I have been a little busy of late and honestly have been slacking off on doing these lately, so I apologize for my lack motivation. Let’s jump right into it though

Should we train for looks or performance? I would almost always say 100% without a doubt that you should always train for performance. In my opinion, training for performance allows you to set real concrete goals and work toward that goal.

I do believe there is a large problem with training for looks, well unless you are a legit body builder and are going to step on stage, that’s a different game. However, for the general public that wants to train, training for looks is a pretty depressing and fruitless indeavor, and it’s a mindset that can really suck you in. This way of training doesn’t produce anything but body dismorphea and an unhealthy eating disorder.

Let me explain, i do not think ever in my time doing this have I ever met somebody that is 100% happy with the way they look including myself. It’s always something, and in many instances it can vary from day to day. Which to me, means that it’s subjective, subjective on your mental state, subjective on other people’s opinions of what bodies are supposed to look like. The other thing is bodies vary so widely, genetically, on what they can look like. So, you see somebody that you want to look like in a magazine or on social media, and it may be absolutely impossible for you to look like that. That can really effect your mental state.

Instead though, training for performance, is the best, funnest and most engaging way to train in my opinion. It can vary widely on goals and can change and grow based on your interest. Maybe, your a guy that wants to hit a 225lbs bench press. Put a plan together and smash it. Once you get there, maybe it’s 20 strict pull ups, or a double body weight back squat. The ideas are almost infinite and in many cases can build off of each other making you increasingly better after reaching each goal.

Other great thing about training this way is that the body will just naturally come with it. If you focus on making your physique stronger then usually it will increasingly be a better physique. Feeling physically strong can be one of the most empowering things, and is a status symbol that can be powerful because it can never be bought, it just takes a lot of hard work.

Train hard, make less excuses.

It’s been a while since I’ve wrote anything, and maybe that’s a good thing, but I have been thinking a lot lately and wanted to get some ideas out.

” We are all equally insignificant,” I don’t remember exactly where I heard this but I know it was not my original thought. However, I really believe this and it’s not a bad thing in my eyes or a demeaning thing. I think it is a really good mental exercise though.

I know this doesn’t have a lot to do with physical training out right, but it can definitely be used to establish a good mentality for training or any other venture in life. I try to think of the vastness of the people on the planet. So many people, doing so many things right, with different beliefs and different norms. Just about all of them have no idea I’m a person and if I was gone tomorrow it wouldn’t effect there life one bit. Now you could do this exercise with everyone on the planet and the answers almost always going to be the same right down to your next door neighbor or your best friend.

I know this is kind of morbid, but think about it, if you died tomorrow your neighbor might come to your house and pay their respects but other than that, they are going to go to work and raise their family and carry on with their lives and that’s not a bad thing, you would do the same thing if they died. I hope I’m not losing everybody yet, it gets better. This works with anyone, think about influential people that you hold in high regard, and if they die? Are things going to change drastically for you? I’ve done this exercise a lot, and almost always the answer is no if I really think about it.

Now I’m not talking about the emotional toll losing a loved one can have on a person, I’m merely talking about in the grand scheme of the world functioning, nobody really has anymore worth than anybody else.

This is my point, worth is not really relative, the only person it is relative to is ourselves when we get in our own heads. Whether we think we are worth more or less than other people, its all wrong.

Self worth is where it is at for me, and the more I work hard and fix my flaws the better I feel about myself. That can turn you into a contributor, our contributions are what last, it might just be to the people closest to us, but that’s okay with me.

This can also help in training, because if we are all insignificant then nobody has a leg up on anyone else it’s going to have to be all about hard work and dedication and no excuses. It’s also good to remember when you are at work, I always remind myself that I am replacable, somebody can definitely do my job, so I try to work hard to keep my job as secure as possible. It’s fuel to be better. Try it.

That’s all I got today.

Train hard, make less excuses.

Do genetics matter when training? Of course they do! Kind of..

If that answer seems confusing I accomplished exactly what I was trying to. The line is blurred and it’s not always obvious what is genetic and what is hard work, but there are some things that are definitely genetic and some things that are definitely not. A good and obvious example of Genetic gifts would be what LeBron James was born with to play basketball vs. me. He’s 6’9ish ripped, fast, smart, great cardio. Is some of this because he trains hard, of course. But if anybody said I could work hard and play basketball as good as LeBron I would laugh in there face. Another example I once heard is that Bo Jackson could dunk a basketball when he was 12, I doubt Bo was doing much jump training in those days, and I could have spent my life training to dunk a basketball and it would have never happened when I was 12. So people do have some obvious gifts, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t train because of where are limits are, chances are we won’t reach those limits anyway.

So, first I would say, acknowledge that genetic gifts exist, understand that you are probably not going to be the best at everything or even one thing for most of us, but strive to push yourself to be the best you can be, and don’t use genetics as an excuse for why some people are better than you. I am going to beat a dead horse here, but excuses in general are not a productive way to approach your life. Even if you could argue that the excuse is valid. I bring the genetics argument up because so many guys that are regular lifters see a guy that is bigger, leaner, or just better and think that it’s because he has better genetics, or he’s on gear. When in reality maybe this person is just more disciplined. When you see somebody like that, you shouldn’t accuse them of cheating, you should ask yourself what you are doing. Are you sleeping enough? Hows your diet? How much alcohol do you drink? And the last question that everybody usually skips, are you actually training hard?

I think everyone should train for themselves and focus on meeting the top of their own genetic potential, it sounds cliche but if you constantly worry about what everybody else is doing you are probably always going to feel like you are never doing enough, because people hide the parts of their lives they are failing in or need lots of work at. I will tell you that for almost all of us we are never going to hit our genetic potential in most things, and it’s because we have lives that are busy and hectic and we don’t have time to consistently focus on thing, day in and day out.

Because of that there is a bright side, if we do the right things… Eat right, train hard, take care of our shit, we should be able to constantly improve over a long enough time line. We may have to adjust at times and refocus but life is a marathon and there is always time to kick it up a notch.

Train hard, make less excuses