Lifting weights.
It sounds simple enough.
Pick up something heavy and put it down. Push something heavy. Pull something. Squat it. Lunge it. Curl it.
As shallow as lifting weights sounds on the surface, that’s the tip of the iceberg.
It extends deep into the endless abyss. People can spend their entire life researching one aspect of lifting. An aspect which makes up 0.001% of the whole science. And even then, still not know it all.
Then, there is the art of lifting.
Knowing your body, reading the signals, acknowledging when it’s time to push the limits, and when it’s time to back off. This comes from experience and mindfulness.
Safe to say – lifting weights is more than just ‘lifting weights’.
Through mistakes, wasted time and reading textbooks which would make your eyes bleed, I’ve learned a few things about the art and science of lifting.
Here’s 11 of those most powerful lifting principles which will take your game to the next level.
1. For strength, weight before reps. For muscle mass, reps before weight.
There are two particular variables in lifting which you must pay attention to – intensity and volume.
Intensity is the weight you’re lifting relative to your 1 rep max. Generally, anything over 85% would be considered high intensity.
When you’re looking to get stronger, you want to be trying to add weight each session. This pushes the boundaries of your top-end strength.
Eg. Last week you benched 3 sets of 5 at 200lbs. Today, go for 205/210lbs.
On the other hand, volume is the sets, reps, and weight you lifted – all multiplied.
When you want to grow muscles mass, you want to increase volume. Instead of adding weight to the bar, it’s easier to increase volume through more reps or more sets.
Eg. Last week you benched 3 sets of 5 at 200lbs. Today, go for 6/7 reps or add a fourth set.
Of course, you can increase both at the same time. Progress is slower this way. It comes down to what your goal is, primarily strength, muscle mass, or both?
2. Leave your ego at the door.
She’s here again. The hot chick in the leopard print yoga pants. Time to impress her by struggling to lift 20 pounds heavier on the bench press.
Let me tell you something. She’s not impressed.
Neither is anyone else in the gym.
You shouldn’t be there to impress others. Leave your ego at the door. You’re in the gym to improve yourself. It’s you versus you.
Ego lifting is the bane of progress.
You’ve got your program. Throw on some tunes and stick to what’s going to work. Lift heavy and challenge yourself, for yourself.
Another little secret – the other members of the gym are too busy worrying about what everyone else thinks of them to worry about what you’re doing.
3. If you’re not getting bigger or stronger, your program isn’t working.
My guess is you have a reason to lift. You’re putting in the sweat and effort. You’re trying to get bigger and stronger.
Therefore, you should expect to always be making progress.
If you’re not slapping goals in the face as you speed past them on the iron-bike. Ask why…
Something is wrong.
Most of the time it’s your program. It’s not working. You’re stalled out and stuck in the mud. Take a step back and objectively ask, “Am I getting closer to my goal?”
And if not, here are some things you can do:
- Find a better program which has been proven to get you results.
- Educate yourself on what a good program looks like and how to make your own.
- Work harder in the gym.
- Hire an online coach who can make your program for you.
- Join an online group coaching program with a coach who can keep you on track.
- Hire a personal trainer who can be with you as you perform the program
4. Don’t get injured. It’s not worth it.
I hurt my back squatting about 5 years ago. It was ugly and put heavy lifting on hold for over a year. Injuries suck.
Of course, you don’t ‘choose’ to not get injured. But, there are certain practices you can perform to reduce the risk.
- Listen to your body. Sometimes you know internally that today won’t be an impressive session. Listen. Don’t push it. There’s always next time.
- Warm up properly. Said many times before but people still skip it (me sometimes!). The warm up is a huge part of reducing injury risk.
- Recover as hard as you train. This includes nutrition, sleep, foam rolling, massage, mobility etc. Lifting for the long-term requires you need to keep everything in top shape.
I wish I read this before squatting that day. The pain still lingers. It doesn’t stop my gains. But it does flare up every now and then, reminding me of my mistake.
If only I listened to my body.
Don’t get injured. It’s not worth it.
5. Be a scribe. Record everything.
For my own personal training clients, this is massive. They’ve never recorded any of their sessions so have no idea if they are actually making progress.
It’s the difference between working out and training.
Working out is going through the motions. Doing it because you think you should. Random sessions.
Training is purpose. Having a goal.
We should all be aiming to train.
Whether your goal is getting ripped, jacked, tanned or all the above, being able to progress day-to-day and week-to-week is the only way to get there.
By recording your sessions – exercises, sets, reps and weight – you know what you did last time and what you need to do today to beat it.
Channel your inner kaizen of “small, constant, continuous improvement.”
6. Nutrition is half the battle.
A young fella (let’s call him Ron) emailed me to question why he’s not getting bigger and stronger.
I asked to see Ron’s program. It’s solid. He should be making progress.
I asked Ron to tell me about his diet. He eats a cupcake with his coffee for breakfast. A bagel with cream cheese for lunch. And usually some sort of cheesy, pasta-pizza based dinner. There are some bad snack choices in the mix too.
Do you expect to go places when you put beer in the tank of your car? You need the right fuel.
Some simple guidelines:
- Eat more protein. 1 gram per pound of bodyweight is a good target.
- Eat healthy fats with each meal. Things like avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil, fish, nut butters etc.
- At least 5 servings of vegetables a day.
- Don’t be afraid of carbs (but chill on the sugar). Eat whole sources like fruit, potatoes, rice, oats, pasta and some bread.
7. Be careful who you listen to.
See that gigantic dude on the bench press, vein-stricken and shoulders the size of melons?
He may give you good advice.
He may also give you terrible advice which would make most professionals rip out their hair.
The point is, just because someone is big and strong doesn’t automatically mean they know how to help someone else get big and strong.
Look at the world’s best athletes. Every single one of them has a coach who is in much worse shape than them, but knows infinitely more.
Same goes for social media, magazines and all the buzzing on the internet.
These days, anyone can announce their perspective and thoughts on the world. It doesn’t mean they’re right.
There are a few recommended sources of solid advice I can guide you to. People that deeply understand the science and art of lifting. To name a few:
- Brad Schoenfeld
- Bret Contreras
- Jason Helmes
- Alan Aragon
- Jason Maxwell (you’re in the right place)
- Eric Bach
- John Romaniello
- Greg Nuckols
8. Make your goal the priority.
As much as it’s awesome to think you can increase your bench press PR, lose 15lbs of fat, put on 10lbs of muscle, and train for a marathon all at once…
… you can’t.
What are you trying to achieve?
Find goals that you can train for similarly, like increasing your bench and putting on muscle.
Try to avoid having too many conflicting goals, like running a marathon, putting on muscle and competing in a weightlifting competition.
Although it can be done, you’ll have a poor performance in all of them.
To put it more specifically to lifting, if you want to improve your squat, squat first and squat often. Once a week won’t get you far.
- Is the focus strength? Go for lower rep ranges.
- Is it muscle gain? Bump those rep ranges up to 8+ to increase the volume.
- Is it fat loss? Focus on your diet to reach a calorie deficit and train to maintain muscle mass.
By prioritizing your goal you’ll be much more likely to reach it.
9. Consistency is the biggest influencer.
There’s one underlying theme of every single success story out there – die-hard consistency.
Our society loves quick-fixes and results in under 10 days. When it comes to your body, this stuff doesn’t work.
The only thing guaranteed to work is showing up every day, doing the work, and continuing to show up over a sustained period.
An average training program, done consistently, will beat the best ever program done inconsistently.
10. The basics can take you a long way.
There are few men out there who can rep 275 on the bench press without a decently-sized chest. Same goes for the squat. If a dude is pushing up 10 reps at 315 pounds, you can safely bet he will have muscular thighs to match.
The basics are your big compound movements. Think, ‘exercises which have me sweating barbell-shaped bullets by rep 10.’
When it comes to how they will take you a long way, it’s all about progression.
You should focus the majority of your efforts on the basic compound exercises and get brutally strong at them. You’ll always out-gain the dude doing 15 isolation exercises for his vastus medialis.
Isolation exercises have their place. But, they shouldn’t take priority over your ‘big rock’ movements.
As Eric Bach says, “Success lies in relentless execution of the basics.”
11. Have a life outside of the gym.
Lifting isn’t the only thing in life that matters.
It is a way to improve yourself and your life. It shouldn’t BE your life.
I’ve met people who haven’t gone on holidays in five years as it means they wouldn’t be able to train for two weeks. Life is about experiences (outside of the gym).
Meet your friends at the beach. Play a game of pick-up basketball. Go to a Taylor Swift concert. The iron will always sit and wait for you. It’s not going anywhere.
Yeah… strange point to end on, but I feel strongly about this.
Life is more than the circumference of your freshly shaved quads.
Although, a pair of tree trunk thighs is pretty sweet.
Anyway, I’ve thrown some hefty bombs your way in this article. Take a moment to think about these powerful principles.
How can you implement them into your lifting?
Could you:
- Hire a coach to straighten out your programming?
- Revamp who you get information from?
- Eat more protein?
- Get back to the basics?
There’s a ridiculous depth to the art and science of lifting. Be more like Bruce Lee:
“Take what is useful, discard what is not, and add what is uniquely your own.”
Keep it simple. Progress. Know your body. Earn results through indomitable consistency.
You got this.
About the Author
Mike Gostelow is head honcho at Redefine Coaching. He helps busy, stressed-out executive men transform their bodies for long-term results. Grab his High-Performance Health Starter Kit here. He says it will help you “look freaking incredible and feel even better.” Connect with Mike on Instagram.
We value your privacy and would never spam you