"Why are we doing this? I don't know, just smile and keep pressing!"

One of my good buddies and fellow strength coaches, Kyle Newell of Newell Strength was talking to me a few weeks ago and we spoke about how he and his athletes / clients never perform direct arm work and instead perform lifts which have a systemic effect on the body, like the Barbell Back Squat.  Do you want big arms?  Do squats and Chin Ups!  Wait a sec, no concentration curls or barbell curls with an arm blaster?!?!?  Nope, the squat will have a greater anabolic effect on your entire body than any isolation movement!!!

The squat will grow your arms better than any arm isolation exercise

What is YOUR goal in the gym?  How can you achieve it as simply as possible?  I can’t tell you how many times I have seen people in the gym for HOURS when they can spend minutes instead.  Either they are slaves for pain, don’t know any better (most likely) or simply think that’s what they NEED to do.  Don’t just go to the gym, do stuff for an hour and pat yourself on the back because you sweat, set goals and achieve them.

Here is my advice:

1)      Put down the newsstand magazine which is written for the average guy and average girl

2)      Find someone with experience who has what you want or knows what you want to know, ask them how they achieved it

3)      If their advice is simple then, implement it, if it is not simple, then keep asking around until someone with experience has given you a simple and effective answer

One more thing, don’t confuse simple with EASY!!!  Becoming a millionaire may be simple in concept, but it is also difficult in implementation.  Losing body fat is simple in terms of what needs to be done, but it is very difficult to actually do it.  Go for it, set a goal, make a plan to achieve and go crush it!!!

1) Set the goal

2) Determine the path to achieve the goal

3) Leave your ego at the door

That dog doesn't know who he's messing with!!!

I was training a prospect a few weeks ago.  He was a middle-aged male who was about 30 pounds overweight.  When I asked him what his goal was, he told me that he wanted to lose 30-35 pounds to prove to his kids and friends that he could do it.  Upon hearing the GOAL, I determined the best way to achieve it (metabolic training, maximum work with minimum rest), now it was up to him to listen to me and leave his ego at the door.

I told him that I knew what we needed to do and I put him through an assessment.  He assessed a little below average, but made sure to tell me how he used to Bench Press a lot of weight “back in the day”.  This was a HUGE red flag for me, because I knew this guy wanted to bench the pounds away and that he was going to insist on benching rather than listening to me.  Low and behold, I put him through a sample workout with a metabolic focus, 2 to 1 work to rest ratio (30s on, 15s off) since his goal was fat loss.  About 5 minutes into the workout, he was very pale, sucking wind and told me that he was light-headed.  As he was doubled over, hands on knees, barely able to breathe, he turned to me and said, “When are we going to lift some heavy weight?”  I reassured him that the way we were training was the proper protocol for his goal of fat loss, but he asked, yet again, when we were going to lift some heavy weight.

If this gentleman was able to accomplish his goal on his own then, he wouldn’t be fat and he wouldn’t need me.  If it was as simple as “lifting some heavy weight” then, he would be slim and trim, but he is overweight and will continue to be until he checks his ego at the door and follows my advice.  The Moral of the story here is to leave your ego at the door.  Once you set a goal and figure out how to achieve it, stay focused, follow the path and see where you end up.  You can always change course along the way, but if you don’t move forward, you will never get there.

The Single most important quality to possess to get the results you desire is intensity.   There is NOTHING that will amplify your results more or help you achieve them faster than having an insane amount of intensity.  Perhaps you are thinking, what about steroids?  I can pump you with all of the steroids you want, but if you don’t train, you won’t achieve results.  Intensity is directly connected to mindset and while both can be worked on, having them from the start will help you achieve any goal you desire.

Arnold trained with INTENSITY!!!

I have 2 clients which are the epitome of the word Intensity.  In their own words, client A was “at death’s door”.  They had bone cancer and had been declared cancer free a year ago.  When they train with me, I have never had to tell them to “push through” or “dig deep”.  I actually have to tell them to stop b/c they will keep going if I don’t.  When you have seen your life flash before your eyes, you will live with a level of intensity like no other.  Client B has achieved tremendous results and it is all do to their intensity.  They actually told me that going through childbirth was easier than training with me, now THAT is intensity.  The funny thing is that THEY determine the intensity, not me.  I can only do so much though, intensity comes from within.  I can tell the client to push through and dig deep, I can refer them to their goal which they want to achieve, but without the intensity, we are wasting each other’s time.

Do YOU live life with intensity?