"What
are your real goals with bodybuilding and/or strength training? Is it to
compete in competitions and bring home that bodybuilding trophy? Maybe
it’s to be bigger than all your friends, or at least bigger than your
intimidating boss. Maybe it’s just to improve upon your size and
physique to help you win over the next door neighbor for a date"
So you’re just getting
started into bodybuilding and/or working out using strength training.
That’s great news, and it’s not only highly rewarding in terms of
physical appearance and improved abilities, but the list of benefits go
on and on far beyond that. There are numerous studies that suggest that
bodybuilding and/or strength training can actually rewind your
biological clock, increase brain function and even brain size, boost
your immune system, raise
your metabolism, and actually help you burn off excess weight more and
longer than a cardio-based routine. Some studies have even shown
strength training to create new blood vessels in your heart, build
better genes, and fight off the effects of aging. Add to that all the
potential psychological benefits from endorphins pumping to your brain
giving you a lift, a raised confidence level, a higher level of
self-esteem, improved energy levels that generate better abilities and
capabilities, and improved overall endurance making you feel pretty darn
good about yourself. I think you just embarked on something that will
not only change your entire life, but will improve it dramatically. But
you can only reap the full benefits if you stick with it, and take the
healthy, long-haul route.
What are your real goals with bodybuilding and/or strength training? Is
it to compete in competitions and bring home that bodybuilding trophy?
Maybe it’s to be bigger than all your friends, or at least bigger than
your intimidating boss. Maybe it’s just to improve upon your size and
physique to help you win over the next door neighbor for a date. Maybe
you just want to improve your overall strength and be bigger, tougher,
and maybe even uglier than the next guy or gal you run into on the
street. All are valid goals (being uglier is different, but still
valid), but let’s take this quite a few steps further and think longer
term here for a bit. Let’s take a look 15, 20, 30, or even 40 years out
into the future. What are your goals for age 35, 42, 47, 53, or even 63
and beyond? Together let’s take advantage of what you just embarked on,
the bodybuilding and/or strength training journey. Let’s take your
short-haul goals and turn them into long-haul, lifelong goals.
Okay,
so there you are in the gym doing everything imaginable to lose or gain
weight, to build huge muscle mass, to increase strength and endurance.
You read all the best bodybuilding books, you listened to and watched
all the Ronnie Coleman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone
interviews you could find. You even met Gunter Schlierkamp in his
competition shorts face-to-face, and heard his whole amazing story. You
have the best bodybuilding routines down pat and you are working harder
than ever in the gym just about every day you possibly can. You’re
lifting weights that only allow you maybe 6 to 8 reps before you can’t
lift them another inch (you are pushing hard!). Each and every workout
is done to complete fatigue, and you won’t stop until you know that body
of yours is going to be sorer than it was the day before. People in the
gym are amazed at your effort, and quite frankly so am I. Keep it up and
you will yield amazing results, no doubt about it. But can you sustain
that level of effort, that amount of time commitment, those energy
levels over the long haul? And what happens if you sustain an injury?
Are you eating right, avoiding artificial and unhealthy energy-lifting
drinks and foods, avoiding illegal steroids and other drugs? How many
months, years or decades do you see yourself being able to stick with
it? Or, at the age of 35, will you be telling other young bodybuilding
types, “I used to be in similar shape,” or “I used to work out all the
time too.” Or maybe at 45 you will be standing there at a bodybuilding
competition in the upper balcony watching others compete thinking, “I
used to look better than that guy.” Are your short-term goals and
Herculean efforts going to burn you out, or fizzle out in the short
haul? Are the foods, drinks, supplements and/or drugs going to enable
you to continue into your 50’s or 60’s? Maybe you don’t see yourself
being or getting that old, and maybe you don’t want to ever be that old,
but if you do get there, wouldn’t it be nice to be in great shape and
capable of still doing whatever you want to or need to do?
I am about to turn 47 years old and I have been working out for the
better part of 33 years. Sure, on and off, with loftier goals at some
points along the way than at others, but I have managed to keep it going
all those years. Today I am literally in the best shape of my life. I am
stronger, leaner, better built, and overall healthier than ever in my
life. That’s not said to brag, but it is to help illustrate a point, I
hope. To some out there I am still a youngster, and I have incredible
respect for those guys who are older than me and still at it. I have
seen guys at 63 years old still working out hard, and if you did not see
their faces, you would think they had the bodies of 22 year old kids.
Most guys I have spoken to that look that good at 63, and beyond, did it
through a long-haul, sustained, and healthy effort that essentially
lasted throughout most of their adult lives. These men and women shaped
and built their body structures as they changed and grew throughout the
years and they came out with incredible physiques in their senior years.
So
here is some of what I recommend for turning the short-haul goals into
long-haul goals: Throughout the various stages of your life as a
bodybuilder or strength trainer, develop and maintain a baseline routine
that is “somewhat” comfortable (that word, “comfortable” is going to get
some people upset with me, but please read on). Develop a baseline of
workout routines, sets, and repetitions that you do on your off, low
energy, or even slower days. Maybe what you use on those days when you
are short on time, or not feeling up to par. Now don’t use it as a
crutch to avoid working hard. Push yourself, and if you can do more,
work harder, and make greater gains you should go for it, even when you
are not feeling like doing it (watch those “feelings” as they can hold
you back). But the idea here is to have something that works as a
consistent baseline (a minimum) that helps get you through the times
when it’s almost impossible to work out. Continually adjust this
baseline routine to line up with the types of things you do when you do
workout out to extremes, and vary it based on the changes in your body
and in your life at the given time. Also, vary what motivates you as you
grow older, change and adapt to your ever-changing world. My own
motivation has evolved and changed about as much as I have over the
years, and I believe that is exactly how I managed to keep going for 33
out of 47 years. Here is a partial list of what has motivated me over
the years:
• I was a small and scrawny wimp as a kid! I wanted to do something
about it, so I did.
• To improve my self-esteem and looks.
• I joined the military and was self-motivated to stay in shape and be
the best G.I. I could be.
• Concerns about the effects of aging.
• To be an example to my kids.
• To avoid doctor visits due to medical problems.
• A strong need to be able to do for myself and others.
• Fitness helps me feel better.
• I needed to lose weight, especially around my mid-section, in my
mid-40´s.
• And it will continue to change and evolve with me.
Avoid thinking short-term, the quick fix, or just about your goal for
only tomorrow or the next day, and don’t do things that will eventually
tear you down and destroy your health and body. The drugs and some of
the crazier supplements (and how you can abuse them) might be appealing
right now, but think of what that will do to you in the long haul, and
what you might have to do to sustain all that craziness. To make it in
the long haul, eat tons of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts,
beans, and very lean meats and avoid added sugars, salt, soda, and all
junk foods. One of the last things you want to find yourself doing in
your senior years is standing there in your garage, out of shape,
unhealthy, looking at your bodybuilding trophy from when you were in
your 20’s, and wondering if it’s still even worth keeping. Stay
“natural,” stay on the healthy side, think sustainable, think long haul,
and you will still be at it, working hard, and feeling great for many
great years to come.
__________________
Nick C. Casale
Life Coach and Certified Personal Trainer
Creative Common Sense, L.L.C.
www.creativecommonsense.us
your metabolism, and actually help you burn off excess weight more and
longer than a cardio-based routine. Some studies have even shown
strength training to create new blood vessels in your heart, build
better genes, and fight off the effects of aging. Add to that all the
potential psychological benefits from endorphins pumping to your brain
giving you a lift, a raised confidence level, a higher level of
self-esteem, improved energy levels that generate better abilities and
capabilities, and improved overall endurance making you feel pretty darn
good about yourself. I think you just embarked on something that will
not only change your entire life, but will improve it dramatically. But
you can only reap the full benefits if you stick with it, and take the
healthy, long-haul route. 
Okay,
so there you are in the gym doing everything imaginable to lose or gain
weight, to build huge muscle mass, to increase strength and endurance.
You read all the best bodybuilding books, you listened to and watched
all the Ronnie Coleman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone
interviews you could find. You even met Gunter Schlierkamp in his
competition shorts face-to-face, and heard his whole amazing story. You
have the best bodybuilding routines down pat and you are working harder
than ever in the gym just about every day you possibly can. You’re
lifting weights that only allow you maybe 6 to 8 reps before you can’t
lift them another inch (you are pushing hard!). Each and every workout
is done to complete fatigue, and you won’t stop until you know that body
of yours is going to be sorer than it was the day before. People in the
gym are amazed at your effort, and quite frankly so am I. Keep it up and
you will yield amazing results, no doubt about it. But can you sustain
that level of effort, that amount of time commitment, those energy
levels over the long haul? And what happens if you sustain an injury?
Are you eating right, avoiding artificial and unhealthy energy-lifting
drinks and foods, avoiding illegal steroids and other drugs? How many
months, years or decades do you see yourself being able to stick with
it? Or, at the age of 35, will you be telling other young bodybuilding
types, “I used to be in similar shape,” or “I used to work out all the
time too.” Or maybe at 45 you will be standing there at a bodybuilding
competition in the upper balcony watching others compete thinking, “I
used to look better than that guy.” Are your short-term goals and
Herculean efforts going to burn you out, or fizzle out in the short
haul? Are the foods, drinks, supplements and/or drugs going to enable
you to continue into your 50’s or 60’s? Maybe you don’t see yourself
being or getting that old, and maybe you don’t want to ever be that old,
but if you do get there, wouldn’t it be nice to be in great shape and
capable of still doing whatever you want to or need to do? 
So
here is some of what I recommend for turning the short-haul goals into
long-haul goals: Throughout the various stages of your life as a
bodybuilder or strength trainer, develop and maintain a baseline routine
that is “somewhat” comfortable (that word, “comfortable” is going to get
some people upset with me, but please read on). Develop a baseline of
workout routines, sets, and repetitions that you do on your off, low
energy, or even slower days. Maybe what you use on those days when you
are short on time, or not feeling up to par. Now don’t use it as a
crutch to avoid working hard. Push yourself, and if you can do more,
work harder, and make greater gains you should go for it, even when you
are not feeling like doing it (watch those “feelings” as they can hold
you back). But the idea here is to have something that works as a
consistent baseline (a minimum) that helps get you through the times
when it’s almost impossible to work out. Continually adjust this
baseline routine to line up with the types of things you do when you do
workout out to extremes, and vary it based on the changes in your body
and in your life at the given time. Also, vary what motivates you as you
grow older, change and adapt to your ever-changing world. My own
motivation has evolved and changed about as much as I have over the
years, and I believe that is exactly how I managed to keep going for 33
out of 47 years. Here is a partial list of what has motivated me over
the years: