The End of Six Weeks

He impressed everyone with his

abilities first, his physique second.

Why did I do this series?

I like to share information that can be applicable to anyone and that can be of use, especially if I'm able to adapt it to the world of fitness. My lab work presented such an opportunity.

I began lifting roughly five years ago. My goal was to optimize my gains as best I could by being as efficient as possible in the weight room. To learn what worked and what didn't involved a lot of experimentation, meaning new methods, exercises, and the like - anything to get better. I rarely compared myself to others around me or thought I would look awkward trying something different.

With regards to lifting, it hasn't been until the last year or so I've become more refined in my thinking process. The bulk of my years I was hardly strong nor knowledgeable on the topic, but still curious to try new methods.

During these past few years conversations about exercise with others would come up. Never have I had so many conversations where people felt insecure on a subject to the point of absurdity based on nonsensical fears instilled. A number of them waste time and end up feeling dejected and hopeless about their goals thinking it should be a torturous journey.

Women stick to their little corner away from any men using the paperweight dumbbells, guys quiver at other guys more muscular than them, while others are too scared to touch the weights at all and stick to their turtle-paced treadmill.

I have a different experience where I enjoy myself with weights, my body, and my performance achieving what I set out for. I enter the gym, enjoy my time lifting, and leave happy when it's all said and done. The only worry I ever have is "will I have to wait to use the squat rack today?"

I wish others the same. Goals are achievable and it doesn't have to be a horrendous experience.

"Research your own experiences for the truth, absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own." - Krishnamurti

Be your own person, be confident, and most importantly: be happy.

Lift like you mean it
and enjoy it.

Iron Resiliency, Session 6: Prioritization & Planning

A cleaner desk leads to better planning.
It was much worse a few days ago.

To recap the last five weeks,

Session 1: There is a cause for certain thoughts we have leading to how we feel.
Session 2: The thoughts can be formed in a way where we unjustly blame ourselves.
Session 3: Mistakes are exaggerated and we tend to focus on one detail or worry about things we cannot change as opposed to the ones we can change.
Session 4: How we handle dealing with people close to us.
Session 5: Learning effective communication is key in explaining your goals to others and closely examining them yourself.

In today's penultimate post of Iron Resiliency we'll be discussing prioritization.

What's more frustrating than doing work to gain nothing? The time used is long gone and could have been put towards something more productive or worthwhile. This brings up two questions.

Always ask, "where am I pouring your efforts?" and "am I setting myself up for success?"

• Fat loss: Are you doing too much of the wrong kind of exercise? Running all the time? Or are you not tightening up your diet?

• Hypertrophy: Are you incorporating enough compound movements? Is there adequate recovery and caloric intake?

• Strength/Performance: Is your training designed to reflect your goal(s)? Emphasis on volume-based work can prove detrimental.

For any fitness-related goal, are you looking at the big picture outside of your workouts? Does your lifestyle reflect what you're aiming for? Is there some way you're keeping yourself accountable?

By developing a sound plan and adhering to it you'll be able to track your own progress.

Developing a rough general plan then proceeding to break it up into smaller parts gives you a better understanding of how to tailor it accordingly. In turn you can micromanage everything and step back to see how it affects the goal at hand.

1) State your goal and compare it to what you're currently doing.

2) Work backwards from your goal and plan accordingly. List your changes.

3) Have a clear picture of each step. Does it make sense?

4) Step back and look at what you've created.

To illustrate this method, I'll go through an example of my own I'm implementing. I have to drop a few pounds for an upcoming strongman competition because I'm too close for comfort to the next weight class up.

1) I need to lose fat while retaining muscle. Before deciding this, my diet was to gain weight.

2) Since fat loss is the plan I need to alter my meals. Before I was relying on nuts to bump up my shakes' calories, going large on portions, and eating more carbs than were needed - such as oatmeal for breakfast.

I'll reduce nuts in my shakes, add more protein & veggies to meals, eat until I'm content (not stuffed), and replace my breakfast with eggs, veggies, and green tea to burn more calories.

3) Reducing the items I used to gain weight would knock my calories down. Providing more protein and veggies will minimize muscle loss. Eliminating useless fillers - extra carbs - also will reduce my caloric intake. So far it makes sense.

4) By reducing calories in a few key areas I've made a caloric deficit in my diet to achieve fat loss.

Breaking apart a large plan into more manageable steps makes it easier to tackle.

Now, I mentioned in session one I'd create a month long program for the end of the series and I've done just that.

Here's a straightforward program anyone can follow - intermediate experience recommended - to really kick up their confidence in the gym.

Session 1
1) Trap bar or sumo stance deadlift
2) Barbell supinated (underhand) rows from floor*
3) Weighted dips
4) Front squat holds

Sets & reps
1) 6 x 2
2) 3 x 4
3) 3 x 4
4) 3 x 20s

*If using less than 135lbs. and no bumper plates are available, perform in the squat rack with the bar resting on the safeties in the first hole from the bottom.

Session 2
1) Any variation of the back squat that isn't the back squat [front, Zercher, overhead, box, pins, etc.]
2) Weighted neutral grip pull-ups (preferably shoulder-width)
3) Barbell front or behind the neck push press
4) Vertical Pallof press

Sets & reps
1) 6 x 2
2) 3 x 4
3) 3 x 4
4) 3 x 20s per side

Rest: 2 minutes between sets.

NOTE: For exercise #1 in either session, if you're familiar with ramping sets and prefer it then feel free to go that route.

Be sure to have at least two days of rest between each session. And to make it progressively more difficult I'll direct readers to the progression outlined here. (Or you can just add weight every week, taking the 4^th week off as a deload.)

Why is it created like this? It's short, but full of big compound movements with a low-volume scheme allowing the trainee to work with very heavy weights. Additionally since the body is strong at most of these variations the movements will be particular easy if using only a moderate weight.

Take for instance the deadlift: With the exception of a rack pull, most people can pull more weight either using a trap bar or with a sumo stance.

In other cases, the movement is meant to take the trainee a bit out of their comfort zone (i.e., vertical Pallof press). Or it may be a combination of the two factors - weighted dips or front squat holds.

In any case, everyone in the gym will be staring at your beastliness. Near the end of this week I'll post a formal conclusion expressing my thoughts on the series and why I wrote it.

And with that, so comes an end to Iron Resiliency. I hope it was an enjoyable six weeks for those who stuck around. Thanks for reading.

Iron Resiliency, Session 5: Staying Focused

It's easy to be focused
when you stay calm.

Tackling a situation when you're emotionally-charged is one of the worst ways to handle a situation. If your feelings are all over the place, especially at the extreme ends, your actions tend to be more erratic. Whether sad or angry in the heat of the moment, you're less likely to be accountable for whatever you do.

However, it's also a problem if you're not getting it off your chest. Repeatedly going over it in your head doesn't make you feel better and neither does it fix the problem. Fortunately, there's a middle ground to utilize.

Most times we need someone who will listen when we talk. That can be a family member, friend, significant other, or anyone who will give us the time and just listen. As helpful as it is, the conflict still remains unresolved.

I said last week if you have a conflict with someone you know then you should speak to them. We can do it in a specific manner that's structured enough where it won't (a) worsen the situation and (b) lead to another argument. This will allow you to defend your own goals as well making the other person more receptive to your efforts.

1) Let the argument/confrontation cool off. Go do something and give it a day or two before you return to the subject. When you're not hot-headed, return to converse.

2) Go over what happened in your eyes and why it bothered you. They may have not seen it like that from their own point of view.

3) Tell the other person how you felt by what occurred. If they know you're serious and they truly stepped their bounds unknowingly, they'll be more understanding.

4) Describe your goals and what your plan is to achieve them. If they're genuinely interested, they can help and take a proactive role in your endeavors.

5) List the benefits of your goal(s). Improved self-esteem? Better health? Stronger? What is it and why is it important to you?

Sometimes people jump the gun on their judgments and their tongue may slip resulting in a fight.

It happens.

But we shouldn't carry ourselves in a bad mood for the rest of the time. It isn't conducive to a good relationship and it doesn't help our own well-being. Take a stance, be mature, and state what's going on. Talking in a calm collected manner is better received than yelling at another person.

If there's one thing that always helps it's effective communication.

Next week I'll finish up with the final session, include a program to bolster confidence, and have a conclusion near the end of the week.

Iron Resiliency, Session 4: Social Network Conflict

Yeah because everyone's this friendly.

(And yes, this is a day late)

Family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, you name it. They all get on our nerves at one time or another. And when is it really aggravating? When you're very compliant with your training goals.

Diet and exercise are intimately connected with your body. What you do to your body also reflects how you feel about it. If you're in poor shape and begin changing your habits or simply have an affinity towards taking care of yourself, that should always be commended.

Unfortunately, has there ever been an instance where someone commented, questioned, or remarked in a manner which was putting down your own efforts? It's not very encouraging when you're busting your behind.

Now, how do you handle this? What if it's occurred with more than one individual? Does it make you wrong? Are you truly wasting your time? Even more importantly, can you never change your body?

CERTAINLY NOT!

Ask yourself this, what do they know? The executive at Kodak once said digital cameras would never become popular. I wonder how that person became an executive. In the previous installment I said consistency is important in determining your success so shake off the negative Nancies.

Never thought I'd get
to use this image on the blog.

But obviously we can't avoid our loved ones that easily. A few strategies you can employ are:

• Don't discuss that subject of your life with them. If they can't respect it, they definitely do not deserve to hear about it.

• Talk to a friend who does understand you. Better yet, find an online forum community where members keep logs. Precision Nutrition's userbase has an entire section for everyone to detail their progress and encourage others. Bottom line: Find support.
  

• Blow them away with your results. Actions speak louder than words. It may take time, but they'll keep quiet after they see you.

• Speak to them about it. (More on this next week.)
  

What you shouldn't do:

• Get into a pointless argument where you won't change their narrow-mindedness.

• Admit defeat by accepting what they say as truth.
  

I believe social support isn't completely necessary when working toward your goals, but it goes a long way and is immensely helpful.

It doesn't have to be nor it shouldn't be difficult.

"First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
then they fight you, then you win." - Gandhi*

Four sessions down and two to go folks!

*This quote probably isn't appropriate with a picture like the one above.

Iron Resiliency, Session 3: Being Realistic

Calm down and relax.

So far, we've taken a look at the cause of negative thoughts and how to confront these inaccuracies. Today, we'll go a step further and reduce the anxiety they bring us.

Most often, when we stray away from perfection and our plan - whether it be in missing a training session or leniency in diet - we tend to be exceptionally hard on ourselves and unfortunately not forgiving enough. Feeling guilt is acceptable, but the after effect is trying to compensate by tightening up the diet even more than before or training continuously with inadequate periods for rest and recovery.

Reductio ad absurdum (Latin for "to reduce to the absurd") is the method of a pushing an argument to its very end until its illogical and becomes invalid - almost akin to disproving itself. Being realistic will serve the same purpose for our own choices.

In order to truly be realistic, there are two other things to do first, which are:

1) Imagine the worst possible outcome.

2) Imagine the best possible outcome.

For instance, take a person training for fat loss to slim down. Hypothetically, what if this person indulges one evening and has a few foods not on their diet menu? While they may feel shameful about their actions, it isn't all gloom and doom.

Doom says,
"You dare eat cake?!"

Let's run through the worst possible outcome.

• You ate a meal with too many calories.
• Because you overate, your weight went up.
• Feeling dejected, you decide to binge.
• Binging has made you balloon up and your weight to skyrocket.
• You've gained so much weight you are no longer able to do many of your previous activities.
• Since your appearance has changed significantly, you're left single with less hopes of finding someone than before.
• The severe weight gain has caused a host of other problems, such as increased blood pressure & cholesterol and put you at a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes.
• Overweight and depressed, you spend the rest of your days alone unhappy until your premature death.
  

It sounds bad, but I did say the worst possible outcome. It's time to lighten the mood and see the best possible outcome.

• You ate a meal with too many calories.
• Surprisingly, you've dropped a pound. The cheat meal served as a small break from your disciplined eating.
• Invigorated by your hard work, you attack your final phase of fat loss with enthusiasm.
• Shedding those final pounds of fat, you've sculpted your dream body.
• You've done such a great job an agent is impressed by your figure and offers you a modeling job.
• As a model, you meet an equally sexified model and get married.
• Together you both make millions of dollars and become the most famous models internationally living happily ever after.
  

But realistically? You'll overeat and your weight may fluctuate slightly if at all. A single meal won't significantly impact your body composition.

The goal of these explanations was to illustrate how absurd our imaginations can run wild when we overreact to minor situations. In reality, the most likely items to occur are the second or third bullet points. The later possibilities are very unlikely to come true.

It is also important to note that problems tend to have more than a single contributing factor, but we narrowly focus on one. Likewise, we may worry excessively on variables not within our control and ignore things we can change. Attention should be addressed to the things we can change!

Consistent behaviors will determine how successful you will be in achieving your goals. Some questions to ask yourself are:

- Are you making adjustments to your diet or behaviors to allow maximal recovery, muscle growth, and/or fat loss?
- Has your training become progressively difficult for adaptation to take place?
- Outside of your training, have you been sitting on your butt all day or being active?

Remember, the whole picture is important. One moment is not equivalent to an entire experience.

Take it easy. More in session 4 next week.

Iron Resiliency, Session 2: Challenging the Misconceived

Pause and think for a moment.

Last week I discussed certain thoughts we have about ourselves exist because of our own behaviors or because of externally situated factors that are part of the surrounding environment. As a result, these views determine our mood. Today we'll shatter those faulty notions.

The best strategy to employ is to attack the root of the problem: thoughts. Changing our thoughts alters the process and creates a different frame of mind for how we feel. While feeling bad once in a while may occur, it's crucial to realize the problem affecting us.

To do so, recognizing our thoughts will play a large role. One underlying aspect of our thoughts is how we identify with them. They can be classified as always/always me and not always me thoughts.

- The former category makes us assume that constant flaws are inherent to our character and cannot be changed. Consequently, we may give up prematurely instead of being proactive to better the situation.

- The latter group is about our behavior or feelings which can be changed. We look at the context of the scenario that contributed to the current event.

Consider the following example to better understand the differences between the two. Say one day you had a bad squat workout.

The always me thought might be, "I suck at squats" whereas the not always me thought could be "My squats weren't good today because my knees were caving in."

• The always me thought doesn't provide any reasoning within the general statement itself.

• The not always me thought allows understanding for what went wrong and gives you the chance to improve in the future (by pushing knees your outwards).

If you constantly find yourself being bombarded by always me thoughts, there is a way to tackle them. Because always me thoughts do not specify any point in time, we can use that to our advantage.

Simply gauge past performance and behavior to tear down the misconception. The one thought shouldn't be allowed to blanket an entire experience and dictate it nor should it predict future abilities.

If you've squatted well in the past, then you really don't suck at squats. Having one cheat meal doesn't diminish your entire diet. On the contrary, you've demonstrated your own discipline and willpower to maintain a nourishing lifestyle.

Thoughts happen in an instant, but they can be wrong. In the heat of the moment, a general statement can be an inaccurate observation of the entire self. Instead, it should be reevaluated and if it makes sense when compared to prior accomplishments.

Not every workout will be good and every meal won't be perfect. You won't be at peak levels all the time. However, it's important to understand one bad moment doesn't represent all moments.

It would be more conducive to your training and pursuing your goals if you don't let the small things bother you. As Lance Armstrong says,

"I take nothing for granted. I now have only good days or great days."

Make an effort to have only good or great days in your training.

And that concludes today's session. With that strategy in the bag, we'll keep it rolling next week with session 3. Stick around folks!

Iron Resiliency, Session 1: Perceptions

Is the left or right
the Photoshopped girl?

In previous posts, I've mentioned mentality is half the battle when it comes to exercise. Thoughts can influence actions to a great degree, but thoughts are internally situated [the self] and there is always more at work - namely the countering external variable [the environment]. Both factors give rise to the perceptions in our mind, but what causes them in the first place?

Self-Caused Perceptions

• Indirectly caused by your own actions.

• A bad session in the gym can inadvertently bring your own mood down because you didn't perform as well as you expected OR if you decided to skip working out altogether, you may come to regret it later (perhaps even to an excessive degree).

• With respect to diet, poor food choices or restraint in your eating can also cause guilt. The question is, "is it appropriate?" There's a difference between one slice of cake once a month versus an entire box of Twinkies once a week.

Environment-Caused Perceptions

• Typically outside of your own control.

• Comparing yourself to someone else either based on body image, performance, or ideas/beliefs.

• Does seeing someone with the figure you want make you feel inferior? Is there a justifiable reason to compare yourself to someone else? Should a reason even be warranted to compare yourself to another person?
  

• An example in the second category [performance], you see a person - of similar build to your own - squat your working weight for their warm-up. To see another person toss around what you worked hard with isn't exactly reassuring to your own efforts.

• Do media sources affect you? Such as celebrities or models on magazine covers. The popularized bodies of Brad Pitt in Fight Club or Spartans in 300 are part of a job. They had to become qualified, by improving their physique, in order to earn their income. Most people's incomes aren't dependent on their physical appearance.

• How your social circle interacts with the approach you take toward your goals [more on that in session 5] OR others' beliefs imposed on your own. If a girl starts weight training only to be told by her gal pals (who of course aren't in shape themselves) she'll bulk up. She should instead run multiple times a week despite hearing otherwise. Does that mean she's wrong?
  

It's important to note these behaviors, dependent or independent of yourself, plant certain thoughts in your head which in turn affect how you feel about yourself. They tend to revolve around on your own actions and from our environment by comparison to others in various aspects (image, performance, and beliefs).

You have to be able to detect your self getting caught in these "mind traps" and recognize it before it gets the best of you. Can you remember a time you were hard on yourself for one of the above reasons? Can you explain why it bothered you?

Even if there was a moment you felt guilty, one moment doesn't speak for all your past experiences. One slice of cake isn't a big deal if you've been keeping yourself in check the last few weeks. Someone squatting more than you doesn't undo all your hard work. Progress isn't overnight and look back at how far you've come along.

Much like the rest of life, you should expect a few bumps along the road as travel to your destination [the goal]. The important thing to do is continue forward unabated.

And that folks concludes the first session. Next week in session 2, we'll go a bit more in-depth to challenge negative thoughts. Also I've decided to write up a month long program for the series' conclusion.

But I'll explain more on that when we get there. Until next time!

A bump for Zach Krych

An Introduction to Life Skills

At first I was going to title this post, "An Introduction to Growing Cohones."

Part of the work I do for my psych lab entails running a Life-Skills Program [based off the Penn Resiliency Program]. Specifically, I partner up with another research assistant to visit a middle school and teach two small groups of 7^th graders life skills, allowing the children to - as it says on my résumé - better regulate and understand their attitudes, behaviors, and emotions.

According to the World Health Organization life skills are defined as,

"Abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life."¹

Since this series is titled Iron Resiliency, we can't proceed further if we're not familiar with resiliency. In my own words, I would succinctly define it as the ability to handle challenges and being strong-minded. I'll be adapting my lab's program to the weight trainee's experience, which includes behaviors, thoughts, their social network, and prioritization to name a few points of the upcoming discussion.

The program is composed of eight sessions, but I'll be writing six sessions and a conclusion. I've decided to cut out a small portion of the material because it's not completely necessary to include in the series.

Like last time, I'll do one post every Tuesday with it following this schedule:

Session 1 - 1/11/11
Session 2 - 1/18/11
Session 3 - 1/25/11
Session 4 - 2/1/11
Session 5 - 2/9/11
Session 6 - 2/16/11

The session titles will be revealed when the posts themselves are published each Tuesday. Additionally I'll still do one post towards the end of each week, albeit shorter and less intensive.

With that being said, drop by Tuesday to see session 1 for yourself.

¹ UNESCO, http://portal.unesco.org/education/en//ev.php-URL_ID=36637&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Source: Wikipedia