Effective Training for Busy Men

by Jim Wendler – 5/30/2012






From November to mid-January I have a lot on my plate. With my family spread out from Colorado, New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois, I have a lot of traveling to do. Thanksgiving and Christmas are spent in different states and we travel an ungodly amount during these three months.


I am not a big fan of traveling – I'm a creature of habit. I love my bed, my room, my weight room, and my couch. Couple that with the busiest time of year for business, and my training time is always compromised.


I'm not alone. Any small business owner has a super busy season, usually around the holidays. Growing up, my father was a track/field and football coach and his time was always limited during these seasons. Maybe your children's activities reach a peak in the summer and your time is very limited in the gym.






Whatever the case, you have to get your work done, but you have to get your training in, too. Without training, most of us would be a wreck. It gives us some purpose, lets us get out some aggression, helps push our bodies/minds further, and really, it's just in our DNA. While training might not completely define me as a person (I'd like to think that I'm more than just a meathead), it's a huge part of me, and my life. And if you're reading this, it's part of you, too.


The trick to training around a busy or awkward schedule is priorities. Since we aren't going to give up training, it's a priority. But we can't give up our business, our jobs, or our children for more days in the weight room. Still, success can still be had – you just have to plan correctly.


During these times, we're going to have two main workouts a week. You can have more if you want (this will be explained later) but when you're busy we'll only commit to doing two big workouts a week. These can be done on any day of the week that you have time. The only suggestion I have is that you have at least one day of rest in between them. We'll call these workouts "Workout A" and Workout B."





Workout A
Squat
Bench Press
*Assistance Work


Workout B
Deadlift
Press
* Assistance Work


The workouts and exercises are what I use – feel free to use different ones according to your training and your programming.


I wouldn't do more than two "big" exercises per workout. One of the early lessons I learned in training was to limit the big exercises per day – but strive to have a great workout on these 1 or 2 exercise.


These are the bread and butter. No one, no matter who you are, can have a great workout on 4 or 5 exercises per day. You may think you're having one, but something will be compromised. As I've said many times before, I'd rather do one thing great than five things average. Multitasking goals and too many exercises is like trying to talk on two phones at once – everything gets confused.


Because you're only training two times a week, you have to make these workouts count. Make sure your mind is focused on the bar on your back and not the business you left behind. Surely you can clear your mind for 60 minutes, two times a week, for something as important (to you) as your training. You should go in focused and leave satisfied.


Assistance work on these days is largely going to be based on two things: how much time you have for the workout and how long until your next workout. For example, if you have only 45 minutes to train you may have to keep the assistance work down to 1-3 exercises. If you have more time, go wild.


If you know your next workout is going to be only 2 days away, give yourself a little break on the volume of assistance work. You don't want to make yourself sore doing assistance work if it's going to compromise your big lifts the next workout.


Really, that's just common sense. It would be like stuffing your face at Taco Bell before you go to a 5 star prime rib restaurant. If you know your next workout is going to be 5 days away, go nuts and beat yourself up a bit on the assistance work.


If you're like me and like to train at your "home base" or like to train on good equipment (competition benches, Texas Squat/Deadlift bars, etc.), make sure you schedule these workouts accordingly.


For example, if I'm on the road for a long period of time (two weeks), I make it a habit to find a good gym close by. If I can get two good workouts there during the week, perfect. Most times, these gyms are hard to find and you may have to travel a lot to get there. This way you only have to commit to going to these gyms twice a week, get a good workout in and not screw up your training cycle.


Unfortunately, most people like to train 3-4 times/week, even during the busy times and when they travel. This is a reality for people that work on the road a lot and find themselves in a different city every week or even every day.


What I did for years is have an optional weight workout that can be done in basically any gym. If I couldn't make it to a good gym (or couldn't find one), I didn't want to have to bench on an 8" wide bench, pull with multisided plates, or squat with a flimsy bar. All that would do is lead to a screwed up workout and extra frustration that I don't need on the road. No thanks.


Instead I did these workouts, which are largely assistance based.





Workout C-1


  Exercise Sets Reps
A Leg Press or Hack Squat 5-7 10-20
B Machine Press (any kind) 5-7 10-20
C Standing DB Press 5 10
D Row Machine (any kind) 5 10-20
E Face Pulls 3  
F Triceps Pushdowns 3  
This workout (or any variation of it) can be done if you know you're not going to have access to a good gym during travel time or during your vacation (really though – don't worry about it and take the damn vacation)!


The logic behind it is, I'd rather pump myself up with a bunch of machines than try to lift maximally on sub-par equipment.


If you're not traveling and still have time to do an extra workout during the week (provided that you've done both Workout A and Workout B), you can amend Workout C to look something like this:


Workout C-2


  Exercise Sets Reps
A Safety-Bar Squat Good Morning 3-5 10
B DB Bench Press 5  
C Bulgarian Split Squats 3  
D Dumbbell Rows 3  
E Rear Laterals 3  
Essentially it's a bunch of assistance exercises for the upper and lower body – you can choose anything you want. Again, "Workout C" isn't mandatory but simply a way to get another workout in if you have time. Just remember that the main workouts, A and B, are priority. Get those in first.




Weekend Only Training





I get a lot of emails from people who only have time to train the two days of the weekend. For them I propose a modified program, which is what I've used when I get very busy and continue to use as the base of my training.


Because you're training two days in a row, we separate the days into a lower body day and an upper body day. The assistance work on both days is fairly high volume with big exercises.


Week One




Workout A (Saturday)


  Exercise Sets Reps
A Squat – Heavy work  
B Safety Bar Squat 5 10
C Stiff Leg Deadlift 5 10
Workout B (Sunday)


  Exercise Sets Reps
A Bench Press – Heavy work (superset this with chins)  
B Press 5 10
C Rows 5 10
Week Two




Workout A (Saturday)


  Exercise Sets Reps
A Deadlift – Heavy work  
B Safety Bar Squat 5 10
C Stiff Leg Deadlift 5 10
Workout B (Sunday)


  Exercise Sets Reps
A Press – Heavy work (superset with rows)  
B Bench Press 5 10
C Chins 5 10
You're free to choose whatever assistance exercises you want but keep them high volume and "big" – front squats, leg press, dumbbell bench press, different kinds of rows, incline press, etc.




Daily Habits





Nothing is more powerful than habit, and this can work in both positive and negative ways. Since we all have control over our habits (despite what the world may have you believe, we're in control of our lives) let's do something positive.


If you're on a busy schedule, a short mobility session each morning is something that can be easily squeezed in. The old saying, "An apple a day, keeps the doctor away," should be changed to, "Be physical every day to keep death at bay."


A short 10 minute mobility session will do wonders for your body and mind and allow you to stay with the habit of doing something physical everyday. I highly recommend doing something like the Defranco Agile 8, an abbreviated Parisi warm-up (check out the Parisi Warm-up DVD), some bodyweight calisthenics, or whatever you choose.


Whenever I travel, I always bring my Travel Rehab kit. (No it doesn't contain methadone.) I have a sawed-down PVC pipe that fits in my bag, an average band (from EFS), and a lacrosse ball.


Here's a sample mobility program that I use:


PVC pipe – IT band, 100 rolls per leg
Lacrosse ball – piriformis, about 2 min/side
Bodyweight squat – 10-20 reps
Leg swings (front to back) – 10-20 reps
Side lunge – 10-20 reps
One-leg squat – 10-20 reps
Mountain climbers (big strides and hold each rep) – 10-20 reps
Groiners – 10-20 reps
Rollback hamstrings – 10-20 reps
Hip circles (fire hydrants) – 10-20 reps
Shoudler dislocates with band – 10-20 reps
Bent knee hip lift – 10-20 reps


This can all be done in about 20 minutes or so and gets me ready for the day. It can be done in limited space and in any hotel room. You don't have to be explosive on any of these exercises and don't force the range of motion if you're feeling really tight or sore. This is not (at least I hope not) a workout; this is you getting your body ready for the day.


You can't talk about something like "habits" without mentioning food. We all know diets fail. When a diet (a good, smart diet) becomes a habit, then it can succeed. There's a huge difference.


When you're a busy person, on the road, or always moving, this is one of the first things that goes in the dumper. Like my training, my food habits are pretty simple. At every meal, I have some kind of protein (always chicken, beef, or eggs), some kind of carb (rice, potato or oatmeal), and some kind of vegetable.


I do this 4 times a day and it can easily be done no matter where you are or where you eat. If I'm hungry, I just eat another meal. If I want to gain weight, the portions increase. If I need to lose weight, the portions decrease. Keeping the meals simple and basic allows for a ton of flexibility. Don't over think this.




Train, Don't Exercise





Training is one of our priorities – you wouldn't be reading T Nation or this article if you were just a weekend warrior or into "fitness." You're into training, and training is not "exercise."


In Starting Strength, Mark Rippetoe defines training as a "physical activity done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to achieve that goal." We aren't "exercisers" or "fitness hipsters." Our training each day has purpose and meaning towards a bigger and more defined picture.


We don't randomly select things and strive "for a good sweat" or try to fit square exercises into round goals. We train. And those who train and are getting a bit older have a myriad of responsibilities. We have to prioritize our training around much of our life so that we can achieve those long-term training goals.


Life doesn't just throw us curveballs – it throws Niekro-scuffed knuckleballs with a bit of Gaylord Perry lube, and we all know where those are going to land. But if you plan your training accordingly, those incidents won't harm your training goals or your life outside the gym.


That's the key – the balance between maintaining a cutthroat attitude towards your training goals and your life. You plan. You execute.

12 Reasons You’re Not Losing Fat | How to Build Muscle, Gain Strength & Become a Better Athlete

1) You’re Eating Too Many Carbs

This should be pretty obvious to most people by now, but there are still the old die-hards out there who swear that everyone should be consuming two grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight every day while maintaining a low fat intake. Load up on whole grains and fruit while cutting down on healthy, essential sources of fat like grass fed beef they’ll tell you.

Anyone experienced in physique transformation knows this is nonsense.Most people have a terrible tolerance for carbs, shitty insulin sensitivity and simply don’t do enough physically demanding work to warrant too many carbs. If you want to get lean cutting carbs is usually one of the first and most important steps you need to take. That doesn’t mean you can’t have any but you need to make smart choices and they need to be taken in at the right times and cycled properly.

2) You’re Eating Carbs at the Wrong Time

If you’re above 20% body-fat pretty much any time is the wrong time. In that case I would only recommend vegetables and possibly some post workout potatoes or a once per week refeed. When you get down to 15% you can increase the amount of carbs in the post workout meal or the weekly refeed. Everyone else should limit carb consumption to post workout and night time, as per The Renegade Diet rules. During the day you want to be alert and focused, which is one reason why you don’t want to load up on starchy carbs during this time. Save for them for the night time when you want to optimize serotonin production and rest, relax and repair.

3) You’re Eating Too Much Fat

Some people cut carbs and assume that they’re good to go and there’s nothing else to worry about. Unfortunately, the low/no carb diet isn’t as much fun as Dr. Atkins made it out to be. You can’t just eat pounds of bacon and mayonnaise with reckless abandon and think that you’ll magically end up ripped. Fat contains calories; nine per gram to be exact. At the end of the day total calories still matter, and if you’re eating more than you burn you’re never going to get ripped. Please don’t mistake this as my advocating a low fat diet. That’s just as bad, if not worse, than eating too much fat. A bare minimum of 20% of your calories should come from healthy fats like pastured egg yolks, wild caught salmon, grass fed beef and coconut oil to ensure optimal health. Just be careful about going overboard with it and thinking that low carbs automatically leads to single digit body-fat. You still need to keep a handle on things like total calories.

4)You’re Not Eating Enough Protein

In my experience it’s usually only females who are guilty of this but guys can make this mistake on occasion as well. The average female who can’t lose body-fat usually eats a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast with an egg. One… single… egg.

Then she’ll have a sandwich for lunch with four ounces of lean turkey. For dinner it will be a salad with low fat dressing and four ounces of chicken or fish. Although, in all honesty they may skip the protein all together and just have a salad for either lunch or dinner. Let’s assume she weighs 135 pounds. Most experts would agree that she would need to consume at least 100 grams of protein per day, if not a gram per pound, which would equal 135 grams. Each ounce of protein is around 4.5 grams of protein. So in this example she had 36 grams combined with lunch and dinner plus the six grams from the egg. So that’s a total of 42 grams, which falls just a wee bit shy of where she needs to be.

Females often freak out when you tell them to eat more than six ounces of protein at a sitting but when you break down the numbers for them and reveal just how many calories they’re eating it should make more sense. If they had eight ounces of protein three times per day it would 108 grams of protein. That’s only 432 total calories. Add in the fat and it’s still not that much.

People who eat a sufficient amount of protein usually end up having an easier time getting ripped than those who don’t. Make sure you’re getting enough.

5) You’re Drinking Too Many Protein Shakes

There are two problems associated with drinking shakes when you’re trying to get ripped. First of all, whey protein can raise insulin levels, as I have been telling people since the mid 90’s. If you’re trying to get lean you don’t want insulin to be flowing like the Nile all day. You want a nice insulin surge post workout but the rest of the day you want it under control. That’s why The Renegade Diet limits the intake of whey protein to very small amounts during most of the day and only allows a larger amount post workout or at night.

The second problem with drinking too many shakes is that they are so easy to digest that you don’t really burn any calories when you eat them. When you chew down some salmon and broccoli your body works harder to digest that food and you burn more calories during the digestion process. When you drink something that is so easily digested, like a protein shake, your body does almost no work in the process.

So, when getting ripped is your main goal, limit your shake intake and chew as many calories as you can.

6) Your Liver is Over Stressed

This is usually the last thing people think of when embarking on a fat loss diet but it can sometimes be the most important. Everything that goes into or on your body has to be processed by the liver. That means all food, alcohol, suntan lotion, environmental pollutants, etc. If you are constantly exposing yourself to this kind of stuff and overstressing the liver fat loss will be much more difficult to come by. Cut out booze, stop eating grain-fed, chemical laden meat and incorporate some regular periods of intermittent fasting to give the liver a break and you will find your rate of fat loss is noticeably faster.

7) You’re Eating Nuts

I love nuts. I mean, who doesn’t? Give me a bag of pistachios or cashews and I won’t look up till the whole thing’s gone. The problem is nuts have a ton of calories. When you’re dieting for fat loss the rules are usually the opposite of those followed by skinny hardgainers trying to gain size. Those guys want the most calorically dense foods possible. Fat loss dieters do not. You’re better off filling up on nutritionally dense foods that don’t pack a lot of calories, like green vegetables. If you’re dieting you need to limit your nut consumption to about ten almonds per serving. No too many people can eat ten almonds. Most people eat ten handfuls. If you are strictly tracking and calculating everything all day and you want to load up on nuts at certain times I suppose you could but I wouldn’t recommend it. Nuts can be very problematic for a lot of people, especially those with digestive or auto immune issues. As Paleo Solution author Robb Wolf has noted, nuts should be used the same way you use condiments- sparingly.

I should also add, and this is strictly my opinion, meaning it has NOT been proven and posted on Pubmed… nut butters seem to be easier for most people to digest than actual whole nuts. Just something to consider.

8) You’re Eating Fruit

“What?! You’re telling people not to eat fruit!? Everyone knows that it’s impossible to get fat from eating too much fruit!”

Yeah, yeah I know, that’s why physique competitors eat so much fruit and why all fat loss experts who specialize in getting people shredded recommend such high quantities of it. In our hunter gatherer days fruit was nothing like what you see in the supermarket today. Berries were small, dark and bitter; not the huge sugar sacks most people consume these days. Don’t get me wrong, fruit is healthy and can be eaten by lean individuals in limited amounts but any type of excessive fructose (a sugar found in fruit) consumption will lead to fat gain. Fructose can only be processed by the liver and once liver glycogen stores are full the excess gets converted to triglycerides and stored as body-fat. If you want to get ripped cut fruit completely for a while or limit it to one to two small servings per day. Just be sure to really up the vegetable consumption so you can keep your vital nutrient uptake where it needs to be.

9) You’re Not Training Heavy

When you want to lose body-fat the first inclination is often to crank up the reps and cut the rest periods. I actually have no problem with fairly low rest periods. But not if you’re used to resting three minutes between sets and all of the sudden cut them down to thirty seconds because you decided it was time to get shredded you’ll be in trouble. That never works. All that happens is your weights start plummeting on every exercise and you get weaker and smaller. High reps have the same effect.

When dieting, the primary role of strength training is to maintain muscle mass. That is the single most important thing. Don’t use it as your primary “fat burning” activity… UNLESS you are seriously overweight. If you need to lose more than fifty pounds or so that would probably be fine (although please don’t ever do any of the bullshit you see on those fat camp TV shows). Females can actually get something out of metcon workouts in the right situation as well. The caveat, however, is that that they need to be strong and actually have some muscle mass. If you take a weak female with no muscle and give her a silly metcon circuit she won’t usually get much out of it because she’s too weak to produce enough force. Females should get strong first before they attempt that type of training.

If you’re a guy and are trying to lose 10-20 pounds of body-fat without losing all your muscle mass in the process you should use strength training as a way to maintain size and strength; nothing more, nothing less. So the same principles that helped you get big and strong apply when dieting. Keep the reps low and the resistance high.

10) You’re Overdoing Cardio

Traditional forms of cardio are largely useless for fat loss. But useless is even okay, it’s when it starts to be counterproductive that we have a real problem. Excessive amounts of cardio lead to an overproduction of cortisol which leads to more abdominal fat and numerous health problems. If you want to do cardio that won’t actually hurt you and could do you some good, go for a long walk. No self respecting man should ever be spotted on an elliptical machine.

Sled work builds muscle, burns fat and is irreplaceable

11) You’re Not Running Sprints or Doing Sled Work

Dieting is the most important thing for fat loss. After that you should be doing some form of strength training to maintain your muscle mass. When you have those to things dialed in you’ll want to add in some type of sprinting or sled work. There is nothing more effective for fat loss. See all wide receivers, defensive backs, sprinters, soccer players, etc. for proof. Two or three 20-40 minute sprint or sled sessions per week will be enough for most people.

Don’t have a sled? 

12) You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep

When you’re short on sleep your insulin sensitivity decreases and your cortisol goes up. Both things lead to less than optimal fat loss. You also miss out on the critically important Growth Hormone boost that comes each night during deep sleep. If you want to lose more fat you have to get more sleep. Most people will ignore this and some of you are probably reading this at 2am. Unfortunately this just might be the most important thing on the whole list. More sleep improves EVERYTHING. Make it a priority.

Wikio

40 Years of Insight, Part 2

by Dan John – 9/12/2011

I have a box in my storage room that contains all my training journals. Besides sets and reps, I toss in what's going on in my life. Often, I find long essays about the future, lists about "what works," and funny little tidbits about my life that I would've quickly forgotten had I not wrote them down.
It hit me when I picked up this box the other day that I've been recording workouts since 1971, five years after first picking up a weight. That's forty years! I started to think about the lessons I've learned and, before I knew it, I had a list of forty lessons that I had to learn the hard way.

Editor's Note: The first 20 of Dan's lessons can be found here.

Lesson 21: Put your money where your mouth is.

One thing that Laree Draper, wife of former Mr. Universe Dave Draper, finds interesting about me is that I sit in the front row at conferences. Each year I go to camps, clinic, workshops, conferences, and gatherings. I buy nearly every new book and DVD on the market. I read and comment on a lot, although as a rule I only comment after I read something and only universally after I've tried it.
Now, this might seem counter to Lesson 20 ("When reading something over the top, that has the markings of "secret" or "exotic" or even "expensive," don't leap in with both feet and break your ankles), but as the saying goes, an intelligent person can hold conflicting opinions in his head.
Here's the thing: I appreciate Mike Boyle's insights about single-leg training. Why? Because I've listened to him talk about it three times. I like his logic, I like his decision making process. Moreover, I also like the hour-long conversation we had discussing this topic.
I strongly believe in spending money to get exposed to the cutting edge of what's going on in the field of strength and conditioning. I read and reread books, magazines, eBooks, and blog posts, trying to cut away the extraneous and hone the message.
It costs me money to do this. And I'm okay with that.

Lesson 22: You want to know about fat loss? Ask a competitive bodybuilder!

This is so obvious I'm embarrassed to write it. I've had the opportunity to sit with some fairly high level bodybuilders and train with some of the best of all time. I can promise you that the training tools of the elite bodybuilders are basically the same weapons you use in the gym.
When it comes to diet, though, you need to listen up. There's this thing called "protein" and that seems like the only thing you need to think about when cutting fat. Carbs and even fat becomes a misty island far off in the distance that one may or may not see again for a while.
These guys are serious. My friend Lance once described his sodium loading cycle for an upcoming contest and it was like sitting in the front row of a chemistry class, except I'd missed the first few months. He lost me at "hello." Lance was eating chicken breasts, which isn't surprising, but also a hefty amount of fish. Now, to call this "fish" is a reach as there was no salt, no seasoning, and really no nothing.
One of my coaching principles is "success leaves tracks." If you really want good advice about fat loss, talk to a competitive bodybuilder. Avoid the weekly magazine advice you see at the supermarket check-stand and get some real information.

Lesson 23: You may get another injury. But do you have another recovery?

This one is near and dear to my heart. I've an unbending training principle that's as old as medicine. "First, do no harm." I think any coach, program, or training system that injures people is wrong. If you're an athlete in a sport that has an age or year ceiling (high school or college eligibility) and you lose a year to an injury, you don't get that back.
My doctor said something interesting. If you're 75 and have a major joint repair, its purpose is to literally to help you go to the toilet on your own. At 55, the same surgery might ensure a quality of life that will keep you young. At 15, this surgery is a tragedy for an athlete and one may never be able to compete again at the higher levels of sport.
Recovery from injury and surgery may take tremendous resources to attain. Besides the financial toll – which can be overwhelming – there's a physical and emotional toll from injuries. I've been on crutches several times in my life and there's not a single aspect of life that's easy on crutches. From bowel movements to escalators, every action and move has to be thought through before attempting it.
Again, sure, you can get injured, but you may not have another recovery. In high school, my mom and sister could help out if I was hurt. When my daughters were little and I had wrist surgeries, I had to buy shoes without laces because when my wife wasn't around, no one was there to tie them!
Plan your training with intelligence and foresight. Train hard, but try to avoid things that can't be fixed without a surgical team.

Lesson 24: Yes, intensity trumps everything. But...

There's no question that running hills or doing Tabata front squats is the "best way" to heat up your system, burn fat, and make the world a safer place. However, I think we've lost sight of the importance of "easy," especially in the fat loss race.
The Tabata protocol comes out to 3:50 minutes a week, as the last ten-second rest doesn't really mean anything. And you can make progress in those four minutes. However, don't throw out the importance of long, easy cardio like walks or heavy hands. A long walk won't hit your fat stores like a furnace or whatever the ad copy says, but it will give your body a chance to recover and perhaps find some gentle, easy ways to lose the muffin top.
The principle here is to move away from "either/or" in strength and conditioning. My career has been built on the idea that "everything works, for a while" and while Tabatas might be fun to watch, there's nothing sinful about a nice long walk. Moreover, like hiking, long walks tend to be more open ended, and rarely does one look at the watch worrying about "getting it all in."
Keep those tough HIIT workouts, the hill sprints and the hard stuff, but don't forget to keep those long lazy "workouts" as part of your palette.

Lesson 25: Stop judging everything!

Train hard, but enjoy competition. Compete hard, but enjoy your training. One key point that must be kept in mind always is to never judge a workout or competition as "good" or "bad" solely on that single day.
I often tell my new throwers, "Sorry, you just aren't good enough to be disappointed." Judging one's worth as an athlete over the results of a single day is just idiocy and will lead to long-term failure. Epictetus, the Roman Stoic philosopher tells us, "We must ever bear in mind – that apart from the will there is nothing good or bad, and that we must not try to anticipate or to direct events, but merely to accept them with intelligence."
If that's too complex, I have a favorite story.
A farmer had a horse and a son. One day, the horse died. All the neighbors said, "Oh, how bad." The farmer said, "We'll see." The next day, the neighbors got together and bought the farmer a new horse. They all said, "That's a good thing." The farmer said, "We'll see." The following day, the horse threw the son while trying to break the horse. The son broke his arm. The neighbors all said, "Oh, how bad." The farmer said, "We'll see." The next day, the army came into the town, drafted all the young men, save the son with a broken arm. They all died in the first battle. The neighbors said to the farmer, "Oh, how good it was for your son to have a broken arm." The farmer said, "We'll see."
So, get in the gym and train. Finish your plan and shower off. Then, be sure to come back and do what Woody Allen says and "Show Up!"

Lesson 26: Press weights over your head.

When I was in the ninth grade, one quarter of my training was the military press, and I made progress. Then I dropped it. My progress stalled. When I met Dick Notmeyer, literally everything was over my head and I made progress again.
As I aged, I dropped the overhead stuff and everything went to my belly. I started up with one-arm kettlebell presses and my waistline shrunk back in weeks to a reasonable girth.
If Janda was right and certain muscles weaken with age (and he is, trust me), a quick study of that group should give you an idea of why you should press.

Rhomboids
Mid-back
Triceps
Gluteus maximus
Deep abs
External obliques
Deltoids

There's no question that one-arm overhead presses work the obliques better than all those odd side bends and twisties I see in the gym every day. Now, you might argue that the glutes don't work, but try to press one-handed anything over 100 pounds with a sleepy butt. I've tried it many times and I think I may have done it once.
When in doubt, press overhead.

Lesson 27: For volume, do ladders.

I hate workouts like 10 sets of 10. For one thing, I never remember what set I'm on. I know I'm supposed to use matches or cards or something, but I'm old and never remember them, either.
I like ladders. A ladder is a series of reps that usually go up. The first set is always easy as the reps and load are low. The last set seems hard, but it's odd because you feel like you recover in an instant. The standard ladders are:
1-2-3-1-2-3. You do a single, rest, a double, rest, a triple, rest, a single, ad infinitum!
1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5-1-2...
And my favorites:
2-3-5-2-3-5...
2-3-5-10-2-3-5-10-2-3...
I love 2-3-5-10 for hypertrophy. If you do that cluster five times, that's 100 quality reps and you'll storm through the doubles and the triples with practically no rest. You'll finish strong and pumped.
2-3-5-2-3-5-2-3 is my favorite variation of the standard 5 x 5 protocol. Again, how quickly you get through the reps and the ease of adding more plates is a pleasant surprise.
I know of no easier way to add volume than to do ladders.

Lesson 28: Last lift/best lift. Last throw/best throw.

These are mantras I repeat to myself and to my athletes. I've won National Championships in lifting and throwing on the very last lift or throw. I do it with so much regularity that Don Bailey, a good friend and fellow thrower, has told people I do it on purpose for "the theater." It's not true, but I do like the point.
It always works well in training. Charlie Francis, the late, great sprint coach, would end workouts when his athletes got a personal record in anything. His idea was "there you go – you peaked – now rest." That is an extreme, but I wish I would've known this when I was younger. Injuries tend to show up when you want to add just a little more to your lifetime best. Learn to celebrate success and keep improving over the long haul.
This skill has to be practiced. You have to draw a line in the sand and say, "This is it. This is the last thing I do today and it's going to be my best effort." Now, I know most lifters don't do this, but I also know that most don't make any gains!
Always strive to leave practice and workouts "on top."

Lesson 29: Recharge.

This is a new idea for me. After a hard workout, come back the next day and, at a low level, move through the basic patterns of the human body in a kind of movement massage. The loads are light, the reps are unimportant, but the movement is key. With an adult, I often recommend up to three of these easy recharge workouts a week. It can be as simple as doing the basic patterning movements.

Push
Pull
Hinge
Squat
Loaded carry

Follow with an easy walk. It doesn't have to be much, but you'll thank me as your mobility, flexibility, and patterning improve without much residual soreness.

Lesson 30: The value of "Two."

Dick Notmeyer smiled and nodded as I told him about my weightlifting career. I thought I'd done it all. I had a big bench and could do pull-ups with the best of them.
Dick stopped me. "Here, you're going to do snatches and clean and jerks." That was basically it. For two years, I did the Olympic lifts in the summer sun and foggy blindness. It was rep after rep after rep. And I made tremendous progress.
When Pavel came out with "Power to the People" and suggested five days a week of deadlifts and side presses, a few brave souls took on the challenge and expanded their work capacity. His "Program Minimum," of nothing but swings and get-ups, is still my "go to" recommendation for someone exploring the goals of general conditioning.
In the book, "Beyond Bodybuilding," he sets up a hypertrophy program consisting of five days a week of deadlifts and bench presses under the direction of deLorme and Watkins, the founders of what we now call progressive resistance exercise.
I'm a fan of minimal workouts. The biggest reason is there is no wiggle room for "coulda, woulda, shoulda." The very essence of this training idea is "do this!" It's not the kind of training for someone who needs music, TV, Internet, and conversation during sets. Folks, it's dull work – actually, it's work.
Every so often, try two weeks of just two movements. Make the combination cover the bulk of the body and strive for mastery of the movements. It can change your career.

Lesson 31: The stronger you are, the more you can get away with.

My friend, Josh Hillis, notes that when a woman can do three pull-ups and deadlift or squat 135 for five, almost universally they're around 19% bodyfat, which is what he calls "Rockstar Hot." Since he told me this, I've been carefully watching the physiques of women, although to be honest I've been doing that since early puberty.
There's another issue. Women who can do three pull-ups and show some numbers on the barbell can also go out after a clinic and have a good time. Recently, a top female physique contestant told me at a bar that, "Oh, I can go out and party and not watch every single bite when I'm not peaking." Unlike the "skinny fat" women who you normaly see in the weekly magazines, this woman was strong enough that when she trained her body had to gather up a lot of resources to adapt and recover.
What does this mean for you? I've seen it many times at workshops and clinics. The skinny, weak guys bring their own weighed chicken breasts and magic protein bars for the whole day. When we do something physical, they fade into the corn rows. The big, strong guys who've never seen a strongman event will jump in and flail around dangerously close to death and dismemberment, but fight the good fight with the anvil, axle, or stone. Then, they eat passionately and without apology.
In other words, as Brett Jones taught me, absolute strength is the glass. Everything else is the liquid that goes into the glass. The bigger the glass, the bigger everything else can be for you.
So get stronger and eat more without freaking out about it.

Lesson 32: List out your "Highs" and "Lows."

Twice at the Olympic training center, we were asked to take some time to do an "autobiography." Really, we simply listed the best and worst of our athletic career. We were allowed to add life events, too.
I still have my lists. They're odd to look at from a decade-plus distance, but I still smile when I see "Turkey Day Football" and "Picked to Start for Brentwood," and "Winning hit in 1967" mixed in with performances that are worthy of national ranking. I don't want to address the "Worst" list, but that was the point.
After a fairly long wait for everyone to finish, we were asked to look at the lifetime lows.
"Put your finger on it," we were told. Now, look at the high side and see if there's a match.
"Huh?"
Just do it.
Incredibly, for the bulk of us, every low, every "worst moment," lead directly over to a best moment. We have to keep Lesson 25 in mind (don't judge everything), but the lesson was clear. Our lows are often the steppingstone to the greatest moments of our lives.
I've used this little exercise for my athletes and in my classrooms. Sadly, there are some who argue that they have very few "best" moments. It should come as no surprise that these timid souls often have no "worst" moments either.

Lesson 33: Keeping the "Little Red Book."

I have an extremely damaged tiny spiral notebook. It's red and falling apart. Since 1973, I've been keeping quotes in here that inspire me.
"The guy with the biggest butt lifts the biggest weights."
Paul Anderson
"Arnold's Three-Part Secret"
Self-confidence
Positive mental outlook
Honest hard work
"Greatness comes to those that dare to sweat, dare to strain, and dare the pain."
Dick Notmeyer
"Quality is the key, not quantity"
Bill Koch
"Never, never give up. Never give up."
Winston Churchill
"Yield to all and you soon have nothing left to yield."
Aesop
I also include training programs from people that I admire and odd snips of ideas that still are forming in my head.
Here's one final one.

"Do something different, something unique; make yourself stand apart."

I wrote that as a senior in high school in my English class to answer something along the lines of, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Lesson 34: Follow the Leaders.

I was lucky to have the magazine "Strength and Health" growing up. It wasn't just bodybuilding information; this magazine really respected all areas of strength. So several times a year I could read about throwers or football players. An article on a discus thrower named Gary Ordway came at a great time in my life as I'd embarked on an attempt to be a thrower and they listed his workouts. I'll only list his top lifts in his preseason workout:

Squats: 505 x 3
Deadlift: 455 x 3
Power clean: 285 x 2
Incline press: 325 x 3
Sit ups: 4 sets of 25

As a kid inclining under 100 pounds, the direction was clear. I needed to get stronger. I knew the path – lift weights.
To be a strength athlete, you have to engage in a progressive program to lead you to your goals. The nice thing about lifting is the numbers are crystal clear. I'm benching 95 and you're benching 405. I have to get stronger!
This is why I still like the Olympic lifts and the deadlift for comparing generations. The O lifts and the DL have essentially stagnated for the past twenty years. Certainly there are amazing lifts, but there's been less than stellar improvement across the board.
My good friend, Marty Gallagher loves to point out that outside of gear (in this case, squat suits, squat briefs, bench shirts, wraps and the like), there's been almost no progress in powerlifting. Yes, there are exceptions, but like O lifting the sport has slowed to a crawl.
Find out what the best are doing. Look at what you're doing. Now shrink the gap.

Lesson 35: If it improves a track and field athlete, then I'm all ears.

This is a criticism that gets tossed in my face sometimes. I'm a snob, a prude if you will, when it comes to track and field. I love reading how this magic program, device, or herb is the "do all and be all." Fine. Take your profits, invest in some athletes, and prove it at a track meet.
The response is always something along the lines of, "Well, this isn't sports specific," or, "Track depends on perfection of biomechanics." Okay, fine.
It's easy to convince someone that a weight "feels lighter." It's not so easy to add three feet to the shot put or drop time off the 200-meter sprint.
If your idea does work for sprinters, throwers, and the rest of track and field, I'm going to sit in the front row and take notes. Even if I disagree with everything you say, if you get it right in Track and Field, and probably swimming, too, you're right and I'll listen to this grand scheme.

Lesson 36: It's not "hydrating," it's drinking some damn water.

This looks like a rant, but it drives me crazy. Moms show up to practice and ask, "Are the boys hydrating?" No, first perspiration, then hydration.
The area from your hips to your shoulders is now the "core." Today, Grandma asks me if discus throwing "builds your core." Is shot putting "functional?" To play a one-hour game of soccer – or 20 minutes of standing and 40 minutes of picking daisies – my daughter used to get a sports drink, an orange, cookies, and a treat. This was to counteract the incredible efforts of a group of seven-year-old girls who usually forgot which goal to kick the ball towards.
I'm tired of it. Let's bring an end to this pseudo-quasi-scientific language that's permeating youth sports, recreation, and fitness. American children are getting fatter at a rate that no one predicted twenty years ago and yet parents flock around their kids like paparazzi around this week's latest Lindsay Lohan scandal.
It's called "water." Deal with it.

Lesson 37: You will wish you did it earlier than later.

I have an axiom when asked for advice. "Well, in four years, you're going to be four years older no matter what, but if you go to college, you'll have your degree." Or, "In thirty years, you're going to be thirty years older no matter what, but if you save ten percent of your income, you'll have a comfortable retirement."
The longer you put off something like "squat mastery" or eating clean, the more you'll regret it later. Now, I don't know when and what's going to happen, but life seems so much easier when you master the basics, make yourself a slave to good habits, save ten percent of your income, and nurture quality relationships "now" versus "later."
Get the degree, finish the thesis, buy good insurance, see your dentist twice a year, and do all the boring things of life as often as you can. Trust me, your health – financial, physical, spiritual, and emotional – will benefit from taking care of business early on.
Some of the athletes I first worked with are now sneaking up on age fifty and two are already over the half-century mark. Whenever we talk, the most common "gift" that I bestowed on them was this understanding to get Ôer done.

Lesson 38: Fat loss exercise is about being as inefficient as you can be.

Aerobic dance continues to flourish in community centers. There's a lot of "woos" as you walk past. What you don't see is progress. For the record, if I took the introductory class, I would get the workout of a lifetime. Why? Because I would suck at it! Fat loss exercise, however, and it breaks my heart to say this, is about being completely inefficient.
Aerobic dance and most of the TV offers work for a few weeks. Then, you get good at it and progress stops. This is why I like the kettlelbell swing for fat loss. It's a massive body move that eats up a ton of energy and you move nowhere. In fact, as you improve, you probably attack the movement harder, causing you to still move nowhere.
Len Schwartz's HeavyHands was the same principle. You load up a couple of dumbbells in each hand and go for a walk. With these big pumping arm movements, you waste a ton of energy up and down and turn an easy walk in the park to an extremely wasteful use of energy. And you burn fat.
I love the combination of swings and push-ups, or goblet squats and push-ups for fat loss. The secret to fat loss is that wonderful pause after finishing the push-up when you have to get back up. It would be "better" to press as that would save you energy, but in this case, that's "bad."
For fat loss exercise, discover things you're terrible at and do them. If you've never skated before, pad up and see how a quarter mile can ruin you for hours. As you get better technically, find something else! It's the polar opposite of getting good at a sport or skill, but this is why consistent fat loss is so elusive for most people.

Lesson 39: A workshop or clinic is better than a workout.

I said this at the Test-Fest in Washington, DC, and it still holds true. I've argued for years that taking a weekend to listen and learn is far better than doing the "same old, same old" thing in the workout.
And as I said that at Test-Fest, a guy walked in with his wife beater, his belt, and his little bag filled with gym gear. I couldn't have planned it better. There's a need for all of us to humble ourselves and open up to some new ideas. You probably should hang on to 80% of what you know, but be willing to throw out that other 20% and fill it with something that will get you to the next level.
This sounds similar to "put your money where your mouth is," but there's more to this. I think the hotel bar after the talk or the lunch between sessions or the hallway outside the conference is an opportunity to grow in ways you can only imagine.
You might get a chance to fill out a napkin (don't lose that napkin) with a training program from one of the great names in the iron game. You might get invited to something like a dinner or a party and meet people that will change your life. You must go to these events to understand the idea behind the ideas you see presented here at TNation.

Lesson 40: In forty years, a lot of great people are going to pass over to the next existence.

It's a rare day I don't think of my mom and dad, Coach Ralph Maughan, some of my heroes, and some of my friends who are no longer alive. I carry on, as best I can, but it's becoming woefully obvious to me that my torch is burning dim and I'll be passing it along sooner than later.
That's why I write. That's why I keep lists. That's why I answer the same questions over and over and over again.
Our time on this precious earth is short. Good health and a measure of strength can help you live a better quality of life. And that's the greatest lesson of my life.

Wikio