Simplicity is the Key

The other day I decided to take a trip down memory lane, and look over my training diary and all of my training programs from when I first started training at the age of 14. I began to reminisce about the time when I had the greatest strength and experienced the most muscle growth. As it turns out, I had the most success 6 years ago! Weird, huh? I mean, you would think now with new technology, gadgets and unlimited access to training information out there, that I would be experiencing the greatest gains now…right? Well, no! That’s actually the problem, and the reason for the lack of results and the ongoing global obesity crisis.

Before Web 2.0

Back in the day when people actually had a thing called an attention span, the internet was not the main topic of conversation and people had a life outside Facebook, things were much easier.

A client would walk up to me and ask me for advice on how to lose weight, build muscle or get fitter, and I would advise them to go do this and that. They would go away and do it, and that was that! No questions, no buts and no what ifs! They got results, they were happy and I was happy. Now, when I recommend something, often people come back looking exactly the same as they did when we last met: “Did you do that thing I told you to do?” “Oh nah, I went on the internet and Googled it, and found 5 other blogs that recommended something else. So, I rotated each recommendation on a semi daily basis with a 4 way split, multi directional functional program with a bit of CrossFit, Westside, kettlebell and strongman.” “Ok. So, what worked and what didn’t?” ”Um…I don’t know.” I rest my case.

Just Stop!!!

Stop thinking about the 334 various ways you can hit a maximal chest peak contraction. Stop thinking about doing an 11 day split, with 2 daily sessions. Stop trying to incorporate kettlebells, dumbbells, barbells, med balls, swiss balls all into one program. Stop doing 37 different exercises.......Just stop!

The same goes for reading every single fitness blog on the net. Simply choose 1-3 fitness websites that you like, follow them, and unsubscribe from every other list. Choose one training program style and adhere to it for a minimum of 12-16 weeks - do not deviate from it. Choose one diet program to combine with that training program and see it through until the end. At the end of your 12-16 weeks, assess what worked and what didn't; keep what worked and get rid of what didn't. If you’re doing a million and one different things, you will not be able to do this. I guarantee, if you do this, you will have far better results than hopping from one program to the next every second week. Trust me, you’ll sleep better at night too. I’ll leave you with a quote from Bill Starr from his book ‘The Strongest Shall Survive’ - “The key to any successful strength program is simplicity”.