ARTICLE: Serving Two Masters... you suck at two things

            Not making the decision and committing to a plan is the biggest mistake most lifters and athletes make.  I don’t care what you are trying to accomplish if you are trying to play both sides you are just going to end up doing a shit job at both of them.  There are rumors of guys getting lean and strong at the same time, Strong and fast, strong and throw far.  I am here to let you know all of these are bullshit fairy tales.  They are no different that they guy who your buddy knows who benches 800lbs, he doesn’t and your buddy is a liar. 

            

            Take a second and figure out what you really want to accomplish, point your compass at it and attack it full force.  Cut the bullshit and ego and start making progress toward your goals.  Now goals can change throughout the course of a year, but a realistic amount of time has to be devoted towards the task at hand.  In short if you want to get stronger get a program together that is going to produce that.  If you want to get the strongest you can be you will gain weight.  The complete opposite is also true; if you want to lose weight you will lose strength.  Taking time to lay out a proper plan for the goals that you want to accomplish will help you get where you are going more efficiently.  This is why when people actually commit to a training good program they make steady consistent gains.  The key to this is picking something that is not going to waste your time. 

            

            The biggest impact that this has for me as an athlete, is that I have to realize that I will not be able to throw as far as I can, while I am lifting for max strength.  So I will dedicate 10 weeks to Max strength then switch gears to developing Speed/Power for 5 weeks, my strength will maintain during this time.  Implementing in plenty of bounding and explosive lifts into my program will aid this. 

Building Speed and Power are essential for athletes to be successful.  Max strength is only a small part of the equation and most of the time does not equal being an athlete.  If it did Brain Shaw or that other monster from Iceland would not be wasting their time with strongman, because the NFL would be knocking down their doors, but as we know they are not.  Figure out what your goals as an athlete are and set a plan out for it.  Stick to what works there are no tricks and gimmicks.  Hard work and persistence is going to be what gets you what you want.  Think of your goals on a realistic time line as well and go after them one at a time.  Dedicating anything less than 5-10 weeks to lifting is not going to get you anywhere.  Diet? I have no clue, I’m 28 and still pretty fat, but I am strong, throw far and my wife is great looking and likes me.  These things are more important to me than looking like a twink underwear model.  Function over form for me, it’s what the Russians did, all respectable men have done, and it is what I am going to do. What do you want to accomplish this year.  Not six weeks, not three weeks, an entire fucking year.  Judge your progress on that.  Make a plan and stick to it.  Just don’t have a shitty plan.