3 MOST EFFECTIVE TRAINING RULES FOR A BETTER PHYSIQUE

1. Adherence and Consistency

A lot of trainees spend countless hours trying to figure why they are not getting the results that they want. They jump from a program to program trying to find the best possible plan to follow. They get bogged down trying to find the most scientifically proven training method. Or they, yet again, hop on the latest and greatest training revelation promised to be the best thing since the invention of a barbell. Thinking that this new thing finally solves what’s been holding them back.

In the process of doing so they forget that the fundamental part of a results producing training is, drumroll… showing up and training!

Just because something looks perfect on paper doesn’t mean that it’s the right program for you. Even the most ultimate training program created by Thor, the god of thunder himself, is useless if you don’t follow it through.

The best program for you is the one that you do day after day. Even on the weeks when your partner is fuming as a result of something you did (again) and slinging chicken McNuggets at you.

1. Knowing the Basic Human Movement

To morph your body you need keep challenging and pushing it to grow, more on that below. But before worrying about lifting more weight or challenging yourself another way, consider this: your lifting career is short lived if you don’t first learn how to do at least these five (out of seven) basic human movements:

– Squat
– Hinge
– Push
– Pull
– Lunge
If you want to push heavier weights in the deadlift you need to own a proper hinge first. We’ve all seen someone doing sets of 12 with barbell deadlift with a technique that’s better suited to be used in a circus (or in the bedroom). I mean, you can almost hear a disk bulge happening.

Learn to control your body first and own the basic movements before trying to break records. You wouldn’t try to pee while running if you don’t first know how to do it in slow walking.

And yes, learning the basics usually requires you to leave the ego at the door. But your body will thank you for it by rewarding you with your best results yet.

1. Progressive Overload

Now that you have the above two in check we can talk about the progressive overload, the “secret” to continuous gains. Your body loves comfortable, it loves homeostasis. To keep progressing you have to keep challenging the body with more stimulus than you did before. Otherwise you only get what you already have. The body will change only when it is forced to do so.

If you are a novice, or in the early stages of being an intermediate lifter, you can get away by simple increasing the stimulus in various ways over time. Things become a bit more complicated as you progress with your lifting career. That’s when you need a more detailed planning and fluctuations with the training volume, intensity and all the rest.

There’s a whole science to progressive overload. Hence the reason why there’s enough books written about it to fill up a decent size library in Slovakia.

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Maybe your goal is to maintain, or even gain, muscle during fat loss. Or put on lean muscle and size to fill out that size L-size shirt you got for last birthday.  Either way, these three rules are non-negotiable for continuous progress in your quest for a better body composition.

Now, get after it.