Did you know that how you live, day to day, determines the level of strength and muscularity you'll achieve? It's true, if you have a lifestyle that supports fat loss, muscle gain, and strength increase, those things will occur naturally. It's when you expect one thing and do something totally opposite trying to get it that it becomes a problem. If you drop a rock from a tall building, it's going to fall to the ground, whether you like it or not. It just happens. If you train heavy, consistent, intensely, and support yourself nutritionally, you will get stronger and more muscular. It happens. Certain steps lead to certain destinations. But doing things repeatedly that do not support your goals will ensure you do not reach them. For example, you want to gain lean muscle and increase your strength, but you consistently fail to eat the right types of food, at the right times , or the right amounts. Or you want to shed some body fat yet you continue to take days off from cardio because you're not motivated enough to do it. If you want to skyrocket your strength, if you continue doing light weight and high reps, how is that ever going to get you there? If your lifestyle is not supportive of gaining muscle and strength, then it really doesn't matter what you do in the gym, your results will be limited. So what's the key? Replace those things that will hinder or sabotage muscle growth with newer, more productive habits that continually support muscle growth and strength. Here's an example. It's the new year and you decide one of your resolutions is to gain muscle, specifically 5 pounds of lean muscle in the next month. You give up your old, unproductive habit of just hanging out at the gym after a workout, not eating or drinking a post workout meal. Instead, now you have a protein and carb drink ready to shake and slam after the workout. You changed a very minor thing but it will make a huge difference in your gains. Say that you want to lose 10 pounds of body fat to see your abs, but for dinner each night you continue to eat pizza or cheeseburgers and fries. A couple months later, after doing all those crunches, you still do not see your abs so you figure it probably just wasn't meant to be. A new, improved lifestyle change could involve eating a salad and chicken breast instead of your burger and fries a couple nights a week. So, as plain as day, how you decide to live your life each day impacts what you will achieve in terms of muscularity and strength. The key is to make small, improved lifestyle changes that support fat loss and muscle gain, and continue them until they become habit. Then move on to another small change that benefits your goals, replacing an older, less productive one. By changing habits in moderation, you do not overwhelm yourself with a sense of displeasure from restrictive eating or too much training. In fact, by making your lifestyle changes in moderation, you increase the likelihood that these changes will be long lasting and permanent. Just start replacing old, nonproductive habits with newer, more supportive ones that contribute to muscle and strength gain and soon your concerns with your physique will be a thing of the past. There are some times in the gym, while I'm working out, that some younger guy will approach me and ask me how I'm able to lift some of the weights I use. They expect me to tell them that I'm able to straight bar curl 150 pounds or bench press 375 because of some supplement I take. They often look at me dumbfounded as I tell them that one of the biggest reasons for my strength gains are because I've been lifting for a while and have just grown accustomed to handling heavier weights. It's no secret that the longer you do something, usually the better you get. This holds true with lifting as well. The longer you are able to keep lifting heavy and intensely, you are going to get stronger and more muscular as a result. So, the reason why there are many bodybuilders stronger than a lot of people is that they've just been doing it longer than most and the experience has been one of increased strength. So, the key to becoming stronger and more muscular lies in your ability to keep at it, keep training, and make sure your daily habits support your goals of building muscle, losing fat, or gaining strength. |
