|
|
By
Phil Stevens |
We are in world full of people
that are all buns and no filler. Touting what they read, but
have never experienced. They are all show, no go. Or as I touched
on last week, paying all the attention to where they want to be.
The end, and giving no attention to where they are starting from,
the meat, the beginning.
You now have your current margins
set. You now know your comfort zone. You know the current “meat”
content you have, and how much bun you have to play with. The thinking
is done, now its time for action. It’s time to get cooking.
Time to start to chisel away at that bun, your growth potential,
and raise the quantity and quality of the MEAT in your sandwich...
How the heck did we get from margins
to meat and buns? Take the first example from last week, the newbie.
Think of his current starting point as your run of the mill Mcdonalds
cheeseburger. His current ability as that ¼ thick machine
pressed, paper thin, poor excuse for a protein source,. His growth
potential is the two oversized, overly processed and worthless buns
that overshadow his meat and try to disguise him as something more
then he is.
The newbies end goal, the worlds strongest
man, is the polar opposite. Now were talking about a 20 ounce rib
eye, cooked to perfection. Maybe a roll on the side, maybe not.
Maybe you just slap that ribeye in a paper thin tortilla, just enough
bun to serve as a delivery vehicle for the real ability. No extra
added fluff. All ability and very little, margin for growth and
error.
So how does he start this progression.
Simple. He needs to take an approach that has him consistently stepping
out of his comfort zone. Due to the large amount of bun he has the
luxury of a ton of lee way. Largely anything he does is going to
chip away at that bun and make potential room for growth of the
meat of his sandwich. He just need to be consistent in those small
steps. The problem is, while that bun is easy to chip away at, its
also easy and cheap to swell and fill back in if you don’t
stay on top of it, stay consistent. Its also VERY easy for a newbie
to take to big of a bite of that bun. A big ole chomp and he can
leave his meat, his comfort zone exposed.
This is where your two most common
mistake arise for those new to training, or considering training.
#1 they get OVERWHELMED
by the amount of bun they have, and / or lack of meat.
They compare their piddly lil fast
food burger to the Ribeye with the minimal sides and flat out never
start. They think their aint no way they can transform themselves
into a delectable dinner admired and desired by many, so why even
try.
Or #2 They come
in headstrong and want to go from zero to hero in one day.
They burn hot and fast,. They chomp
into that sandwich so big, and so hard, that they not only swallow
the bun, but take a big chomp out of the meat they already have.
They step so far out of the comfort zone that they are racked with
pain and soreness. Its takes weeks for them to just heal the meat
they were trying to expand to the point of not being able to sustain
there current meat (ability), let alone fill in the bun. They acted
to far and hard. They wanted there lil cheeseburger to be able to
be as filling as a ribeye and just couldn’t handle it so they
stop. They have no consistency.
The trick is to be consistent.
Step out of that comfort zone. Do
it on a small consistent basis. Take a lil bite at a time on that
bun and chew it up. Meat takes a long time to grow. But if you keep
at it. Slowly feed the beef bits of the bun, and give it time and
space to grow. All those lil bites add up.
In time it wont be “where’s
the beef,’ but the opposite, and you’ll have to very carefully
and selectively look for bun to feed that beast to make it grow.
That meat (ability) will begin to overshadow the room for expansion
(bun / groth potential) and you’ll have to look for creative
ways to expand the pin, to gain the smallest bit of room to grow
the monster you have become. But that’s another story, for
another time.
|
|
Every one of us
has the ability to be a grade A cut of beef. Its all in in
the processes and steps taken, day in, day out, that determine
if were going to be dog food, or delicacy. Take that burger
you began with. That lil baby calf. Slowly feed him. Slowly
enlarge his pin as he out grows his surroundings. In time
he’ll grow to a big stud steer that can roam the pastures
with the other bulls.
Just don’t
open that gate to far, to soon, or that cow may just run away
never to be seen. He’ll get trampled and processed before
his time. Keep a firm grip on the reigns, but at the same
time consistently let that calf roam a little more each day.
Now go feed that
cow and introduce him to new and larger pastures so he’ll
grow.
|
About The Author
|
Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the “Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting federations, also serves as the Arizona State Chair for the North American Highlander Association, as well as the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
|
|
 |
|
