The StrongLifts Community counts more than 10,000 members from over 187 countries. Many StrongLifts Members say that the forum is key to keeping them motivated. Here are my favorite discussions this month:

• Fifa 2010 World Cup. If you’re from the US like most StrongLifts Members, you probably only watch soccer every 4 yours. But soccer (we say football actually) is the most popular sport in the world. In Belgium, we usually think soccer isn’t popular in the US because there aren’t that many goals during a match. Turns out it’s the “acting” of soccer players that annoys American SL Members. Frankly, it irritates me too. Belgium didn’t qualify (our team sucks), so I’m betting on Germany.
• Your very first exposure to training. It was in 1999, a couple of months before I graduated. I was just over 18. Gym teacher took us to a gym for 2 hours of weight lifting. I liked it somehow. About 6 months later, 1 month after I graduated, I joined that gym. Years of “hardcore bodybuilding” followed, 5x/week training for up to 3h, until I saw the light in 2003 and started to focus on strength…
• Drifting away from your closest friends ? My friends also started to see me as this “health freak” when I began lifting, and I quickly got tired of hearing stuff like “lifting bad for health”. So I started to hang out with the guys from the gym and let go my school friends. Read my reply here. And I agree with SL Member Ray that it’s better not to talk about training with your friends – most don’t “get” it.
• Idiot Smoker’s Logs. For SL Members who want to quit smoking. Off the record, I smoked from age 15 to 26, with a 3y break from age 18 to 21 (stopped after I got into lifting, then got back into it, but harder). Non-smoker since April 2006, will never smoke again. From my experience, stressing the health hazards of smoking won’t make anyone quit – smokers know them. The key is to start seeing yourself as a non-smoker, then never smoke 1 cigarette again. Read smoking and weight lifting, and get Allen Carr’s book.
• The Bench Press Brad Pitt Club. “Heaps of guys keep asking how to look like Brad Pitt. Fair question I guess. But the real question is how many times can you bench press Brad Pitt? Best I can dig up on the net is he weighs in at ~170lbs. So, post your number of reps x brad… I.E 10xBP or 3xBP” “I did Brad Pitt to failure the other day. The best part was dumping him on the floor after.” “Did 180×5 this morning. So, that’s Brad Pitt plus the ball and chain Angelina Jolie keeps around his ankle.”
• Why don’t people like weightlifting belts? It seems some guys think that I’m against the use of belts. It’s true that I didn’t use one for the majority of my training career because I got influenced into a “puritan” style of lifting by my early mentor (no belts, no wraps, no supplements, no steroids, etc). But I do use a belt today. Read my reply here.
• Am I eating too much fruit? Fats were the source of all evil during the 70s. Next it was carbs with the low carb craze spiked by Atkins. Then trans-fats & HFCS were the main cause of obesity. And now it’s fructose. Fat loss “experts” and dumb doctors will surely catch your attention by giving you a new “method” that revolves around blaming 1 single food, but that doesn’t make it true. The REAL secret to fat loss is to eat less calories than your body burns. That’s the fundamental law of thermodynamics – it’s all about calories. And it applies to everyone, no matter your age, genetics or metabolism. So eat your fruits, the fiber can actually help fat loss by keeping you full longer.
• What Is up With Crossfit? What’s up is that it sucks because it tries to get you good at everything, but gets you good at nothing. It’s too much endurance based, lacks programming, and it’s not for guys who haven’t built a solid base of strength & technique first (you risk injuries, and workouts are so brutal many never come back). It also won’t get you to a 500-750lbs Deadlift within 2 years whatever Glassman says. SL Member Muddy actually got his Deadlift to 615lbs in 2 years. Look at his lack of strength gains when doing Crossfit.
• Least favourite thing that comes with your lifestyle ? Like many SL Members, I also feel that food is the hardest part. Training is only 3-4x/week for 1h. But food is every day, all day long. It’s a training itself (that’s how you should look at it if you want to get somewhere actually). Aside from that, it is annoying when people think you’re this vain “bodybuilder”  - it’s strength training and I don’t care about the looks. But you get you used to that and this.
• “Advice” from a doctor in my gym regarding Squats. Another one of those dumb doctors (who is supposed to be educated) giving out advice about things he doesn’t understand, mixing causation with correlation. Most guys who actually Squat in a gym, don’t do it right (partial Squats being most common mistake), that’s why they hurt their knees. My advice: reply that you don’t like people to disturb you while you’re training. And remember, never argue with a pig.
• Press Frustration. First, the Press is tough, slower progress is normal. Next: if you only Press 105lbs, you need to Press more. Focus on improve your technique (straight bar path) and lifting fast on the way up. Bounce the weight off your chest on each rep. Use a belt. Substitute Push-ups for 3×12 Dips, then moving to 3×5 Weighted Dips. Switch to 3×5 Press after 3 deloads at 5×5. I don’t like the idea of substituting Presses for Push Presses because it doesn’t train the bottom part.
• Deadlift SUCKS because I’m TALL. As SL Member Vlad points out, the strongest RAW deadlifters in the world, Konstantinov, is 6’3″. And SL Member Mouse has listed plenty of others +6.3″ Deadlifters. It’s a question of practice, nothing more. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect. You got to be patient & persistent. And if you wonder why there’s only 1×5 Deadlifts in StrongLifts 5×5, read the reply of SL Member Wellhairedbeast.
• Why not to change exercises? Because if you change the exercises all the time, you can’t track progress efficiently. The point is to keep everything the same – exercises, sets, reps, exercise order. Only the weight changes. If the weight goes up, you’re making progress. You also learn technique faster this way since you’re always doing the same exercises. Don’t get into workout hopping mode, switching routine all the time, it’s a recipe for failure. Read how to get and stay motivated.
• How do they do it? I trained in a gym for 5 years where there were this kind of big, strong guys (most of them bouncers) who never did Squats or Deadlifts but who could dumbbell press 100lbs for reps. From my experience their secret was a) they ate a lot (junk food though) b) they trained since years (consistency, the key) c) they often use steroids (no comments). Obviously, they had skinny legs.

Meet The Belgian Blue. A friend sent me this video: meet the super cow. 1m60, 2500lbs, 100% natural. This Belgian Blue is the product of selective breeding known for his “double muscling“. I’ve actually eaten meat labelled Belgian Blue before, but restaurants don’t tell you the super cow story. I think they should.

Start a Training Log. You can keep a training log for free in the forum. Record the weights you lifted and how you felt. Then get advice from other StrongLifts Members and compete with them. Many SL Members say that keeping a training log keeps them motivated and accountable. I recommend you to start one too.

For starters, browse the training logs by body-weight and age to see what’s possible. Then look at the StrongLifts Strongest Man Competition, several StrongLifts Members are Squatting 400lbs and Deadlifting 500lbs.

Support StrongLifts.com. Guys often ask me how they can return the favor for all the free content on this site that has often changed their life for the better.

The best way remains to share articles on facebook, twitter, stumbleupon or mail them to friends using the buttons at the bottom of each post.

Next update: soon. Remember you can get that article and all the next ones delivered for free in your mailbox by subscribing for free.

StrongLifts Member Charlie wondered when I was finally going to publish the new content that I’ve been working on. My answer remains “soon”. I’ve been writing 8h/day, 5x/week during the past months. When I’m done, you’ll get it.

Why don’t I publish some of it? The new articles are interlinked as they’ll serve as foundation content for the site. They also involve design changes (something new, you’ll see). So everything will be released at once.

I don’t like talking about what I’m going to do, I prefer to show it. So that’s all I have to say for now. Meanwhile I’ll continue with the monthly overviews. And from now on, I’ll add comments instead of just listing my favorite threads.

Best of Forum May 2010. The StrongLifts Forum counts +250k posts and +10k members. Many StrongLifts Members say that the forum is key to keeping them motivated. Here are my favorite discussions this month:

• Why You Shouldn’t Chase a Body Fat Percentage. Aiming for fat loss is better than aiming for weight loss. But often fat loss isn’t the answer – a low body fat is useless if you don’t have muscles to show for. And caloric deficits don’t help strength. Great post by Atypical1, read my reply here.
• Too Motivated? What Do You Do on Your Off Days? More isn’t better, and it’s better to miss the gym than not feel like going. Do mobility work on your off days or… just have a life. Read also Aes’ reply here.
• How Much Could You Squat When You Went From SL5x5 to 3×5? Switching to 3×5 is the best way to milk everything out of StrongLifts 5×5. Most StrongLifts Member switch when they’re Squatting 1.2x their body-weight. But some StrongLifts Members like Rugger have gone as far as 1.8x BW. Read also my reply here.
• Mistakes I Made And How to Avoid Them. Another awesome post by StrongLifts Member Atypical1. Here are some of mistakes I made when I got into lifting weights in 1999: doing bodybuilding split routines, too many exercises, too many pyramid sets, training to failure week after week, forced reps, training through injuries, lifting with bad technique, …
• What Am I Doing Wrong? 39y old StrongLifts Member Drecar couldn’t figure how to get to a 200lbs Squat with SL5x5 in Oct 2009. Until he understood he had to stop worrying about gaining fat and start eating more to help recovery & strength. 7 months later, he finally hits a 295lbs Squat. And as Drecar points out: fat loss is easier than muscle gains.
• Do You Train With a Partner? After I got into lifting in 1999, I met my mentor who introduced me to Squats and the whole deal. Since then, I’ve trained alone and with trainingpartners. My conclusion: I train harder with a partner. The only problem is finding one who is reliable, consistent, focussed, and who doesn’t complain.
• Madcow 5×5 vs Texas Method. Do StrongLifts 5×5 as long as possible, then switch to 3×5 when stalling to milk everything out of the program as explained here. Then switch to Madcow (Bill Starr 5×5 Intermediate). Many StrongLifts Members have gotten great results with this approach. Read the reviews by StrongLifts Members Vlad and Atypical1.
• How to Have Lean Muscular But Not Bulky Body? Like Brad Pitt. Stop fearing getting too bulky, it’s not that as easy and you don’t know what “too muscular” is until you are. And quit trying to look like those celebs. Build your own physique. Read my reply here & here.
• Distractions You CANT Control. My home gym is at my parent’s place. Sometimes one of them asks something while I’m lifting. I never answer. I reply when my set is done. They know I’m not talkative during my training, but somehow I have to “remind” them my rules every now & then. No disrespect, I just don’t allow distractions. My phone is obviously off too when I’m training. Point: you can control EVERY distraction.

Just to stress that last point. I’ve become so militant about my time during the past year, that I’ve completely removed the use of cell phone, email, facebook, Internet, and forums when I’m working. Why? So I don’t get distracted. Because in life the way you get things done is using focussed, single tasking.

This means I’m basically unavailable to friends, family, gf until I’m done working. Is it weird? Of course. Do I get more done? You bet. What if there’s an urgency? There’s never an urgency for you, believe me, it’s always an urgency for them.

You have to set rules for yourself, and set boundaries for others. That’s how you get control over yourself and your life. If not, they’ll set the rules for you and you’ll live their life not yours. Don’t care about what they’ll think or say. If anything you’ll gain their respect by having rules – unlike most guys.

Start a Training Log. You can keep a training log for free in the forum. Record the weights you lifted and how you felt. Then get advice from other StrongLifts Members and compete with them. The training logs are awesome motivators. I recommend you to start one too.

For starters, browse the training logs by body-weight and age to see what’s possible. Then look at the StrongLifts Strongest Man Competition, several StrongLifts Members are Squatting 400lbs and Deadlifting 500lbs.

Support StrongLifts.com. Guys often ask me how they can return the favor for all the free content on this site that has often changed their life for the better.

The best way remains to share articles on facebook, twitter, stumbleupon or mail them to friends using the buttons at the bottom of each post.

Next update: soon. Remember you can get that article and all the next ones delivered for free in your mailbox by subscribing for free.