kyle
07-06-2008, 01:30 PM
"Dave, you did very well in Powerlifting and also have made remarkable progress in getting shredded and overcoming many injuries. I've read your book "Under The Bar," and you write of the lessons in the gym that have a carry over to business and life. Based on your experience, what would you say are the secrets of training success?"
Reading this e-mail made me think back about my years of training, and it hit me that I've spent over 10,000 hours of my life in the gym. This doesn't count all the hours I've spent spotting, lifting in meets, coaching at meets or training others. I've also trained every style, ranging from progress overload, HIT, Westside, high volume, DC training, and a host of other principles, templates, and methods.
I've also spent thousands of hours speaking with other lifters, trainers and coaches in regards to the betterment of my own training and that of those I worked with, so I guess I've picked up some secrets along the way. I'm also pretty confident in saying if I don't know the answer to any training problem, I know a few others who do.
What follows, then, is a list of what I consider the nine great secrets to training success, based on my experience and that of my peers. They represent the cold hard truth that many would rather avoid. They're pretty easy to understand, and very hard to implement. You might think some of them don't have anything to do with training, but you'd be wrong.
1. Set Your Goals High, and Keep 'em to Yourself.
At one of his seminars, Jim Wendler asked how many of us had set training goals. Out of 60 people, only fiveraised their hands, myself included.
You can't know where you're going without good goals. However, I just want to mention one aspect of training goals that you may not have considered: your goals can limit you. You should set that goal out there, not to work toward, but to smash. Too many times, I've seen people say, "my goal is to bench 300 pounds." Then when they finally get there, they could have done so much more.
That's why Louie Simmons always taught me to break my PR by five pounds on my second attempt (in a powerlifting meet you get three attempts), and go for broke on my third. It's also why when I was dieting for fat loss, I also set a timetable based on a number of weeks. If I reached my desired percent bodyfat early, I keep going. If I didn't reach it in time, I shut it down for another cycle.
The other thing I suggest when setting goals is to keep your goal specific to yourself and a select few, and general to all others. In other words, if your goal is to bench 400 pounds, keep that as a marker in your mind, but if others ask just tell them, "I'm training for a bigger bench," or "I'm working toward a new PR." Your goal may be to get your bodyfat down to 6%, but all the masses need to know is, "I'm dieting right now."
Just tell 'em you're dieting.
The reason for this is simple: 90% of everyone you meet are negative pricks who will go out of their way to tell you why you can'tdo something. Once they know your goal, they'll try and tear you down. Just keep it vague, and all they can do is wish you success.
Of course, they may still try and tear you down once you've actually accomplished your goal, but who cares. You've done the work and have the results to show for it. Theycouldn't have done it. So fuck 'em.
I do feel it's important to still put the goal out there to make you accountable, but I'd only tell those who know you can do it and will hold you accountable. Take a good look at the people around you, and consider yourself lucky if you know even a small handful of people like this. But all you really need is one: you.
2. Build Yourself Up, Don't Tear Others Down
Here's something that always comes to my mind when I think about people who try to tear you down, especially online. Years ago I made a trip to the Show of Strength in Atlanta where I was going to help Chuck Vogelpohl, Brian Schwab, and Ano Turtiainen, all great lifters and multiple world record holders.
During one of the breaks I found myself having lunch with a small group of people, one of whom just didn't fit in at all. Granted, he had an opinion on everything, but nothing to show for it in the way he looked, his lifts, or who he coached.
Later, I discovered he couldn't even cut it in three well-known powerlifting groups in his area. He got no respect from all the local lifters on account of his big mouth, his inconsistency, and his not having the balls to train hard and help others in the group.
About a year later, I see the same guy talking shit about everyone on a powerlifting forum with an "I'm the man" attitude. A few phone calls later and there were three of us on the phone just busting up laughing about this. I no longer have the time to read all the forums, so I have no idea whatever happened to this guy, but I can pretty much guess he's the same crappy lifter he always was.
I'm pretty sure that most of these people have done nothing of value in their lives, so all they can do is find fault in others. It's always easier to tear others down than it is to build yourself up, and easier to demand respect than to earn it. Of course, the easy way isn't always the best way.
3. Let Your Program be Your Guide, but be Prepared for Detours.
While programming does not play as high of a role as many people claim, you still need to have a solid program designed to help you achieve your training goals. The difference between a general program based on what an author perceives to be effective is a far cry compared to a programmed designed around your own strengths and weaknesses. Time and experience will give you the best training know how to do this for yourself.
For beginners I'd suggest jumping on some of the pre-designed programs to help get your feet wet. While they are still not as effective as a personally designed program they are much better than what you'll come up with on your own. That's why they were written in the first place: not to be the Holy Grail of programming, but to serve as a launching pad.
For the intermediate and advanced lifters you need to think about your program as you're a car driving on a highway. You need to get on the right one that will get you where you want to go. If you need to go north, then it's not a good idea to get on a highway going south regardless of what anybody tells you. The difference between getting there or being broken down in the middle of nowhere is knowing how to read the signs. In any long trip, there'll be slowdowns, stops, construction, and detours.
As travelers we expect this, and while we still get frustrated, we know they'll be there.
Similarly, as a lifter you have to expect detours. They are part of the game. There will be things that will screw up your training. No training phase ever goes as planned. You have to be ready and expect for the detours and find ways to keep moving forward. To think everything will go smooth is a false reality. Actually, if you find you're ahead of schedule and things are very smooth, be on the lookout. The old saying "if it ain't broke, break it!" applies here.
4. Do the Stuff You Suck At
You ever wonder where your weak points come from? They're a combination of your strengths overpowering the rest of your skills, and you simply not doing the stuff you hate to do.
Think about it, if your abs and core stability are your weak points, is it because you're training them too hard or too often? Not on your life. Show me a weak point, and I'll show you a movement that isn't being trained because the athlete doesn't like to do it.
Is this something you hate to do? Then do it.
Let me tell you about how I discovered this secret.
It was at the IPA Worlds (a.k.a. the York Barbell Hall of Fame), my first meet after a nine-month hiatus. I had taken some time off to heal up, regroup, and push my bodyweight up higher. I was looking forward to this meet, because my training was going very well, and things seemed to be going my way. My warm-up for the squat attempts felt great, fast, and very explosive. I was definitely getting jacked up about the meet.
I was on deck, next up. My wraps were on, tight as hell, and I was ready. The moments right before I hit the chalk are the best moments of my life. The anticipation, the aggression, the work it took to get to this moment are unmatched.
Finally, over the loudspeaker came the words I'd waited nine months to hear, "Load the bar to 860 pounds for Dave Tate." It was a weight I'd squatted several times before, and it was to be my opening attempt. Full of rage, I began chalking my hands.
This is the moment with every big lift that I "detach" from myself, and go on autopilot. Rarely do I remember anything from the time I leave the chalk box until after the lift.
However, this lift I do remember, because I couldn't get it out of the rack.
I remember trying to stand up with the weight, but I couldn't budge it. It felt welded to the rack. I tried a few times and still nothing. This pissed me off to no end, so I stepped back and increased my rage as high as I could, got back under the rack, and nothing.
My helpers stepped in and pulled me from the rack. Needless to say, this was not a good moment for me. Nine months of training and I couldn't get my damn opener out of the rack.
Just then, I heard Louie Simmons call out, "Dave, you're done. Pull out." I glanced back at him, figuring he was just trying to piss me off. But he looked straight at me and said, "I'm serious, Dave. You're done. Pull out, and we'll talk later. It's not worth what could happen right now."
Now, Louie Simmons is one of the best coaches in the world, and I was part of his team, the Westside Barbell Club. This club is known to be the strongest gym in the world and I was one of Louie's boys. I respect this man and trust him with my life.
So I pulled out, and spent the rest of the meet watching the rest of my team lift well, sitting there eating hot dogs and wondering what the hell my problem was.
On the drive home, I told Louie, "I don't understand what happened today. My training went well. I was strong as hell on everything in the gym."
Just then he stopped me and said something I'll never forget: "That's exactly your problem."
As we turned onto the Interstate, I sat there thinking that Louie was out of his mind. How could being strong in the gym be a bad thing?
How can being strong as hell in the gym be a bad thing?
"You know what you need, Dave?" Louie continued. "You need to do those things you suck at. You're at a point where your weaknesses are killing you, and you're doing nothing to address them. Your legs and upper back can easily squat a grand, but your abs and lower back can't squat 860 pounds. Which do you think you'll squat, 1000 or 860? What you need to be doing is reverse hypers and standing ab work!"
The simple truth hit me like a half-ton of iron. Louie was exactly right. In training, I hated doing reverse hypers and standing ab work. As a matter of fact, I hated alllower back and ab work, so to be honest,I skipped it most of the time.
Once again: your weak points are caused by doing what you hate to do. And this is the difference between competitive athletics and "working out." You can always get into better shape by doing things that you like to do, but to excel at a sport, you have to master doing the things that you hate to do.
So, for the next six months I trained my lower back and abs four days a week: once at the beginning of every session, and at the end of each session. At the Nationals in November, I squatted 900 pounds for the first time. For the next meet, I increased my torso training to six days a week, with three days being very heavy and three days being light.
In July, I went back to the IPA Worlds, the same meet I had to pull out of the year before. I squatted 860 pounds, then 905 pounds, and onto an easy 935 pounds.
While training for the 935 pounds, my main gym lifts that I had bragged were so strong were actually down 15 percent from the previous year, however, my torso strength was the strongest that it had ever been.
Thanks, Louie.
5. Change Your Damn Attitude
When I'm conducting a seminar, I often explain to people what they need to do to get their lifts to come up. Most of the time they understand the issue, thank me for addressing it, then go back and correct it and set new records.
If you understand the path the bar is supposed to travel in any lift, then it really is pretty easy to see if the problem is technical or physical. Once you understand this, the solution isn't that hard to find, and your lifts should go up.
However, there's always the occasional slap-dick who totally disagrees with anything you say. In my experience, they fall into one or the other of the two categories below. You'd better not fit into either of these two categories, but if you do, then you'll need to totally change your attitude if you want to lift big weights.
Category A. The "Put on Some Weight" guys: I have a hard time relating to these twerps, who want to get super strong, but refuse to gain weight. These guys have little or no muscular development, are around six-foot-one and weigh 135 soaking wet. You can see their collar bones sticking out from a mile away, and their elbows can be used as weapons.
I have no idea what their problem is. They have no muscle to begin with and are terrified of losing their abs. To add muscle, you have to take in a few more calories than you burn off. Yes, you can gain muscle and lose fat, but the people who do this already have some muscle to begin with: a fat-loss "engine."
If you fall into this category, please understand that when I tell you to gain weight I'm not saying to increase your bodyfat to 20%. All I'm saying is that if you're looking to add size and gain strength, 10-14% is going to be a lot better for you than 4%.
This guy needs to lay off the cardio and put on some weight.
Category B: The "Get In Shape" guys: You can spot these oafs a mile away. They show up wearing high top Chucks, a shirt that says Go Heavy or Go Home, a shaved head and goatee, and what I call proportionate fat.
Hey, I'm all for filling out your weight class, but it's a huge mistake to fill out four weight classes over the muscle you hold on your frame. Certainly not at the expense of your conditioning and recovery.
Seriously, folks, you can weigh whatever you damn well please, but if you can't walk 100 yards without stopping to catch your breath, then you really need to get your fat ass into shape.
If you're in this poor of shape your body won't be as efficient at processing nutrients, thus impeding recovery and gains.
Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying you need to be a marathon runner, and only need to be in the condition your sport requires, but I've seen a shitload of lifters who are in such bad shape, I have no idea how they even make it through a squat session let alone a meet. If you happen to be one of these guys, you might want to think about getting a sled, or maybe walking every now and then.
Of course, if given the choice, I'd always take a guy from group B over group A. It's much easier to teach a guy who already has some underlying muscle to eat clean, than to try to convince some bean pole that it's okay if his abs disappear for a while.
Don't get too comfortable, because Dave ain't done with you yet. The final four of Dave Tate's Nine Great Secrets of Training Success will be revealed soon.
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A couple of days ago, I laid out five of what I consider the nine great secrets of training success, based on over ten thousand hours I've spent under the bar, and from the experience of my coaches and peers.
Here are the final four secrets. I should warn you, though. If you get queasy easily, you might not want to look at a few of the pictures in this article.
6. You Have Better Things to Do than Talk Shit
Many of you here know Matt Kroczaleski. If you're not involved in powerlifting, then you probably know him as the guy who did the 225-pound dumbbell rows.
Matt "Kroc" Kroczaleski
Well, back in 2005, when he was getting ready for the APF Wolverine Open, Matt learned the hard way about talking shit when you ought to be thinking about training.
There was another lifter in Michigan who had just set the new all-time state total record. Matt started talking shit on a couple of the forums, and the two of them started talking shit back and forth, albeit in a civilized and good-natured way. Matt put a lot of effort into participating in the forums, keeping up the banter, and crowing about what he was going to do at the upcoming meet.
On the day of the meet, we were all sitting around bullshitting, when all of a sudden the doors burst wide open. In struts Matt, grinning, laughing, shaking hands, waving. It was like the grand entrance of some pro wrestling star.
It was about 11:00 AM when he arrived, and he was scheduled to lift at 2:00 PM. The whole time, he just giggled, laughed, and goofed around with everyone, without eating or drinking anything. Finally, as if he just remembered why he was there, he said, "Oh, yeah, I have to lift!"
You can probably guess what happened next.
He got under the bar for his first squat attempt, which was loaded to about 848. He stood up, then squirted out from under it and dumped the bar. It came crashing down and bent the monolift. His next two were high and he bombed out.
The other guy from Michigan, the other shit talker, also bombed on the squats.
This was a big turning point for Matt. He had never realized until then how much of a distraction and dissipation bragging and talking shit can be. Now he hardly ever reads the forums, and generally never talks shit outside a small circle of friends.
7. Fanatically Believe You Can
If you want to do anything of value, in or out of the gym, you must believe fanatically in your own ability to overcome and succeed. Here's one of the best examples I can think of, and it also stars Matt Kroczaleski.
Just a few weeks out from the Arnold Classic, Matt noticed that his knee was hurting. Hurting pretty badly, and it just kept getting worse.
"I think I need to take it light today," he said on Monday. "My knee is sore and bothers me."
"Man, something really feels funny inside my knee," he said on Tuesday, "it almost feels swollen."
On Wednesday it was no better. "You guys aren't going to believe this," he said, "but I had to sit down at work today and talk to patients from a chair. My knee hurts so bad I can't put pressure on it. I haven't been able to train, and I'm starting to get a bit concerned. I have no idea what's wrong."
By Thursday it was even worse. "This is unbelievable," he grimaced. "I can't walk today and had to go get crutches. My knee is swollen and hurts to the touch. I can hardly bend it. I'm very concerned I might have some sort of infection or something. I can't train and the pain is unbearable."
That Friday, he was practically beside himself. "I went to the doctor today and they don't know what's wrong," he told us, still hobbling on crutches. The Arnold was only two weeks away, and to say he was frustrated would be an understatement. "I've trained my ass off for this," he growled. "All the work's done. I can't believe I'm dealing with this right now. And I don't even know what the hell's wrong!"
Then he answered the question none of us had the heart to ask him. "You bet your ass I'm still gonna compete, though" he said, the fire building in him. "I'm going to will this knee better, and convince myself that it's healed. I won't let this defeat me, and I'm going to do everything humanly possibly to step onto the platform and win."
The winner has already won before he even steps onto the platform.
At the Arnold, despite the fact that he literally was unable to walk only two weeks earlier, Matt ended up squatting 970, and won his first World Championship. That, friends, is the power of belief.
8. Stay Focused
This is the most important secret of the bunch. Lock yourself onto your destination and eliminate any possibility of not getting there. Make your goal the core essence of your existence. Fix your focus 100% onto your desired outcome and the process of achieving it.
Let nothing stop you from training toward your goal, short of a crippling injury or major life trauma. And as you'll see below, not even that is enough to stop some highly motivated individuals.
A lot of people are afraid of making this kind of commitment. They don't fear failure so much as they're simply unwilling to sacrifice certain parts of their lives. This isn't a bad thing as such, and anyway, most of you reading this probably don't have the kind of aspirations that demand heavy sacrifices. Nothing wrong with that. If everyone was exceptional, no one would be.
For those few, however, who do aspire to the highest level of sport, you need to understand that greatness comes at a high price. The price is the time and energy that you can't devote to the other aspects of your life.
We all have the same 24 hours, and the choice of where to focus our attention. There's no way you can focus on your work, family, church, personal development, friends, and on your training.
Yes you can achieve balance, and as I said, this isn't a bad goal. All I'm saying is that you can either be balanced, or you can be great. You shouldn't expect both at the same time.
I can already hear the murmurs of dissent from the peanut gallery.
"Dave, you have to keep a balance in your life to move ahead. How can you say balanced people can't be great?"
My response is, show me one great person who achieved balance at the time of their greatness. To be in the top 10% of anything requires a selfish, fanatical drive that most people will never understand, let alone possess.Maybe there's someone somewhere who can be great at everything, but I haven't seen it.
What I have seen are people who would give their right nut to be the best at the one thing they're pursuing, at the expense of everything else. No way are they attaining anything close to balance in their lives.
Okay, here's a story that ought to illustrate my point. It's a little harsh in places, so if you're a pansy, maybe you should leave the room for a while.
Jason Pegg is an aspiring powerlifter, and a until a few years ago he was a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On Memorial Day, 2005, in a little shithole town about 10 kilometers southwest of Khowst, in eastern Afghanistan, Sgt. Jason Pegg and other members of his team were hit by a roadside bomb. Fragments from the exploding 107 mm rockets ripped through Jason's elbow, tearing away a good part of his forearm.
An x-ray of Jason Pegg's left arm gives only a hint of the grave damage done.
Surgeons at Walter Reed do what they can to save Jason Pegg's mangled arm.
He spent the next year and a half at Walter Reed hospital, his bodyweight dropping from 310 down to 238 in only 45 days. When he was given leave, he didn't have the energy to walk 500 yards from the hospital to Fisher House, where his family was staying, without stopping to rest at least twice.
Even after several surgeries, his left arm was so weak, he couldn't keep his eight-month-old son from prying his fingers apart. It was unlikely he'd ever bench over 155, let alone compete again. Most people would accept this situation as an excuse to give up, but not Jason. Instead, he focused every remaining fiber of his body and mind to building up what he could still do: the squat and deadlift.
At first, Jason couldn't squat 315 with the safety bar, and didn't have the mobility to use a regular bar. But with one good arm and laser-like focus, he put all he had into attaining the biggest squat possible. Sure, there were plenty of people who told him all the reasons why he couldn't or shouldn't pursue his goals. Jason ignored them all.
Jason doesn't let a little thing like getting his arm nearly blown off interfere with his goals.
Now two years later, this past weekend in one of the EliteFTS Underground Strength Sessions, Jason squatted 900 on two separate attempts. He can also pull over 700 pounds.
Here's a video of Jason squatting at the Cincinnati ProAm last year. Not bad for a guy with one freaking arm, right?
So don't let me hear your lame-ass excuses for why you can't even make it to the gym. How you have crappy genetics, don't have time, bla, bla, bla. Just get your lazy ass away from your keyboard and remote, and start busting your ass the way Jason has for the past two years, savvy?
Listen, Jason has every reason to sit at home and make excuses, but decided to "ball up" and see just how far he could push himself. Think about him next time you make some shitbird excuse why you can't do something.
If you want to be successful, you will rearrange your priorities, and put your focus where it belongs: on the one thing you want to obtain. Results will follow.
9. Shut the Hell up and Listen
It's very hard to be an athlete and coach at the same time.
I've been very fortunate in my 25 years of training, in that I've always found people to look over my shoulder. I'm sure I know how to train myself better than anyone else knows how to train me, but I also accept that I don't know everything. I also recognize that no matter what, there's probably always a better way.
We'll never know for sure what the "best" way is, but something tells me that we miss more than we hit. Having someone look over your technique, training plan, diet, and other training aspects can save you time and mistakes down the road.
Let me say something here about programming. We all know there are different aspects to program development, ranging from (but not limited to) flexibility, strength, endurance, mobility, pre-habilitation, and all their subcomponents such as strength-speed, strength-endurance, dynamic flexibility and a host of others. The thing most people seem to miss is you can't have it all.
Think of it as a stereo equalizer, with each aspect having its own control. It you were to slide all the controls to the right, all you would hear is distortion (overtraining, imbalances, injury, etc.). If you were to slide them all to the left you wouldn't hear anything (no training: no results).
The key is to find the right settings that produce the perfect sound for the goals you're training for. This is where a coach or someone with experience can help out because what you're used to hearing may not be the best sound because you've become accustomed to it (your cheap Walkman sounds great until you walk into a BOSE store).
The other thing to remember is that there are lots of different settings, and what sounds good to one person might not sound the best to you. If you're getting the results you want, then you're good to go.
Finally, if you do ask or seek help, then shut the hell up and listen. If you asked the right person, then they have something to offer you. Even when you don't ask, keep your ears open. Believe it or not, there are people who are better than you, and who know more. They just might say something that can help you. You may have been missing something that they were able to spot.
People always ask me, "knowing what you know now, would you have changed anything about your training or diet from years ago?" My answer is always the same: no. You can't turn back the clock and change the past. You can only do what you can do today. I see no reason to answer what I can't do anything about. Do I offer people different advice now based on what I feel were my mistakes of the past? Yes, of course. I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.
The best way I've found to use coaches is to make your training result a team effort. So you're not just training for yourself, but for everyone who's involved in the process. When all's said and done, they'll get (and deserve) the credit, but you're the one who'll get the result.
I have and will always consider this a fair trade, and because of this I've been able to enlist the help of many of the best coaches in the world. You may recognize some of the names: Alywn Cosgrove, Justin Harris, Dr. John Berardi, Dr. Eric Serrano, Jim Wendler, Louie Simmons,Todd Brock, Chuck Vogelpohl, Joe Defranco, Dr. Ryan Smith, and many others. Without their help over the years, I wouldn't have been able to achieve all the goals I had set for myself.
Pretty Simple, Right?
Okay, so that's it. Twenty-five years of blood, sweat, puke, and iron condensed into nine bullet points.
I almost feel guilty writing now that I've written this article, because I'm sure every reader will already know all these points. I also know most people will skim read this and say, "Uh huh, not much here."
These are the same people who are looking for the holy grail and mystery exercise that will launch their training into the stratosphere. While there are programs and movements that can make a world of difference to your training when implemented at the right time, there are no programs or movements that will have a positive effect all the time. These simple points can and will have a positive effect all the time, but with training, clients, and life, everyone seems to want the most complex solutions to solve simple issues.
Mastery of the simple things leads to greatness. Application of the complex leads to confusion. Yet, 90% will jump at the complex for the solutions to our problems. What's interesting is the most complex things are external, while all the simple things are internal.
I'd suggest reading the Points to Ponder (below) and asking yourself the questions and taking a moment to REALLY think about it. If you do, you will have taken a huge step toward mastering your own training.
Points to Ponder
1. Have a destination (goal) but keep the specifics to yourself. Do you even have a goal?
2. The world is full of pricks who can only criticize. Are you one of them?
3. Use a program designed for your goals. Is your program leading you to your destination?
4. The things you hate to do are the things you need to do most. Are you doing them?
5. If you're not making progress, it may be your attitude that needs adjusting. Are you willing to change?
6. Your time and energy are limited. Are you wasting them by talking shit on the forums?
7. Become a fanatical believer in your cause. Do you really believe you'll succeed?
8. If you're afraid of breaking any of your precious eggs, don't expect too many omelets in your life. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve your goals?
9. There are people who are better than you, and who know more stuff than you. Are you listening to them?
Dave Tate has spent most of his life under the bar. You can find out more about him by visiting him at his site.
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Reading this e-mail made me think back about my years of training, and it hit me that I've spent over 10,000 hours of my life in the gym. This doesn't count all the hours I've spent spotting, lifting in meets, coaching at meets or training others. I've also trained every style, ranging from progress overload, HIT, Westside, high volume, DC training, and a host of other principles, templates, and methods.
I've also spent thousands of hours speaking with other lifters, trainers and coaches in regards to the betterment of my own training and that of those I worked with, so I guess I've picked up some secrets along the way. I'm also pretty confident in saying if I don't know the answer to any training problem, I know a few others who do.
What follows, then, is a list of what I consider the nine great secrets to training success, based on my experience and that of my peers. They represent the cold hard truth that many would rather avoid. They're pretty easy to understand, and very hard to implement. You might think some of them don't have anything to do with training, but you'd be wrong.
1. Set Your Goals High, and Keep 'em to Yourself.
At one of his seminars, Jim Wendler asked how many of us had set training goals. Out of 60 people, only fiveraised their hands, myself included.
You can't know where you're going without good goals. However, I just want to mention one aspect of training goals that you may not have considered: your goals can limit you. You should set that goal out there, not to work toward, but to smash. Too many times, I've seen people say, "my goal is to bench 300 pounds." Then when they finally get there, they could have done so much more.
That's why Louie Simmons always taught me to break my PR by five pounds on my second attempt (in a powerlifting meet you get three attempts), and go for broke on my third. It's also why when I was dieting for fat loss, I also set a timetable based on a number of weeks. If I reached my desired percent bodyfat early, I keep going. If I didn't reach it in time, I shut it down for another cycle.
The other thing I suggest when setting goals is to keep your goal specific to yourself and a select few, and general to all others. In other words, if your goal is to bench 400 pounds, keep that as a marker in your mind, but if others ask just tell them, "I'm training for a bigger bench," or "I'm working toward a new PR." Your goal may be to get your bodyfat down to 6%, but all the masses need to know is, "I'm dieting right now."
Just tell 'em you're dieting.
The reason for this is simple: 90% of everyone you meet are negative pricks who will go out of their way to tell you why you can'tdo something. Once they know your goal, they'll try and tear you down. Just keep it vague, and all they can do is wish you success.
Of course, they may still try and tear you down once you've actually accomplished your goal, but who cares. You've done the work and have the results to show for it. Theycouldn't have done it. So fuck 'em.
I do feel it's important to still put the goal out there to make you accountable, but I'd only tell those who know you can do it and will hold you accountable. Take a good look at the people around you, and consider yourself lucky if you know even a small handful of people like this. But all you really need is one: you.
2. Build Yourself Up, Don't Tear Others Down
Here's something that always comes to my mind when I think about people who try to tear you down, especially online. Years ago I made a trip to the Show of Strength in Atlanta where I was going to help Chuck Vogelpohl, Brian Schwab, and Ano Turtiainen, all great lifters and multiple world record holders.
During one of the breaks I found myself having lunch with a small group of people, one of whom just didn't fit in at all. Granted, he had an opinion on everything, but nothing to show for it in the way he looked, his lifts, or who he coached.
Later, I discovered he couldn't even cut it in three well-known powerlifting groups in his area. He got no respect from all the local lifters on account of his big mouth, his inconsistency, and his not having the balls to train hard and help others in the group.
About a year later, I see the same guy talking shit about everyone on a powerlifting forum with an "I'm the man" attitude. A few phone calls later and there were three of us on the phone just busting up laughing about this. I no longer have the time to read all the forums, so I have no idea whatever happened to this guy, but I can pretty much guess he's the same crappy lifter he always was.
I'm pretty sure that most of these people have done nothing of value in their lives, so all they can do is find fault in others. It's always easier to tear others down than it is to build yourself up, and easier to demand respect than to earn it. Of course, the easy way isn't always the best way.
3. Let Your Program be Your Guide, but be Prepared for Detours.
While programming does not play as high of a role as many people claim, you still need to have a solid program designed to help you achieve your training goals. The difference between a general program based on what an author perceives to be effective is a far cry compared to a programmed designed around your own strengths and weaknesses. Time and experience will give you the best training know how to do this for yourself.
For beginners I'd suggest jumping on some of the pre-designed programs to help get your feet wet. While they are still not as effective as a personally designed program they are much better than what you'll come up with on your own. That's why they were written in the first place: not to be the Holy Grail of programming, but to serve as a launching pad.
For the intermediate and advanced lifters you need to think about your program as you're a car driving on a highway. You need to get on the right one that will get you where you want to go. If you need to go north, then it's not a good idea to get on a highway going south regardless of what anybody tells you. The difference between getting there or being broken down in the middle of nowhere is knowing how to read the signs. In any long trip, there'll be slowdowns, stops, construction, and detours.
As travelers we expect this, and while we still get frustrated, we know they'll be there.
Similarly, as a lifter you have to expect detours. They are part of the game. There will be things that will screw up your training. No training phase ever goes as planned. You have to be ready and expect for the detours and find ways to keep moving forward. To think everything will go smooth is a false reality. Actually, if you find you're ahead of schedule and things are very smooth, be on the lookout. The old saying "if it ain't broke, break it!" applies here.
4. Do the Stuff You Suck At
You ever wonder where your weak points come from? They're a combination of your strengths overpowering the rest of your skills, and you simply not doing the stuff you hate to do.
Think about it, if your abs and core stability are your weak points, is it because you're training them too hard or too often? Not on your life. Show me a weak point, and I'll show you a movement that isn't being trained because the athlete doesn't like to do it.
Is this something you hate to do? Then do it.
Let me tell you about how I discovered this secret.
It was at the IPA Worlds (a.k.a. the York Barbell Hall of Fame), my first meet after a nine-month hiatus. I had taken some time off to heal up, regroup, and push my bodyweight up higher. I was looking forward to this meet, because my training was going very well, and things seemed to be going my way. My warm-up for the squat attempts felt great, fast, and very explosive. I was definitely getting jacked up about the meet.
I was on deck, next up. My wraps were on, tight as hell, and I was ready. The moments right before I hit the chalk are the best moments of my life. The anticipation, the aggression, the work it took to get to this moment are unmatched.
Finally, over the loudspeaker came the words I'd waited nine months to hear, "Load the bar to 860 pounds for Dave Tate." It was a weight I'd squatted several times before, and it was to be my opening attempt. Full of rage, I began chalking my hands.
This is the moment with every big lift that I "detach" from myself, and go on autopilot. Rarely do I remember anything from the time I leave the chalk box until after the lift.
However, this lift I do remember, because I couldn't get it out of the rack.
I remember trying to stand up with the weight, but I couldn't budge it. It felt welded to the rack. I tried a few times and still nothing. This pissed me off to no end, so I stepped back and increased my rage as high as I could, got back under the rack, and nothing.
My helpers stepped in and pulled me from the rack. Needless to say, this was not a good moment for me. Nine months of training and I couldn't get my damn opener out of the rack.
Just then, I heard Louie Simmons call out, "Dave, you're done. Pull out." I glanced back at him, figuring he was just trying to piss me off. But he looked straight at me and said, "I'm serious, Dave. You're done. Pull out, and we'll talk later. It's not worth what could happen right now."
Now, Louie Simmons is one of the best coaches in the world, and I was part of his team, the Westside Barbell Club. This club is known to be the strongest gym in the world and I was one of Louie's boys. I respect this man and trust him with my life.
So I pulled out, and spent the rest of the meet watching the rest of my team lift well, sitting there eating hot dogs and wondering what the hell my problem was.
On the drive home, I told Louie, "I don't understand what happened today. My training went well. I was strong as hell on everything in the gym."
Just then he stopped me and said something I'll never forget: "That's exactly your problem."
As we turned onto the Interstate, I sat there thinking that Louie was out of his mind. How could being strong in the gym be a bad thing?
How can being strong as hell in the gym be a bad thing?
"You know what you need, Dave?" Louie continued. "You need to do those things you suck at. You're at a point where your weaknesses are killing you, and you're doing nothing to address them. Your legs and upper back can easily squat a grand, but your abs and lower back can't squat 860 pounds. Which do you think you'll squat, 1000 or 860? What you need to be doing is reverse hypers and standing ab work!"
The simple truth hit me like a half-ton of iron. Louie was exactly right. In training, I hated doing reverse hypers and standing ab work. As a matter of fact, I hated alllower back and ab work, so to be honest,I skipped it most of the time.
Once again: your weak points are caused by doing what you hate to do. And this is the difference between competitive athletics and "working out." You can always get into better shape by doing things that you like to do, but to excel at a sport, you have to master doing the things that you hate to do.
So, for the next six months I trained my lower back and abs four days a week: once at the beginning of every session, and at the end of each session. At the Nationals in November, I squatted 900 pounds for the first time. For the next meet, I increased my torso training to six days a week, with three days being very heavy and three days being light.
In July, I went back to the IPA Worlds, the same meet I had to pull out of the year before. I squatted 860 pounds, then 905 pounds, and onto an easy 935 pounds.
While training for the 935 pounds, my main gym lifts that I had bragged were so strong were actually down 15 percent from the previous year, however, my torso strength was the strongest that it had ever been.
Thanks, Louie.
5. Change Your Damn Attitude
When I'm conducting a seminar, I often explain to people what they need to do to get their lifts to come up. Most of the time they understand the issue, thank me for addressing it, then go back and correct it and set new records.
If you understand the path the bar is supposed to travel in any lift, then it really is pretty easy to see if the problem is technical or physical. Once you understand this, the solution isn't that hard to find, and your lifts should go up.
However, there's always the occasional slap-dick who totally disagrees with anything you say. In my experience, they fall into one or the other of the two categories below. You'd better not fit into either of these two categories, but if you do, then you'll need to totally change your attitude if you want to lift big weights.
Category A. The "Put on Some Weight" guys: I have a hard time relating to these twerps, who want to get super strong, but refuse to gain weight. These guys have little or no muscular development, are around six-foot-one and weigh 135 soaking wet. You can see their collar bones sticking out from a mile away, and their elbows can be used as weapons.
I have no idea what their problem is. They have no muscle to begin with and are terrified of losing their abs. To add muscle, you have to take in a few more calories than you burn off. Yes, you can gain muscle and lose fat, but the people who do this already have some muscle to begin with: a fat-loss "engine."
If you fall into this category, please understand that when I tell you to gain weight I'm not saying to increase your bodyfat to 20%. All I'm saying is that if you're looking to add size and gain strength, 10-14% is going to be a lot better for you than 4%.
This guy needs to lay off the cardio and put on some weight.
Category B: The "Get In Shape" guys: You can spot these oafs a mile away. They show up wearing high top Chucks, a shirt that says Go Heavy or Go Home, a shaved head and goatee, and what I call proportionate fat.
Hey, I'm all for filling out your weight class, but it's a huge mistake to fill out four weight classes over the muscle you hold on your frame. Certainly not at the expense of your conditioning and recovery.
Seriously, folks, you can weigh whatever you damn well please, but if you can't walk 100 yards without stopping to catch your breath, then you really need to get your fat ass into shape.
If you're in this poor of shape your body won't be as efficient at processing nutrients, thus impeding recovery and gains.
Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying you need to be a marathon runner, and only need to be in the condition your sport requires, but I've seen a shitload of lifters who are in such bad shape, I have no idea how they even make it through a squat session let alone a meet. If you happen to be one of these guys, you might want to think about getting a sled, or maybe walking every now and then.
Of course, if given the choice, I'd always take a guy from group B over group A. It's much easier to teach a guy who already has some underlying muscle to eat clean, than to try to convince some bean pole that it's okay if his abs disappear for a while.
Don't get too comfortable, because Dave ain't done with you yet. The final four of Dave Tate's Nine Great Secrets of Training Success will be revealed soon.
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A couple of days ago, I laid out five of what I consider the nine great secrets of training success, based on over ten thousand hours I've spent under the bar, and from the experience of my coaches and peers.
Here are the final four secrets. I should warn you, though. If you get queasy easily, you might not want to look at a few of the pictures in this article.
6. You Have Better Things to Do than Talk Shit
Many of you here know Matt Kroczaleski. If you're not involved in powerlifting, then you probably know him as the guy who did the 225-pound dumbbell rows.
Matt "Kroc" Kroczaleski
Well, back in 2005, when he was getting ready for the APF Wolverine Open, Matt learned the hard way about talking shit when you ought to be thinking about training.
There was another lifter in Michigan who had just set the new all-time state total record. Matt started talking shit on a couple of the forums, and the two of them started talking shit back and forth, albeit in a civilized and good-natured way. Matt put a lot of effort into participating in the forums, keeping up the banter, and crowing about what he was going to do at the upcoming meet.
On the day of the meet, we were all sitting around bullshitting, when all of a sudden the doors burst wide open. In struts Matt, grinning, laughing, shaking hands, waving. It was like the grand entrance of some pro wrestling star.
It was about 11:00 AM when he arrived, and he was scheduled to lift at 2:00 PM. The whole time, he just giggled, laughed, and goofed around with everyone, without eating or drinking anything. Finally, as if he just remembered why he was there, he said, "Oh, yeah, I have to lift!"
You can probably guess what happened next.
He got under the bar for his first squat attempt, which was loaded to about 848. He stood up, then squirted out from under it and dumped the bar. It came crashing down and bent the monolift. His next two were high and he bombed out.
The other guy from Michigan, the other shit talker, also bombed on the squats.
This was a big turning point for Matt. He had never realized until then how much of a distraction and dissipation bragging and talking shit can be. Now he hardly ever reads the forums, and generally never talks shit outside a small circle of friends.
7. Fanatically Believe You Can
If you want to do anything of value, in or out of the gym, you must believe fanatically in your own ability to overcome and succeed. Here's one of the best examples I can think of, and it also stars Matt Kroczaleski.
Just a few weeks out from the Arnold Classic, Matt noticed that his knee was hurting. Hurting pretty badly, and it just kept getting worse.
"I think I need to take it light today," he said on Monday. "My knee is sore and bothers me."
"Man, something really feels funny inside my knee," he said on Tuesday, "it almost feels swollen."
On Wednesday it was no better. "You guys aren't going to believe this," he said, "but I had to sit down at work today and talk to patients from a chair. My knee hurts so bad I can't put pressure on it. I haven't been able to train, and I'm starting to get a bit concerned. I have no idea what's wrong."
By Thursday it was even worse. "This is unbelievable," he grimaced. "I can't walk today and had to go get crutches. My knee is swollen and hurts to the touch. I can hardly bend it. I'm very concerned I might have some sort of infection or something. I can't train and the pain is unbearable."
That Friday, he was practically beside himself. "I went to the doctor today and they don't know what's wrong," he told us, still hobbling on crutches. The Arnold was only two weeks away, and to say he was frustrated would be an understatement. "I've trained my ass off for this," he growled. "All the work's done. I can't believe I'm dealing with this right now. And I don't even know what the hell's wrong!"
Then he answered the question none of us had the heart to ask him. "You bet your ass I'm still gonna compete, though" he said, the fire building in him. "I'm going to will this knee better, and convince myself that it's healed. I won't let this defeat me, and I'm going to do everything humanly possibly to step onto the platform and win."
The winner has already won before he even steps onto the platform.
At the Arnold, despite the fact that he literally was unable to walk only two weeks earlier, Matt ended up squatting 970, and won his first World Championship. That, friends, is the power of belief.
8. Stay Focused
This is the most important secret of the bunch. Lock yourself onto your destination and eliminate any possibility of not getting there. Make your goal the core essence of your existence. Fix your focus 100% onto your desired outcome and the process of achieving it.
Let nothing stop you from training toward your goal, short of a crippling injury or major life trauma. And as you'll see below, not even that is enough to stop some highly motivated individuals.
A lot of people are afraid of making this kind of commitment. They don't fear failure so much as they're simply unwilling to sacrifice certain parts of their lives. This isn't a bad thing as such, and anyway, most of you reading this probably don't have the kind of aspirations that demand heavy sacrifices. Nothing wrong with that. If everyone was exceptional, no one would be.
For those few, however, who do aspire to the highest level of sport, you need to understand that greatness comes at a high price. The price is the time and energy that you can't devote to the other aspects of your life.
We all have the same 24 hours, and the choice of where to focus our attention. There's no way you can focus on your work, family, church, personal development, friends, and on your training.
Yes you can achieve balance, and as I said, this isn't a bad goal. All I'm saying is that you can either be balanced, or you can be great. You shouldn't expect both at the same time.
I can already hear the murmurs of dissent from the peanut gallery.
"Dave, you have to keep a balance in your life to move ahead. How can you say balanced people can't be great?"
My response is, show me one great person who achieved balance at the time of their greatness. To be in the top 10% of anything requires a selfish, fanatical drive that most people will never understand, let alone possess.Maybe there's someone somewhere who can be great at everything, but I haven't seen it.
What I have seen are people who would give their right nut to be the best at the one thing they're pursuing, at the expense of everything else. No way are they attaining anything close to balance in their lives.
Okay, here's a story that ought to illustrate my point. It's a little harsh in places, so if you're a pansy, maybe you should leave the room for a while.
Jason Pegg is an aspiring powerlifter, and a until a few years ago he was a sergeant in the 82nd Airborne, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On Memorial Day, 2005, in a little shithole town about 10 kilometers southwest of Khowst, in eastern Afghanistan, Sgt. Jason Pegg and other members of his team were hit by a roadside bomb. Fragments from the exploding 107 mm rockets ripped through Jason's elbow, tearing away a good part of his forearm.
An x-ray of Jason Pegg's left arm gives only a hint of the grave damage done.
Surgeons at Walter Reed do what they can to save Jason Pegg's mangled arm.
He spent the next year and a half at Walter Reed hospital, his bodyweight dropping from 310 down to 238 in only 45 days. When he was given leave, he didn't have the energy to walk 500 yards from the hospital to Fisher House, where his family was staying, without stopping to rest at least twice.
Even after several surgeries, his left arm was so weak, he couldn't keep his eight-month-old son from prying his fingers apart. It was unlikely he'd ever bench over 155, let alone compete again. Most people would accept this situation as an excuse to give up, but not Jason. Instead, he focused every remaining fiber of his body and mind to building up what he could still do: the squat and deadlift.
At first, Jason couldn't squat 315 with the safety bar, and didn't have the mobility to use a regular bar. But with one good arm and laser-like focus, he put all he had into attaining the biggest squat possible. Sure, there were plenty of people who told him all the reasons why he couldn't or shouldn't pursue his goals. Jason ignored them all.
Jason doesn't let a little thing like getting his arm nearly blown off interfere with his goals.
Now two years later, this past weekend in one of the EliteFTS Underground Strength Sessions, Jason squatted 900 on two separate attempts. He can also pull over 700 pounds.
Here's a video of Jason squatting at the Cincinnati ProAm last year. Not bad for a guy with one freaking arm, right?
So don't let me hear your lame-ass excuses for why you can't even make it to the gym. How you have crappy genetics, don't have time, bla, bla, bla. Just get your lazy ass away from your keyboard and remote, and start busting your ass the way Jason has for the past two years, savvy?
Listen, Jason has every reason to sit at home and make excuses, but decided to "ball up" and see just how far he could push himself. Think about him next time you make some shitbird excuse why you can't do something.
If you want to be successful, you will rearrange your priorities, and put your focus where it belongs: on the one thing you want to obtain. Results will follow.
9. Shut the Hell up and Listen
It's very hard to be an athlete and coach at the same time.
I've been very fortunate in my 25 years of training, in that I've always found people to look over my shoulder. I'm sure I know how to train myself better than anyone else knows how to train me, but I also accept that I don't know everything. I also recognize that no matter what, there's probably always a better way.
We'll never know for sure what the "best" way is, but something tells me that we miss more than we hit. Having someone look over your technique, training plan, diet, and other training aspects can save you time and mistakes down the road.
Let me say something here about programming. We all know there are different aspects to program development, ranging from (but not limited to) flexibility, strength, endurance, mobility, pre-habilitation, and all their subcomponents such as strength-speed, strength-endurance, dynamic flexibility and a host of others. The thing most people seem to miss is you can't have it all.
Think of it as a stereo equalizer, with each aspect having its own control. It you were to slide all the controls to the right, all you would hear is distortion (overtraining, imbalances, injury, etc.). If you were to slide them all to the left you wouldn't hear anything (no training: no results).
The key is to find the right settings that produce the perfect sound for the goals you're training for. This is where a coach or someone with experience can help out because what you're used to hearing may not be the best sound because you've become accustomed to it (your cheap Walkman sounds great until you walk into a BOSE store).
The other thing to remember is that there are lots of different settings, and what sounds good to one person might not sound the best to you. If you're getting the results you want, then you're good to go.
Finally, if you do ask or seek help, then shut the hell up and listen. If you asked the right person, then they have something to offer you. Even when you don't ask, keep your ears open. Believe it or not, there are people who are better than you, and who know more. They just might say something that can help you. You may have been missing something that they were able to spot.
People always ask me, "knowing what you know now, would you have changed anything about your training or diet from years ago?" My answer is always the same: no. You can't turn back the clock and change the past. You can only do what you can do today. I see no reason to answer what I can't do anything about. Do I offer people different advice now based on what I feel were my mistakes of the past? Yes, of course. I've made some huge mistakes, but they were necessary, because without them I wouldn't have learned anything.
The best way I've found to use coaches is to make your training result a team effort. So you're not just training for yourself, but for everyone who's involved in the process. When all's said and done, they'll get (and deserve) the credit, but you're the one who'll get the result.
I have and will always consider this a fair trade, and because of this I've been able to enlist the help of many of the best coaches in the world. You may recognize some of the names: Alywn Cosgrove, Justin Harris, Dr. John Berardi, Dr. Eric Serrano, Jim Wendler, Louie Simmons,Todd Brock, Chuck Vogelpohl, Joe Defranco, Dr. Ryan Smith, and many others. Without their help over the years, I wouldn't have been able to achieve all the goals I had set for myself.
Pretty Simple, Right?
Okay, so that's it. Twenty-five years of blood, sweat, puke, and iron condensed into nine bullet points.
I almost feel guilty writing now that I've written this article, because I'm sure every reader will already know all these points. I also know most people will skim read this and say, "Uh huh, not much here."
These are the same people who are looking for the holy grail and mystery exercise that will launch their training into the stratosphere. While there are programs and movements that can make a world of difference to your training when implemented at the right time, there are no programs or movements that will have a positive effect all the time. These simple points can and will have a positive effect all the time, but with training, clients, and life, everyone seems to want the most complex solutions to solve simple issues.
Mastery of the simple things leads to greatness. Application of the complex leads to confusion. Yet, 90% will jump at the complex for the solutions to our problems. What's interesting is the most complex things are external, while all the simple things are internal.
I'd suggest reading the Points to Ponder (below) and asking yourself the questions and taking a moment to REALLY think about it. If you do, you will have taken a huge step toward mastering your own training.
Points to Ponder
1. Have a destination (goal) but keep the specifics to yourself. Do you even have a goal?
2. The world is full of pricks who can only criticize. Are you one of them?
3. Use a program designed for your goals. Is your program leading you to your destination?
4. The things you hate to do are the things you need to do most. Are you doing them?
5. If you're not making progress, it may be your attitude that needs adjusting. Are you willing to change?
6. Your time and energy are limited. Are you wasting them by talking shit on the forums?
7. Become a fanatical believer in your cause. Do you really believe you'll succeed?
8. If you're afraid of breaking any of your precious eggs, don't expect too many omelets in your life. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve your goals?
9. There are people who are better than you, and who know more stuff than you. Are you listening to them?
Dave Tate has spent most of his life under the bar. You can find out more about him by visiting him at his site.
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