As you know from reading my blog, I try to keep my articles as informative as possible.  Today I am going to review 6 Keys to Successful Bodybuilding by Dave Draper.  This is an article I've seen on many websites and I thought it was time someone gave a commentary.

To make clear the simplicity of bodybuilding I've arranged a list of six basic keys to successful training. They're nothing new and read like the same stuff in any motivational book on the market today. Yet they offer valuable insight and are essential to getting started and sticking to it.

1.Set a realistic goal – short and long term.
Be realistic in your goal setting. It's important from the very beginning and throughout your training to experience victory in each and every workout. Ease into your training with good energy, being careful not to overload yourself and fall victim to mental and physical burnout. Planning to look like Rambo by the end of summer will be frustrating and you may give up your training entirely.

The key phrase is “be realistic”.  I also strongly agree with the concept that you need to “experience victory in each and every workout.”  Remember, 1 extra rep is a victory.  Don't forget to count the small victories.  As he says “planning to look like Rambo by the end of summer will be frustrating” so don't make crazy goals like that. 

2.Plan an orderly and thorough routine to train the entire body.
Decide how much time you have to devote to your training – how many hours per day and how many days per week. Based on this schedule, design an orderly and efficient routine that includes only basic exercises. Working your mid-section first, followed by chest, back shoulders, biceps, triceps and legs is always a good rule of thumb. Choose two exercises per bodypart, three to four sets of 8 to 12 reps with a day's rest between muscle groups if you're just getting started.

I disagree with working the mid-section (abdominals) first.  I find that if I work my abdominals first the rest of my workout sucks.  I always do my abdominal workout after everything else is done.  I also think you should not just stick to body part splits.  Sometimes you get better gains with full body workouts.  Other times you get better gains with upper/lower body splits.  This is where keeping a training journal (ala the Muscle Nerd) becomes important.  You have to track your workouts and the results they bring so that you will know what works for your individual body.

3.Make a commitment to stick to your routine for 4-5 weeks – to begin to see changes and benefits, develop perseverance and create a habit.
We now come to commitment, the Big Power Switch of our mental mechanism to see if we have the juice to crank over the engine and keep it running. Commitment is your personal promise – your word of honor – to realize your challenge and is vital in aspiration. The naturally occurring ingredients of commitment are consistency, persistence and determination. These gut disciplines engaged with patience and faith set you in positive motion toward your muscular goals.

This is a must.  This goes back to when I spoke about bouncers.  He puts it very clearly.  Sticking to your plan will show that you can “crank over the engine and keep it running.”  Your ability to stick to a routine for this amount of time will show that your word is honorable.  You need consistency, persistence and determination to move ahead and sticking to a plan for a period of time develops those traits.

4.Enthusiasm for training must be recognized as the main and driving force to perform successfully.
Each workout is a unique and separate experience unto itself. Events of the day, mood, energy levels and tensions effect every performance differently. Gather up as much enthusiasm as possible before each workout so you enter the gym with energy and a positive attitude. Your training must not become drudgery or a chore that has to be done. This is negative energy, producing negative results and must be willfully resisted.

When I'm on the way to the gym for a workout I psyche myself up.  I tell myself all the way there that it is going to be the best workout I've ever done.  I tell myself how much fun I'm going to have.  I get up for the event.  No matter what attitude I leave home with, I enter the gym with enthusiasm. 

5.Ease into a training program with a wholesome, thoughtful nutritional plan – proper food, order and amount of consumption.
In organizing an exercise program, keep your eyes and ears open. Scan the Web, magazines and books, visit the gyms and get input from your friends and mentors. An orderly and intelligent training routine is the major tool in achieving your bodybuilding goals.

Nutrition–80% (or more) of your results will come from proper nutrition.  I've tried alot of things. I now know what to do when cutting.  My next experiment is in bulking.  We will see what happens, but I agree with his concept here.

6.Be confident from the beginning that the application of these sound principles will produce the desired results.
Keep your workouts tight and efficient, leaving no room for boredom or idle thought. You should quickly develop a mature training attitude allowing no interruptions in the flow of exercise from start to finish. This is not to suggest that you hurry in your training. A hurried attitude produces anxiety, nervousness and agitation, resulting in negative performance and loss of concentration. Quite the opposite, here I encourage a steady lean on your training – setting a vigorous pace that reflects excitement, confidence and determination

I agree.  I use a timer to track my rest periods.  I literally click a stop watch and if I'm supposed to rest for 60 seconds, I wait until 60 seconds EXACTLY passes and then begin the next set.  The pace of the workout helps to up the intensity.  It keeps you from lounging your way through a workout when you are sticking to a set time period for rest.  Remember, there's a reason you are only supposed to rest X seconds.

Become totally involved with each workout, each set and each rep. Focus on the performance of the exercise, the muscles involved and the feelings that result. Look for your particular groove and sense the burn. Training form is your priority and practice makes perfect. Learn to lift weights smoothly, sacrificing the poundage used to gain quality in your performance. Don't be anxious to overload your body and struggle to lift more than you can handle. This will create poor style and result in disappointment. These register as failures and drain your resources.

Form.  I preach it all the time.  Get the form down and everything else will fall in place for you.  Don't hurry to lift heavier weights.  To me, someone who lifts 40 pounds with perfect form is doing much better and will get better results than the person who lifts 70 pounds with sloppy form.

Once the basic foundation has settled, good work habits have developed and your groove has been established, you're on your way and ready to grow.

This part is so true.  You have to establish a habit of working out.  I think once you have that habit down, the gains will come as long as you keep your nutrition in check.
 

Today was my body weight circuit.  I've learned to love the pull ups that are done on this day along with the body weight rows that you do on the Smith Machine.  Both are awesome exercises for the back.  I feel so much fatigue in those muscles when I'm done.  I'm starting to believe that there aren't any better exercises for the back overall than those two exercises.

When you get your enthusiasm up before entering the gym you launch your workout into a new realm.  The possibilities become endless and the hard work will just flow.

What do you do to maintain your enthusiasm for your plan?  Comment this post with your answer.

Mission 1, Day 15: Planning

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

Today is Memorial Day here in the United States.  I hope everyone who celebrated it had a great day!

Remember, the initial weight gain during an increase in calories is likely to be water and that still counts towards LBM, so no worries.  Just go ahead and up the calories slowly.  I think what you will find is that you really don't gain much, if any, weight on the scale.

Today was an intense leg workout.  I decided that I was going to completely obliterate my legs in this workout.  After the initial set of seated calve raises where I went to complete failure (ie. I could not move the weight again and had to pull back on the bar to set the safety) I was barely able to stand up.  That just set the tone for this workout.  I hit my calves with 3 different exercises and by the time I was done, I could already feel the burn and a case of DOMs coming on.  I continued in this fashion throughout the workout, pushing and pushing to the point of no return.  Then I came face to face with the power rack and my favorite deadlifts.  I did warm up sets of 10 x 135 lbs., 10 x 185 lbs., 10 x 225 lbs and 5 x 325 lbs and then I was ready for the work.  I set a personal best and totally fried my traps and hammies when I pulled 8 x 425 lbs.  I generally use hooks when hitting weight this heavy, but today I went with just my lifting straps.  Next up was another set of 8 x 435 lbs.  After I got home I decided to check on a one rep max calculator to see what my potential is with this type of lift.  What I got is simply amazing and not something I am ready to attempt just yet.  According to the calculator at http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html I should be able to lift 540 lbs. one time if I can do 435 lbs. x 8.  I guess my deadlift goal is realistic!

Like Adam Waters (Adam: RTP Blog 2.0) says of Tom Venuto (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle), you have to have a take no prisoners attitude in the gym.

Always be willing to push yourself harder.  The results you get will be worth the pain you suffer through.

Do you believe you push yourself as hard as you possibly can in the gym or do you have room to push yourself even more?  Comment this blog post to answer this question.

Mission 1, Day 14: Group Shred Ends

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

First, I hope you enjoy the new look of my blog posts.  I've been thinking this through for some time now and have decided that this is the way to go.  Comment this post and let me know what you think of the new look on the post itself.

Tomorrow is my lower body workout and I'm pumped. I'm planning to really push the limits of what I've been doing.  I plan to hit it extra hard tomorrow and begin getting my body ready for the torture it is going to face during my bulking cycle.  Watch this blog tomorrow for a discussion of that workout session.

As stated above, I was originally planning a PACE cardio session on the treadmill but switched to steady state due to a muscle cramp.  What I did was put the incline up to 6.0 and then slowly increased the speed of the treadmill to get my heart rate up above 80%.  I then maintained that level for 45 minutes.  I enjoyed the “walk” as I listened to Pro Bodybuilding Weekly on my MP3 player.  It was an enjoyable cardio session for me!

Knowledge is key when you hit the gym because it enables you to change things up on the fly when necessary.  Knowing several different ways to hit your calves will help you if the calf machine you need is crowded.  Just go on to another good calf exercise!

How do you pass time during steady state cardio sessions?  Comment this post to answer the question.

Mission 1, Day 13: The end is near…in more ways than one!

Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

Mission 1, Day 12: Does anyone else care?