September 24, 2011

Believing in and trusting your training program while still listening to your body

Rant and Tip for the weekend of September 24, 2011


Rick Cancelino
This weekend our Guest Blogger is Rick Cancelino. He finished second in the USAPL Raw powerlifting National Meet and qualified for the Arnold Sports/Fitness Festival for 2012. He is also an accomplished bodybuilder.

"Believing in and trusting your training program while still listening to your body"

There are literally hundreds of different training/workout programs to reach your particular fitness and/or competitive goals.  The key to success and reaching your goals are picking a training programming and committing to it. After you commit to the program two things will be needed for success, consistency and effort.   Consistency is the first step in reaching your particular fitness and/or competitive goal.   You should always stick to your plan to reach your goal and be consistent i.e. if your a distance runner and your plan calls for two speed days a week, then you should follow that protocol until race day.  Once your showing up for your training session consistently it is important to put max effort into each session through out the duration of the program.  Max effort is complete mental concentration during "heavy" and "light" training loads.

Sounds easy enough right? Not so fast. You must believe that the training program is going to work to reach your particular goal. I can guarantee you will talk to and/or see someone else that has achieved great results using a different program then yours. When this happens, believe in your program. Any one that has achieved results to get from point A to point G (their goal) has been consistent and put in the effort. Don't get me wrong, you must choose a solid program to reach your goal. With that aside and assuming you have chosen a solid program i.e. FST-7 for bodybuilding, 5x5 program for power lifting, German volume training, fartlek training for distance running etc. commit to the program and believe in it. It is easy to doubt your program when others may doubt your program and tell you about it.  The bottom line is that with effort and consistency you will achieve results and your goals. Various factors will also interfere with your training times and challenge your consistency in sticking with your program i.e. Work hours, family commitments, weather etc. It is important to do the best you possibly can to be as consistent as possible and be willing to adjust to get the training done.
Ok, when do you break the rules of being consistent and putting in max effort during a training session? You need to learn how to listen to your body. There will be times you walk into the gym or go on the track where you feel "off".  Your body's immune system might be fighting illness, you might feel pain in your shoulder, or you may feel a twinge in your hamstring etc. If this happens do not continue and wait till your 100%. Max effort when not feeling 100% will eventually result in injury. This seems like common sense, but I have seen many people get hurt by listening to their ego instead of their body and continuing to push themselves. Consistency and effort while feeling 100% will result in reaching your goals.
Rick (Deadlift)

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