3 Most Important Things To Building True Strength

 Building True Strength

     We are all guilty of it, you walk into the gym, you pop in your headphones and you systematically break your body down.  I don't mean break down your muscle fiber so it can grow back, I mean that you go to the gym and destroy your body.

    After a couple months of hitting the gym and getting stronger and stronger, the pain finally gets to you.  It hurts to sit, it hurts to stand, it hurts to sleep.  So you decide the risk isn't worth the reward and back off for months if not years. I have been at this stage multiple times in my life.  I even once convinced myself that no one needs to squat more than 225lbs EVER!

     The truth is, that I had no business squatting that much weight at that point in my life.  I never stretched, I had terrible mobility, and I lifted with ego. All I cared about was the weight on the bar and not the quality of the movement.  I don't even think I understood a different way to approach weightlifting. 

Technique, Flexibility, Strength 

    If you want to be strong, you have to earn it. Being strong does not mean the weight on the bar, it's the combination of technique, flexibility, and finally strength. 

     If you don't have good technique, you will shoot your hips up and arch your back to get a heavy squat up. If you don't have good flexibility you will get squat down 2 inches and pop back up like you accomplished something.  It would probably be more impressive if you did a fully extended calf raise than a quarter depth squat bro.

    Before you add weight to the bar, you better have great technique and exceptional flexibility.  That does not mean that you squat the bar for 2 years, but it means you only move your weight up while you can do it with great technique and good flexibility. 

     Follow this rule of thumb, if you can hit a set of 6 (3 in the olympic lifts) and have your last rep look as good as your first, you can add 1-3% on and then work on getting great at that. 

    Check your ego at the door, build a solid foundation on technique and mobility, then post on Instagram. 

Technique Resources

Bodybuilding Exercise Guide   - Guides with Videos

Workout Lab Exercise Guide - Guides with Illustrations

Best Weightlifting Straps For Deadlift Technique

Flexibility Resources

RomWod - Range of Motion Workout of the day (this will change your life) 

Hip Opener Excercises - Most p[eople struggle with bad hips

Weightlifting shoes for mobility  - Helps with poor squat depth and hip mobility by putting you in a better position