The mental mind zone / are you trianing hard enough

[marcus300]

This is a repost from my diary thread which ive recently posted in another thread but ive had a few pm's telling me that this is one of the best inspiring post's they have ever read and it should be a sticky. I feel honoured some of you have taken the time to pm about my post and it really does me proud that you have taken on board what ive said because the mental side of training is huge, its what separates the monsters what walk this earth to the normal tight T-shirt shit bags full of water.

So by popular demand its a thread of its own and I will sticky it Thanks guys


Getting into the training zone mentally is hard work, I've been approached many times via pm on this subject and ive talked a lot about it within my diary thread but it is extremely hard and probably has hard to learn as learning how to train how I've described throughout this thread.

First let me try and get this across about the mental side of training.
When you see Dorian speak or train you can see he is mentally as well as physically strong. Many of the top Pro's seem to have this ability to have this mental focus to train to the level what is required to stimulate those fibers what seem to grow the biggest. I really do think its something what can be learnt and by perseverance we can get this mental focus and use it to its fullest. I've always had the motivation to train and get big and nothing in my life would stop me but I did have to learn how to release those feelings to train to a level were i wanted to get to. Over time I got the mental edge to train to true positive failure I don't know why but its something over the years what came naturally to me and I've mentioned many times within this thread how I try and get into this zone. For me we all have our little things we do to prepare ourselves before one of those working sets what is going to test us mentally as well as physically, I feel this is an individual thing what you have to find what works for you.

For me I think about certain things what have happened to me in my past what ignites my adrenalin and releases an inner aggression what I can only state as unstoppable. I talk to my inner self and take away everything around me, I am alone and only can hear my inner voice speaking and I drift to a time and relive an event in my mind like I am there again, the feelings what I felt at the time I feel again, the atmosphere I feel around me exactly like it was, I relive the exact circumstances at that moment and how I felt after and this completely isolates me from the outside world and I am stuck in the past reliving an event. At a moments notice I can come straight out into this rage and channel these emotions into the working set with the adrenalin flowing and my inner voice shouting at me. I also use another method which works for me also, I can also concentrate and watch myself doing the working and yet again take myself out of the situation I am in and go through in my head what is about to happen and I can trigger the inner aggression. I know I want it so much, I know I have to take myself to places were my body has not been before, I know its going to hurt but I kind of like that knowing I am about to inflict pain onto myself, this again ignites all these feelings inside of me that make me feel unstoppable and no one could out lift or train with the same intensity as me. That's what I feel when I am in this zone I know no one can come close I truly believe this and with that positive thinking I can take myself to failure and beyond. That's the two ways what do it for me.

I know guys who listen to music and crank it up and get into the zone, I know guys who walk up and down thinking about the set and getting into the zone, I know guys who want to be slapped which I've done in the past which instantly releases the fighting instinct which allows you to lift more than you would if you weren't in the zone. The problem is with some guys is learning how to get into this zone, its all about mind control and taking yourself away from where you are and talking to your inner self and produce these feelings. Some people can't do this and it needs to be learnt over weeks/months just like training to true positive failure like we do with HIT. Ever watch Branch pre working set how he gets himself into the zone, you can actually see his eyes change and his whole demeanour into this animal what looks unstoppable, same with Dorian and many others they all have the ability to get into this zone and recruit those tough fibers what only get activated when your at failure and beyond.


I do watch Youtube videos many times before I go training because this for me motivates myself and helps me prepare for what I am about to do in the gym. I know some of you feed of this thread before working out because I can tell with what you say before and after you train, its all about motivation, dedication and having the mental focus to keep positive and have that inner drive. We all have been under a BB with some serious weight on thinking to yourself I am going to fail this, you even say to your partner watch me I think I am going to struggle with this one and guess what happens???? you struggle and the set is a waste of time. We all have been there and ive been there many times in the past thinking this way trying to break into new areas without having the positive mind set or approach what it takes do accomplish this.

Learn how to train your mind and you will develop further not only mentally but physically aswell. I've read a lot of mind control, self help books and I am trained in areas to help direct and open peoples minds. I really enjoy NLP which helped me when I was going through times of trouble in my mind and I couldn't focus on anything. You have to learn this behaviour if it doesn't come naturally, but simple steps and trying what works for you will point you in the right direction were you to can get into the zone what will help you develop further in your training.


ARE YOU TRAINING HARD ENOUGH?

I've had a few PM's about training and cycles and one thing what shines through to me is that a lot are not training hard enough they dont fully understand how to train correctly. We spend so much time designing cycles and eliminating sides we think we have the perfect environment to grow into something what looks like it was carved out of stone but after 15 weeks of these super cycles most are pming me asking how can they stop the gains sliding away. We assume members are training hard enough and intense enough but in reality they aren't. I see alot of members just coasting through their training sessions and doing a set number of reps and sets and think the diet and AAS will transform them into a living god but all what happens is the gains slide away and they end up going back on gear to get some kind of size back.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to find the right training protocol for your body to grow. You have to try many training routines and find which one you respond best to. We also need to get in the right mind set when we walk in that gym, you going there for one purpose and if you don't push your body beyond what its capable of doing your not going to grow bigger. You want to be leaving that gym feeling like you just done 10 rounds with Tyson in his hay day. You have to go through the pain, you have to push and pull the hardest you have ever done before, you have to push your body to places where its never been before and push past the pain every single time you go in the gym.

Overload your body to a state were its screaming for you to stop and no matter what, you couldn't do one more rep even if your life depended on it. If you don't train in this fashion your not training hard enough. Do you want to be bigger than anyone else, do you want to turn heads and do you want to have that monster size what no one else has got then if this is the case stop FUKING around in the gym and stop going through the motions and push past your limits and use methods what take you to hell and back.

I train that hard my eye balls shake and I find it hard to focus, I mentally prepare myself and think of things what make me angry and I push that last rep out no matter what. I kind of like the pain in certain bodyparts and I can push past it into a world of total hell, I feel like I am on fire and I swear I can feel the blood surging through my veins into the muscle what I am working. When I've done my last working set I know I cant perform another rep even if someone had a gun to my head and said you'll die if you don't do another rep, I know I've come to my limit and the sick thing about this is I actually enjoy it., I dream about it, I think about it and I cant wait to get back in the gym to do it again. Its like I'm self harming because the torture I go through is extremely painful but I know this is what I have to do to maintain what I've got and to build those extra few lbs of tissue. This is what separates the normal guys who look like they go to the gym to the fuking monsters what walk this earth

The mind set you walk into the gym with goes a long way. Releasing the inner aggression so its controlled when lifting the weight is the key to maximizing gains and stimulating growth. Control your mind and you will have the best chance at exploding out of your skin. Find what works for you to get into this zone, sit silently, listen to music, think of a time what really makes you angry or do what ever it takes to get yourself in the zone to lift to your max. This isn't easy to master but once you do the rewards are outstanding. The mind is a very powerful thing and everything starts within the brain so train your inner self to get into the zone. When you watch most of the pro's train you will see them in the zone, its a natural thing what comes easy to them. Think about this next time your about to do your working set

Now are you training hard enough? ask yourself can you train harder because if the answer is yes your restricting your gains and wasting money and time. Why spend all that money on gear, gh and food when your not attacking your body like you should be. Think about it and make your next workout like your going to war with yourself.

[Honkey_Kong]

Marcus, that is probably the best post on this entire site. All the steroids and food in the world don't mean shit if you aren't in the zone training your hardest.

We all want to be the best. We all want to be the biggest and the strongest. After I read that post, I got all pumped up. Got myself pissed off sitting in the locker room thinking about personal shit that just pisses me off more than anything. Got out there and gave it my all. I was fighting through the pain. But eventually, I saw myself losing focus. My mind was all over the place and I was tired. I was angry at myself going home, because I feel like I still could've forced myself through.

What tricks do you use to maintain that focus and intensity throughout the workout?

[almostgone]

This is one of my favorite posts. This post, the 5 way workout split, and the diary thread in general were largely responsible for getting me back into lifting. That is saying a lot considering I'm 50.

[marcus300]

Marcus, that is probably the best post on this entire site. All the steroids and food in the world don't mean shit if you aren't in the zone training your hardest.

We all want to be the best. We all want to be the biggest and the strongest. After I read that post, I got all pumped up. Got myself pissed off sitting in the locker room thinking about personal shit that just pisses me off more than anything. Got out there and gave it my all. I was fighting through the pain. But eventually, I saw myself losing focus. My mind was all over the place and I was tired. I was angry at myself going home, because I feel like I still could've forced myself through.

What tricks do you use to maintain that focus and intensity throughout the workout?

If your training HIT your either making sure you have around 1min rest between sets and movements or the intensity is at an extreme high either way you wouldn't have time to think of something else except recovering from the last set. Your mind drifted because you came out of the training zone and like ive said this needs to be learnt its not something anyone can just turn on when they walk in the gym or read my post, it takes mental focus and strong mind set just like HIT does in the first place. If it was easy everyone would be turning heads when you walk down the street.

You keep in that training zone by thinking of things what will keep the fire burning inside you, look in the mirror and ask yourself are you happy with what you look like if not get back under that bar and go to dame failure and beyond. What I will do is post one session what I posted not so long ago in my thread its just slightly different than what you see people post because I will run through everything what I feel and do and experience during shoulder pressing, its not even the whole workout but when you read it you will see how I deal with it and hopefully you can learn to turn that fire on inside you.

[marcus300]

Thought I would do something different other than just writing out my training routine for the day, so what I thought I would do this time is write out one working set but an explanation on what I am thinking and the preparation I do to release the monster whats inside of me. What ive written about above I put into practise. This is a repost from my thread but read it and feel what it takes to train to positive failure and then implement methods to go beyond failure and push the boundaries of your own threshold. Ive added a few more things so it relates to this thread.

I'll ask again are you training hard enough!!!!

Remember this is one set, one working set that's it its not the full shoulder routine its ONE working west.

Example of my preparation for my working set on a hammer strength shoulder press -working set with double dropset.

I am fully warmed up and have done my feeler sets to judge what amount of weight I will be doing, I know that this set is going to be the working set with a drop set so in my mind I know roughly how much my drops are going to be to finish the set. Machine is loaded and I am aiming for around 4-6 reps on the first set before drops, I sit on the bench and start to close my eyes and think of a situation from my past what ignites the adrenalin within me, I take myself back to how I felt at that exact time. My inner self is totally focused, my adrenaline is flowing, my aggression is sky high inside of me and ready to burst. This is hard to do but this method works for me and I can go back in time in a moments noticed and release that fight or flight aggression what ive talked about in the above post.

I grip the bar and roll my hands around the bar while taking deep breaths, my eyes are focused and I'm firing on all cylinders. My head is now concentrating on the weight and I am saying to my inner self "you lift this weight and destroy it". I start to count to in my head 1.......another deep breath 2...........another deep breath 3 and I lift the weight. It feels light due to the aggression and adrenaline flowing through me, I start to do the reps slowly with explosive power, making sure i am not going to injury my delt again, slowly down exploding up, slowly down exploding up. I start to think this is easy I am killing this weight around the 4 th rep I start to slow down, the pain starts to creep in, I am breathing heavy and grunting as i exhale. My partner is behind me telling me to "carry on come on lift the fuking weight" 5th rep done and it was so hard I know this is going to test me. The 6th rep I know its going to be hard and I should drop set now but my partner wont let me. He shouts "come on one more rep come on" so I start to lower the weight, the negative is killing me I can feel every fuking joint hurt and muscle fiber fire to help with the attack they are all under, all over my body even my quads are hurting due to pressing down through my feet.

I start to press the 6th rep and I am quarter way up and its stalls, my partner says "come on finish the rep finish it" I grunt and force the bar up with the help of my partner just taking enough weight off that it moves very slowly, in the back of my head I am thinking come on help me more but he doesn't and I finish the rep off and I am totally exhausted I lock the bar and I bend over and start taking in deep breaths. My partner starts to take some weight off the bar so i can perform another 2-3 reps, by the time I've took 2 deep breaths the fuker as stripped the machine and he's giving me a slap across the back saying "come on lift the weight". I unlock and start but the weight feels the same weight!!!, I am in pain now and I have to dig deep and start talking to my inner self, come on its all over in the next few reps my hearing starts popping and things go quiet, I am totally in the zone nothing can distract me and I start to press. All I can hear is muffled sound from my partner saying "come on". One rep is done and it went slow and my shoulders start to burn, they feel like cannon balls what are about to burst. I get to the top of the rep and start another rep but my strengths is fading fast the weight is too heavy, my partner starts to help me up with it but I stalls again but he keeps me going and I grunt the 2nd rep out. I lock because I knew the third rep wasn't there I was totally at failure and if I attempted another rep my arms would of collapsed. I bend over and start to take deep breaths, I am thinking and putting myself in that time again what fires my aggression up, my partner is taking some weights off, I know any second I am going to have to finish this set. I am saying to myself last few reps this is it, you want big delts this is it.

I unlock the weight and start the repping, I feel good the weight is lighter but the pump is killing me its hard, I'm counting each rep one......two and on the start of the third rep my eye balls are shaking I know this is limit time, my vision is going I have to concentrate to breath instead of holding my breath. I know I'm done i think this is going to be a negative rep not a positive because i cant push it up but I push with everything I've got and it moves just above my head, my partner starts screaming at me while pushing my elbows up "come on finish it". I am shouting inside to myself I will not fail I am going to finish this but I'm exhausted to the max and I know my total failure is just around the corner, but I push as hard as I possibly can and lock the bar I bend over and take some deep breaths. I'm still enraged with anger and stand up and move right over to the next movement dripping in sweat. I start to sip water and my hearing slowly starts to come back, my vision is good now and I start hearing my partner talking to me saying " holy shit that was a serious set I could see your delts grow while you was doing it" I start to calm down and look in the mirror and flex my delts and think YES.

Working set done now repeat the process with lateral, rears and shrugs.

[Times Roman]

well, marcus

this is the second book mark to one of your threads in about as many days. I'm out the door to work, and no time to give this the attention it deserves. But I will read it a few times.

I just want to say that this is in stark contrast to what I usually see in the gym. I go to the gym alone, and stay to myself most of the time. I've been at this gym a few years now, so there are some that will approach me to chat, but briefly. But too many times, I see others at the gym that really are wasting their time. they come to the gym, they say hello to anyone that will say hello back. they allow interruptions between sets for far too long. they monopolize work stations for far too long. Their form is wrong, the weight is too heavy. They do too many reps, or not enough reps. They don't do enough sets. they seem to lack the intensity required to develop an adequate growth signal. it's almost as if they go for the knuckle bump instead of working. Gym is work. Let's be clear. And I see so many that treat it like play. and it pisses me off when I see needles in the locker room. not too often, but over the years, I've seen it enough, mostly in the trash. very few in the gym really should even consider AAS, as most have excessive BF%. Anyways, I digress. My point is that only a few give this the respect it deserves.

[marcus300]

Intensity is the key for me and its really builds some solid muscle over the years what separates me from the normal gym guys......What do I do different than most in the gyms I visit is intensity of my workouts.

Do you train with the same intensity of these videos??? if not why not if you seek those serious gains. This kind of training is common practise for me and that's the difference strong mind set and the will to not fail and push to your limits

[marcus300]

Watch the mind set, watch the concentration and watch the eyes pre and during the workout

[marcus300]

Intensity is the key
Mind control and having a strong desire to succeed
Train to failure and beyond to hit those tough muscle fibers what grow the biggest
is this kind of intensity in these videos normal for you? well it should be that's what separates them from the norm

[marcus300]

After watching these videos which are the ones I save and watch all the time I'm off the gym

[marcus300]

I was really focused today in the gym, had a great session and again watched some videos before I set of to get me in the mood. Once i'm in there its not a problem for me to fire the adrenalin and kickstart the aggression

[marcus300]

bump

[marcus300]

Big bump for you know who

[jimmyinkedup]

This is an awesome thread and Marcus you and I corresponded about training like this and it changed the game for me. Years ago I had this intensity and over time, for whatever reason I realized I had lost it. I changed things and went to a HIT approach watching Dorian and even Mentzer, following your diary, and it changed the game for me. Again, Awesome thread.

[marcus300]

This is an awesome thread and Marcus you and I corresponded about training like this and it changed the game for me. Years ago I had this intensity and over time, for whatever reason I realized I had lost it. I changed things and went to a HIT approach watching Dorian and even Mentzer, following your diary, and it changed the game for me. Again, Awesome thread.

Thank you very much and I am so glad its made a huge difference in your training and growth. Its not for everyone because not many can take themselves to the intensity needed to really stimulate those tough fibers. Its what separates the normal bodybuilding guys and the freaks what turns heads IMHO.

[marcus300]

Repost from my diary


Rep range The ideal rep range for building size and stimulating hypertrophy is the 6 to 12 reps. Less than 6 reps will more or less increase strength and a degree of size, performing more than 12 reps will help build muscle endurance. Make sure that your reps fall within this range and your hitting true positive failure for the best chance of hypertrpohy. If your implementing one of the beyond failure methods such as forced & negs, rest pause or dropsetting you use a weight what is heavy enough to bring your positive failure at the low end of the rep range. An example for rest pause you use a weight what you will hit true positive failure at around the 4th rep then you would rest for around 10-15 seconds and do another couple of reps, then rest again for another 10-15 seconds and hit another 2 reps with the same weight. In total your doing 8 reps which is within range and your going to failure on each rest pause so you have a high chance of stimulating the right fibers to produce the best gains. As your rep range and strength increases towards a total of 12 reps you simple increase the weight being used so your constantly increasing intensity and overload, the two keys principles of any HIT programme. You use feeler sets to determine what weight you will be using on your working set, as you use different methods like dropsetting always makes sure you don't drop the weight to much so your not going over 12 reps in total. If you are you need to be using heavier weight on the drops so your rep range hits below the 12 reps in total. I always like to use around the 8 rep range in total and increase the reps upwards until I feel i can increase the weight so my rep range falls around the 8 rep range again. We are aiming for maximum muscle fiber recruitment hitting these rep ranges at failure will have the greatest potential for muscular growth. The above advice is for someone who is already advanced and is looking to build bigger thicker muscles, its not for someone who is building a base and foundation because these people can really benefit from using a lower rep range aswell as the above.


Stimulating growth

Remember going to true positive failure like I've describe previously hits the toughest muscle fibers what grow the biggest these are the fast twitch type 2b fibers, you hit these fibers and you will have the biggest chance of increasing in size. What we are aiming for is progression overload so you keep hitting the muscles with an increased weight so they need to change and adapt to the overload its being put under. This kind of continuous stress will have a reaction on the body and it will have no other alternative but to grow. We keep within the right rep range what stimulates the biggest growth and we continuously try and increase the intensity by increasing the reps then once the reps increase you increase the weight to bring the reps down within the correct range again. I can't stress enough about taking your muscle to true positive failure, this takes a lot of mental preparation. Before any muscle contraction occurs it originates from the brain sending signals to the nerves, the stronger the signal the more forceful the muscle contraction, in other words control your mind set pre working set and you will be in the best position to take your body to failure and beyond. I've commented many times how I go about doing my mental preparation but you master the mental side and you will see huge leaps in achieving your goals.Release the aggression by talking to your inner self and you will take your body to places its never been before. Stimulate growth by overloading your body to a state were its screaming for you to stop and no matter what you couldn't do one more rep even if your life depended on it, if you don't train in this fashion your not training hard enough.





Advanced training techniques

Forced and negatives

When your going to be implementing forced and negatives you need to be using a weight what your going to be hitting around the 3-4 rep range at true positive failure, then your spotter with help you with another 2 reps. I say 2 reps because its about the limit you can do once you have come to true positive failure and your partner is taking some of the weight off you, these forced reps will dig very deep into your muscle fiber recruitment. Once you have finished the forced reps the weight will be at the starting position and you start to complete negatives by lowering the weight very slowly, make sure you resist and fight the weight coming down and once at the bottom your partner will assist you to get the weight to the top of again and you will do another negative and you keep going until you cant do another negative, usually its around 2 negatives. Negatives done at this stage of a working set after positive muscle failure causes serious trauma to the muscle which will stimulate the release of growth factors. Your also 40% stronger on the eccentric part of the lift so once you hit failure in the lifting part of the exercise by yourself and adding forced with your partner the negatives will take you beyond and recruit further fibres like nothing I've experienced with any other training routine. Once this as been hit there is no need to do anything else because the damage has occurred and no more can be recruited only burn out and exhaustion. If we add the reps up you would be doing around 3-4 reps on the positive then 2 forced and then around 2 negative so in total your hitting around the 8 rep range. You have 3 strengths you have the positive, static and negative, the negative causes the most damage to the muscle and is the biggest cause of DOMS, you master negatives and you will see a huge improvement in muscle size and fullness.

Rest Pause

Again use a weight what you will be hitting true positive failure around the 3-4 reps range, put the weight down and rest for around 10-15 seconds which should give you around another 2 reps, then repeat and rest again and hit another 2+ reps again. Your completing a set of around 8 reps than you would normally use but your rest a couple of times within the set for around 10-15 second so you recover just enough to complete another 2 reps each time. This will recruit those tough type 2b muscle fibers and if you use your feeler sets correctly you can really cause some serious damage to your muscle and create an extreme amount of over load your body isn't use to. I like the 8 rep total mark but this isn't set in stone, you may prefer 10 reps in total or even 6 but just try and makes ure your in the 6-12 rep range and work from that to increase the intensity and overload.


Drop sets

This method needs a bit more thinking about but first lets explain what a drop set is. If we use DB curls for an example you would pick a weight again were you would be hitting around 3-4 reps at true positive failure and then get a set of lighter DB's and rep again for another couple of reps and then drop the weight again and curl another set of lighter bells for another 2-3 reps. You have to make sure you drop the weight enough to make sure you get around 2-3 reps out at failure but make sure you don't drop the weight to much, if your repping loads of reps out remember your trying to be hitting around the 8 rep range so when your doing your feeler sets its crucial to make the lighter db set just enough so you keep within the total rep range. Halfs/quarters or partials With partials you are doing a standard working set to which will involve you conducting a strict full range of motion to true positive failure, at this stage you would carry on doing half reps until its impossible to complete another half rep then do a quarter reps right down till you cant move the weight. A fine example would be DB side laterals were you would do strict reps till failure then carry on doing half reps so the DB's are only coming up half way then keep going till your hardly moving the weight from the side. There will be a bit of body assistance and sloppy form come into play towards the end but at this stage its fine just to get those deep muscle fibers working by going beyond failure. Extremely effective way to recruit those tough fibers we require with a constant tension approach.



Hit Supersets

Hit supersets entail you doing one exercise right after another with very little rest as in-between the two movements. With these types of supersets your still hitting the 6-12 rep range so your not doing anymore than 12 reps over two exercises, this is very important. Example you would go to true positive failure lets say on DB shoulder press and be at failure around the 5-6 rep then go straight into db side laterals for another 6 reps at the most which would be failure again. You have to make sure you use the right weight to hit the correct rep range so you don't go over the 12 rep ceiling otherwise you will trigger the muscle endurance and exhaustion and you wont tap into the tough fibers we require. Great examples is coupling compounds movements with isolation.Combination This protocol would consist of a combination of any of the above methods, you could use rest pause and on the second rest pause you may not be able to do anymore reps so you could go straight into a drop set to finish the working set of to failure and beyond. You could even use drop sets with partials on the last drop set to really increase the burn and intensity. The combination is endless, its how you feel to complete the workings set and what you need to do to make sure its a productive one. These are great for a back up plan if your working set starts to go wrong for any reason.


Rest

Using the above protocols is extremely tasking on your body and CNS so you need to make sure the training session are short but intense enough to stimulate growth. You also need to make sure you rest enough and have a good solid diet to suit your requirements. There is one thing for sure its impossible to train like this correctly for weeks on end, no matter how anabolic you are your going to need to pull back on the above movements and decrease the intensity and let the body fully repair and heal. This doesn't mean you have to stop training in this style just take a pullback training routine for a few weeks and lower the intensity and increase the rest days. Cortisol will fight against muscle growth so if you experience any over training symptoms its time to change things around to help your body repair and heal.



Feel sets The feel sets are sets what you will do previous your working set, these sets are done so you can determine what weight you will be doing on your working set. Sometimes on my first feeler set it feels light and I'm very powerful so the next feeler set I will put some poundage on and see how that feels, again if that feels easy I know I can go heavier on my working set. I also take in consideration what I am going to be doing whether its forced and negs or rest pause or drops, I just judge a weight what I will be hitting failure around the 4th - 6th rep mark or less and then incorporate the beyond failure protocols. I also remember what I did last time I did that movement because in the back of my mind I know I have to overload my body. I am always pushing heavier weights or trying to increase the intensity


.Nutrition

Food is a major player when we are building muscle tissue or shredding bf. We need to eat enough energy releasing foods to fuel our workouts and also to promote muscle building. Nutrition is a very individual thing and nothing is set in stone no matter who tells you it is, its not. We are all different and have different levels of activity and we need to establish a baseline diet and work off this to suit your needs and goals. Make no mistake if you want to grow bigger thicker muscles than your going to have to eat big, train big and be consistent with everything you do. Once you establish your maintenance diet you can put a strategy together to add muscle and body weight or shred body fat. Learning how your body responds to different amounts of calories will be one most beneficial things you can do because this will open a plan to determine how you go about attacking and achieving your goals

[marcus300]

bump for the guy who pm'ed me

[bartman314]

after decades of training, most of which is suboptimal, i've at last come to understand what you have so clearly stated here. in particular, the mental preparation for true working sets is incredible, and unless you've experienced it, very difficult to communicate.

thank you, and well done.

[ojm3]

great article you got here Marcus300. Thanks a lot for writing it I watched a few of these videos last night and read over this article then went to the gym today and hit it like a beast. I concentrated very hard on psyching myself out and getting my adrenaline to flow through my veins it works fantastic I will end up pushing past my max weight on all of my lifts. I even wound up tricking myself into thinking the weight was lighter than what it really was. I honestly think I felt my back grow today lol good read and great article bud intensity is key!

[Hard_Body]

The preparation starts before I even leave my house to go to the gym, usually about an hour before I leave I cut out all internet, video games, tv, ect, and just lay down on my bed while listening to music to clear my mind and go over what numbers i need to hit, what my weights are going to be, exercises, exercise order. I mean do you guys think pro sports players are playing call of duty or checking their twitter a few hours before a game?, hell no, that shit is just a distraction and takes your mind off what needs to be done. Us as bodybuilders need to take our hour our two in the gym a day the same way. I recommend you guys try this out it has helped me out a lot, I go in the gym ready to kill it with a demon mindset. i could not see how I could go right from school to the gym. mind is way to cluttered, need to go home lay down, clear my mind and focus on what I need to accomplish at the gym. When I get in the gym I try not to make unnecessary eye contact with to many people, just throws my mind off, gota go in there angry and pissed off, especially before a heavy dead lift session, block everything else out.

[Hard_Body]

2 hours out from a heavy dead lift session, mental prep already started. Getting my mind ready, ready to die tonight , music is key, this is a song that will no doubt get you physced up to kill shit. great deadlift song

[Chicagotarsier]

Great post Marcus. I think every person that goes to the gym can learn from this. Everything from the 6-12 reps to the rest time between sets.

I remember when I was a kid reading the Larry Bird autobiography. He articulated how he maintained his focus "which led to him making those impossible shots". He had a routine he followed from leaving the gym to laying down in bed. Once in bed he would focus on every detail one by one leading to him entering into bed and then on the button at the top of his PJs. Complete focus all the time .... cannot imagine his game day focus.

In the gym doing 10x10s I am ok till the last set. It takes every ounce of mental capacity to get under the weights one more time with my muscles crying. For that last set when I get under the bar my mind is blank and all i can see is the pencil mark on the ceiling I made to focus on.

Great post.

[marcus300]

Great post Marcus. I think every person that goes to the gym can learn from this. Everything from the 6-12 reps to the rest time between sets.

I remember when I was a kid reading the Larry Bird autobiography. He articulated how he maintained his focus "which led to him making those impossible shots". He had a routine he followed from leaving the gym to laying down in bed. Once in bed he would focus on every detail one by one leading to him entering into bed and then on the button at the top of his PJs. Complete focus all the time .... cannot imagine his game day focus.

In the gym doing 10x10s I am ok till the last set. It takes every ounce of mental capacity to get under the weights one more time with my muscles crying. For that last set when I get under the bar my mind is blank and all i can see is the pencil mark on the ceiling I made to focus on.

Great post.

Master your mind and you'll master your craft. Many of us just go through the motions wasting sets and reps but if your mentally prepare yourself you can achieve remarkable things, using little tricks what ignite your motivation and adrenalin is key to this sport

Glad the thread helped in some way

[marcus300]

bump

[rahulsingh265]

Great post markus....every single word of this post motivates me to go beyond failure.... Had a great leg workout today after a long time..... Thanks markus

[marcus300]

Great post markus....every single word of this post motivates me to go beyond failure.... Had a great leg workout today after a long time..... Thanks markus

That's great, glad it helped

[Trevis]

Thank you for the article. That shows my vision of ideal training.
Hate people who are trying to chat with me in the gym.

[NACH3]

As you know I love this shit!!! I just realized I can go heavier than I've been) I'm repping out my drops too much(4-6 after working putting me beyond 12 on DDs & I like DDs b/c atm no partner) so thx for this article!!!

~Nach

[SonofBragi25]

This was a great read. I've always had trouble with focus, pushing my limits etc. so this is a valuable read. Saved

[marcus300]

This was a great read. I've always had trouble with focus, pushing my limits etc. so this is a valuable read. Saved

Mind set is everything,

Glad the thread helped in someway

[73rr]

This is actually why I work out. To get that feeling. That drive. It takes all the stress of life away and makes me feel amazing and better then everyone!

[marcus300]

This is defiantly worth a read

[xnotoriousx]

Just read it top to bottom and going to put it to use right now! Thanks for the reminder and reality check!

[Tlolec the toilet]

just learned something about high intensity techniques. what a pump. my chest feels so good. I've been learning about this stuff. SO FRICKEN EFFECTIVE. I'm going to read this post

pre fatigue
isolation
drop sets
super setting
low to no rest interval
slow reps/lower weight
negatives
forced reps

combos

[marcus300]

just learned something about high intensity techniques. what a pump. my chest feels so good. I've been learning about this stuff. SO FRICKEN EFFECTIVE. I'm going to read this post

pre fatigue
isolation
drop sets
super setting
low to no rest interval
slow reps/lower weight
negatives
forced reps

combos

Its pretty impossible to implement all those advance protocols when you first start HIT. It takes along time to train the body and mind to go to failure. Maybe drop into the dungeon thread and read from the start and you will get a good idea exactly how to slowly start training HIT and understand what you have to do to achieve a good understanding before you start taking on all those advance training protocols. The MAIN principle you need to learn before anything else is training the body to go to positive failure this cant be done on one or two training sessions it takes weeks/months to train the body and mind to go to this zone. If you need any help fully understanding all whats needed just drop in the dungeon thread and I will go through with you but reading it from the start will help you tremendously

[marcus300]

The mental training zone can be use by any kind of training style not just HIT, I thought I was in another thread before lol. The mental zone is to bring out the aggression needed to push to your limits and get the best out of your training session, the mind is very powerful

[InternalFire]

The mental training zone can be use by any kind of training style not just HIT, I thought I was in another thread before lol. The mental zone is to bring out the aggression needed to push to your limits and get the best out of your training session, the mind is very powerful

Everytime I learn something new on HIT i realize how little I knew and how little I have progressed, yet it feels like a milestone.

I found a good way of getting in the zone: if I train legs that day and I wanna really run them to the ground I must realize, there is no stopping once I start, I will have to give all I have and find extra 10-20% I want it or not, Its a must. I decide that I will go trough routine that will make my tomorrow unbearable and possibly immobile, but all for the greater good.
I dont think how long will I not be able to workout my legs after, I decide that I wont be doing anything with them for at least5-7days, I know work put in to that may or may not yeld extra 1 pound in lifts next session but it will definitelly build a foundation for the future to take bigger steps than mind can fathom. Because consistency is the key, and consistent progress brings results. Training with such mindset I no longer know anything around me just weights floor and air in my lungs, till Im done. And when Im done, someone may come to help me stand up or sit on the bench.

[marcus300]

Everytime I learn something new on HIT i realize how little I knew and how little I have progressed, yet it feels like a milestone.

I found a good way of getting in the zone: if I train legs that day and I wanna really run them to the ground I must realize, there is no stopping once I start, I will have to give all I have and find extra 10-20% I want it or not, Its a must. I decide that I will go trough routine that will make my tomorrow unbearable and possibly immobile, but all for the greater good.
I dont think how long will I not be able to workout my legs after, I decide that I wont be doing anything with them for at least5-7days, I know work put in to that may or may not yeld extra 1 pound in lifts next session but it will definitelly build a foundation for the future to take bigger steps than mind can fathom. Because consistency is the key, and consistent progress brings results. Training with such mindset I no longer know anything around me just weights floor and air in my lungs, till Im done. And when Im done, someone may come to help me stand up or sit on the bench.

Sounds like a great mind set, I hope its not just writing and its put into production. Keep it up and carry on training the body and mind to go to failure.

[InternalFire]

I have no tolerance for hope marcus. Life is serious, so must be the training

[NACH3]

Intensity is the key for me and its really builds some solid muscle over the years what separates me from the normal gym guys......What do I do different than most in the gyms I visit is intensity of my workouts.

Do you train with the same intensity of these videos??? if not why not if you seek those serious gains. This kind of training is common practise for me and that's the difference strong mind set and the will to not fail and push to your limits

Also... 'failing or hitting true positive failure' on a regular basis is much much harder than it may seem... The set it just starting when your tired and think you've reached true positive failure yet we fail each day trying to achieve this and also FAIL when done right - it's an interesting way of looking at things and keeping ones perspective! We MUST FAIL in order to move forward!