Over the last few years I have had a few breakthrough moments. You get great results from working hard, but sometimes you figure something out that gives you big improvements fast. Here I shall share three.
Training the movement
For a powerlifter, or pretty much anyone training a specific movement, it easy to lose sight of a very basic and simple fact: you are training a movement. With all the programs and machines out there, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest fad and over-complicate things. If you want to get better at squatting, use exercises that closely replicate the movement. If you lose sight of the movement and start worrying about muscles, you may end up with better muscular development, but you’ll probably get no better at the movement. A pitcher in baseball can do gym work to get a faster or more powerful pitch. But, pitching is what will make them a better pitcher- the rest just supports or enhances the movement.
A practical example: when I started powerlifting I was fairly good at benching. When I started competing I could bench about 195kg. I did flat bench, military press, lat raises, tricep extensions and tricep pushdowns. I worked with my old bodybuilding inspired approach that focused on chest, then shoulders then triceps. After about a year I managed to get my bench up to 205kg. 10kg gain in 1 year is pretty good, but it came from hard work. I then received some advice from an experienced lifter: go for more volume in training and only use pressing movements. The guy was very confident- he said substitute all extensions and pushdowns for presses and your bench will improve; forget the chest-shoulders-triceps idea that focuses on muscle groups. “To press more, you gotta press more”.
I competed again 4 months later and benched 227.5kg. 6months after that I pressed 237.5kg. So in 10 months I improved 32.5kg. That was not strength alone. I had a similar breakthrough with squat, when a prioritisation of competition squats took me from 312.5kg in squat to 365kg in a year.
Mental toughness
Most people don’t have what it takes to be really strong. I’m not talking about genetics. I am talking about mental toughness. I see it all the time- the mind fails before the body does; people make up excuses; they won’t push themselves to the limit. I know we have to train smart to manage fatigue and avoid injury. However, when you are under the bar and you are hurting those internal conversations you have where you ask yourself ‘can I do another rep? Is this enough? Have I got more?’ are critical. When things are tough it is extremely easy to talk yourself out of things. I believe most people have no idea what they are capable of and they have no idea what really hard work is. And yet, that decision that you do have more, that you can do more, that you can shrug off pain, will separate the great from the ‘average Joes’.
I worked this out the hard way. I have had many guys train with me that say they can’t do what I do. They actually mean that although they can they choose not to. As a friend and powerlifting great Brad Gillingham said to me- you get what you put in. The human body is incredible in its adaptive abilities. It’s the mind that typically gives up.
Nutrition
Most already know that you have to feed the body for it to grow. I was sceptical about how much this really factored into strength training until I actually lifted my game. Now I plan out what I eat and when. I eat frequently and good quality proteins, with veggies and fruit and lots of water. When I first sorted out my diet my performance became more consistent and gains can faster. I figure most people already understand this, but perhaps they don’t realise how important it is. Good nutrition makes a big difference.
These three things will take you a long way. When I started I was good, but not incredible; I had some talent, but thats not all that got me to where I am today. At my first competition at the end of 2004 I squatted 242.5kg, benched 192.5kg and deadlifted 240kg after a decade or so of gym training. Gains are hard when you are already a decade down the track, but these factors have helped me get this lifts up to a 375kg squat, 300kg bench and 317.5kg deadlift drugfree.