“I already knew that.”

Morning All,

It amazes me how much people already knew.

Many will come up asking for some friendly advice on perhaps nutrition, training or maybe sorting an injury and improving mobility and always give the answer of –

“Oh yea, I know that”

Often followed by –

“But what else can I do?” or “But what about XYZ”

I’m often left stood there like ‘Well, fuck me. They know as much if not more than I do, perhaps I should be hiring them’.

Yet even though people always seem, and claim they already know what to do, their overall aesthetic, performance and visual evidence often lead one to an opposing thought process.

Almost as if they don’t know…

*How suspicious.

I have a question I often come back with.

– If you know what to do, why are you not doing it?

Usually there is a plethora of excuses as to why they’re not doing what they need to be doing, yet they obviously could, if they really wanted to.

Do you know what you should be doing?

If so, why don’t you do it?

Do you really know what to do or is that perhaps a little porky pie?

I suppose that is a little unfair of me to say because it might try well be the case that people do in fact know what to do and have some crippling self esteem issues that sep them from executing the lifestyle changes they need, my apologies for being so brash.

Here is something to try.

Write down 3 things you know that you should be doing that would improve your quality of life (and fitness results too).

Now for the magic element.

Step 1: Re-read the three things you know you should be doing.

Step 2: Do them.

Step 3: Repeat steps 1 & 2 for continued results.

Give it some thought.

Enjoy,
Ross

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Is it really your body you should hate?

Do you hate your body?

You shouldn’t, it does a lot for you.

A lot of people certainly do, yet there is something that many forget when they are steeped in their loathing.

It’s not your bodies fault it is the way it is.

Honestly, for the most part it does it’s best to keep going for you, despite the excessive amount of calories you force in to it via sub optimal food choices, calorically dense beverages, or even the sleep depriving activities you subject it too.

Regardless of what you do to it, it does it’s best.

So, let us say you have a few extra lbs, who’s to blame?

Is it your body because it’s out to get you and store as much excess body fat as possible so that you have a lower value in the overall dominance hierarchy, or is it because of ‘you’?

*’you’ being mental attitude, bad habits, lifestyle choices, essentially your consciousness, you mind as it were.

Our bodies are vessels, nothing more.

We are in control of them because nothing happens without some form of thought process first (for the most part, medical exceptions that affect mental/hormonal health/perceptions of reality or control excluded).

A lot of people find it easier to blame poor genetics, a bad hand that life dealt them, basically anything else other than themselves.

You’d be surprised how many people keep their ‘genetics’ int he fridge or wine rack.

It is in everyone to take control, all you need it to look inward and honestly think for yourself for a change.

“I think, therefore I am.”

Wow, this is getting quite deep 🤔

Don’t hate your body, appreciate it because what you see aesthetically is not a reflection of a ‘naughty/bad body’ it’s a reflection of YOUR mental state, of your mind, a reflection of what we might call ‘you’.

Your body is not to blame, you are, remember that, accept it and change it.

Change your attitude and you will change your life.

Give it some thought.
Ross

Guess who’s fault it is….

Morning All,

 

There is always a decent amount of talk on here about training, occasionally there is even nutritional information.

 

All of it is based on what a great many people have done in the past and succeeded with.

 

Now before you start screaming at the screen “Everyone is different, we need to find what works for each individual”, you’d do well to keep this thought in mind.

 

– There is a high probability that you’re not special, or as unique as you think.

 

It might seem like a horrible thing for some to hear, however it is quite true.

 

For example, I have yet to see someone who doesn’t make progress on a solid 6-12months of 5×5 when programmed correctly. Or a person to not make positive body composition changes by improving food quality and keeping a food diary.

 

Yep, we all fall in to this part of the bellcurve.

 

Of course there are some people that are on the fringe and known as hyper-responders & non-responders, however for the most part I’m willing to be that’s not you.

 

Why would I make such an assumption?

 

Experience, a lot of experience.

 

If you were truly one of those you’d be easy to spot. You know the types, those who can’t lose fat regardless of what they do, or those who can’t build muscle, the ultra rare ones.

 

That’s not you, as such here are your answers if you think those are you:

 

Weight/Fat Loss not happening = you’re consuming too many calories & under stimulate your body in training, fact.

 

Weight/muscle gain not happening = you’re not consuming enough calories & under stimulate your body in training, fact.

 

Two very hard pills to swallow, even if they’re sugar coated too.

 

I get it you know. Why you want to be that exception to the rule. To be the one that truly has the world & it’s dog stacked against you, it’s easier to have that as an excuse than to accept the horrid truth; it’s your fault because you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

 

How do I know this?

 

I’ve been that person.

 

In my early teens I was that guy, the one who said “I can’t gain muscle because of my crappy ectomorphic genetics.” this, was rubbish, the truth was I simply wasn’t doing want I needed to be doing, that is also your truth.

 

Harsh, incredibly, however the sooner you accept it the sooner you’ll start making results, or you can’t continue lying to yourself, at this stage in my career of helping people I don’t care, it’s not my job to wipe your ass and pander to you.

 

After the above abuse, will yo do something? Not for me, for you.

 

Write down answer to these three questions, BE HONEST.

 

1 – What is your goal & is it truly important to you?

 

2 – Do you know the behaviours necessary to achieve what is important to you?

 

3 – Are you doing the above, if not, why not?

 

It’s time to be honest with yourself.

 

You should look in to this thoroughly.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

IMPOSTER!

When was the last time you were honest about what you wanted to achieve?

 

Like 100% honest.

 

Most these days will write goals and/or follow pursuits that they feel will please others, perhaps to increase their own social value and standing in their circle of influence, perhaps just to fit in more.

 

Regardless of what the motivator is, it seems that a great many people are just not happy on that path, possibly because it’s not the one they really want to follow.

 

We are social creatures at heart, yet we are also individual.

 

Many see things differently, many also see things the same, it might just happen to be that you’re in the wrong group and trying to keep up is just too stressful for you, as such you’ve become one of the lower ranking in your gaggle.

 

It’s not uncommon to cling on to what we have, even if it is to our detriment, it’s just how we are. Flawed, human.

 

A lot will be very scared of letting go of what they have, be that material, social or philosophical because they’ve gotten to the stage where it defines who they are, it’s part of their ‘character’ if you will.

 

Which, as with most things, can be a double sided blade.

 

If you’ve tumbled across a place you naturally fit in, you’re life will seem great, if the opposite is true there will always be an underlying stress, something you can’t put your finger on.

 

There is a technical name for it, Imposter Syndrome.

 

Yep, it’s a real thing.

 

Essentially you’re playing a part that just isn’t right for you, as such you have a low level of trait anxiety that eats away at you, eventually it all goes tits up, every single time.

 

Ask any person of an experienced age and they will tell you something along the lines of “It just wasn’t worth it.” or “Always be yourself.”.

 

To many those words are arbitrary because people so desperately want to fit in, I know, I’ve been there on the odd occasion.

 

Let me share a short story of one such time.

 

All of the people I used to train with (training partners), wanted to be ‘big & strong’ they wanted size, strength and didn’t care how they looked, now being a vain miscreant that I am this went against my nature, yet I tried to follow the crowd.

 

It didn’t last long, to me being lean, strong and athletic is top trumps. I’d rather be smaller and look good naked than bigger to only look good in clothes and shit outside of them, that’s just 100% vanity on my part.

 

Did I lose some connection with those training partners making the choice to follow my own ‘intuition’, yes, and that was okay because while ti was enjoyable training with them, they weren’t my ilk. We;re still friends, I just can’t train with them as our desires are too different.

 

A lot of people can’t do this, they need to social acceptance, even if they claim not to, they do. This is also why you’ll find people stay in shit situations in a career, they need to belong and to leave it is too hard/scary.

 

All the while they feel like an imposter, a fraud who is one slip up away from getting caught out and biblically shamed.

 

To me that’s no way to live, it’s just not worth the stress.

 

So this brings us back to the original question, when was the last time you were honest about what you wanted to achieve?

 

Give it some thought.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Fads, Excuses & Bullshit

What happened to ‘Squat Everyday’?

 

It seems another trend has died a death.

 

The life of a trend is as follows:

 

– Is it new & exciting?

 

No = it dies.

 

Yes

 

– Is it easy to understand?

 

No = it dies.

 

Yes

 

– Does it require hard work to get results?

 

No = success that will stick around because people want the easy option.

 

Yes – it dies.

 

Fads only last if they are easy and require very little effort to apply, regardless of if results are a part of the mix, it’s quite sad really.

 

The ability to tough things out has fallen dramatically over the years.

 

If it’s not easy then it can make it’s way to the pile with all the other things people don’t have time for now because all that a great many want is the next new & exciting thing.

 

How many times have you given up and blamed it on the program, the nutrition protocol or some other factor that wasn’t yourself?

 

Many is the answer I’m guessing.

 

In a world of ever changing potential inconsistencies we are the only thing that is in every equation, as such shouldn’t there be a tad more attention and accountability put on ourselves, rather than just shifting the blame to anything or everything else?

 

Do this for yourself, it may highlight some interesting things for you.

 

1 – Write down your most common excuses or reasons for failure.

 

2 – Write down why they happen and then how you can overcome them.

 

3 – Look at what you’ve written and see your problems for what they are, excuses on paper that you already have in your head as to why you can’t succeed and not actual problems.

 

It is common for us to create issues and barriers that stand in our way, so much so that by doing the above you will see how many you already have that aren’t even in the way yet.

 

These excuses make it easier for people to believe that more often than not they are not the problem.

 

Of course somethings can’t be helped, however for the majority we just use them as a convenient reason not to do what we need to be doing, that’s a fact.

 

Learn to overcome your own bullshit and watch your life change for the better.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

‘AND’

I’m sure you’ve heard of this classic phrase –

 

“Quality & Quantity”

 

Notice that whenever it is uttered there is a key word that isn’t changed.

 

– AND –

 

Meaning you need both elements to be successful in a chosen endeavour.

 

It’s never been ‘quality or quantity’, that’s just illogical.

 

This is where you find people who champion one or t’other don’t seem to make much headway, essentially because they’re missing 50% of the equation, that’s a lot to miss.

 

Let us look at nutrition for the example –

 

We can all agree that for optimal health you need a high quality of foods, right?

 

Now there are plenty who say that the quality of food is all that matters and while I personally agree quality it a high priority for a lot of people, the quantity needs to be addressed as well.

 

This being said….

 

If you address the quality you will find the quantity drops as a happy side effect because you can only consume so much nutrient dense, high quality food before you start to feel uncomfortably full.

 

Now this type of food would be things such as lean meats, vegetables, fruits, essentially non-processed or man-made/store bought foods.

 

So things such as peanut butter/nut butters wouldn’t be in here.

 

Despite what the media may say, they’re not that great for you because they can easily be over consumed leading to quite a large calorie surplus, thus no potential shift in body composition or weight.

 

The thing with such thoughts is that is goes against people principles, values, beliefs and biases, which is often he case what ‘best practice’.

 

People want what they want.

 

As such they will see out things that confirm what they want (bias), then wonder why they still look the same or worse than they used too.

 

You can also think of this in terms of ‘Product & Production Capacity’.

 

Product – what you want.

 

Product Capacity – what you must do to achieve/sustain the desired product.

 

Yep, to achieve a specific goal you have to do and then adhere to specific criteria.

 

Of course you can let it revert, however you will then forfeit the basic principle of specificity and get something different in return. This is what you may consider a fundamental law.

 

So tell me, how much of the above do you think about & more importantly, how much of the above do you apply?

 

Leave your thoughts/questions below.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

5 Things you can learn from labourers.

Especially those of the past (before the endless red tape came in to play), you know the ones, they seem have that coveted ‘old man strength’ or ‘dad strength’ as some call it.

 

These are they type of people that have never visited a gym, ever, yet they are in reasonably good shape, which might be a bit better if they laid of the beer.

 

That said, they are often strong, stupidly strong, not to mention durable and just mentally tough too.

 

A far cry from he modern desk jockey of today.

 

We’d be silly not to pay homage to these people and their work ethic as we can learn a lot from them.

 

So, let’s see what little gems we can find amongst the dirt and rubble.

 

1 – Work capacity is important.

 

Take for example the necessity to shift a few tonnes of gravel or slate in the space of a day.

 

You’re not going to be able to do this without having the following: Strength Endurance, General CV Endurance, Mental Fortitude.

 

Not to mention shifting it isn’t an option, it’s a must, that helps too.

 

2 – The muscle in the back of your body are important.

 

Look at anyone who works in a physical capacity and you will find that most of them usually have a decent set of muscle through their posterior chain.

 

This is due to a lot of loaded carries, full/partial deadlifts, holding things close to their chest and pulling things towards them and/or putting them on their shoulders (like a rope, buckets, barrels etc).

 

Without a strong back they wouldn’t be much good on site.

There were also many times where something would need to be picked up from the floor and put overhead too, without the use of equipment, all day long as well. Talk about a full body workout.

 

3 – They do what they HAVE to, no pissing or whinging.

 

Well, some whinge however they still crack on in the end, after a tea break or 5.

 

Do what is needed, simple.

 

4 – Cast iron grip strength.

 

Have you ever shook the hand of a mechanic or someone who constantly works with their hands?

 

God damn… It’s like a vice.

 

Once the have hold of something that’s pretty much it, they’re not letting go unless they have too.

 

Have you ever shifted tonnes of dirt in a wheel barrow all day?

 

(It’s essentially a day of partial deadlifts and farmers walks)

 

It’s grudging and apart form a strong back, traps, glutes and legs you need some major grip strength/endurance because without it you’ll fall behind and find yourself out of work.

 

5 – Repeatedly lifting Sub-Maximal loads build muscle.

 

You see some labourers that are giants, other not so much.

 

So why is this?

 

What is the difference between the two?

 

Some would say genetics, and they’re not entirely wrong, however knowing a great many people in this field I can tell you the MAIN difference is the sheer amount of FOOD they consume.

 

Those that eat like little mice, become lean, strong and robust, where are those that eat like elephants become sizeable, strong and look physically quite dominant.

 

This is all caused by a combination of the repeated bout effect (lifting sub max loads often) and of course calories consumed.

 

So there you have it.

 

People in the past were just stronger due to the physical nature of their lives – true for both men & women.

 

Keep that in mind.

 

5 things you can learn from labourers and hopefully apply.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

Physical Culture

These days it doesn’t take much to make a change, not really.

We have endless options at our disposal in the realm of physical culture, yet many still don’t see any value in it.

The classic excuses come out and one of the main reasons for this is because that in each persons social circle they may indeed not need to do anything as they could be the big fish int heir small pond.

They might be the fittest, leanest, strongest, and so on.

Yet the second they step out of this place they are hit by anxious thoughts, often they will say “I don’t like X, people are too judgemental their.”.

I can tell you one truth, no one really gives a shit about what you’re doing, not really – especially in the gym.

As a people we should always be looking to better ourselves, may won’t, however perhaps they should.

Let us say in your group you are top dog, this is all well and good, especially for your ego, however it’s not conducive to progress.

If you are top dog it might be time to leave your current social circle and find a better one, a tougher one that will force you to start at the bottom again.

This goes for business and a great many other things too.

One sure fire way to light a fire under your ass is to find people that are better than you, never be content with being the dominant force, always be the once chasing because it will keep you sharp, hungry and most importantly, humble.

Or don’t, the choice is yours.

Enjoy,
Ross

Three important lessons you can learn from athletes & apply them to your life.

Morning all,

 

It’s fair to say we admire athletes.

 

Not simply for the way they can bring people together with their astonishing achievements or world record breaking efforts, it’s also because they’re humans, just like us.

 

They might be faster, stronger, more dedicated and generally better in every aspect, however they’re still human 😂

 

As such here are three things you can take away from them and apply to your life for the better.

 

1 – They do what they need to do regardless of how they feel.

 

Athletes don’t make excuses, not really, they just get on with the task as hand, unlike you.

 

Nothing stands in their way of achieving their goal, now before you start saying “I have a job, house etc etc”, did you know that until they make it BIG, so do they.

 

The difference is that they kept moving forwards, even when life problems cropped up, they still struggled on.

 

This is a lesson you’d do well to listen to and apply.

 

2 – They always have a plan.

 

Now this plan might not be of their of imagination, it might be something of a coaches/mentors design.

 

The point is this, the have one and as such also have answers for when the plan starts to fall apart or needs adapting.

 

Average people don’t have a plan, they try and wing it, unsuccessfully I might add.

 

If you can’t create a plan yourself, don’t stress, ask someone for help, get yourself a mentor/coach, in the long run it will be worth it, trust me.

 

If you want people to put their faith in you, you must also eb willing to put your faith in others.

 

3 – There is only the next mission.

 

Now I could have used the word goal, however goal is meek because everyone has a goal, several in fact, of which many go unachieved.

 

Athletes have a mission, one that is fuelled by a passion and drive that is above and beyond what many can comprehend.

 

They just do things because it’s just what they do.

 

It’s all they know.

 

Taking a page out of this book and developing your own indomitable spirit is something that would benefit you in a multitude of ways ranging from more conviction in your decisions to an unwavering resolve to stick with something, for better or worse.

 

If you take these simple lessons and apply even on to your life, you’ll be several steps ahead of a great many people, just have some faith in yourself and do it.

 

Bonus lesson – They know when enough is enough.

 

Now it would be great to think that we can overcome any limitation, any barrier, break any & all plateaus, however that is just not true, it’s a fools dream.

 

This also relates to being at the top too.

 

Even the worlds best athletes know they have limits that they will not exceed, this is where they have a large support network of coaches, mentors, friends and close family to help them see the perspectives that they might be blind to themselves.

 

Sometimes a dream might just not be in your grasp, however that doesn’t mean you give up entirely, you just accept that enough is enough and rather than giving up, you refocus and look towards the next mission.

 

You might be the one to do it all and change the world, even with such an achievement there will be a limit to how long you can stay their, int he end you will need to accept enough is enough and step down.

 

Just like a world champion that retires so the new blood can come through, they don’t disappear, they just change their place in the play and become the mentor/coach.

 

Giving up never did anyone any good, however neither did trying to achieve something that was never in their reach to begin with or holding on to a glory longer than they should.

 

Learn to accept what is, what isn’t and what will never be.

 

Smile at these things, embrace or let them go.

 

All glories must fade, enjoy them while you can and let go when you must.

 

Enjoy,

Ross

8 Tips to help improve your deadlift.

Some call this the King of lifts.

 

Whether you think this deserves that title of perhaps the Snatch, Clean & Jerk or Squat are better suited to it, we can all agree that there is nothing most satisfying that hoisting a hefty weight off the floor to a solid lock out.

 

It’s a truly great feeling.

 

If you’ve hit a bit of a plateau with yours, here are some tips to help you hit some new numbers 🙂

 

1 – Film yourself

 

Ideally you want to get all of your lifts on camera, that way you can make sure your form is on point.

 

2 – Get a stronger grip

 

People will complain that their grip give out, this is cool and means that they can work on it.

 

Adding in Farmers Walks with your bodyweight (50% each hand) for 10 sets of 15-30 seconds (rest double the time you did) 2-3 times per week will fortify this fingers of yours.

 

3 – Reset every rep

 

No bouncing of any deadlift.

 

Ideally place the bar down, step away, step back in, set up again and lift, repeat for your desired amount of reps.

 

This is a great way to groove your set up form and makes for some interesting sets of 5.

 

4 – Add front squats/pause FS to your training

 

These have a nice carry over effect to deadlifts because you have to stay tight and hold posture to make the lift, especially the pause variations.

 

Aim for 15-25 reps in a session, capping the reps per set limit at 3, so that might be 8×3, 12×2, 5×3, 15×1, and so on.

 

5 – Super slow eccentrics

 

You deadlift as normal, while fusing on keeping your form a solid and tight as possible.

 

Next hold the bar at the top for 5 seconds, then proceed to lower over the next 10 seconds, do singles only for this and use anywhere from 50-70% of your max weight you can hit with solid form.

 

Easy on paper, ridiculously hard in practice.

 

6 – Remember the deadlift is a hinge

 

If you watch good pullers they have the following in common:

 

– Almost vertical shin at set up and second part of the pull

– Hips just higher than knees, shoulders just higher than hips

– They push the floor away

– They push their hips forwards

– They keep the bar close

– Tension is not lost at any point in the set up or the lift

 

A lot of people try to squat a deadlift, as such the squat it off the floor (badly), then continue to back extend the weight he rest of the way up and wonder why they hurt themselves.

 

Here is a great little resource explaining this (it’s easier to watch than read):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL2RAFOa1CE

 

Your DL might take a hit in terms of numbers lifted while you re-pattern, however it will be worth it in the end.

 

7 – Strengthen your back

 

This might seem obvious however you’d be surprised how many people put most of their training focus in to pressing and wonder why they have a crap pull.

 

Bent over rows, pull ups, pull downs (various grips), single arm rows, bear hug carries, face pulls, reverse flies are only a few examples of back exercises, make sure you get in some solid volume for your back and make it grow.

 

You’ll also find the bigger your back is the better at pressing you become as your back is responsible for stabilising you and the stronger it is, the stronger human being you will be.

 

8 – Stop chasing weight

 

Kind of a contradiction to this entire post, yet a very relevant one.

 

Time in the gym is meant for BUILDING STRENGTH, not testing it.

 

Many are guilty of testing too often in the gym and wonder why they never make progress.

 

Ego must be left at the door. If you can pull 5 plates, that’s great just don’t think you have to pull 5 plates every time you’re in the gym otherwise people will think you’re weak, they won’t, they don’t care about what you lift, trust me.

 

In the gym sticking between 70-85% of your max is more than enough to help you build some impressive strength and avoid snapping yourself up.

 

If you need to lift some big weights for instagram do what most of those who are famous on it do and buy some fake weights for your videos, simple 😂

 

There you have it, 8 tips to help you improve your deadlift.

 

Obviously don’t try to do them all at once.

 

Enjoy,

Ross