Photo From: T Nation
These three tips are things you know you should be doing but knowing them and doing them can be altogether different. On the off chance you don’t know them, then you’re welcome. Read on and you will soon know what you should be doing and you will no longer be able to use “I didn’t know” as an excuse for not doing them! I get it though, these tips are SO quick and easy, that they are often forgotten about. Without further ado, here they are:
1 – Grip the Weight
There is a difference between holding and gripping a weight. Let’s use babies as an example. Babies are delicate; you hold babies, you don’t grip them. Gripping a baby will result in crying and crying is bad.
Now weights, weights are made of soulless metal. They don’t need to be held, they need to be gripped. Holding a weight will result in a half ass effort and possibly a broken toe (if your grip fails). We don’t like half assed efforts or broken toes.
Quiz Question: Handshakes – do you grip or hold the other person’s hand?
Answer: Grip
Note, my editor points out that this is a trick question, with the answer depending on whose hand you are shaking.
Anytime your hand comes in contact with a barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, TRX strap or any object that you are using during your session, you should think about gripping that object firmly.
What this will do is tell your brain that you are about to lift some weight which willcause more muscle fibers to be recruited into the action and also engage more muscles of the shoulder and rotator cuff. This will result in greater shoulder stability, which means less chance of injury and greater weight being lifted. It’s a win win.
2 – Engage the Core Musculature
It seems that people cannot get enough core work. They seem to love a burning cramping sensation in their abdominals, as long as it’s not caused by too much Mexican food. I personally am not a big fan of lots of core specific exercises unless you need to fix a particular movement pattern or postural issue.
That being said, you use your core all day everyday. Good sitting and standing posture requires good core strength andendurance. Try sitting or standing with good form for 5 minutes. I bet it will be much harder then you think.
When performing any lift, whether it’s a squat, row, hinge, or bench, you should brace your core. Depending on the lift, you will brace your core differently. For heavy squats and deadlifts, taking in a big breath of air and pushing out against all four sides of your torso is the best way for low reps, high weights. For standing exercises and rows, just bracing as if you were to take a punch and squeezing your butt will help stabilize your hips and core.
Doing this will increase stability in the hips and torso. Similar to gripping the weight, bracing the core will lead to greater muscle recruitment and more weight lifted. An added bonus is you will be getting all the core work you need and making your back much happier by doing it this way.
3 – Eat More, Sleep More
The first two tips have been mostly about thinking about your lift and keeping things tight. This last tip is simple. If you want to be strong, put on size, or even lose weight, you need to eat good food and sleep more.
Simply put, you get results by increasing physicalstress on the body, eating lots of good food, and getting ample sleep. When you increase the amount you are working out,you must increase your food intake and your amount of sleep. If the amount you are working out decreases, so must your food intake. Regardless of the rest, I would still keep sleep at a premium.
If you do not have enough sleep and fuel to support the intensity of your workout, you will not get stronger, bigger, or lose weight.
Closing
There you have it. Grip stuff hard, except babies, brace your core, eat up, and sleep up. If you have not been doing these three simple things, give them a try and you will see and feel the difference next time you lift. If you have been doing these all along, congratulations on not forgetting and keep up the good work.
Much Love,
Josh
