be fine. Do you need to do curls to get bigger biceps? Chin-ups work just as well, and work your back and core in the process. I'm going to keep saying it. YOU JUST NEED TO LEARN THE BASICS.
If you were to go in the gym with me and watch me workout on a typical Monday, my workout would go something like this:
- Barbell Squat- 3 sets of 5 at 85% of my maximum weight
- Bench Press- 4 sets of 4 at 90% of my maximum weight
- Barbell Deadlift- 5 sets of 2 at 95% of my maximum weight
- Dumbbell Carry- 3 sets of 50 steps
- Walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes
If you simply want to exercise, go in the gym and do random exercises that serve no purpose to achieving some kind of end goal. If that's good for you, that's your prerogative and that's just fine. If you want to TRAIN, you go in the gym knowing exactly what you're doing that day, how heavy and how many reps you're going do of it, and improve upon those numbers on a consistent basis. Training can be monotonous, it can be boring at times, and it can be brutally hard. But there are few things more gratifying than training smart and doing things in the gym you never thought you could. Exercise might be entertaining because it's always different, but it only serves to make you sweat, not get better at something. What's the point of that?
If your current gym routine is just "exercise" and you want to learn to do something more measurable and effective, please feel free to visit my services page and fill out a consultation application. One more time, if you can competently perform the basics, they will serve to make you a better, faster, stronger human being every time. Or just keep exercising. I guess that's fine too!
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