The Recipe For Strength: It's Not What You Think.

How to get strong, look fit, and stay away from injury. Plus the exercise of the week for a rock-solid core.

Issue #56

1) Step 1: to get strong, slow down.
2) 9 rules to keep pushing your limits without ever getting injured.
3) Exercise of the week: High Plank to Half Plank.

Read time: 4 minutes

Hey Disciples of Steel!

Today, I’m going to do my best to sum up and give you the recipe you’ve been looking for.

I’ve never looked fitter than since I stopped trying.

When I was younger and started working a job, my training was all about trying to keep nice biceps, a six-pack, round shoulders etc.

I was training for looks.

Maintenance was so hard to achieve, I could never take any progress for granted, and I always had to work harder just to keep things as they were.
It was also a terribly boring way to train.

A few years later I had a stressful job and too little time to eat, work out, and sleep.
In just 6 months I lost 10kg and a lot of strength.

Then I moved to a new city in China and had more time on my hands.
It was very common to work out in parks there, so I tried and realized I couldn’t even do a single pull-up anymore.

That was 10 years ago and it was a wake-up call that shifted my focus forever.
I decided to train for strength, and I had a deadly determination to become a strong mf.
I used no gym, no supplement.
Just a balanced diet, my own bodyweight, and a solid training plan based on powerlifting methods.

I definitely got stronger (and still getting stronger at 38 with the same method), but this is not the only thing that happened.
It wasn’t even the goal anymore but I started seeing new muscles pop out, and I remember feeling my back muscles stretching my shirts more and more over the weeks.

I was growing wings! And so did my confidence.

Right then I knew I had cracked the code.
If you want to look fit, train to be strong. 💪

Ask The Coach

If you need help or have a question about your training, all you have to do is use the message box, and I’ll reply to you personally.
I promise I won’t try to sell you anything, so please do not hesitate to ask for help!
When you share your challenges with me, it helps me get better too, it’s always a win-win situation. 🤜🤛

1. Step 1: to get strong, slow down.

That’s me in 2015 in the Hunan (China) countryside, practicing what I preach.
Don’t ask me how I ended up there…

I became stronger by never breaking a sweat.

You read that right.

Part of my fitness reboot plan 10 years ago was to understand how to build pure strength like a pro.
Few reps, long rest time, not too many exercises per workout, mindful movement, and full trust in the process.

You’re probably skeptical right now, and so was I.
It was hard for me to believe I’d reach my goals without doing reps to failure and exhausting myself.

But I also knew the wisest thing to do was to listen to what all the world class coaches with decades of experience said, and to apply it religiously.

It didn’t take me long to realize that it was the most effective way not only to get stronger, but also to retain muscle mass, burn fat faster, have more time-efficient workouts, and even sleep better.

Training for strength makes you worry at first because you feel like you’re not doing much work and you’re just wasting your time.

But trust me, this is the way to a long and healthy life.

2. 9 rules to keep pushing your limits without ever getting injured.

If your goal is to do 10 pull-ups in a row, I’m sure you’re ready to work hard for it.
But if you snap your biceps along the way, not cool.
And not very productive either.

The fastest way is the slow way.
That’s how I sum up the set of rules I have followed to stay away from injury.
It is not only a way to train safely, it is also how you can make the fastest progress in strength.

1) Never skip steps, train at your level.
2) Don’t go to failure (keep 1 rep in the tank).
3) Prioritize form over load.
4) Rest long enough between sets to perform your reps correctly.
5) Always warm up muscles and joints, even if you’re only going to do 1 set of push-ups.
6) Do longer sets at low intensity when trying a new exercise.
7) Sleep enough.
8) Don’t train when you’re very tired or lack sleep.
9) Learn and practice patience.

It may seem simple and easy to do, but seeing yourself progress and getting closer to your goals is a very exciting feeling which makes it hard to pace yourself.
And that’s one of the most common reasons for injury.

So keep these rules in mind, apply them, and you’ll keep progressing without hurting yourself.

3. Exercise of the week: High Plank to Half Plank.

The High Plank to Half Plank (or Low Plank) is a great variation of these 2 exercises.

It’s not exactly a progression, but rather works as an application of the 2 which will prepare you for what core strength is really about: keeping your whole body solid and steady during daily activities and sports.

And it will train 2 key components of your overall athleticism.

1) Strength: as your body moves up and down, you will need to brace your midsection throughout the movement and resist the rotations.

2) Proprioception: by forcing your mind to focus on 2 different actions simultaneously. On one hand, you’ll have to stay mindful of your arms movement and make sure you alternate between the left and right arms. And on the other hand, you’ll need to keep thinking about contracting your core without interruption.

It’s easier said than done, and beginners usually make 2 common mistakes: failing to alternate left and right arms properly, or losing their straight line during the descent.

Finally, remember to treat this exercise like an isometric hold: keep going for as long as you can, while making sure you do as many reps on the right side as you do on the left.

Click this link for the full YouTube video and instructions.

If you want to master the sword, first master yourself. Samurai Proverb

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I hope you found some useful tips and motivation in today's edition.

Please share your feedback and help me improve my content for everyone!

A great way to do this is by sending me a message with a personal question you have about training.

Thanks for reading and see you next week!

- Nico

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