True I was more going for focusing on the process ie developing habits and learning as opposed to just doing something for the results. You can control the process, but not necessarily the results
I fully admit I’ve probably overapplied this one as I find the process of conditioning very very enjoyable; However, I’d also been violating number 2 and 6 while doing so
This is very zen. I like it. I do feel that most times, process dictates results, but I have also been on the receiving end of enough injuries and setbacks to know that, in other words, shit happens, and focusing on the negatives can lead people to abandon an otherwise effective process. Appreciate the clarification.
This one has become very salient in these past two years. Every time I felt line I was getting a groove on, shit happened- kidney surgery- 6months no deadlifts, finally got back to strength and broke through squat plateau-Covid, progressing quickly on quarantine workouts and learning to push myself with dark horse style programming- doctor orders a drastic reduction to my exercise intensity
I would refer you to your own rule #3, in that case.
On the “all show, no go” discussion, I think Brian Alsruhe (among many others) have summarized it well with a goal of being “more dangerous”. It doesn’t necessarily mean being a better fighter (although that certainly helps), but, if nothing else, being able to be a handful.
I always liked calling it “being more trouble than you’re worth”. It was what actually inspired my departure from focusing on martial arts to focusing on lifting: there’s a lot to be said about passive self-defense by means of being someone that, when a potential predator looks at you, they think “…that’s not worth it”
That is my approach. Even if they might win the fight, they’re nervous about the damage that’s possible.
Smart people who actually cause trouble know it’s not worth it. Jokers and insecure pricks will try to test the waters.
So far, so good.
Hopefully you keep it that way.
My principles:
That’s it really. Simple and consistent.
1: Train 3 on 1 off + 1 easy cardio day…I’ve trained in pretty much every other way (with the exception of hitting every muscle/movement pattern just once a week) and this is what works best for me long-term and what I always find myself come back to.
2: Combine low reps with high reps. I find this is especially effective for making progress on pushing movements and squats etc.
3: If you want to perform well in sports and even moreso look good in the in the mirror, being able to comfortably blast out sets of 15+ pull ups and dips etc is often going to be a better barometer for your ‘in shapeness’ than being super-heavy & being at least slightly fat and having massive one rep maxes etc.
4. Drink more water than water than you think you need! This for me was a big game changer in helping me lose weight, feel full, feel more mentally alert, whitening my teeth and also make my skin clearer.
5. Flexibility is super important for building strength/expressing strength and avoiding injury (especially on squats and deadlifts). Not working on my flexibility before I got serious about lifting is easily the number 1 mistake I’ve ever made.
6: Unless you are an endurance athlete who needs to run 8+ miles a day or an advanced bodybuilder who needs well over 20 heavy working sets per body part to grow, intensity trumps volume for most people (especially people who are training for strength or people who are not addicted to training like me who and only exercise 2-3 times a week etc).
7: Every now and then you need to really flip the script to make progress…examples: you normally do 3 x 10 for curls and plateaued , spending 3-4 week doing 3-6 reps can be a major plateau buster! OR you might also specialise in close grip bench for at least a month to help beef up your triceps and basic benching strength.
8: Some supplements work really, really well (both for strength and general wellbeing…I’ve recently found a combo of consistently doing cardio and supplementing with arginine has dropped my blood pressure very, very quickly. That being said, one mistake I feel a lot of people make with supps is that they start taking multiple supps at the same time (or they they take some fancy over priced pill or powder with all sorts of active ingredients which makes it virtually impossible to say what is or isn’t working.
Brilliant thread 
I’m still figuring out what works for me so don’t have as much to add but there are some brilliant points in here already. @T3hPwnisher ‘s Nutrition Principles have given me food for thought (sorry).
I’d say I only have 2 set principles and they’re just as applicable to life outside the gym.
Less “intense” principles
Nice thread. And as usual, Pwn makes more sense than most of the professional articles even here on TN.
I like this principle about “being dangerous”, or whatever we analogy used (I like to think of it as surviving the Zombie Apocalypse) to describe just being generally capable. Too bad I do not train cardio capability. That is something to think about.
The only thing I can think to add that hasn’t already been said is this:
I am amazing. But I also fucking suck.
I always have this dichotomous mindset to keep me both motivated, but also a bit grounded. Yeah, I may be pretty good at this or that, but there is always someone else who is WAY better at it, whether that is around here or at the gym. I might absolutely suck in comparison. I can simultaneously be proud of what I am able to do, but still honest enough to admit that I am weak and can definitely get better.
I feel like I suck today.
I like to think I’m better than most humans at everything we do in the gym, while simultaneously being aware of what a low bar that is to clear because most humans absolutely suck.
This is a great thread, I’m taking notes.
Now @T3hPwnisher’s been lifting for 20+ years, and I haven’t even been doing it properly for 20 weeks, so whether I’m qualified to contribute to this discussion is highly debatable… but there are two things that I thought I should share.
Keep your goal first and foremost in your mind. Just like Arnold did, I vividly visualise myself achieving my goal; but I also think about what it would be like if I failed in achieving it, to show myself where I don’t want to go. I always bring it into my mind whenever I need that little extra push to get myself going. If you want something bad enough, you’ll usually find a way, and this helps me find a way.
This is more a personal thing than anything else, but number two is to ‘get real’. Like when I checked in on my log with a progress report after 6 weeks of lifting, I couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment, despite the fact that I had made progress. I realised that the reason was that subconsciously, I had imagined that in six weeks I’d be “massive and hyooge”, whereas the truth is that it takes months, if not years of consistency. The takeaway - I need to be more realistic, and stop expecting miracles to happen. I need to learn to be satisfied with even modest progress, because it all adds up - and I think it was Jim Wendler who said that something along the lines of ‘anyone who complains about only making modest progress is a dumbass because any progress is progress.’ Not his exact words, but the sentiment is the same, and it’s one I need to internalise.
Not that it matters… I am a big fan of the K.I.S.S principle
Really appreciate everything everyone has laid out. Great to get principles and see things that have worked out. A lot of solid universal truths.
Always appreciate a good pun, haha. It’s interesting that there haven’t been too many other nutrition ones though. Surely I’m not the only one out there practicing some nutritional voodoo, no? Like, I almost wrote in “always have a post workout shake as soon as possible after a workout”, simply because that IS something I’ve done pretty much since day 1, and I sorta believe in the notion of an anabolic window, but at the same time can’t bring myself to fully accept the idea of it being that important. Do we have any hardcore believers there?
How about carb cut-off practitioners? I liked that idea too. Or “no eating 3 hours before bed?” Or the opposite folks: any carb backloaders out there? Warrior diet peeps? One meal a day? Maybe everyone else just knows how to exercise moderation and variety in a diet, haha.
The three aren’t mutually exclusive. For example, I’ll do an amrap set, then once I finish, I’ll realize I still had some reps in the tank.
I also often feel like I’m working hard during sessions, but after reading how others feel running the same or similar programming, I realize I’m not making the most of it
@T3hPwnisher can I start a “life principles” thread in off topic?
You don’t need my permission to start a thread somewhere on tnation.
True, but I figured it might come across as rude