Hi Friend,
Last week we talked about variety, and showed how strength coach John Christy routinely adds 50 to 80 pounds of muscle onto his trainees. We also explained how most folks, when looking to make changes to their workouts, really mess things up...
For example, they'll often swap exercises for a given body part when they feel like it. Or they'll switch to the latest whizz-bang workout when they grow bored of their current routine. The result? They end up getting nowhere as their gains come to a screeching halt.
It's a sad and sorry tale.
Yet these failures aren't inevitable. There are success stories too.
Stories like Pat Leraris...
In one year, Pat gained 40 pounds to his 5 foot 10 inch frame. Small doses of iron consistently added to the bar, saw him produce stellar results.
To celebrate his one-year anniversary, John Christy had Pat pull 285 pounds in the deadlift easily. Pat also worked his way up to overhead pressing 150 pounds, his earlier shoulder problems consigned to history.
But before you go thinking Pat is some testosterone-fuelled young buck, consider this: Pat was a 60 years-young novice when he began his strength training journey.
Inspiring stuff!
We hear the same exciting stories repeated on our site too.
Here is what our reader Steve Kane has to say:
"When I first began weight training (back in the mid-1950s) I did all the wrong things: too many exercises; too many sets; and working out 3-4 times per week. As a result, my progress was very slow. Because I performed too many heavy sets of bench presses (5x5s, pyramids, multiple low-reps sets) I wore down the cartilage in my shoulder which caused permanent pain and lack of mobility. My current workouts are limited to what you prescribe and now I'm making excellent progress - even though I am 68 years-old!"
These real-life stories show what is possible when you make abbreviated training and progressive overload your primary focus.
And that's the important message we want to share with you.
It doesn't matter if you've been lifting iron for over 20 years as I have, or if you're coming to strength training anew for the very first time: the rules for getting bigger and stronger remain the same…
Keep things simple, and always try to add a little more iron to your bar.
Until next time,
Squat for Glory!
Lee
P.S. Did you miss last week's newsletter? No problem. You can now find it posted on our site below.
To discover how abbreviated workouts can add 50-80 pounds of muscle on your body, see…
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