FC Strength

I've spoken many times on this site about having a solid training program and have written articles on how to design your own, so that is not what this is about. There are 3 other important factors to keep in mind when trying to dial in your lifestyle to match your training goals.

First and foremost is NUTRITION. You literally are what you eat. Therefore if you're stuffing your face with a bunch of crap you can expect to look and feel like a bunch of crap. My nutritional knowledge isn't the greatest and I am not a certified dietician or any of that mess, but, from experience with myself and with my clients, I can assure you there are a few guidelines that should definitely be adhered to:

1. Eat more protein. This should really go without saying, especially for females. Protein is your friend. I'm not suggesting that you only eat protein or eat it in surplus amounts, but make sure you're getting in AT LEAST 0.8-1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight. If you're looking to gain some quality weight try anywhere from 1.0-1.25 grams per pound of bodyweight.
2. Processed foods are the devil. If it came in a plastic package, has a shelf life of a twinkie, or has passed through more machinery than a quart of motor oil, DON'T EAT IT. Stick to real, whole foods like grass-fed lean meats, wild poultry, wild fish, roots, rice, fresh fruits and vegetables.
3. Water does an amazing thing ... it keeps you alive. Drink it. If you're on any kind of exercise program you need to make sure you're taking in an adequate amount of water. You need to consume more water than usual in order for your body to function properly and keep up with the amount of water that is lost through perspiration. The easiest way to do this is to skip out on the juices and replace them with good 'ole fashioned water.

Neck training has to be one of the most overlooked and underutilized facets of programming. Strengthening the neck through its ability to stabilize and resist movement is extremely important not just for athletes, but for the everday gym-goer as well.

Why Train Your Neck?

First and foremost, a strong neck will help you to avoid serious injury in a collision. This doesn't mean you should become a bull-necked behemoth and go get yourself into a car accident to test your metal, but in case you were in a car accident, having a strong neck would help you evade some serious damage.

Take a look at sports like football, MMA, and wrestling. Have you seen many pencil-necked lineman, fighters, or D1 wrestlers? I think not. There's a reason for this. In their given sports the amount of collision they get into during gameplay is huge. Lineman get smashed on every play, fighters get punched, kicked, and kneed to the head, and wrestlers get slammed and pinned to the mat. Constant impact on the neck, cervical vertebrae, and the surrounding structures. Having a weak neck in these situations isn't an option, it's a necessity.

Unfortunately I am writing this article out of pure personal experience. I recently was hit with some flu-like symptoms and have been out of commission for the last 3 days. I realize I won't be able to hit a good training session until I get better, so in this article I will outline my own plan of attack to get myself back to where I was before I got sick.

Where Have I Been?

For the last 12 weeks I've been hitting a variation of Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 program. In the program I was training 3 days per week hitting a full body routine all 3 days. This was going really well as I was hitting rep PRs in all of my lifts (squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press).

The workload was light and it wasn't until the end of my 2nd cycle and into my 3rd cycle that it started getting pretty heavy (for me at least). I was back squatting 3 days per week in conjunction with whatever else I had to do on those days. Granted I wasn't going for an all-out effort in the squat but one day per week, having a heavy barbell on your back that often starts to wear you down a bit.

Anywho, that's where I was. I was 12 weeks into a solid program and I was ready to readjust my numbers and continue. There were going to be a few tweaks though ...

I'm sure you've all seen people walking around with horrible posture. "Desk Job" posture is the most common I've seen. The tell-tale signs are shoulders rounded forward, chin jutting out, and what looks to be the start of a hunch back. What you may not know is that you could be well on your way to having the same issues, or you might already have them.

What Is "Desk Job" Posture?

Also classified as Upper Cross Syndrome (UCS) or kyphosis, "desk job" posture is a series of short and tight muscles paired with long and weak muscles leaving you with a quasimodo-esque, hunched over look.

This is highlighted by overactive pectoralis minor, upper trapezius, and levator scapula, as well as weakened deep neck flexors, scapular stabilizers, and scapular retractors/depressors. That's a mouthful, so I'll break it down into easier to understand terminology.

This is the final installment of the "Setting Up Your Training Program" series. In this article I will cover what I feel are the best 10 methods to amplify your training and speed up your recovery.

If you haven't checked out the previous articles in the series you will find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Recovery is a hotly debated topic in the training realm. In my opinion it is the most important part of any program. In fact, once you figure out what you want to train for the next thing in line is how many days of recovery you can allot outside of gym training and/or sport training. The entire program should be based around recovery.

Everyone wants to smash the weights in the gym and hit PRs every time they train (if you don't then you're probably reading the wrong blog but thanks for visiting). This is of course an ideal situation. Life is never ideal, however, there are a few things you can do to make sure you're fresh and ready for the next training session each and every training session.

Before I get all of you to try out these recovery methods and then email me saying they didn't work or you still can't get to your goals any faster, here's a disclaimer: THESE ARE ONLY SUGGESTIONS!!