We have a thread about regrets you have, well how about something that you did correct from the get go? Personally I always kept a log, I can look back a year ago when I started lifting and know exactly what I was doing for how many reps, I may have made many mistakes, but that’s one that I didn’t.
I think getting into Individualize Training (I.T)course at my high school that was 2 hours before school started. It helped me get started due to we were one of very few schools that actually had 3 specifically trained physical education teacher that ACTUALLY looked the part and knew their shit.
I don’t think I did ANYTHING right from the start LOL
I guess you could say, the one thing I’ve done correctly from the beginning, that I still do today and will continue to do, is keep an open mind, learn, and stay curious. If it weren’t for that I would still be doing unproductive shit.
The thing I did right from the start was to continue working out regularly, try different programs, and go with whatever produced the best results. When I started to plateau, I would switch things up until I started making good progress again.
For those familiar with Berardi’s “Precision Nutrition”, it’s a similar trial and error approach, but applied to training rather than nutrition.
I always kept a log, which unfortunately was always filled with upperbody exercises.
I always worked my back.
Other than that I was pretty bad.
I always kept a log. In 19 yeras of weight lifting, this amounts to laaaarge piles of training logs…
I’ve always been very disciplined: Rarely, very rarely missed workouts, never missed meals, didn’t binge…
It’s the three D’s: determination, dedication, discipline.
Okay, actually there are five D’s, but no place for Katie Price in this blog… lol
Always stayed dedicated, never missed training. Always tried to learn more
and try different things. Worked every body part. Aside from that, my nutrition was
absolute garbage and training principles were misguided.
pushed myself
From the start… and only the start… was eating massive amounts of food. I gained 20 lbs my first month training. Somehow after that, I never quite managed to get it into my head that I had to ALWAYS eat like that to grow, and I wasted years upon years switching programs thinking that it had to be my training and not my diet that was the problem.
I’ve always stuck to training programs. If I start one, I’ll finish one.
Sometimes I think my program choices could have been a little better though!
Dedication and not giving up when things got tough. Those are things you can’t learn, you’re either born with it or you aren’t. You can’t go far in the physique game without those.
Things I did right? I watched the bigger football players train and eat…and simply copied what they did. That got me “big” all by itself.
What took me further was simply asking questions of anyone I saw who was bigger than me and keeping what worked. I never looked for a “guru” to hold my hand.
squatted benched and dead lifted from the start, didn’t neglect legs or back for the mirror muscles.
stayed dedicated and consistent
Did Deadlifts just didn’t do as much as i could and enough as i should of but i’m happy i did them right from the start.
Participating in highschool athletics was probably the best desicion I ever made. This set me on the path for weight training. Had a great coach that taught me my first weightlifting movements, deadlift, squat, military press. Taught me how to stay dedicated and push through hard days.
Always lifted with the mindset that strength = size.
Kept things simple from the start.
Ate alot. I was always the kid with a big appetite, this helped immensely. Although I reversed and fell off the eatting wagon when I tried to “cut”. Big mistake. I have reverted back eatting alot now.
Train with guys bigger and strong then me.
I was intense from the start, always tried to improve (for football), never missed a workout once I started to see the gains come.
[quote]xb-C wrote:
Train with guys bigger and strong then me.[/quote]
This is the key to starting out well. There is no greater motivation than being shown up by the guy you are training with, especially if you both are just 10-20lbs apart. That competition is what helped push me initially and also what helped me bench a lot of weight without being afraid of it. If they did…I must be able to.
I surrounded myself with guys who had similar goals as me. I had guys older than me, mainly the varsity football players, who actually got on your ass if you slacked off. Guys who cornered you if you missed a workout (not joking here), and took lifting very seriously. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t strong right away, and that it took time to get strength, but more that I was willing to try. Saturday morning workouts at 7am, after which we all took a dip in the pool. I have to say that those were probably the best years, because it built a sense of comradery, also known here as the Brotherhood of Iron.
It was like having 60 older brothers, who were tough on you, but were so because they knew how important it was to pass this shit on. One day after school while in 9th grade, I was getting harrassed by some wannabee gang members. I was by myself while they had maybe 4-5 guys. One of the junior FB players saw this from a distance, and came back with what had to be the entire varsity team.
Not much was said, but the fear of God was evident on the faces of those idiots. When I was s senior, I made sure that the same attitude was pushed forward and taught to those youngsters coming up. Because again, these lessons had to be passed on. My team beat the previous year’s state champion in the CIF Southern Section in Division 2, giving them their only loss of the season.
Its been nearly 20 years since that happened and I still talk with some of those older guys. Without question, that has to be one of the best things I have learned from the iron, is how much you learn about shit OUTSIDE the iron. Taking care of yourself outside the gym.
I was also lucky enough to introduced to the iron by a guy who pushed weight for decades. I was lucky enough to be shown the big lifts, how to do them over and over, and how to cope with soreness that left you wishing for a quick death. From grades 9-12, I went from 130 to 255 in bodyweight, although I was still chubby but strong. He did 2 tours in Vietnam, to be left limping from being shot in the same knee twice. He gave his sister a kidney without thought of recourse. Depending on what you needed, he gave you a hug or a kick in the ass.