Don’t panic. Remember it’s just a training session and not every session will turn out the way you want it. Don’t begin to doubt your own strength and start running a dialogue in your head which goes along the lines of “My strength has dropped. My lifts aren’t where they should be. I’ve got weaker” etc. This is harder for some people than others. A few bad reps/sets or even full sessions will not destroy your progress by themselves, but developing a negative mindset and writing yourself off will. Some people will let a negative mindset creep in and it can stay there for weeks or even months if not addressed and rationalised. If you have a coach, then speak to them and discuss your doubts, work out what went wrong in the session, and formulate a plan to get yourself back on track. If you don’t have a coach,

It’s clear from the multitude of success stories on both sides of this debate, that BOTH more traditional submaximal linear styles of training as well as max Effort training can be very effective.  However here’s just one justification for personally preferring a conjugate system where max Effort work is incorporated, rather than programmes dominated by submaximal work on the competition lifts alone.  I could write probably dozens of reasons why I feel it works better for me and my athletes but this is just part of the argument which sometimes gets missed.  I’d hope that everyone would agree that technique is NOT something you simply learn with light weights and it just remains the same as the weights get heavier and heavier. It’s not that all the same principles don’t apply but the cues and importance of muscular tension becomes the difference between either lifting a weight or not lifting

There’s a method in the muscle….. How many of these hypertrophy methods have you tried? and with how much success? Pick one and try it out to accelerate your gains, or if you’ve already tried all of them, why not revisit one method. Nothing revolutionary here, just tried and tested methods for improving muscle gain. 20 rep Set Method Following your working sets on your main lift of the workout (eg. Squat) you take   50% of your unequipped 1RM, and perform a 20 rep set of the same exercise. Next workout, if you got all 20 reps, you increase the load by 5% and attempt to hit 20 reps again. If you do not hit all 20 reps, you stay on this weight each time you do this workout until you can.  Once you hit the 20reps then you make the 5% increase. The ‘Boring But Big’ Method This

Which are you putting first? The way you would like to train or the training goal?  Most people if asked, would answer the latter. However, it seems very frequent in gym goers and lifters that often they pick first, the way they would like to train.  One problem with writing your own programmes, is that it is very difficult to make objective decisions. There can also be damaged egos, if the programme is shown to not be working. How do you deal with this? Stick your head in the sand and keep going regardless because to ‘programme hop’ is considered a terrible thing? Or learn, adapt and find new ways of moving forward? Just because you made a mistake doesn’t mean you need to live with it until the planned 8, 12 or 16 or however many weeks is completed.  If you’ve been hitting the basic competition lifts week-in week-out

Advantages of training in a team, over training solo. Spotters always on hand You will always have someone to spot you / give you lift outs. Not a stranger either, someone who learns how to spot you in the way which you require. Added Motivation You will always have people to keep you motivated.  If you ever feel like skipping a session, you have an obligation to show up. Not only this , but nobody wants to be the guy dragging their heels and not showing enthusiasm.  In a group, you are accountable for putting effort in, unlike when training solo people can get away with half arsing their session because it makes no difference to anyone else if they do. When one person gets fired up for a lift it raises everyone else’s effort as well.  Whilst the opposite is true if your training partners are not motivated, as