The Eat As Much As You Want Diet

by TC | 10/23/14

Here's what you need to know...

• Forget about counting calories. If you eat from the list of nutrient dense foods (which includes bacon), you can eat as much as you want, as often as you want.
• Eating nutrient poor foods leads to "toxic hunger" and even withdrawal symptoms when you try to clean up your diet. Toxic hunger is a condition where the body lies to the brain and tells you it's time to eat when it isn't.
• The list of nutrient dense foods contains a huge number of surprises, including nutritional powerhouses like liver. Surprisingly, fruits are relatively low in nutrient density
• By using the foods on the nutrient density list, you can mix and match nutritionally appropriate foods that allow you to control hunger, get healthier, and lose body fat.

Counting Calories Is Obsolete

Has anyone ever lost weight effectively and consistently by counting calories? To do it correctly, you'd have to weigh all your food and then take into consideration your age, activity level, weight, and percentage of muscle and then do a series of calculations that might earn you a Field's Medal in mathematics.

And really, it'd all pretty much be worthless anyhow unless you were able to somehow figure out a way to assess how much brown fat you had and whether the communities of mitochondria in it and your muscles were youthful and perky or old and sluggish. Yep, counting calories is a fool's errand.

Related:  Should You Be Counting Calories?

If you want to lose fat, forget about counting calories. Instead, eat as much as you want, whenever you want, as long as your diet is based on a balanced selection of specific foods.

I know, I know. Eating as much as you want was how you got so well upholstered in the first place, but hear me out. If your diet were based on eating what you need instead of eating what you want, you'd say goodbye to hunger, lose body fat, and get healthy. So what is it that you need? Nutrient dense foods instead of calorie-dense foods.

I'm about to throw a handful of new stuff into your mental blender; some new or little-known paradigms about nutrients, how your body responds to them, and food in general. And I'll even throw you a tasty, nutrient-packed morsel right now to keep your interest piqued: Bacon is nutrient dense and it's something you should eat more of. I'll tell you why soon.

What Does "Nutrient Dense" Mean?

The major problem regarding nutrient dense foods has always been defining exactly what the term means. For now, let's just say nutrient dense foods have a high ratio of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, anti-oxidants, etc., relative to the total calorie count of the food. For instance, spinach, the first "super food," has a lot of nutrients and very few calories so it fits this definition very nicely.

But before we figure out what's a bad food, what's a good food, and what's a great food, let's figure out exactly why you could eat a balanced diet of all the nutrient dense foods you want and lose body fat at the same time. Yes, eating too much of any food can lead to fat storage, but it's harder to overeat protein or nutrient dense foods in general than the processed carbs and fat found in calorie-dense foods.

In other words, you'd have to stuff yourself to the gills with nutrient dense food over and over again before you'd get an abundance of calories. Not so with crappy calorie-dense foods. In general, eating high nutrient, lower-calorie foods would have the following benefits:

• Allow you to control calorie intake without counting calories.
• Make you feel full a lot longer between meals.
• Make it much harder to overeat.

And it would also eliminate a newly recognized villain in the fight against fat: toxic hunger.

True Hunger vs. Toxic Hunger

There's a new theory coming out of the nutrition community and it has to do with the difference in the physiological effects of hunger between someone who eats a nutrient dense diet and someone who eats a nutrient deficient diet.

For those who eat crappy foods, there's a recurring hunger response that's more like the response a heroin addict gets when he's gone too long without a fix. In other words, the hunger experienced by someone who eats a lousy diet that by definition contains a lot of pro-inflammatory foods is more like withdrawal symptoms than true hunger.

Normally, hunger occurs when glycogen stores approach depletion. Hunger signals are sent to the brain and you feel compelled to scrounge around the deep, dark recesses of the refrigerator for food. Eating prevents the process of gluconeogenesis, otherwise known as the breakdown of lean tissue for needed glucose. It's a process that prevents the body from using up muscle tissue as an energy source.

Contrast that with that toxic hunger. When someone subsists on nutrient poor foods (not just calorically dense foods, mind you), hunger signals are sent to the brain much earlier in the digestive (catabolic) process before the breakdown of lean tissue is anywhere near to becoming a problem.

" The body lies to the brain and tells you it's time to eat when it isn't. "

Experiments have shown that people who switch from eating calorie dense foods to eating nutrient dense foods actually experience an adjustment phase while their system learns to adapt from eating pro-inflammatory foods. It's sort of like the drug version of cold turkey, only it involves actual turkey!

The implications of all this is that if people learned to eat nutrient dense foods, they wouldn't have to get their lousy food "fix" when it wasn't needed. They'd presumably eat only when they were actually hungry, when the body sent signals to the brain to start eating and spare muscle tissue. Since hunger is one of the main impediments to fat loss, people on a nutrient dense diet wouldn't experience it as much, and when they did get hungry, it'd be legitimate hunger.

Clearly, a diet filled with nutrient dense foods would likely make a significant difference in the way you look naked. It also has far-reaching health benefits, but I'm going to avoid that discussion because you're not a neophyte, this isn't Better Homes and Gardens, and it's just common sense.

Hell, you know that riboflavin is better for you than propylene glycol, which, aside from being a main component in aircraft de-icing fluid, is a common food additive. So let's instead discuss the more interesting topic of seeing how some people have attempted to define exactly what it is that makes a food "nutrient dense." The answers might surprise you.

Beware of Nutrition Experts with Agendas

When it comes to measuring nutrient density, there's no shortage of food scoring systems that presumably help consumers figure out what's good to eat and what's not-so good to eat. The trouble is, a lot of them reflect the biases of the people who came up with the system.

Some, like the ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index) system that you can see on signs hanging in some Whole Foods grocery stores next to the organic Leapin' Lemurs cereal, were designed by pale-skinned vegetarians who wear underwear made out of organic, undyed hemp.

In addition to leaving out an alarming number of vitamins and minerals, these lists, including the ANDI list, give short shrift to protein in general, but especially animal protein.

The ANDI system gives food a score of 1 to a 1,000 based on certain nutritional parameters. Kale, mustard greens, collard greens, and watercress all get a 1,000, but meats, seafood, and dairy products all rank under 50 and aren't considered to be health-supporting. Consider that chicken and beef only earn a score of 27 and 20 on the list, which makes you want to beat the ANDI people with the business end of a hormone-free drumstick.

Other systems judge the value of a food by what it doesn't contain, like saturated fats, cholesterol, or sodium, but this type of system can be hugely problematic. For one thing, the evidence strongly suggests that cholesterol and saturated fat are perhaps villains of yesteryear instead of today, but the creators of these lists haven't read the nutritional crime blotter to find out that these "bad" nutrients have been exonerated.

Related:  Fats Made Simple

As an example, consider that some fat-free yogurts have one-sixth the protein of comt&eacte; cheese, but calculated per 100 grams, the yogurt comes out way on top because the fat in the cheese skews the math in the yogurt's favor.

Other systems give weight to things like fiber, but fiber is clearly not an essential nutrient. However, one such system gives fiber equal footing to 16 other nutrients that include protein, calcium, iron, potassium, niacin, folate, etc. It's called the "Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables" (PFV) classification scheme.

Unfortunately, as the name suggests, the list only considered fruits and vegetables. Surprisingly, watercress came out as the most nutrient dense food. Equally surprising was that only 7 of the 41 items on the list were fruits, with all of them ranking in the bottom half of the list. Notably missing off the list entirely, for undisclosed reasons, were raspberries, blueberries, and cranberries, three fruits that aren't used to being dissed in such a flagrant manner.

Here's a sampling of some of the superstars on their list:

Watercress	Collard Green
Chinese Cabbage	Turnip Green
Chard	Mustard Green
Beet Greens	Endive
Spinach	Chive
Chicory	Kale
Leaf Lettuce	Dandelion Green
Parsley	Red Pepper
Romaine Lettuce

What's noteworthy about the list is that aside from spinach, you have to go down to number 17, red pepper, before you hit a vegetable that most people actually eat on a regular basis. You have to go to number 20 to hit a fruit (pumpkin) and the next one doesn't show up until the 30th slot (strawberry).

While the list is of limited value because it only addresses fruits and vegetables, it definitely caused me to change my eating habits. Instead of relying heavily on the various "familiar" vegetables that hover around the bottom of the Powerhouse list, I've started sampling the weirder and often more distasteful members of the top 20 vegetables on the list. Hey, good nutrition isn't for wimps.

There's another list, though, that sees the merit in meat, doesn't eschew silly things like fat or cholesterol, and doesn't consider fiber to be an essential nutrient.

A Liver a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Harvard nutritionist Mat Lalonde looked at all the definitions of nutrient density and found the same problems I did, so he decided to compile his own list. Unlike other systems, he essentially took nutrients per serving and divided it by weight per serving so that foods could be on a relative equal footing when measured against each other.

He then defined "essential" by listing those things that were truly important to human health. The list included essential fatty acids, essential amino acids, and a host of crucial vitamins and minerals. After compiling and crunching the numbers, the group of foods that topped the list was organ meats, and in particular, liver.

Oddly enough, more "primitive" societies have long recognized liver and other organ meats as the consummate nutrient-dense foods. For instance, liver is so full of good stuff that the Inuit classify it as both a meat and a vegetable. Indian tribes in the continental U.S. used to feed the muscle meat of hunted animals to the dogs while they themselves would feast on the hugely more nutritious organ meats.

Consider that while an apple has 7 grams of Vitamin C per 100 grams, liver has 27. Or look at B12. An apple has zero B12 per 100 grams, red meat has about 1.84 mcg. per 100 grams, and liver has 111.3 mcg. per 100 grams.

And it's not much different for liver (or organ meats in general) when you look at nutrients like phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, copper, vitamins A, D, and E, and thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, or practically any of the nutrients on Lalonde's list.

Liver, as well as other organ meats, might the most nutritionally complete foods in existence, and the fact that we don't eat very many of them here in the States might well correlate with a whole lot of degenerative diseases that plague us.

Surprisingly, herbs and spices compete with organ meats on LaLonde's list. Their only drawback is that it's difficult to pepper your foods with nutritionally significant amounts of cilantro, basil, spearmint, parsley, oregano, or thyme without causing your taste buds to have a seizure. Still, if you used spices often and as liberally as your taste buds allowed, you could upgrade your nutritional status considerably in the long term.

Other interesting observations:

• Nuts and seeds rank very high, with Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, and coconuts leading the charge.
• Fruits rank surprisingly low, with apples and watermelons bringing up the rear.
• The common potato beats the sweet potato, except in Vitamin A content.
• Pork ranks really high, with bacon approaching superstar status.
• Eggs are high, but for God's sake, eat the yolks, too.
• Exotic meats such as emu and ostrich rank high, but duck ranks low.
• Kale and seaweed rank very high.
• Legumes are low on the list.
• Grains are low (raw grains, according to Lalonde, rank higher, but they're indigestible in that form).
• Beef and pork rank higher than vegetables.

Here are the approximate nutrient density values derived by Lalonde. Don't let the minus values throw you off. It just means that the foods may be high in certain nutrients but are perhaps lacking or completely deficient in others. There are, after all, very few foods like organ meats that "have it all," which is why a proper diet requires a variety of nutrient dense foods.

Lalonde Nutrient Density Values

Food Category	Value
Organ Meats and Oils	17
Herbs and Spices	17
Nuts and Seeds	10
Cacao	8
Fish and Seafood	1
Pork	0.7
Beef	0.3
Eggs and Dairy	-0.6
Vegetables (Raw)	-0.7
Lamb, Veal, Raw Game	-1.2
Poultry	-1.7
Legumes	-2.9
Processed Meat	-3.1
Vegetables (Cooked, Canned)	-4.8
Plant Fats and Oils	-5.4
Fruits	-5.6
Animal Skin and Feet	-6.2
Grains (Cooked)	-6.2
Refined and Processed Oils	-6.4
Animal Fats and Oils	-6.8
Grains (Canned)	-7.0
Processed Fruit	-8.1

If there's a drawback to this list, it's that it doesn't take phytonutrients into account. That's likely because the science of phytonutrients is still in its infancy. We don't know which phytonutrients are important, what quantity is important, and whether they act interactively instead of independently.

Of course, it probably doesn't matter. We all know, presumably, that vegetables and fruits are an important part of a healthy diet and that we should eat a variety of them, which ipso facto would assure a broad intake of phytonutrients.

So How Do We Use This Information?

Let's say you're planning a meal. You manage to overcome your aversion to liver and cook up a bit, perhaps in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Since liver is so nutritionally complete, you really wouldn't have to worry too much about what you were going to have with it.

But let's say you were having some turkey breast. It's an excellent protein source, but it's nowhere near liver in nutritional might, so you might augment your turkey meal with some raw, green vegetables to get the equivalent amount of nutrients you'd get with a meal of liver.

Or let's say you were cooking up some black beans. They've got some nutrients and some amino acids, but not all of them. So you might put on a flannel shirt and make a lumberjack meal of cooked beans with bacon, which, of course, is rich in protein (and a number of important nutrients). You might also throw in some herbs to compliment the taste and nutritional profile of the dish.

Likewise, you could pour a serving or two of Superfood into whatever you're making. While the supplement doesn't fall under the conventional umbrella of a nutrient dense food (it has no measurable calories or macronutrients), it would add a considerable amount of phytonutrients and significantly kick up the ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) score of whatever dish it is you're making.

Forget Calories, Remember Nutrition

Maybe the list doesn't tell you all that much you didn't know. After all, regardless of your nutritional savvy, you probably knew that vegetables and fruits and seafood and clean meats were good for you, while store-bought pastries probably aren't.

However, it does a body good to start thinking about how foods can compliment each other and a balanced diet is truly an intricate blend of a variety of food groups, not just the typical 15 foods that most athletes or lifters eat week-in and week out.

It's as simple as this: Eating a balanced diet of foods that are nutritionally dense, we accomplish the following:

• We can forget about counting calories.
• If you only eat high value, it's almost impossible to overdo calories.
• If you optimize for high value, calories take care of themselves.

And, most importantly, we create lean bodies that are as snazzy on the inside as they are on the outside.

Build the Perfect Home Gym

by Dan John | 10/22/14

Here's what you need to know...

• It's a mistake to equip your gym too well in the beginning. Building a perfect home gym should take a few years.
• Outfitting a gym comes down to cost vs. benefit. Buy the good stuff you really need and get the rest cheap (or build it yourself.)
• It's hard to beat a couple of kettlebells for swings, goblet squats and presses. They're portable and space efficient.
• When training outdoors, the TRX and a kettlebell can turn any place into a full gym.
• The ab wheel is the absolute king of full body tension and it can help your pull-up power.
• Other things you might want to include: climbing ropes, a Prowler, chalkboards, and heavy bags for carries.

Open 24 Hours, No Membership Fees

I hate commercial gyms. I can't stand public training facilities of any kind.

Since 1971, the bulk of my training has been in my backyard and my garage. When you add up the commute time, the gym fees, and the hassle of dealing with some oily teen who slimes every flat surface in the facility, I prefer to stay home.

Here are some tips for constructing your own home gym.

Clunker or State of the Art?

Building a perfect home gym might take a few years. In fact, it's a mistake to equip your gym too well in the beginning. You want your gym to "grow" as you know you can commit to more and more work.

Having a perfect home gym from the start will look pretty when you give tours, but it might consist of some equipment you never use. When the money is coming out of your own pocket, it helps to "know" that you're going to use a piece of equipment.

Outfitting a home gym comes down to cost vs. benefit. If you're an elite Olympic lifter, you might want to have the finest barbell in the world, but if you're like me and only lift in a few meets a year, a clunker works pretty good. It might sound cheap, but most of the equipment you might collect for my idea of a perfect home gym is usually bought at discount or rigged together with your own hands.

The perfect gym is of course going to involve some personal taste. There's no right or wrong here, so let's simply look at what I like and need and feel free to add and subtract.

The Basic Basics

An Olympic Barbell and Plates: If you're pressing, squatting, or deadlifting, you need a bar. How much weight you need to load it is a tough one.

When you train at home by yourself, you're going to find that for a number of reasons, you might need less than you think. I err on the side of safety. I strive to make every lift and never miss.

One important piece of advice learned the hard way: When you train at home, you often have expensive stuff close to you. For years I trained with my wife's new car right behind my platform. If I missed a lift or bounced the plates, it would hit the car.

I don't fear missing lifts, I fear my wife. Don't miss your lifts if you have expensive stuff close to you or a have a wife that can deal out severe punishment.

A Kettlebell: It's hard to replace a kettlebell for things like goblet squats and swings. I have fourteen in my gym now, but I train groups at my house. For most, one is pretty good and maybe a few pairs of kettlebells is good for doubles work, too.

Originally, I only had one 28-kilo kettlebell and I tried to master all the moves on this one bell. It was far too heavy for some of the movements, but it was great for the swing, the press, and the Goblet squat.

I'm sure you can do much of the kettlebell work with other equipment, but kettlebells have one big advantage: being able to take them to a field or park. My 28-kilo and I have had many adventures and it sits right behind me in my car. Sometimes I talk to it, too. It's a good listener.

Related:  10,000 Kettlebell Swing Workout

TRX or Similar: I like the vast number of pulls I can do with the TRX. I can make things easier or harder with a step and I can really play with some of my weak areas. When training outdoors, the TRX and your kettlebell can turn any place into a full workout facility. Likewise, they take up very little space when not in use.

Ab Wheels: I get the cheap ones for ten dollars. Seriously. About two weeks after New Years is the best time to buy lower-end gym equipment.

The ab wheel is the absolute king of full body tension and it can help your pull-up power and counter the effects of lots of hip hinging. Recently, I picked up a big steel version as I often tend to break the plastic ones. It has rollerblade wheels and can support large people without fear of smashing their face on the floor.

Other Good Stuff to Consider

I don't have a bench in my gym. It takes up a lot of space and most people just don't need to bench as much as they think. I do have squat racks, but you could certainly just clean the bar up and do squats like the old timers did a century ago. I do have a pull up/dip combo, though, and it's certainly been worthwhile.

These three aforementioned pieces of equipment can be expensive and take up a lot of space. This is where having a "perfect gym" is problematical: trade offs. I like a lot of ground in my gym since the floor is an often forgotten area to train.

Since the onset of machines, most gyms try to cram every square inch with crap. My floors are for Olympic lifts, Turkish get ups, rolling (foam and tumbling), corrective work, and mobility/flexibility work. Space is precious in most home gyms, so use it wisely.

I like everything to have a place, so I invested in a rack to hold my kettlebells. You could do without one; they can sit right against the wall and take up very little space. I always have at least fourteen kettlebells in the gym and the three shelves hold them all.

I'd also recommend plastic bins to hold things like pads, foam rollers, ab wheels, or anything else that might tend to clutter up the place.

I have a long rope in the backyard that serves a dual purpose. It's mounted fairly high up a tree for rope climbing, but it extends far down into the yard, too. You can do battling ropes and then climb the rope for the best ab workout I know while pretending to be Tarzan. Rope climbing is still the most underrated training tool I know.

Next to the rope are two gymnastic rings. I do a variety of things from simple pull-ups (the rings rotate into a position that seems to save the elbows) to a bunch of crow's nests and other gymnastic moves. Nothing too fancy, but they're an excellent and fun method for developing grip and core strength.

I also have three bags. One weighs 25 pounds, one weighs 50, and the big one is 80. I love bag carries, especially the bear hug. I do a great little workout I call "Bear/Bear" where I carry the heavy bag in a bear hug for a ways, drop it, and bear crawl back. Then I bear crawl back to the bag and bear hug it back.

These bags are very inexpensive. You can even use the salt bags made for water softeners and toss them in a duffel bag. How you train with them is only constrained by your imagination.

I also have loadable farmer's walk bars, but can get by doing your farmer's walks with kettlebells or a trap bar.

Related:  More on farmer's walks

I use PVC pipes for making practice Scottish hammers, parallettes bars, and slosh pipes. [link: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_sloshing_pillar_of_pain] I love making my own equipment and many of the ideas are absolute idiocy, but it's fun.

My first sled was a broken wheelbarrow loaded with concrete. Today, I have a nice fancy one and a Prowler, but nothing was as fun as sprinting with the rusty old wheelbarrow scraping the earth and making a noise like a fighter jet. Sigh.

You also need to cover the walls with white boards to record thoughts and ideas and maybe even the workout. A clock or two is also helpful and my friends are great at providing fun stuff for the wall.

No BS

Beyond all the equipment, my gym is a "No Eye Wash Zone." That's Major League Baseball talk for "no bullshit." Without discipline and enthusiasm, equipment just doesn't matter.

5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge

by Jim Wendler | 10/20/14

Here's what you need to know...

• The goal of this challenge is performance, not aesthetics. But you'll look awesome anyway.
• Goal setting is a three-step process: Set the goal, make the plan, and get to work.
• The challenges are very typical of the 5/3/1 set-up in that each day has a squat, a push, and a pull.
• Many of the lifts will use the 5's Progression: 5 reps for every set, regardless of percentage.
• Once you've completed the first three weeks, you'll have established rep records for the squat, press, and hang clean.
• The next three weeks of the program will be devoted to you beating or attempting to beat each record.

"Beach Muscles"

A couple of months ago I was talking with a friend of mine about what the 5/3/1 "beach muscles" would be. The list was easy to come up with:

• Legs
• Traps
• Neck
• Shoulders
• Forearms

These obviously aren't the usual muscles associated with the beach, but I live next to a corn field, so cut me some slack. Anyway, it gave birth to the 5/3/1 "Beach Body" Challenge.

The key to the challenge is that performance is the main goal, not aesthetics. I always focus on performance. I believe that when one has a concrete training goal – for example, "press 300 pounds, box jump 45", and run a 6:30 mile" – training becomes more focused and goals become real.

Immeasurable or non-specific goals – "get in shape" or "I just want to get stronger" – are a great way to shortchange your training and set yourself up for failure. Concrete goal setting and achieving is a simple three-step process:

1. Set Goal
2. Make Plan
3. Work!

People don't know how to set goals. Most of the time the goals are too high or too far away. There are a lot of 200-pound bench pressers whose goal is 405. That's fine in the long term, but they do have to bench press 205 before they bench over 400. Small steps lead to big rewards.

I also like my training day to be goal oriented. I need something to shoot for, to visualize, and to achieve. The weight room is one of the few places most of us have to challenge ourselves physically. But instead of using these few hours of training to challenge our minds and our bodies, we piss them away with set after set of plain ol' boring.

Now I'll be the first to admit that shooting for PR's and pushing sets isn't always the most optimal way to train. But maybe we spend too much time trying to find the optimal way to train when we should be embracing the right kind of training.

The "right" way to train largely depends on who you are and what drives you to be better. For me, this is goal-oriented training. And that's what this and all the 5/3/1 challenges are about. Let's get started so we can turn some heads at the "beach."

5/3/1 Beach Body Template

Monday

• Squat
• Hang Clean
• Press
• Fat Bar Curl

Wednesday

• Squat
• Deadlift
• Press
• Dumbbell Row

Friday

• Hang Clean
• Squat
• Press
• Rope or Towel Chin-Up

As you can see, this is very typical of the 5/3/1 Full Body set-up. Each day has a squat, a push, and a pull. The only change is that there's an extra pulling movement on each day.

Sets, Reps, Percentages

For the hang clean, squat, deadlift, and press, you'll need to establish a Training Max (TM). The Training Max will be 90% of your best gym lift. (Don't base your TM off any competition lifts). For example, if your best gym squat is 400 pounds, your TM would be 360 pounds (90% of 400).

This challenge will use the 5/3/1 for Powerlifting set/rep structure. Many of the lifts will use the 5's Progression, which is nothing more than the basic 5/3/1 program, except that you do 5 reps for every set, regardless of percentage. So your 3-week training cycle will look like this:

Week One

• 70% x 5
• 80% x 5
• 90% x 5

Week Two

• 65% x 5
• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5

Week Three

• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5
• 95% x 5

After the third week, you'll raise your TM for each lift. The squat, deadlift, and hang clean will be raised 10 pounds per lift. If your hang clean TM is under 200 pounds, increase the TM by only 5 pounds.

The press will be raised 5 pounds. For the remainder of the challenge (3 weeks), you'll repeat the sets/reps/percentages above with the new training maxes. Remember that all percentages listed in the program are based on your Training Max.

If you're confused, just follow the program instructions below.

5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge: Weeks 1-3

Week One

Monday

A. Squat This program uses the 5's Progression. If you have any questions about the 5's Progression, check your copy of Beyond 5/3/1.

• 70% x 5
• 80% x 5
• 90% x 5, no extra reps

B. Hang Clean 2 sets of max reps, without going to failure, at 70%

Do 2 sets, going for as many reps as you can get on each set without going to failure! For example, on the first week (as indicated above), you would do 2 sets at 70%. The key to this is to shoot for a total amount of reps done on this day.

If you do 12 reps on the first set and 9 reps on the second, your total reps would be 21. Keep a record of this. You want to beat the total amount of reps being done each week. Don't sandbag!

Related:  Hang Clean for Total Power

C. Press Work up to your TM for a PR set. Again, don't go to failure but shoot for a PR. The PR can be done for a repetition PR or an estimated max PR.

How to work up to your Training Max

You can start at whatever percentage of your TM you want. However, I advise you to start with the lightest percentage that you can put on the barbell. Remember that below is just an example of how to work up. It's not the only way.

There's no reason why you can't do bigger jumps or do multiple sets at the same percentage. The goal of this lift, on this day, is to set a personal record. Do what's necessary.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set

D. Fat Bar Curl 50-100 total reps

If you don't have access to a fat bar, use any of the very inexpensive attachments that can easily turn a regular power bar into a fat bar.

E. Neck Harness 100 total reps

Wednesday

A. Squat Work up to your TM for a PR set. Remember to warm-up and perform one set with your TM. Do not go to failure. Be sure you have a goal of the total reps you want to achieve before you do your set.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set

B. Deadlift

• 70% x 5
• 80% x 5
• 90% x 5, no extra reps

C. Press 50 total reps @ 70%

Using the weight for your first work set of the week (70%), perform 50 total reps. Use the Malcolm X Method. In other words, get to 50 total reps using as many sets as necessary. It's important that you pace yourself on the first couple of sets and don't blow your load with an excessive amount of reps.

D. Dumbbell Row 100 total reps/arm

You can use a variety of different weights for this. Just be sure you get all the reps. You can superset the dumbbell row with the press if you want. It's not critical to your success or the success of the program in any way.

E. Neck Flexion 100 total reps

Friday

A. Hang Clean Work up to your TM and perform a PR set but don't go to failure. After the PR set, perform 3 sets of 5 reps at 85% of your TM.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set
• 3 sets of 5 reps @ 85%

B. Squat 1 set of 15+ reps @ 70%

Using the first work set of the week (70%), perform a PR set. The goal is to shoot for at least 15 reps. Be sure to warm up properly so that your body and mind are ready for the set.

C. Press

• 70% x 5
• 80% x 5
• 90% x 5, no extra reps

D. Rope Chin-Up 50 total reps

The goal is to perform 50 total reps. You can do these over as many sets as it takes to get the job done. If you suck at chins, shoot for a lower number (for example, 25). If you don't have a rope, use two towels and hang them from a chin bar.

E. Neck Harness 100 total reps

Week Two

Monday

A. Squat

• 65% x 5
• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5, no extra reps

B. Hang Clean 2 sets of max reps (without going to failure) at 65%

C. Press Work up to your TM for a PR set. Again, don't go to failure but shoot for a PR. The PR can be done for a repetition PR or an estimated max PR.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set

D. Fat Bar Curl 50-100 total reps

E. Neck Harness 100 total reps

Wednesday

A. Squat Work up to your TM for a PR set. Warm-up and perform one set with your TM. Don't go to failure. Remember to have a goal of the total reps you want to achieve before you do begin.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set

B. Deadlift

• 65% x 5
• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5, no extra reps

C. Press 50 total reps @ 65%

Using the weight for your first work set of the week (65%), perform 50 total reps. Remember, get to 50 total reps using as many sets as needed.

D. Dumbbell Row 100 total reps per arm

E. Neck Flexion 100 total reps

Friday

A. Hang Clean Work up to your TM and perform a PR set but do not go to failure. After the PR set, perform 3 sets of 5 reps at 85% of your TM.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set
• 3 sets of 5 reps @ 85%

B. Squat 1 set of 15+ reps @ 65%

Using the first work set of the week (65%), perform a PR set. The goal is to shoot for at least 15 reps.

C. Press

• 65% x 5
• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5, no extra reps

D. Rope Chin-Up 50 total reps

Remember, the goal is to perform 50 total reps using as many sets as it takes to hit 50 (or 25 if you suck at chin-ups.)

E. Neck Harness 100 total reps

Week Three

Monday

A. Squat

• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5
• 95% x 5, no extra reps

B. Hang Clean 2 sets of max reps, without going to failure, at 75%

C. Press Work up to your TM for a PR set. The PR can be done for a repetition PR or an estimated max PR.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set

D. Fat Bar Curl 50-100 total reps

E. Neck Harness 100 total reps

Wednesday

A. Squat Work up to your TM for a PR set. Remember to warm-up and perform one set with your TM. Do not go to failure. Be sure you have a goal of the total reps you want to achieve before beginning.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set

B. Deadlift

• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5
• 95% x 5 - No extra reps

C. Press 50 total reps @ 75%

Using the weight for your first work set of the week (75%), perform 50 total reps. Get to 50 total reps using as many sets as necessary. Remember, pace yourself on the first couple of sets.

D. Dumbbell Row 100 total reps

100 total reps per arm. Again, you can use a variety of different weights for this; just be sure you get all the reps. You can superset the dumbbell row with the press. Up to you.

E. Neck Flexion 100 total reps

Friday

A. Hang Clean Work up to your TM and perform a PR set but do not go to failure. After the PR set, perform 3 sets of 5 reps at 85% of your TM.

• 10% x 5
• 20% x 5
• 30% x 5
• 40% x 5
• 50% x 3
• 60% x 3
• 70% x 1
• 80% x 1
• 90% x 1
• 100% (TM) x PR set
• 3 sets of 5 reps @ 85%

B. Squat 1 set of 15+ reps @ 75%

Using the first work set of the week (75%), perform a PR set. The goal is to shoot for at least 15 reps. Warm-up properly.

C. Press

• 75% x 5
• 85% x 5
• 95% x 5, no extra reps

D. Rope Chin-Up 50 total reps

Perform 50 total reps using as many sets as it takes to hit 50.

E. Neck Harness 100 total reps

5/3/1 Beach Body Challenge: Weeks 4-6

Once you've completed the first three weeks of this challenge, you'll have established the following:

• Squat – Rep records for each of the first sets (done on Friday). You'll have records for 70%, 65% and 75%. You'll also have a record for your TM set (done on Wednesday).
• Press – Rep record for your TM set (done on Monday).
• Hang Clean – Total rep records for each of the first sets (done on Monday). You'll have total rep records for 70%, 65%, and 75%.

The next three weeks will be devoted to beating or attempting to beat each of these records. This isn't an excuse to use horrible form, so don't get caught up in chasing numbers if your form suffers.

However, you can learn how to challenge yourself during your training and learn how to push a bit harder. Learn how to breathe "easier" during sets and teach yourself how to mentally prepare days prior to your workout. These are all things that no book or seminar can teach you. Only time and experience can do these things.

When beating your TM records, there are two ways you can do this:

• Repetition Max PR – Your old PR was 225 for 8 reps. You attempt to get 225 for 9 reps.
• Estimated Max PR – Your best estimated max for the press is 250 pounds. Figure out how many reps you need to do with your current TM to beat that record.

Notes

• Flexibility/Mobility – I recommend you do the Defranco Agile 8 prior to training and at least two times per day. This will help with your recovery.
• Conditioning – Your conditioning work must meet your current goals and your current fitness level. This is to be determined by you. It shouldn't interfere with the goals of the challenge. If it does, do something different.

Related:  Conditioning 101

• Diet – I recommend using the same eating template as the Boring But Big Challenge.
• Box Jumps/Med Ball Throws – I recommend doing only 3 x 3-5 box jumps or 15 med ball throws before you begin training. Do not do any more than this.
• Use straps on the hang clean. Do not use them for the dumbbell rows.
• Take adequate rest time between each lift. I like to take a 5-10 minute break between lifts to clear my mind and focus.

There is an obsession lately with every part of your workout being done as quickly as possible, thus turning your strength session into a circuit session. Yes, you can work to improve workout density, but that's best done with assistance movements, not the main or supplemental lifts.

If you've made the commitment to get stronger in the weight room, make the commitment to doing things correctly. Quality over quantity. Quality over everything.

• If you wish to add, subtract or change any part of the challenge, you're of course free to do so. It'll be your workout, but it's no longer the challenge. I don't endorse any changes to this challenge.
• If you feel your form is beginning to break when doing hang cleans, please stop. There's a difference between "strong but acceptable" and "really shitty." If you're toeing that line, recognize it.

However, the Internet Form Police piss on any lift not done to their standards, which are inversely proportional to their strength and experience levels. Don't let any boy judge your lifts. Judge your own.

• Be sure you're eating for performance. Too many people eat too few calories and are scared to succeed. Success in the weight room requires the discipline to eat correctly. If you wish to get stronger, don't sabotage your training via diet.

Related:  Eat Big and Gain Nothing But Muscle

• I believe in setting performance or consistency goals in several key areas of training. I have 10 areas that are examined and these are true "weak points."

For conditioning, I recommend you choose a "consistency goal" for this challenge. A staple in my training week is always doing 70 AirDyne miles. This isn't difficult and will allow you to remain in fairly good shape and aid in recovery.

This challenge (or any of the challenges I've written that are strength-based) should not have "performance goals" for conditioning. What you choose to do for conditioning is entirely based on what you have access to and what your current level is. This is not a time to be pushing any conditioning.

• Don't neglect your mobility and flexibility. Devoting 10-20 minutes a day to these areas can help in the short term and the long term. Spend some time on it, but that doesn't mean you need to spend 4.5 hours a day on it, either. Balance does not mean "equal time."

The Deadlift's Dirty Secret

by Elsbeth Vaino

Tags:

Deadlift

Here's what you need to know...

• The deadlift is the only major lift where the range of motion is determined by the height of the plate instead of individual anatomy.
• This means that everyone, whether they're five feet tall or seven feet tall, has to pull from a height of 8.75".
• Originally, the height of the bar was designed to protect the lifter's skull from being crushed during a missed Olympic lift.
• After measuring the limb length of 27 or her clients, the author found an 18% difference between her short- and long-torsoed clients, which can greatly affect how well they pull.
• Long torso and long arms equals a poor deadlift, while long legs equals a good deadlift.
• To make bar height better fit your body, place 10, 25, or 45-pound bumper plates underneath the deadlift bar.
• If you can pull from the floor with great form and without low back pain, go for it.

Your Deadlift is Ugly

Most of my athletes love deadlifts. The ones that don't love deadlifts actually do love them; they just don't know it yet.

I've come to one certainty about the lift: Not all of them look the same. I haven't always encouraged all of my clients to deadlift. Some of them were just too ugly, especially at the bottom (the deadlifts, not the clients). Actually, the ugliness occurred almost exclusively at the bottom.

My typical response was to regress them to a Romanian deadlift while we worked on improving other factors. Then we'd go back to deadlifts and see how they look. For some, the result was excellent and there was much rejoicing. For others, the deadlift graduated from ugly to unattractive, but was still far from awesome. Some didn't improve at all.

Even among the excellent, the result wasn't always long-lasting. We sometimes corrected the deadlift at one weight, but once the weight increased to a certain point, a little bit of ugly crept back in. Nobody got injured, but I did have some clients complain of lingering soreness in their low backs. I could see why. The back was straight when they set up, but it looked like the first pull occurred in the lumbar region.

The Eureka Moment

Then I tried something. I pulled out a pair of ten-pound bumper plates, put them flat on the floor, and set the loaded bar on top of them. For some lifters, the transformation was immediate. No more lingering low back soreness and I could no longer see that first lumbar pull.

For athletes where a ten-pound plate wasn't enough, I went with twenty-five pound bumpers, and in a couple of cases, forty-fives. And one by one, the ugly deadlifts became swans. And all were performed without lingering low back soreness.

The success of these plate-on-the-floor adjustments led me to question the notion of pulling from the floor because "the floor" is determined by the diameter of a forty-five pound weight plate. Of the big three lifts, the deadlift is the only one where the range of motion is determined by a manufacturing decision instead of by individual anatomy.

• Bench press displacement is based on the length of your arms and size of your chest.
• Squat depth is the distance from your standing position to as low a squat as your body allows.
• Deadlift depth is from 8.75" off the floor to standing.

My clients range from five feet nothing to 6'4", and they should all pull from 8.75"? What is that height even based on? The answer wasn't easy to find.

Why Are Weight Plates the Same Diameter?

After much sleuthing, I finally got in touch with Dr. Jan Todd who came to this conclusion: A bar loaded with standard 45 pound plates is 8.75" off the floor because the original manufacturers wanted there to be enough room that if a lifter doing Olympic lifting fell with the bar overhead that the plates would be tall enough so that his head would not be crushed.

So, the diameter of a 45 pound plate is based on the diameter of Olympic plates, which are designed to prevent skulls from being crushed in a missed Olympic lift. As an engineer as well as a trainer, I'd say that's a great design decision... at least for Olympic lifting.

But what does it have to do with deadlifts? Is a one-skull deadlift really better than a 1.25 skull deadlift?

It's Not Weakness, It's Geometry

Once I learned that "from the floor" is an arbitrary designation with respect to deadlifts, I stopped being as concerned with getting my clients to the point where they can pull from the floor.

About 20% of my female clients and 40% of my male clients pull from the floor while the others pull from one, two, three, or four inches off the floor. For those for whom four inches was still ugly, they do rack pulls.

Related:  More on improving the deadlift

This new information piqued some additional curiosity. I wanted to understand what differences affected my clients such that some could pull from the floor while others needed a one to four-inch rise. And why could some of them get into a high hip deadlift without trouble, while others felt unnatural in anything but what looked to me like a squat-lift?

So I did what any decent engineer would do: I took some measurements. I measured the limb lengths of 27 of my clients from the following areas:

• Shin (medial maleolis to tibial tuberosity)
• Thigh (tibial tuberosity to anterior superior iliac spine, or ASIS)
• Torso (ASIS to acromioclavicular, or AC joint)
• Arm (AC joint to distal wrist crease)

I compiled the data and expressed the measurements as a percentage of height (represented by combined shin, thigh, and torso) so that I could get relative limb lengths to see if I was just finding out who was taller.

	Shin:Height	Thigh:Height	Torso:Height	Arm:Height
Min	0.23	0.37	0.31	0.39
Max	0.27	0.45	0.38	0.44
Avg	0.25	0.41	0.34	0.42
Spread%	14%	17%	18%	11%

An 18% difference between my short and long-torsoed clients is enough to affect how well they can lift something that's exactly 8.75 inches from the floor.

I also incorporated my own observations. I found two notable relationships between deadlift form and relative limb length:

Longer torso and long arms = poor deadlift
Long legs (shins and/or thighs) = good deadlift

This may potentially explain why more of my male clients pull from the floor than do my female clients, as men typically have relatively longer legs than do women.

I still wanted to understand the different positions I saw, so I input these numbers into Adobe Illustrator where I created to-scale lines representing each limb, and then I tried to draw each person's deadlift using those to-scale lines.

By drawing them, I'd be able to see how each of these deadlift positions looked in the absence of any stability or mobility restriction. I would effectively be able to see their deadlift position potential.

Some of the results surprised me. For some clients, I couldn't get their bones to fit together in a high-hip deadlift position without losing the "hip bone's connected to the thigh bone" integrity. It's not a stretch to suggest that if it's not possible on paper, it's not possible in person. Or at least not without bending one or more of those line segments. That was the moment when I became more open to the "squattier" deadlift position.

The stick diagrams above show what the deadlift setup can look like for three of my clients with very different limb lengths. I tried to make them all look the same, but I was unable to because the lines just wouldn't connect.

This exercise yielded one other interesting finding: Raising the deadlift bar didn't necessarily increase the ability to do a high-hip deadlift. It did improve the deadlift, but it did so by reducing the hip flexion range of motion the client needed to get into position at the bottom.

Raising the bar didn't mean I could now expect all of my clients to be able to deadlift from a high hip position; it just meant I could now expect all of my clients to get into a safe deadlift position.

So, Should You Deadlift From the Floor?

If you can do it with great form and without low back pain, then yes. And of course if you're a competitive powerlifter, then you don't really have a choice.

If you're not able to do it with great form, or you're not able to do it without low back pain, then raise the bar by adding plates under the 45s. It isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of geometry.

Related:  The Belt and the Deadlift

Reference

"Growth in Bone Mass and Size - Are Racial and Gender Differences in Bone Mineral Density More Apparent than Real?", Ego Seeman, and M. D. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2013.

9 Ways to Get Better in the Gym

byDean Somerset 

Tags:

Powerlifting & Strength

Here's what you need to know...

• You cannot improve your deadlift training it only once per week.
• Shut up about imbalances. Life will create imbalances. Your body is pretty smart and can figure most things out on its own.
• Get mentally prepared for each workout. Compete against others. Test yourself.
• Have long term goals and daily goals for each workout.

1. Deadlift Every Damn Day

A deadlift isn't merely an expression of absolute strength, but a skill-based movement that takes considerable practice to hone and refine.

As such, it's a movement that can be performed daily in order to keep that pattern sharp. It can be in a max or near max modality, a lower intensity version done for a much higher volume, trained for speed, super slow, paused, or with altered stance.

An athlete will train a desired skill for hours each day, in any way possible in order to stay sharp. A deadlift can't conceivably be consistently improved by only training it once a week.

Related:  The Simple Deadlift Program

Here's a simple example of how you could work in deadlifting every day, or involve some sort of deadlifting pattern on a regular basis:

• Monday: Max-tension development, using only 135 pounds. Ten sets of 5. Work on getting as tense and braced up as possible. Envision lifting 1,000 pounds and getting set for it. Take as much rest as you need.
• Tuesday: Max speed: Use 60% of your max weight and work on accelerating the weight from the floor to lockout as fast as possible. Do 8 sets of 3 with a 2-4 minute rest between sets. Westside calls this Dynamic Effort. Olympic weight lifters call it a regular training session.
• Wednesday: Near-max lifts. Use 90% of your max and perform 10 singles after working up through a couple of warm-up sets. Take 3-5 minutes of rest between sets.
• Thursday: 20 x 20 kettlebell swings on the minute. Work on getting the hips to snap the movement fast and hard while keeping the core tense and strong.
• Friday: Pause x 2 deadlifts. On the way up, pause for 3 seconds at 3 inches below the knee, 3 inches above the knee, and then finish at lockout. Lower the weight in one move. Use 75% of max for 6 sets of 5. Rest until you can finally see colors again.
• Saturday: Using 85% of your max, do 1 rep every 30 seconds for 10 minutes.
• Sunday: PR day. See what you can manage, but make sure you don't miss the lift.

2. Get Emotionally Jacked Up

You'll have a significantly better workout by getting mentally prepped before you step onto the weight room floor.

Maybe you have a couple of key motivational words you say to yourself to get into the right mind frame to dominate. Maybe you visualize your end goals, call yourself a pussy, or watch some old training videos of Arnold. Whatever you need to do, do it.

3. Stick to Your Strengths

"If you're bad at it you should do it more."

I hate everything about this statement. It makes no sense and is so meaningless that it should never be uttered again.

For instance, I'm pretty crappy at doing back bends like a Cirque de Soleil contortionist, so by that logic I should do more of them, even though I might wind up crippled. Maybe I should try to play hockey more even though I can't skate to save my life, or perhaps I should run a marathon, barefoot, against a Kenyan.

Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? These are all terrible, terrible ideas and they will all end badly.

Instead of forcing yourself to endure personal and probably public humiliation from floundering around doing stuff you suck at, why not spend more time getting better at the stuff you're really good at? It's a novel concept, but doing stuff that you're good at tends to leave you feeling happy and more likely to partake in said endeavor again.

If you like it, do it every day. If you don't like it, do it when you have nothing better to do and want to give it a shot. Maybe you just had a bad day last time you tried it. You know, the sun was in your eyes and there was sand in your nether regions. It sucked, so try it again, but don't make it your bread and butter unless you really enjoy it this time.

"But what about imbalances?"

Hey, listen. Shut up. Life will create imbalances. Your body is pretty smart and can figure most things out on its own without spending all day trying to figure out how to get your transverse abdominis turned on.

Have you ever tried to walk around all day without letting your diaphragm descend or your ribs flare, or without winding up slightly into anterior head position? It's exhausting and I don't recommend it. Also, most imbalances are only a problem when they become a problem and require specific interventions to address.

4. Compete

One of the main reasons why CrossFit continues to be popular is that it simultaneously creates a sense of community and competition. Everyone doing the same workout inevitably breeds competition and even animosity towards your fellow human being. It's paleo.

Endurance activities also seem to breed this type of competitive community thought process. Marathon runners who train alone tend to suffer more when they get into a group setting or a race as they find the pacing difficult, seeing as how it's not their normal speed. Runners who train in groups tend to be competitive with each other, sometimes pushing themselves harder in training than they would in a race.

You could also compete against known standards, much like the CrossFit Open. I know, I just said standards and CrossFit in the same sentence. Sorry, but it's true. If 10,000 people do a workout and their results get tallied and ranked, you can see where you wind up based on your performance, much like an endurance athlete who runs the same course as everyone else.

In short, find a way to compete.

5. Test Yourself

Tests tend to bring out the best in people. Every now and then I'll throw a surprise test day at my athletes to get them amped up and focused on what they're doing. It could be a cardio test, 1RM test, work capacity test, timed sled sprint series, or some measurable variable that determines their specific capabilities in a movement or load.

Recently, CrossFit did their Open 14.X series, which amounted to tests to see who could complete the most reps or best time at a given activity or series. These were workouts that would make most trainers absolutely cringe if they saw them in someone's program, but the point wasn't for them to be training sessions, but tests to see what people could do.

The kettlebell snatch test in the RKC and SFG certification – 100 reps in 5 minutes with a 24 kilogram bell for men and a 16 kilogram bell for women – is another example. They're not something you want to do on a regular basis, but to see what you can do, once, maybe twice.

There are a lot of standards to measure yourself against to see if you have what it takes. Here are a few:

• 100 kettlebell snatches in 5 minutes.
• Squat and deadlift twice your body weight; bench press 1.5 times your body weight; overhead press your bodyweight.
• Run a 6-minute mile.
• Dan John's 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Workout.
• Back squat your body weight so low that you touch a 4-inch box or yoga block:

6. Pick a Daily GoalLong-term goals are great, and they're always important to understand how to make big things happen.

A mortgage is a great example of a long-term goal. Most people can't pay off an entire house in one shot, so chipping away at it one payment at a time is analogous to a workout leading towards an end goal. But each workout should be its own specific entity, and each workout should have its own goals.

You don't have to hit a personal best every workout, but you should have a specific outcome in mind each time you walk through the door. It could be a quantitative outcome such as lifting more weight or increasing the total volume lifted (weight x reps x sets).

Or it could be a qualitative goal such as getting a better catch during a power clean, feeling like you have solid co-contraction through the glutes and abs during your deadlift lockout, or getting a pump through your lats that makes your shirt feel like it's going to split at the seams.

You might, occasionally, have some workouts where you just don't have any energy or will to get after it, and that's fine too. These workouts can be devoted to recovery, breathing techniques, foam rolling, or trying something new and funky that wouldn't normally be part of your workouts.

7. Train with a Plan

Going to the gym and just expecting to wing it never produces the kind of benefits you're looking for. Having a plan keeps you on point and lets you focus on just the workout and not on any of the sideshows running around in the gym.

It could be as simple as writing things out on a Post-It note before you head into the gym, or you could use a logbook to track how you're progressing.

8. Ratchet Up Intensity

Intensity is as much a mindset as a quantitative expression. Most people view intensity as just adding more weight to the bar, but to move that weight you have to get your mind right. If the weight is relatively light, lift it hard and fast and see how much more tension you can develop through the entire body to help move the weight faster and more violently.

If the weight is heavy, get jacked up to a level of uncomfortable energy that will make small children cry and large women quake when they see you get after it. I'm not talking about getting to the point where you're getting kicked out of a Planet Fitness, but get excited and lift with some emotion, dammit! You need to occasionally get to a state of blind rage in order to see significant strength gains.

Related:  4 Training Challenges You Must Conquer

If maximum-weight lifts aren't your thing, try to double the volume of your workouts through either increasing your number of sets or the number of reps, and try to do the workout in the same amount of time.

For instance, let's say you're doing a squat-focused day and you usually do 5 sets of 8 reps, taking 4 minutes of rest between sets, and the whole thing takes 25 minutes. Try to perform a workout of 10 sets of 8 within the same timeframe.

9. Find a Workout Partner

This one is often overlooked due to convenience, or lack of it. Sure, it's always easier to work out on your own, and scheduling someone else to come to the gym with you could act as an obstacle, but it doesn't have to be that complicated.

Each gym has its regulars who always show up at specific times of the day, simply because that's when they have the time to train. You can find others in the gym that train at the same time as you and then strike up a conversation with them.

There's no one who can push themselves as hard on their own as they could with someone else right beside them, urging them on and monitoring rest time. This is one reason why training in groups or in teams is so effective.

There's nothing like the atmosphere of a hard practice where everyone is jacked up and busting their butts to outwork each other.