So You Want To Become A Master?

Becoming a Master

Right so you want to squat like a boss, deadlift like yoda and bench press better than anyone else, you want to master these lifts. I do to, and so do my clients, so you are not alone and I am going to share with you how to progress over closer to lifting mastery.

Key to Masterhood
To become a master we must first know what is required, we must find the best and most efficient form for our anatomy. For some this might be ass to grass when squatting or maybe it’s just to parallel, just like you may be better suited for a sumo deadlift rather than conventional. So find out what form works best for your body. I am going to assume you have already addressed any mobility issues, if not, you cannot become a master.

Everyone is different, therefore one persons technique mastery may look starkly different to someone else’s. This is the principle of Individuality, and it springs up all the time when considering exercise and nutrition. Now we know this, I can take you through some steps to becoming a master mover.

Step 1 – Grease the groove
First things first, you need to get in some work. We all know the common saying ‘practice makes perfect’ and well it is completely true. And this is what I mean by grease the groove, if you want to improve your form at something, you need to practice practice practice. So don’t expect to master the squat by doing it once a month, by increasing the frequency you do the lift the better chance you have at ironing out any inefficiencies.

I like to think about this in terms of travelling down a stream into the ocean, at first there is not much room to manoeuvre, however as you keep going you eventually enter out into the ocean, making getting around easy. Just like any movement, at first it feels wrong, and is uncomfortable, but as you work at it, it gets easier and easier. So you want to become a master? Increase the frequency you perform the lift. 

Step 2 – Know how much you can take
Next up we must be recovered if we are going to do any exercise properly. Think of it like a machine, if it is not well oiled and in good nick you wouldn’t expect it to work efficiently. So we must take care of our recovery if we are to master movements.

Therefore, we must know our training level, if you are new to the gym then you will not be able to recover as fast as someone who’s been lifting years. So the less time you have been training the less total volume of work you can get in effectively. You can learn more about this in a previous article I wrote Picking your training volume.

Further to this you must also get your nutrition and other lifestyle factors nailed. Get in sufficient protein to recover with, and carbs to fuel your workouts, but also make sure to get enough sleep. So you want to become a master? Nail your nutrition, get enough sleep and manage your training volume according to your training experience. 

Step 3 – Consistency, consistency, consistency
The final step is made pretty clear, be consistent. People who are over achievers are because they get it right over and over again. So make sure if you decide to pursue mastery, do it for a decent stint of time, and keep at it. Don’t expect it to come from random weeks of dedication.

Furthermore, you need to be damn disciplined. You cannot let your form diminish, you need to perform the lift as if your coach is there watching you every-time. So you want to become a master? Do not let your form slack. 

I have written about mastery before in my article 4 Steps to Learn Anything, and consistency is damn important.

Great technique allows strength to be expressed effectively. As I said before, not everyones technique will be the same, individual body dimensions, leverages, strengths and weaknesses will dictate what technique is most effective for you.

So now you know how to become a master, go get it and #REVIVESTRONGER

The Powerlifting Newb Series – Part 2 – Picking your attempts

So in Part 1 you got to see how the day went and some key lessons I learnt; make a plan, know the process and stay composed. I am going to touch on each of these in more detail to help the new powerlifter out.

First things first, I want you to have a plan of what numbers you are going to attempt for each lift. The only numbers set in stone are the openers, all the others can change on the day, but we will have a plan for that too. Using the below you will a guide that will get you a 100% success rate and give you the best chance of doing well in your meet.

What Weight?

Right, so you have been training with a meet in mind for many weeks or months. All the hard work you have put in is being put to the test on this one day. Hopefully you have been increasing your intensity slowly and have built up a good amount of volume prior to the meet. The last few weeks should have got you pretty well prepared for shifting heavy weights.

In the video below you can see how I recorded my main lifts and noted down how each set was feeling, information and footage like this is very helpful when picking your lifts.

Using your training notes you can look over the sort of weights you were achieving for a given number of reps, you can use these to look at what you estimated 1 rep maxes might look like. This will give you a good idea of what you 1 rep max on the day might be.

Rep Max Calculator

This gives you your starting point, you have your estimated 1 rep maxes. They give you a range to work from, you can set yourself a minimum and maximum for each lift. That way you know if you’re feeling crummy on the day you have a minimum you can hit and if you’re feeling super you have a maximum to aim for.

Picking Your Opener

The way I see it is that your opener is just an extension of your warm up. So this should definitely be something sub-maximal and shouldn’t take away from your next attempts. This is the only lift you have to hand in before you start, so you cannot judge how your warm up is going to give you an indication of how this lift might go. Therefore, it makes even more sense to pick something you can hit any day of the week come rain or shine. 

This should be a weight you could hit hungover wearing the clothes you had on during your night out. That means no belt, no lifting shoes, no chalk, you get the picture; no chance of failure. Furthermore, because it will be easy it will give you confidence for your next lifts going forward.

So because everyone likes rules of thumb;

• Your opener should be 80% of your final attempt (1 Rep Maximum).
• A piece of pie, whether hungover or not.

Picking Your Second Attempt

So after killing your first opener you’re ready for your second attempt. Again, we are going in with the mindset of hitting every single lift. Because, a missed attempt is as good as wiping your ass with cling film. Messy, uncomfortable, embarrassing and an all round epic fail. So 9/9 is our aim, therefore the second attempt is again something we are confident about hitting.

However, you have the first attempt to help guide you here. My advise is to have a couple of options before you get to your meet, have a feeling shitty option and a feeling good option. If your opener felt a bit slow, then opt for the feeling shitty second attempt, if it felt like it should, easy, then go for the feeling good option. Too many options will only leave you second guessing, if things are going to plan, you should be feeling good, it will be pretty clear if things aren’t.

Either way this lift again should be a no-brainer, not dead easy but not hard either. Something you could hit for a 2-3 rep max on a good day and hit for a single when you feel like utter crap.

Right so how do you go about picking these two?

• Feeling shitty 85% of your final attempt (1 Rep Maximum).
• Feeling good 90% of your final attempt (1 Rep Maximum).
• Something you could hit for a triple on a good day.

Picking Your Final Attempt

Right so now you are in a great position, whether you’re feeling good or not, you will have so far succeeded in getting every attempt, 6/6, good job! So using the 1 rep max calculator and your lifting history you have an idea of what you should be able to hit. Again I suggest having a feeling crummy attempt and a feeling good number.

As a rule of thumb set your final attempt at:

• 100 – 102.5% of your estimated 1RM.

Remember, we are going for 9/9, and especially because this is written for the powerlifting newb we are assuming a lack of meet experience. Therefore, you do not know whether you bloom under the competitive environment or crumble. It’s like those kids who know all the answers to the questions in lessons, and do well on their course work, but when it comes to exam conditions they suck. We therefore have little meet history to go off, so we are going to be conservative. As said before, a missed lift is useless, so we don’t want any second guessing.

The Take Home Message

If it wasn’t clear by now the take home from the above is that you want to avoid missing lifts. As someone new to powerlifting you want to be especially conservative, and learn from the process. Having a plan allows you to have better focus on the day, plus by having a minimum and a maximum you have a great way of selecting weights on the day, because who knows how you might be feeling.

In the parts to follow I will talk more about each lift, nutrition, weighing in and all the details of the meet day.

Haris Rajah – ‘Honoured to be coached by him and to have a T-shirt with his name on it!’

Haris, what were your goals when signing up with me?

My main goals were to lose fat, and then lean bulk and in doing so build my metabolic rate.

What reservations if any did you have before we started working together?

Starting with a coach was a big decision for me as I take my training seriously. So serious I would spend 4 hours some days just smashing the weights. The feeling of having someone responsible of something I care so much about was actually quite worrying at first because I didn’t know how it all worked.

I had doubts over:

• Will I be doing enough exercise, and am I putting enough tension on my muscles?
• Will I be losing muscle as well as fat?
• Will my training style change? (I used to go to failure each set)

How was I able to help you with your reservations?

With just a few weeks working with Steve, I got the hand of counting calories, tracking my weights and being accountable for everything I ate.

The sessions I got by Steve took a lot less time in the gym as well, which I was worried about because I never thought it was enough, but I ended up getting better results with my new training style under Steve. Focusing on compound lifts and then hitting accessory work after, which is very different from what I used to do, such as hitting bicep curls first. It saved me so much time for other things in my life, also because I didn’t need to write up the programmes myself.

Steve would do everything for me, and as long as I was consistent and stuck to my training and nutrition, I would get results. Since my strength was going up as I cut, I gathered I didn’t lose any muscle at all too.

In point form, can you list your achievements training with me thus far?

• Dropped over 20lbs in weight, and still dropping.
• Adding weight to the bar weekly.
• Total has increased 15% to 412.5kg at under 140lbs bodyweight.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Steve has truly influenced my life on a large scale, since training is a big part of my time. Even before I started getting coached by Steve, if I had a question regarding training or nutrition, he would be the man I would go to see about it because he knows what he’s talking about.

I decided to join Steve when I was cutting, but failing halfway through. That’s when I knew I needed a coach. There were other coaches out there, but starting with Steve was a no brainer for me as I knew he would get me results and keep me on track.

On the first day starting with Steve, all my bad habits stopped and I was in a healthy place again. I finished my cut successfully and I was in the best shape of my life.

I’m currently still getting coached and I continue to progress, and it’s the best investment I’ve made towards my health, worth every penny. Highly recommend him to anyone, whether you’re advanced or a beginner. Honoured to be coached by him and to have a T-shirt with his name on it!

Another brilliant client I have enjoyed so much working with. Haris is a work horse and will certainly be a big name in the future, whether it be powerlifting or natural bodybuilding. He has determination like no-one else I have worked with, and to hear the comments above make me incredibly happy.

Interested in online coaching? You can check out what I have to offer here.

The Powerlifting Newb Series – Part 1

So 4 months after competing in a Natural Bodybuilding contest I decided to try my hand at Powerlifting. Why not? They both require you to be strong, and can really compliment one another. In short, bigger muscles are stronger, and by focussing on strength you are continually progressively overloading your muscles, key for growing.

In this following series ‘The Powerlifting Newb’ I am going to take you step by step through my transition form Natural Bodybuilding to the meet. However, in a Star Wars esq. fashion I am going to start with the ending first and tell you how I got on in my meet.

Night before Worries

So the night before the meet me and my girlfriend had a long discussion about my lifts and what weight I would attempt. There was me stressing about the fact my first and second attempts were a walk in the park and wasn’t sure about my third attempt. Going back and fourth about what if you miss that or if that makes you tired later etc. It was stressful and very unproductive. I stuck with the programme and forgot about the debate. This was a very good idea and I will go into depth about weight selection in another part.

Lucky for me I didn’t have to worry about my weight, as I have been sitting around 77-79kg consistently for about a month. Not a chance I would be over the 83kg limit. For those close to it, there is the potential to manipulate things…again, this part is about me and my lifts on the day, that will be covered later.

Day of Meet

Typically I eat a late breakfast, normally around midday. However, I wanted to make sure to get in sufficient fuel before the lifts. Breakfast therefore was a bit random and I went for a protein shake, banana and cookie, easy on the stomach and energy dense. I weighed myself at home after this and I was still well under 80kg, so all good. We then set off for the meet, the drive would take around 2 hours.

Once arriving we signed in and got in the queue for a kit check and to weigh in. This was my first newb moment as I had one of my Revive T Shirts to wear, for a meet you’re only allowed blank T’s or logos affiliated with powerlifting e.g. SBD. All my kit was fine, and then I weighed in, they checked out my briefs (which you must wear) and I selected my openers.

Now we weren’t due to lift until 2pm, so I had a good couple of hours to kill. I ate a tuna sandwich and had a drink, from there I just hung out with my girlfriend and kept an eye on who was lifting. Then at 1:15pm we got called up to select rack heights for the squat, after which we began warming up.

Some people had started warming up an hour before lifting, in my mind that is overkill, who warms up for an hour? No one. So with half an hour to warm up I was happy, people were all really nice and shared the racks. To say it was cramped is being kind, there were only 2 racks, really not enough for the number of lifters. So I probably had my worst warm up ever, but hey, I was under the same pressures as everyone else.

The Squat

For the squat my plan was:

1. 165kg opener
2. 180kg second attempt
3. 190-195kg third attempt

My first and second attempts went really well. However, on both I only got 2 white lights. These lights are bit like those in X-Factor, except it’s not whether they like the performance of not, the three meet judges decide whether or not the lift met the required rules. So my first two attempts may have been slightly lacking in depth, according to one judge anyway. This put me off, and so I decided to just go for 190kg on my third attempt.

This final lift was my best, a grinder but it was deeper than the last two. It looked good, it felt good, it was a 10kg PR, but it didn’t count. Steve the newb powerlifter racked the weight before he was told, bad Steve, no lift.

The Bench Press

For the bench my plan was:

1. 90kg opener
2. 100kg second attempt
3. 110-112.5kg third attempt

The bench was something I was really confident on, not because I was strong, in fact it is my worst lift, but in terms of my plan. I actually think I can hit 115kg, but I went conservative, and for bench, this is a good idea, that I will touch on in a later part when I go over weight selection.

So 90kg is around my 8RM, or 80% of my 1RM, so it was easy. However, I felt like an idiot when I failed this lift. Not because I couldn’t lift it, but because I wasn’t aware of the first call ‘Start’. I thought once I had said ‘My Bar’ I was good to go, but no. Yet, for my second lift I went onward with 100kg, because I knew it was easy. As thought, I got it comfortably.

Then I was in two minds whether or not to go for 115kg, but I played it safe, it was my first meet, so I went with 112.5kg a 2.5kg PR. Again, the lift felt good, a slight grind, and as I normally would in the gym, I hit the rep and racked it. Error number 2, I racked too soon, I forgot to wait for the call, no lift.

The Deadlift

For the deadlift my plan was:

1. 185kg opener
2. 205kg second attempt
3. 225-230kg third attempt

Right, so by now you are getting a pretty clear picture of how things were not going to plan. With a total of 280kg I needed 332.5kg to qualify for nationals, which was my intentions. Sadly if my 190kg and 112.5kg lifts counted I would only need 210, which I had hit for an easy triple a couple of weeks back. So as you can imagine my opener and second lifts went up easy. So on my final attempt I went for a very unrealistic 232.5kg, which would be a lifetime PR, let alone this bodyweight. As expect I didn’t get it, and to be honest I went into lift it with the wrong mindset.

Lessons Learnt

So as you can see on paper I didn’t do very well at all, however I still came 7th out of 15 lifters and for my first meet, that isn’t terrible. Annoyingly, if I had hit all my planned lifts I would have qualified easily and come third. But hey ho, you live and you learn. I now will have the confidence I know what is required for my next meets. Furthermore, my clients will know what to expect when preparing for a meet. In future I would practice lifting under mock conditions more regularly, and I would get my clients to do the same.

Key Lessons:

• Go in with a plan, trust the plan and be confident.
• Know the calls and meet expectations, train like this prior to the meet.
• Keep composed, especially when benching and squatting.

Those are just some of the lessons I have learnt. In future parts I will go over training running up to the meet, nutrition, warming up, lift selection, mind set and much more! So stay tuned.

You know what I am disappointed but I will #ReviveStronger watch this space.

The Fundamentals Make The Athlete

Back to basics

We all know those people who want to know the latest best exercise, or the new amazing supplement on the market. They are so focussed on the latest and greatest but have not taken the time to develop what matters most, and that is a strong foundation.

What makes up a strong base?

We all know that the best things in life are based of a few simple core principles. Apple products are great because they are so easy to use, this is the strong base they develop from. Costa produce some fantastic coffee variations and these all stem from top quality coffee beans. To be the best or to develop and grow you need a strong foundation to do it from. For the athlete this means perfect (or near to) technique on the main compound lifts, that’s squats, deadlifts and pressing varieties. It also requires a strong nutritional base, that’s your protein, carbs and fats, getting what you require by the end of the day, consistently. Developing these two aspects in the early stages of an athletes career pays massive dividends later on.

Stop looking for ‘training secrets’ & ‘magical supplements’
I know when I first started training I was far too concerned with the wrong things. Thinking if I took this shake and did this bicep tri-set routine I’d be cut and jacked in no time. I missed the bigger picture, and that was getting key basic principles correct. Any supplement or new training protocol is only ever going to be like the sprinkles on a cake. If you have a poor quality sponge, no matter how good those darn sprinkles are every bite will taste terrible. Just like no matter how good a supposed supplement or training method is meant to be, if you have poor technique on the main compounds or do not hit the your personal macro requirements by the end of the day, you will not see the results you desire. I know this first hand.

A coach can really help you get these aspects nailed, and keep you from straying too far from what matters. Not only do they keep you accountable for your nutrition, but if they are any good they know no matter how advanced you are as an athlete you can’t go wrong with a good squat, deadlift or pressing pattern. Making sure you are continually getting the basics right, each and every day.