Welcome to my new series titled Matters Of Fitness.
This series was inspired by the late Charles Poliquin. Poliquin, was of my mentors from afar as I came up in the fitness game.
I never met Poliquin in person, but I was always inspired by a good portion of his work and his approach to training.
I will answer 1 question per topic (training, nutrition, recovery, athletic performance) and a bonus section that will be titled Fake Hustle. With that said, let’s get the show running.
1) What is the best training split?
I have used multiple training splits over the years. The best training split you can use is the one that allows you to maximize your main training goal.
During my first run in natural bodybuilding pumping iron was my main focus. My primary goal was building muscle and creating symmetrical physique.
Here is how I trained during that era:
Sunday: Off
Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Lower Body and Conditioning
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: Upper Body
Friday: Lower Body
Saturday: Upper Body (Specialty) and Conditioning or off based on the time of year
With my current main goal being increasing my sprinting speed for the upcoming outdoor track season, my current training split is:
Sunday: Off or Massage
Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Short Sprinting (Speed Work)
Wednesday: Lower Body
Thursday: Off
Friday: Upper Body
Saturday: Short Sprinting (Speed Work)
You have to change your training split based on what your current goal is.
I have found with speed work that the 3 day rest between Tuesday and Saturday has increased my performance on the track. Less is more when it comes to pure speed development.
My lower body lifting has also been modified so that I can properly recover.
If you are a performance athlete, recovery is the key to increasing your performance. Fatigue masks fitness.
2) How important is knowing how much food to eat?
The importance of knowing what and how much you are eating are so critical to losing body fat or gaining muscle mass.
How can you build your dream body if you do not know what or how much is going into your system?
I find it fascinating when I’ve heard lifters over time talk about getting leaner or bigger but when I ask them about their caloric input I get the blank stare or a generic, hollow answer like “I eat good.”
Meanwhile that lifter is nowhere near as lean as they could be and they have not gained any muscle since the first season of 24.
If you are stuck in terms of losing body fat or building more muscle mass, it is time to take a hard look at what and how much you are eating. Results require great training, nutrition, and recovery.
You will not build your dream body by skimping on one of the big 3.
3) What is the best recovery tool of all time?
If you are not sleeping and letting your body recharge from workouts and life stress, you will struggle mightily to dramatically improve your physique.
Sleep is the best recovery tool of all time, yet so many people put sleep on the back-burner like monotonous chores.
In other words, if you are serious about building a leaner and stronger body, you have to put a priority on sleep.
A cool, dark, and quiet room plus an eye mask can work wonders for you. It absolutely does for me.
4) Fitman, how can I increase my sprinting speed?
In order to get faster you have to put the main emphasis of your training on sprinting.
However, far too many programs put the emphasis on lifting and volume “sprinting.”
While strength development in the weight room is a big component for a complete speed development program, it cannot and should not be the main component.
Volume “sprint” workouts such as 10 x 100m and 8 x 200m at 70-75% speed with short rest periods are not speed builders.
These are conditioning workouts that would be better served as a tempo running workout.
To get faster you have to put an emphasis on improving your acceleration and your maximum velocity.
Therefore workouts like 2-5 x 30m for acceleration or 2-5 x 30m flys for maximum velocity are the type of workouts you want to do to improve your speed.
You can increase your speed and build a better body by purchasing my new, groundbreaking eBook, Use Speed To Get Lean.
5) How do I strengthen my mindset?
When I trained in the commercial sector the music selections at the gym were beyond uninspiring.
If you like pop music that’s fine, but the cheesy, poppy, testosterone draining Billboard Top 100 music does absolutely nothing for me during a real training session.
During the majority of my workouts at The Center, I prefer to listen to powerful motivational soundtracks. This could be either motivational speaking or dramatic music.
For example, the most powerful speech I listened too this week was by Inky Johnson.
The message can be directly applied to your fitness journey and you can listen to Tortoise & Hare below.
6) Fake Hustle
Social media is having a major influence on how lifters and trainees think their bodies can actually look.
As a result, many folks are trying to build bodies comparable to well-known social media personalities. Many of these social media fitness personalities have physiques comparable to the Avengers.
I believe you should shoot for the stars and have unrealistic goals because aiming that high will push you harder to reach these goals.
But even if you fall short of an unrealistic goal, you will end up further ahead then if your aim would of been at the low hanging fruit.
When it comes to the fitness game, you need to know the truth about these social media physiques.
You can naturally develop an fantastic body.
But unless you are willing to take anabolic steroids, pro-hormones, have surgical procedures, or Photoshop every single picture you post, you will not develop those cartoon-like, superhuman-type IG physiques.
Above all you should focus on maximizing what God and your parents gave you to best of your ability.
With supreme consistency and giving a quality effort with your training/nutrition/recovery I promise you will be very pleased with your transformation.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer,
Fitman
