I always say, "If I knew what I know now when I
started lifting, I'd be huge!" I'm sure everyone says that, but it would
not be possible. Why?
Because the best lessons are learned through
experience. In most cases, the best lessons are learned through a
negative experience. The saying "Live and learn" holds strong for anyone
involved in a fitness-oriented lifestyle. Why is that?
Why do we learn best from making
mistakes? Who
knows, but let's look at some of the mistakes we often make.
Bulking
 The
most common mistake made during bulking is overeating. The concept of
"more is better" does not hold true here. It is easy to believe that,
"The more I eat, the more I'll
grow." But this isn't the case; the body
just doesn't work that way. Just about every bodybuilder has gained too
much fat during a bulking cycle before.
Is this a bad thing? In a sense, no. By gaining
too much fat, they have learned a valuable lesson. They have learned the
downside of overeating. Because of this, they will take more time to
plan out and stick to a diet during their next bulking cycle. This is
something they had to learn for themselves.
Simply telling someone that they will
gain too
much fat will not totally convince them. Only first hand experience will
do this. In a sense, the overeater has taken a step backwards, but also
forwards, as you will use this gained knowledge in the future.
Related Article:
Bulking for
Endomorphs
Cutting
Now that you've gained all that extra fat, you
have to lose it. To try to accomplish this task, you decide to severely
drop your calories and do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty
stomach. This is what all the magazines say to do, so it must work,
right?
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Wrong, and as a result, you do lose some fat, but
along with it you lose a good amount of the muscle you have worked so
hard to achieve. Because of this, you decide to research a more
appropriate way to lose weight and vow never to do this again. Yes, you
did take a step back, but you've also taken a leap forwards.
Related Article:
12 Week Contest Prep Guide
Sticking To Your Diet
Dieting is extremely hard. Going week after week
without pizza can be devastating. It requires outstanding mental
strength and endurance to do this. Often, you give in. You binge on
pizza, ice cream, cereal, etc. After you do this, you feel like crap!
You are very disappointed in yourself.
But, you are now motivated more than ever to
stick
to your diet. This downfall has only made you climb back up, stronger
than before. Despite cheating on your diet and taking a step back, you
have jump-started your determination.
Suffering An Injury
 Ouch!
My
rotator cuff! Despite the warning signs and initial pain, you
continue to push yourself through an exercise. "No pain, no gain." As a
result, you hurt yourself.
You were foolish and hard-headed. Despite the
advice that had been giving to you ("If an exercise hurts, don't do
it."), you decided to push through it. As a result, you won't be able to
lift for a couple weeks, maybe longer.
Sometimes it takes an injury before you fully
understand the importance of training safely. You may be sidelined for
now, but rest assured, you will never do that again.
When we experience a setback or a failure, we may
feel like we have taken a step backwards. But when you stop and look at
the big picture, you see that you have learned a great deal from your
experience. There is a positive side to almost everything.
Whether or not you make the best or the obstacles
you face and learn from your mistakes is up to you. Sometimes it might
take a downfall for you to realize that you are doing something wrong. I
myself have only become stronger because of what I faced.
It is impossible to "know what I know now, when I
first started lifting," because it has taken years to gain this
knowledge. It has taken injuries, setbacks, failures, to get where I am
today. One cannot expect to have everything handed to him.
Does this mean you should go about everything
haphazardly hoping to fail? H*ll no! You should be trying the best you
can to avoid setbacks. This means carefully planning out your diets and
training routines.
It means using your head when exercising; knowing
when to push yourself and when to stop. This means never settling for
less than your best. You should not go out looking to fail, but you must
learn from when you do.
Later,
About the
Author!
Derek “The Beast”
Charlebois is an ACE certified personal trainer, competitive
bodybuilder, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from The
University of Michigan. Derek is the Promotions Coordinator/R&D at
Scivation/Primaforce and is involved in coordinating promotions,
research
and development,
advertising, and marketing. Derek is an accomplished author with
articles on such websites as Bodybuilding.com, Bulknutrition.com, the
online magazines StrengthAndScience.com and MusclesAndCuts.com, and is a
contributing author to the book Game Over:
The Final Showtime Cut Diet
You’ll Ever Need!
Derek is available for online personal training; personal training
inquiries can be sent to
derek@scivation.com.
His website is
www.strengthandscience.com
Natural
Bodybuilding at its Finest - Lift for Life.com
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