FC Strength

These are important questions to ask yourself. We've all seen the casual gym goers and fitness fanatics that seem to go into the gym and not have a clue as to what they're doing or why. They don't have a plan. They move from machine to machine and exercise to exercise without rhyme or reason. Year after year they look exactly the same. They haven't progressed in any way mentally or physically.

Does this sound like you?

If it does you seriously need to reevaluate what you're doing.

When you decide to stop working out and really start training here are a few things to keep in mind:

     1.  FIND OUT WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE

This should be the easiest thing to figure out. Do you want to lose 20lbs? Deadlift 500? Be better conditioned for MMA? Get leaner? Fix your posture? Rid yourself of low back pain? The list can go on and on. Pinpoint exactly what it is you will be training for. This may change as your training progresses and that's fine, but if you don't start somewhere nothing will be accomplished.

     2.  MAKE YOURSELF A PLAN

If you're not following some sort of plan you're just spinning your wheels. All too often I'll ask someone in the gym what they're doing that day and aside from the usual answer being "chest" they can't tell me exactly what exercises they'll be doing, what order they're in, why they're doing them, or even what they did last week. This makes no sense to me. This is equivalent to a mechanic working on your car and telling you "yea we think it's the head gasket; we haven't tested anything but we're gonna change out the transmission and see if that fixes it" -- Don't be THAT guy.

The plan doesn't have to be complicated or perfect but it does need to correlate to your goals. If you don't know how to set up a program then I suggest finding someone who knows what they're doing to help you out. I will be posting articles on how to set up a program in the future.

     3.  FOLLOW THROUGH

Following through is probably the most important piece of the puzzle. Knowing your goals and creating a plan is great but if you don't take action how will you achieve anything? Step into the gym with focus, intensity, and your handy-dandy training journal. Trust in yourself and trust in your program. If you can stick with it for at least 8 weeks I can guarantee you will be a different person both mentally and physically.

     4.  LEARN,  ADAPT,  GROW

Experience is a great teacher and as such, so is training. You will learn a lot from being under the bar and actually going through the trials and tribulations, blood, sweat, and tears. But don't let it stop there. Learn everything you can and adapt what you learn into your program. You don't have to use it all. Use what makes sense to you and let the rest be. This will help you grow. Remember that knowledge isn't power. Knowledge with action is power.

"Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own." -Bruce Lee

So I ask you ... Do You Train?