Does the thought of going to the gym make you feel anxious?

Gym anxiety is very common, but it’s something that dissipates thankfully 

I’ve asked a lot of people why they suffer from it. 

These are the most common answers:

• They’re being judged but experienced folk 
• Fear of looking stupid because of being new 
• The gym isn’t somewhere they actually like going 

All of these are reasonable, however they’re quite revealing as to how an individual thinks 

First off, beyond a passing glance no one is really paying attention to anyone else other than themselves typically. 

And if people are watching you (say a seasoned lifter) there’s a good chance they’re looking for an opportunity to come and help or offer some useful advice because that’s what someone did for them when they started.

But the last thing the majority will do is spurn you for being there.

True enough some might 

However you’ll always find plastics in every environment you go because that’s just how hierarchies and social structures work in this wonderful world. 

Now the fear of looking stupid can be a massive issue. 

Usually because of this fear a person will end up panicking, dropping something, making a scene of sorts and end up creating that which they most fear 

Unfortunately there’s no guarantee you won’t do dumb stuff 

We all do plenty of it all the time, so it’s best to just laugh it off and crack on, although I’m aware that’s easily said yet harder to put into practice.

In which case it’d be worth asking yourself what’s the worst that can happen? 

Because unless you’re aiming to hit a PR on squat and literally shit yourself  you’re probably going to be able to move on from whatever happened pretty quick. 

But the real issue is the last one. 

A lot of people just don’t like gym and they ‘feel’ they need to go to one for the purposes of fat loss, strength, longevity and building self confidence and so on. 

This isn’t true through because there’s so many other ways you can gain those things and more without a gym 

If you don’t like the gym, then ask yourself what you do like doing from a physical/training standpoint and go do that.

Go find your tribe of folk that share your enthusiasms.

This will keep you moving forwards in the journey of health & fitness.

And when it comes to those feelings of anxiety, it’s also worth asking yourself this – what does feeling this way give me that I want?

Odd as that may sound it’s relevant 

You see we will often choose behaviours, habits, actions and a lifestyle that fulfils long held beliefs and satiates basic needs that we want addressed (feeling in control, safe etc). 

Understanding this will be well worth your time.

How To Improve On A Classic

The short version….

You don’t look to improve on it because the reason it’s a classic is because it works as written.

However, what you can do is add in your own nuance and style to allow continued progress through a training method/protocol/idea that you found resonated with you.

As an example, let us take 5×5.

This has stood the test of time for being a staple of strength training that usually builds a good amount of size too.

There’s endless variations of this. What was 5 straight sets of 5 with a static load grew and continues to grow.

In my years coaching I’ve played with literally only using 5×5 but with little variations, such to the point that a years worth of training can be created through simple shifts and variance.

Here’s an example:

Week 1-12 – Timed 5×5 – Strength endurance/hypertrophy

5 working sets of 5min per movement, this allows for a lot of work to be done and is ideal for those that like to have a target to beat in their next session.

Example session – (Two Lifts per session)

Session 1 – Loads can be static or variable set to set
A1 – Squat 5x 5min
A2 – Inverted Row 5x 5min

Session 2 – Loads can be static or variable set to set
A1 – RDL 5x 5min (can use straps)
A2 – Dip 5x 5min

Session 3 – Loads can be static or variable set to set
A1 – Walking Lunge 5x 5min
A2 – Chin Up 5x 5min

I’d personally stick with these lifts for 3 weeks, then change the variation, but still keeping to the movement patter (push, pull, hinge, squat, etc)

Week 13 = deload and have some fun

Weeks 14-25 – Patient Lifter 5×5 – Base Strength

You take your current 5RM (or 95% of your 5RM) for your chosen lifts then perform the following reps in the first session – 5/4/3/2/1.

From here you add one rep each session, say you hip DL & Dip, session 1 would be 5/4/3/2/1 and when you come to this session for the second time this would be the reps 5/4/3/2/2, and in the third session it’d be 5/4/3/3/3. The 4th session looks like 5/4/4/3/3.

This continues until you hit 5/5/5/5/5 comfortably, at which point you would change the lifting variation.

The total amount of reps you’ll be adding is 10, so this would last roughly 10-11 weeks (based on hitting the same movement twice per week) but depending on your weekly set up it make last longer or in fact be finished much sooner however that’s up to you.

Week 26 would be another deload.

Week 27-38 – 5×5+1+1 (rest pause) – Strength Enhancement

This block and is based on the classic 5×5 but you will perform two additional reps at the end of each set in the +1 format, and this means (in my programming for this example) once you’ve done the 5th rep you rack the weight and take 3-5 deep breaths, this ought to last about 20 seconds and then you do the first additional rep and then repeat this once more.

Initially you’ll find this easy but this is where the fun begins because you’ll have the option to add load to these +1’s.

Say you just done the following 5x90kg, the +1 might be 95kg and if that goes up fast you might then go for the next +1 at 100kg. The hidden benefit to this is that you’ll be potentiating your nervous system for the next set meaning you can do the working set of 5 with more load.

A word of warning though, you don’t NEED to use more load on the +1’s every time.

I’d only add load to those when you feel strong and and 98% confident you’ll get the rep and not get pinned under the bar questioning your life choices.

Week 39 – Once more take a bit of a deload and chill.

Weeks 40-50 – H/L/M 5×5

This option will aid you in working towards a peak.

Your ‘Light’ day will be 5×5 at 70% of your 5RM
Your ‘Medium’ day will be 5×5 at 85% of your 5RM
Finally, the ‘Heavy’ day will be 5×5 at 100% of your 5RM

Oh and you only get 3 heavy days within this block, the first is in week 1 so you know what your current 5RM working load is so you can then program the L/M.

The second H day would be at week 5 to allow you to adjust the loading, and the final one at week 10 to see how much you’ve gained.

All of your other sessions will be the L/M days, these aren’t set in stone meaning you’ll be able to have perhaps multiple M days back to back because you feel strong, and when fatigue has built a L session or two will allow this to dissipate.

I’d advice a ratio of 3/1 in regards to M/L training as a starting point, you adjust this to your needs.

But there you go, a years potential training using a classic as the base.

Enjoy,
Ross

Do you even lift…. to make the demons in your head go away?

It’s no exaggeration to say that a large amount of people train to help manage mental health.

While more widely known now, it’s something that has been done for a while although despite the benefits lifting can bring to mental stability it doesn’t entirely without its own drawbacks.

Commonly people start training to look better.

Usually there is a need for external validation, respect and perhaps acceptance or the desire to attract someone of the opposite sex based on appearance (which is fair enough because looks do matter).

The issue arises when instead of aiding in mental reprieve it ends up adding to it.

Lifting demons such as body dysmorphia, imposter syndrome and many other nasties.

Speaking from my own experience, I started lift/training in the gym to improve my base strength for martial arts and to look like Bruce Lee.

The idea of being that lean and that strong was appealing, not because of what it could gain for me in regards to attention or validation form others. It was purely intrinsically driven because that was what I wanted to achieve because to me (after being influenced by martial artists like him and a similar ilk that were all lean and could fight) that was how a fighter ought to be.

Over time my attitude shifted because of achieving my goal it drew in attention.

This fed my long repressed need for respect, belonging and social validation.

Eventually it leads to more attention from the opposite sex, which I wasn’t afraid to enjoy because up until that point the only reason anyone of that ilk would look at me was to ask for something to be reached on the top shelf at a supermarket.

Sadly it causes a spiral because of the unconscious demons using this as a way to take control, but that’s a story for another day.

This post is more a word of warning.

Lifting is great for mental health, so long as it doesn’t become your ONLY way to provide yourself a sense of peace & calm because if that happens you’re on a slippery slope. Simply because if anything happens and you can’t fulfil your lifting needs in the way you feel is required you’ll start to nosedive.

Aim to have various outlets that have you restore mental clarity and peace.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being physical and because of that the majority of my own outlets are of this nature apart from reading and writing.

One last thing, it might be worth actually taking the time to be by yourself and write down what lifting does for you mentally.

You don’t need to share this with anyone, however I’d encourage you to be completely honest with yourself because when you really see the reasons (and needs) for why you do what you do, it can be not only insightful and perhaps inspiring but also a way to manage/address your deeper demons you didn’t know where there.

Enjoy,
Ross

30min is all you need to train effectively

A simple yet effective protocol I’ve been using

Set a timer for 30min in 1min intervals
Choose 1* lift
Perform a set of 2/3/5 for each respective minute

You can increase loads during this or use a static load or variable loads.

Recently I’ve been playing with this on KB clean & press.

It’s a good way to get out 100 working reps in a short amount of time while also managing fatigue and will work well with the majority of compond lifts.

*You could choose up to 5 lifts and that’d give you 20 reps per lift and you could increase loads after each set of 2/3/5.

If you want to set up a week of training, here’s an example:

Day 1 – Clean & Press
Day 2 – Chin Ups
Day 3 – Trap Bar Deadlift
Day 4 – Dips
Day 5 – Pull Ups

Simple yet effective, and if you’ve got say 35min then hitting a second movement for 2-3 sets of work to failure is a useful way to work on areas you feel need attention, or just enjoy training.

Enjoy,
Ross

Adding this one element into your training will guarantee you result.

The one thing to add?

Effort.

Many think they’re putting in enough effort, but they’re not.

I say this without hesitation because there’s often a couple of people per week without fail that ask how they can get past the point they’re at and usually these will be my first responses to gain more info.

• How’s your sleep & nutrition?
• Are you tracking your training?
• What are you not doing that you know you ought to be?

The first one is often met with a stutter and various excuses to justify eating like a child and sleeping like a teenager.

Most will say “You do you.” or something along those lines, but there’s no point in lying to you.

Poor sleep and poor nutrition will hold you back because you won’t recover properly or provide your body with what it needs to make the progress sought, but people don’t like hearing this so many will just lie instead and say what people want to hear.

As a guide you want to be hitting the sack for 8 hours, why 8?

It comes down to the levels of Deep-REM/Non-REM sleep because by only getting say 6 hours of sleep you actually end up missing out on roughly 50% of your Deep-REM sleep which stops your brain getting into those delta waves (these are very important – go research them).

Next is tracking your training.

Most don’t actually know what they’re doing and have not the slightest idea of these two crucial factors:

• Total Workload (wants to increase at a base level over time and wave up/down during blocks)
• Average Intensity (roughly between 70-80% of 1RM is where the bulk of training wants to be)

When people start tracking these they suddenly find one of this answer.

They’re doing more volume but their total workload is going down due to a low average intensity.

This means they’re spinning their wheels and just making themselves fatigued which isn’t overly useful when one is looking to improve various health/performance markers.

So if you don’t write things down you’d do well to start.

Lastly, you know what you need to be doing but aren’t.

Don’t give yourself a free pass by making excuses, simply address the issues within and stop procrastinating.

Apply the above and make a difference in your life.

Enjoy,
Ross

Win Clients & Make a Lasting Impact as a PT

(in 100 words or less)

You start by asking precisely what they want.

Now ask again but ask them to be honest.

Next learn what they’re tried before, instead of criticising/critiquing, congratulate their past efforts an ask why they feel they didn’t work (repeat this). 

Be hardy in your approbation, lavish in your praise of past efforts to build rapport. 

Showing your interested & care about them, not just their money will leave the lasting impact.

Ask them how they want you to help them & why.

Establish what they expect/want from you, confirm they’re correct in their expectation/want and ask for the business (win the client).

Enjoy,
Ross

Do you ever think about how many times you’ve been wrong?

If you’ve honestly sat and thought about it there’s a high change the answer is – more often than not.

This isn’t something that sits comfortably with a lot of people.

From an evolutionary perspective being wrong on the days of old could literally mean death because all it’d take is eating a couple of berries that didn’t agree with you or a humble mister while crossing something and you were in deep trouble.

Unlike today where most illnesses, injury and issues can be taken care of, back then this wasn’t the case.

Our body, or rather our deeply rooted nervous system hasn’t quite caught up with modern life yet.

It still keeps us very safe with highly sensitive protection mechanisms and reflexes that stop us getting into any trouble. However this doesn’t mean its always useful because if the idea of being wrong holds you back because it has you think there’s a boogyman hiding in the dark when there isn’t then you’ll not get very far in life.

Understand it’s okay to be wrong.

Especially in the wonderful world of health & fitness.

You might pick the wrong training program, the wrong nutritional approach, the wrong gym, the wrong coach.

In fact you might just be wrong in regards to all you think you know about health & fitness.

But that’s not the issue.

The issue is your ego and bodies desire for self preservation as these want to feel they’re in total and complete control of any/everything possible, and one of these elements is being ‘right’ just for the sake of being right.

Now before you start defending yourself take a moment and breathe.

What I’m saying above is true for the majority of people, although I’d even go as far as to say ALL PEOPLE at one point in their lives journey because no one is beyond reproach in this material realm.

Accept that we would rather lie to ourselves and find any which way we can be ‘right’ than face the fact that we got something wrong – I know this because of living this ironic truth.

This isn’t what some will call ‘my truth’ by the way, it’s the truth.

We all get things wrong and the sooner we can accept this is just something we will do the sooner we can learn from what we get wrong and move forwards with life unbound by the fear of looking stupid. foolish, or whatever you’re afraid of.

Accept you can be wrong (and probably are about a lot of things).

Start off by writing down 3 things you’ve been scared of admitting you were wrong about and what scares your about admitting it.

This will probably result in a short writer’s block but you know the answers, it’s merely the ego that’s stopping you. It’s okay, you’re safe, trust me and break free of this trap.

Much love
Ross

What keeps you stuck?

Is comfort, fear or perhaps the need to be right.

In my experience the answer is usually a combination of all three and linked to a deeply ingrained need to feel safe and survive and while this isn’t a bad thing it can lead to a lot of inner conflict.

We know that for the most part in this modern world we’re safe, but our body is slow to the party.

The years of evolution that created this fine organism known as the ‘human being’ is a little cautious and does all it can to ensure survival for the continued existence.

This can result in self sabotage and limitations being placed on yourself for no real tangible reason beyond what people will call is perhaps a gut feeling or intuition.

However gut feelings can be wrong, but to avoid this being the case people will go out of their way to create situations, circumstances and outcomes that fulfil that need.

Read that again.

You create the reality you’re experiencing because of your perhaps unknown need to right and not mistrust your gut feelings.

I’ve witnessed many an occasion where people said they knew something in their gut to be truth, but it wasn’t and as a result they made their own life a living hell just to convince themselves they were right and that’s a very sad existence to experience.

Although it’s also a very common one.

Ask yourself, what really stops you doing great things in this world.

Like what legitimately stops you, not just the BS of not having enough time, money or resources.

There’s people the world over and also spanning all recorded history that started out with less than nothing and created a life that would have the majority assume they started out half way there.

Not the case.

Most start out just like everyone else, with only that which they hold within.

The difference is how they choose to use what they have within and either break free of those things that roan’s real (like false feelings) and embrace this one truth – what they do is what matters.

So, what really, truly, holds you back?

“OMG. I ate a whole pizza last night it was so bad.”

Chances are you’ve heard someone say this, or perhaps you’ve said it yourself.

Usually it is said with the aim to have the listener respond along these lines – “Nah, it’s not that bad. You’ve been training hard, you deserve a treat now and again.”

Or perhaps something along the lines of – “You’ll burn it off with the amount you train.”

Basically whomever is saying it is looking for validation and the removal of any accountability and feeling os guilty/shame for making a poor choice that will keep them carrying too much body fat for their frame.

And most people will give just the response desired because they don’t want to be seen as mean.

This is a problem because it’s all bull shit.

You know it is, but so long as people validation the BS others will continue to spout as much as they possibly can and if someone takes a stand and tells the individual it wasn’t a good idea and they know it won’t help them towards their goals, said individual will be shamed for it.

That’s 2023 for you.

People are softer than light whip these days and too scared to speak the truth.

Thankfully I’m no such person. And in telling people the truth have found myself living a solitary life, which is so peaceful it’s hard to put into words some times (despite the best efforts of many to cause hassle because they hate to see people not suffering as they do).

So some words for anyone that uses the above for the purpose of becoming admonished of any guilty/shame they may feel.

Stop saying the above.

If you want to eat an entire pizza then go for it. Enjoy it and take ownership of that choice.

This will stop you using other people as emotional/rational crutches to make yourself feel better and free of those low vibration emotions you want to avoid (which could be done by not making choices that lead you to feel that way and instead make choices that have you vibrate much higher not he emotional scale).

Enjoy,
Ross

5 tips to avoid crap content online & find the diamonds in the rough

With all the content available these days.

Why should you read one post over another?

The answer…

What do you want to specifically learn?

If you want to know 5 things to look for that will allow you to avoid poor content, keep reading. If not, have a great day.

With everyone trying to make a living, you’d be forgiven to getting drawn in to some hype, if you keep an eye out for these trains in online training/nutrition content, you won’t go far wrong.

1 – They’re not selling anything directly.

2 – The author has actual experience in lifting or training people (I’d add they also walk their talk too).

3 – Any article is at least 750+ words or split in to several parts.

4 – The author is not focused on growing a social media following as their main driving factor.

5 – There is no bullshit.

If you’ve made it this far I have another tips for you.

The above is nothing more than hyperbole.

Really.

When it comes to finding good information there is not short cut or ‘5 step process’ – you simply have to read, then read some more, then perhaps listen to a podcast, then read again.

You have to learn to view things with an open mind and avoid looking for answers because most of them are never black or white, they’re almost always grey.

There’s always exceptions and so on.

Seek out knowledge, then apply what you’ve learnt, if it works, congrats, stick with it until you need to adapt or change it.

We live in a world where there always needs to be a definitive answer, this is not the most optimal way to look at things, we should want to experience, to learn, then be honest enough to admit when it’s become a task in flogging a dead horse.

Yearn to learn, feel the flow and accept you’ll need to let go.

Enjoy,
Ross