Don't be a training dumbass

Over the years I have seen alot of dumbasses in the gym. There are those guys who flex more in the mirror than train. There are also those guys who spend more time checking out girls and doing biceps curls than squatting and deadlifting. My personal favorite are the guys that workout in muscle shirts. Personally, I can never trust anyone that cuts off their sleeves. I just can't. Some may argue that these guys aren't dumbasses...but more douchebags. A valid argument because a true dumbass is someone who does something they know they shouldn't do.

In that respect I have to confess folks. I am guilty of being a training dumbass and not only a dumbass but the worst kind of dumbass. The kind of dumbass that trains through injury.

Let's rewind back about a month. I had been experiencing some shoulder pain and most people will agree that I know better than to hurt myself while training. However, this time my mind must have been elsewhere because I got under the bench press (3rd straight day of bench pressing) without properly warming up and attempted to unrack a paltry 135lbs. As soon as i racked it i felt a "pop"! Here is where the extreme dumb-assage comes into the picture...

I love the bench but the bench doesn't love me

Not only did I continue to bench but I put more weight on. By the end of the workout my shoulder was throbbing! I massaged it a little and could feel that there was some definite inflammation going on. I went to see my best friend Travis who is also my massage therapist. He diagnosed the problem and gave me a detailed plan. I started to follow the program and my shoulder actually started feeling great! I was finally not feeling like such a dumbass. But wait, not so fast! 2 days after my shoulder started feeling better I made a max bench press attempt. Powerlifting meet season was fast approaching and I couldn't afford to stop benching. To make a long story short...my shoulder is hurting while I'm typing this article.

I know Kobe...I know

Truth be told, the real reason I'm writing this article is to remind myself not to make bad decisions and train smart like I know I should! So what do we do when we are faced with an injury? Follow my advise and you will continue lifting for many years to come (and so will I)

1) Stop doing what hurts! This is the simplest advice I can give you but if I was dumb enough to ignore it, maybe you will be as well. Pain is a signal from your body to your brain telling you that something is wrong. Listen to your brain and not to your balls. If that means stopping a lift halfway through then so be it. Pushing through pain is what turns a simple issue into a major injury.

2) Seek out a professional to assess and address your injury. I have had alot of big time injuries in my life including full ACL tears and pinched nerves in my back. Over time i have realized a few things. Personally, I don't believe in physiotherapy or chiropractic care. It may have worked for you in the past but it did absolutely nothing for me. The only thing I believe in is massage work (deep tissue, ART, etc). I may be biased on this topic because my very good friend is also a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) and possibly the smartest guy i know but that still doesn't take away from the fact that deep tissue work has helped me to avoid alot of injuries. Seek out a good RMT and stick with them. They will make you into a new person!

My massage therapist (no seriously...)

3) Rehab, rehab and more rehab. Do not attempt to get ahead of yourself. Spend the time rehabbing and more importantly, understanding your injury. Why did it happen? What did you do to make it happen? How are you going to fix it? Once you understand all these different aspects of your injury, you can then move forward and slowly start back into your regular training. Moving forward too quickly will only lead to bigger problems.

4) Finally, do NOT get discouraged. If you are truly training hard and pushing yourself, you WILL get injured. That is just the name of the game. Injuries happen when you train hard. It doesn't mean you did anything particularly wrong, it just means to found your limit. The real test happens after your injury. Are you just going to get frustrated and give up? Are you going to waste your time working around your injury?? Of course not! It just means you need to put your focus on your injury for a short period and then walk into the gym at 100% and with the mentality of a raging bull!

Just remember that you only have one body. Treat is well and it will show you things you wouldn't believe. Treat it poorly? well then you really are a dumbass.

9 things I learned in 2010...the good, the bad and the ugly!

The start of a brand new year. So much hope is in the air. However, the start of a new year would not be valid unless we look at the passing year and reflect. It is so important to learn from our experiences and lessons from 2010 in order to move forward in 2011. 2010 was truly an experience for me. It had super highs and probably the worst lows. However, I'm still standing and am going to use those experiences in my training and life to not only move forward in 2011, but to actually excel! So, what are the top 9 things I learned in 2010? Ask and thou shall receive!

(In no particular order)

1) Stick to a program and don't get clever. The biggest gains I made in 2010 were when i religiously followed a well planned program. Westside protocol yielded HUGE gains as well as my first venture into Jim Wendler's 5/3/1. When i decided to get random and walk into the gym without a plan, i ended up being a weak ass nothing. Don't be a weak as nothing. Get with the program.

2) Make sure to understand the importance of nutrition. Seriously folks! Don't just think you are eating well...KNOW that you are eating well. You'll see your gains skyrocket.

3) Learn to control your stress. Life is difficult enough but if you create more stress for yourself, things will always seem hopeless. Get to the gym, meditate, visit an old friend...do whatever you can to bring down your stress levels. if you don't, you might find yourself 15lbs lighter and a whole lot weaker!

4) Think before you act. I can't stress this one enough. Seems simple enough but people (myself included) need to think about their actions before they act. If you don't, you might end up creating alot of problems for yourself and hurt people you care about. Be smart, use your brain.

5) Read and write constantly. I don't care what you're reading or writing. It could be a book, training article, newspaper or even just a letter to your friend. Continuously evolve and improve your knowledge! I probably met as many dumb people and bad spellers in 2010 than i have in my entire life. Please don't be a dumb ass.

Even this guy can at least write...

6) Do what you planned on doing last yea and do it this year ASAP! Too many times we find ourselves comfortable with our place in the world. We go through the movements of each day and never think as to what we are really doing. Next thing you know, it's November and you're left scrambling to not make the entire year a complete waste!

7) Fix your structural problems and don't ignore that nagging pain. This is the time to fix your problems so that you can continue to make goals for the entire year. Don't put off that deep tissue massage or those structural correction exercises for the next day because today may be your body's breaking point and when your body breaks, it kinda sucks.

8) Setting goals and achieving them is what makes us human. Otherwise we are just zombies going through the motions of everyday life. Do you want to be a human or a zombie? If you answered zombie then you are wrong...but pretty bad ass.

9) Last but certainly not least, don't be a miserable, useless douche bag! I encountered so many negative, miserable people in 2010 that if it wasn't for my wonderful friends, I would have given up on humanity. Stop being so horrible and negative and instead, try giving smiling a shot. Smiling will at least not make people avoid you like the plague.