A few weeks back, I had a gentleman travel a good 27 hours just to come to my gym to train with me for a week. He came all the way from Ireland.
In short, we had a blast and Karl, “The Irishman”, well he kicked ass and went H.A.M.
I know he went home armed to the teeth with a bunch of new and powerful information on how to get himself stronger, leaner, and meaner and I can’t wait to hear back about his progress and newly earned SUCCESS.
Over the course of the week, we were able to get in some awesome training sessions where I was able to critique some of his technique on different movements and answer his questions.
There was a lot of stuff going on and and in fact, just by adding in a few tweaks here and there with some of Karl’s big lifts, he was able to break some new PR’s in the deadlift and front squat.
Overall, an awesome time!
Now, over the course of the week there were a lot of different things that kept popping up in which I felt I would share with you below because I feel a lot of people deal with these same issues.
So, here are some of the major tips that you’ll want to focus in on if you want to get yourself stronger, leaner, and meaner…
Here goes.
#1 – Improve Your RACK Position
The “Rack Position” is the position that you need to get yourself into for when you front squat, catch a power clean, or for when you go into a heavy push press or jerk.
It’s an essential position to get yourself into and a lot of people suffer from poor mobility which restricts them from getting into a proper and strong rack position.
Without proper positioning, your movements that require you to be in a solid rack position will suffer from that restriction.
What you need for a proper rack position is good mobility in the lats, upper back, shoulders, triceps, wrists.
Here’s a few of my favorite mobility drills that I use to improve this position:
Band Rack Stretch / Mobility:
Wrist Stretch:
The bottom line – improving your “Rack Position” will improve a TON of everything else mainly including – front squats, power cleans, jerks, and push presses.
Aside from all of the other benefits, being able to properly do those main movements correctly will also help strengthen your CORE a ton.
Who doesn’t want a stronger core?
#2 – With Food – It’s ALWAYS about the SOURCE!
On one of the days, I took Karl to one of my favorite places to shop for high quality foods which is Whole Foods.
There we went on a full grocery store tour and ate some good grub.
One of the main tips I gave when it came to eating is to do as my buddy Sean Croxton likes to do and just J.E.R.F.
If you don’t know what “J.E.R.F.” means, it stand for “Just Eat Real Food” and when you truly think about it, you can’t go wrong with this philosophy.
To help with this, always make sure to look at the source of the food that you’re eating.
Look to see if it’s close to it’s raw form or if it’s been processed in some way, shape, or form?
The reason I share this tip about food is because Karl would ask about a lot of different items that might of “looked healthy”, but in actual reality they were nothing more then highly processed source of “fake food”.
Most foods nowadays get processed in some way so it’s tough to get food that’s not been messed with.
If you’re eating something from a bag or package, always look at the ingredients to see what’s actually in it. NEVER trust the front label.
Just be safe and look at the ingredients as that alone will tell you a TON about what you’re eating.
Just try to make sure that 90% of the food you’re eating is REAL, wholesome food and NOT processed sh*t 😉
#3 – Take 4-6 Minutes and Hit Your CORE Hard Every Training Session
With this tip, it’s all about making sure to get in your core work every session.
Bottom line – Don’t Be lazy, just it can be done.
I showed Karl that it can easily be done after ANY session. (It wasn’t easy to go through, but you get my point)
To make things real easy, all you need to do is to crank out some quick CORE work at the end of the session with core circuits.
Just take 3-4 different core movements and run through them in circuit fashion 2-3 rounds and your good.
One of my favorite ways to do this is to use Suspension Training Core Circuits…
Quick, effective, and fast.
#4 – Have No Shame in Regressions and Variations
This tip mainly concerns that of the Olympic Lifts.
If you can’t do a regular Power Clean or Barbell Snatch correctly and don’t have the proper coaching to learn these highly skilled movements, use their many different variations with DB’s, Kettlebells, and Sandbags.
Their easier and way faster to learn.
Here’s some demos…
Now, don’t get me wrong here in thinking I’m telling you not to try and learn and improve on your skills and overall abilities with your Olympic Lifting as I’m NOT saying that.
All I’m saying here is to know that you don’t always have to go that route.
It all depends on your overall goal and how much time you’re willing to spend on the Olympic Lifts.
Obviously, if you’re competing in Crossfit or doing something that involves the Olympic Lifts, you’ll have to learn, but if not, don’t sweat it, just use variations.
#5 – GO AGAINST THE GRAIN – DON’T BE AFRAID
This last tip is what I said to Karl right before he left to head back home.
One of the things Karl talked about with me in regards to where he’s from is that everyone and their dog do the same exact thing. This is especially true for when it comes to training.
Everyone is into bodybuilding style workouts and training on machines.
No one is into the type of training I promote, which is more athletic / performance based strength and conditioning.
What I told Karl was to DO YOUR THING and not give a sh*t about what others thought of you.
Go back home a START a REVOLUTION. A “110% H.A.M. Training Revolution”, and in time, people will come.
This tip goes for anyone out there reading this post right now…
Stop doing what everyone else is doing and don’t be afraid to GO AGAINST THE GRAIN.
Just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean that YOU have to be doing it. This goes for so much more then just training, but everything you do in life.
What ever it is, just do what YOU feel is the right thing to do.
NEVER go off of what other people say or think you should be doing.
It always comes down to YOU.
This all starts when you stop being afraid and say, “F#*K IT!” I’m gonna do what I want to do and I don’t give a sh*t about what anyone else says or thinks”…
Karl took that step when he made the choice to travel all the way from Ireland just to come and learn to better himself in and out of the gym.
I know that making that choice was NOT an easy one to make, but making the HARD choices in life is what it’s all about.
Question for you…
What is one of the HARDEST choices that YOU’VE had to make in order to become more successful?
I’m interested to know so drop your answer in the comments below.
Live and Train Aggressive!
PS – A few spots have just opened up for my Hardcore Elite Online Coaching Program.
This program is for people who are 110% SERIOUS about getting themselves better and want to kickass and break new ground with their fitness and life.
Check out the details HERE.