Looking back, it took me way too long to reach the 400lb Squat/500lb Deadlift. I do not believe at all that my "bad genetics", skinny build and 6.7" wrists are to blame. It's more that I tend to be a faster teacher than learner. Almost all my StrongLifts Members had much faster gains than me by following my methods.

I do think that I would have achieved much faster strength gains had I known what I know today OR had I had someone to tell me what I know now. Here are 5 big things that I wish I had known when I was in my early 20s.

1. Gaining Strength Is Easy. I had this lofty goal of Deadlifting 200kg by age 30. I eventually achieved my goal sooner and even surpassed it. My Deadlift actually increased faster from 400 to 500lbs than from 300 to 400lbs.

A lot of guys say that the stronger you get, the harder it is to get stronger. Yet my example or Jon North's who went from 150 to 160kg on the Snatch faster than from 140 to 150kg prove that this isn't necessarily true. It can be like the rich get richer - once you understand how it all works, you can start focusing all your energy on actually getting things done. In my case, it is simplifying how I trained that accounted for my faster progress during the past 18 months.

The other problem is that I used to believe that gaining strength was hard. I thought for a long time that I was more injury-prone than other guys, and that I somehow needed more advanced routines. I was wrong, it was all in my head.

2. You're Less Advanced Than You Think. People always say that I'm smart. But then you have books like "Why Smart People Do Dumb Things". For a while I knew all the theory about what worked and didn't work while someone way less smarter than me was achieving what I was struggling with.

I have annoyed guys with this in the past, but I stand by what I said: being smart can work against you. The temptation is huge to complicate things because you're smart and think you ought to know better. Yet like Einstein said: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."

You got to stop doing all those advanced and complicated training programs and get back to the basics. Keep It Simple Stupid, and remember that while knowledge is power, ignorance is also often bliss. Only results matter.

3. You Have to Control Yourself. Confidence under the bar is one of the big secrets to strength training. I've learned that attempting personal records too often (out of greed) usually ends up in missed attempts, sometimes injuries and almost always going home pissed. Worst, you can create mental plateaus.

And so I now chip at the rock - I will settle with a 5lb PR even if I feel I could do more that day. I'd rather wait a week and set several PRs in a row than missing reps and then going home frustrated. It's just better for your self-confidence and motivation to end every single workout on a high note.

4. Be Persistent, But Don't Be Stupid. Two week ago I had some gastric flu, luckily on an off day, sick like dog for the first time since more than a year. Yet I worked, and the day after I went to the gym as planned. Did Squats with 374lbs for singles but it was obvious I was weaker. I didn't care though, my goal was to show up, not break my training habit, and give it at least a try.

Over the past decade I've done this a lot - training through sickness, tiredness, injuries, soreness, etc. To my family, friends and girlfriend I'm crazy and extreme in my insistence on training no matter what. But most guys are even more extreme in how they skip workouts for just about anything, like a silly cold.

That said, there is definitely a thin line between admirable persistence and stubborn, dangerous stupidity. I do not regret showing up and will continue to do so no matter what. But there were times where I was hurting myself with dumb exercises that I should not have been doing and bad technique I didn't know I was using. Learn the difference between pain and injury.

5. The Chair and Couch Are Your Worst Enemies. Many guys refuse to do heavy Squats and Deadlifts out of fear of lower back injuries. Meanwhile, they completely ignore an even bigger possible source of injury: sitting on a chair all day at work followed by watching TV from their couch for a few hours.

Most of my teenage years I spent watching TV and playing videogames. Then I started working in "Corporate Belgium", sitting on a chair at least 8h/day. By my early 20s I began experiencing back pain during heavy Squats and Deadlifts and couldn't even stand for long periods anymore without getting lower back pain. Why? Tight hips, dormant glutes and a monkey butt from all that sitting.

Today, I'm 100% free of back pain and Squat/Deadlift more than I ever did. Yet I still sit a lot, easily 70h/week, and I strongly believe excess sitting is more dangerous than lifting heavy weights. Since you probably can't stop the sitting that easily, there's only one solution: lots and lots of mobility work.

You have right now access to information that I did not have access to when I was younger. Information that very few guys ever get to know. Be grateful, and don't make all the dumb training mistakes that I made.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Napoleon Hill, author of one of the biggest bestellers of all times "Think & Grow Rich", spent over 25 years analyzing several thousand men of whom 98% were classed as "failures". According to Hill, one of the 30 major reasons why these guys failed was INSUFFICIENT EDUCATION - quote...

Successful men, in all callings, never stop acquiring specialized knowledge related to their major purpose, business, or profession. Those who are not successful usually make the mistake of believing that the knowledge acquiring period ends when one finishes school. The truth is that schooling does but little more than to put one in the way of learning how to acquire practical knowledge. Experience has proven that the best-educated people are often those who are known as “self-made,” or self-educated. It takes more than a college degree to make one a person of education. The person who stops studying merely because he has finished school is forever hopelessly doomed to mediocrity, no matter what may be his calling. The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge.

- Napoleon Hill, Think & Grow Rich.

The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge. Hill actually advised in his other lesser known book, The Law of Success, to invest 10% of your income each month on education. But he also observed that most men invest exactly 0% of their monthly earnings on things like books.

Like most guys, I never read a book again once I got out of school. And like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs I never finished my studies, I quit in my 2nd year. Yet over the past years I have and keep reading about 100 books/year. Add 21h/week of audiomaterial, the DVDs I watch and the stuff I read online. Why do you think I'm the most expensive strength coach in the world right now?

It keeps amazing me how some guys have no problem spending $700 on a dumb phone with options they don't need, but then act as cheapskates when it comes to buying a book that will make them accomplish their goals faster.

What these guys don't get is that this phone, often bought for fake short-term status, will lose its value 1 year from now when its new version comes out. Not with books, dvds or coaching - those are assets. The money you spend on education never loses its value because it's money INVESTED.

If you're being cheap about education and coaching you're limiting your own success. In fact, SL Member Vlad is one of my ex private coaching clients - he pulls 442lbs ate age 37. Another ex-client of mine, SL Member Ben aka Bluestreak - gained 25lbs in 25 days and is now pulling almost 400lbs. SL Member James - 515lbs Deadlift, 425lbs Squat and 235lbs Press at age 42 - I know of at least 2 products he bought during the past months. The list goes on.

When was the last time you invested in education and coaching? How does this correlate to your strength and muscle gains? And what does it say about how serious you are about achieving your goals? Think about it.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

As the most expensive strength coach in the world paid upwards from $2485,00 for private consulting (don't apply, I'm full until 2011), one of the very first things I do with all my StrongLifts Platinum Members is force them to build the habit of tracking their training and diet daily. Here are some reasons why I do this:

• No more guess work - we have accurate data to track progress
• Increased motivation - by looking back at progress as the weeks go by
• Increased knowledge - we learn what does and does NOT work for him

During my early bodybuilding years I never bothered about tracking training data. I just went to the gym, did the same exercises every week and tried to lift more weight. But I didn't write anything down. It was a huge mistake.

All that changed when I switched to strength training in late 2004, 1 year after I discovered the 5x5 method through Glenn Pendlay MS. That's when I started to track every single workout - exercises, sets, reps, weight, feeling. And I've been doing that ever since with my training, and then with my private clients.

It only made sense as I was already doing this with my finances - I can show you exactly how much money I earned, spent and saved every single month of the past 7 years, incl. when I was still working for "Corporate Belgium".

As a small business home based entrepreneur, I can show you every single stat of StrongLifts.com since I started this website in May 2007. I know for example that I've reached over 15 million of guys from +187 countries in just 3 years.

I track everything I can, and so do my most accomplished StrongLifts Members Squatting +400lbs. Dave, Jake, Simon, Don and James are just some of the guys keeping training logs inside the SL Community. They track every workout, put comments, and routinely look back at their past 3-6-12 months of training to discover what worked and didn't, in order to then plan the next 3 months.

You may not NEED all of that to get results, but you will surely gain from it. Fact is, what gets measured can be improved and positive measurements boost motivation. Start your own log inside the SL Community if you haven't already.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Napoleon Hill, author of one of the biggest bestsellers of all times "Think & Grow Rich," analyzed thousands of men classed as "failures". Hill discovered 30 major reasons why they failed to achieve their goals. One of them was what he called LACK OF CONCENTRATION OF EFFORT. Here's a quote from his book...

The "Jack-of-All-Trades" is seldom good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on one DEFINITE CHIEF AIM.

Trying to build muscle while losing fat is not only impossible as I've discussed before, it's also a bad idea as Napoleon Hill discovered. If you try to achieve several goals at a time, you will usually achieve nothing except failure.

I see a lot of guys getting nowhere because they're trying to gain weight without gaining fat. You CANNOT gain pure muscle without gaining at least some body fat. Unless you're in newbie gains territory, you need muscle memory, freaky genetics or steroids to get there. Otherwise you'll just spin your wheels.

Better is to focus on one major goal:

• lose fat; or
• build muscle

Once you have achieved your most important goal, then you can work at the second one. Tomorrow I'll tell you which goal you should start with if you want to build muscle but also need to lose fat. Stay tuned.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Here's why this works: by hanging out with them, you'll copy their behavior and way of thinking. This is key because whatever it is that you want to achieve, it's how you think about things that matters most — Think & Grow Rich.

A common mistake is to try to convert your friends, family or partner to your new lifestyle. This never works from my experience. In order to change, people must want change first. Letting your results do the talking has more impact.

Better is to seek people who are already lifting weights and eating healthy and who know what they're talking about. But most of your friends probably don't lift weights and don't eat healthy. You're on your own.

So the question is: where can you find these people?

StrongLifts.com Forum. Many readers told me that while StrongLifts.com's blog is full of helpful info they wish they had found years ago, it's its Forum that was crucial to get them the results they wanted.

This is because most readers are in the same situation you are: they train alone — often at home — and don't know people who train and eat the way I advise.

Becoming part of an online community of like-minded people is a quick and easy way to make virtual friends who are working towards the same goal. This is the Master Mind Napoleon Hill was talking about. And it has many more benefits:

• Free Advice. Members who have achieved your goal a long time ago can give you tips based on their experience. We've got many knowledgeable members, several who are much stronger than me.
• Technique Review. You can post videos of yourself doing exercises like Squats, Deadlift, Bench Press and Overhead Press. Other members can check them out and explain you what you're doing wrong & why.
• Personal Accountability. You can keep a free training log. Members can follow your progress and advice. Getting an audience will increase your motivation and make you more accountable.
• Build Awareness. You can look back at your progress to discover what works and what doesn't work for you. Members can point out things that you may overlook by looking at your past workouts.
• Get Motivated. You can read training logs of people with the same age, gender & body-weight as yours. This allows you to see what is possible and to learn from their mistakes & success.
• Discuss Blog Posts. If something in a blog post wasn't clear or if you want to share your experience/perspective, there's a category where you can discuss articles. I'm committed to answer questions.
• 100% Free. The forum is 100% free: registration is free, keeping a training log is free, asking questions is free, everything is free.

Forum Rules. Members will tell you that the atmosphere on the StrongLifts.com Forum is different than that of other forums in the same niche. That's because we have a strong moderatorship with a zero-tolerance for B.S.

• We do not want judgemental people.
• We do not want wise-guys and armchair specialists.
• We do not want laughing at people's questions, mistakes or stats.
• We do not want confusion, myths and arguing for the sake of arguing.

I'm cool with you disagreeing with what I advise. I believe it doesn't prevent us to be friends. And I'm always interested in feedback and different perspectives.

But share your opinion in a civilized & mature way. Your freedom of speech ends when you disrespect people and spread confusion.

If I invite you to my party and you start to be annoying, I'll show you the door. Same thing on the forum: it's my party and you're invited to have fun with us as long as you behave as a proper guest. Read the forum guidelines.

Join The Free StrongLifts.com Community Today. The StrongLifts.com Forum counts almost 7000 members, including me. If you're not a member yet, I'd like you to join us today. Here's how you can get started:

1. Click here to register for a free account (if you're already registered but forgot your login data, make a new account with a different email).
2. Read the forum guidelines so you understand the forum's philosophy.
3. Get inspired by the training logs ordered by age, gender & body-weight.
4. Check out the different strength competitions to see what's possible.
5. Introduce yourself in the first time here category.
6. Read how to create a training log and start one.
7. Contribute to the different discussions.

Here's What People Say About StrongLifts.com Forum. Read the threads "How did you find StrongLifts.com and why did you stay?" and "What I like about this site". Here's a quote from member Pagangoddess:

I really debated about starting a log. This journey gets very personal at times. It's hard to announce to the world things you didn't even want to admit to yourself.

But that's why I did it. It needed to be right in front of me so I could deal with it head on. And I needed support to get through it.

Who would have thought I'd find that here of all places. But I did. These guys have been a great help and encouragement through some tough times for me and they probably don't even realize it. - pagangoddess

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

You can always learn a lot from someone who has trained for 20 years and who succeeded at increasing his strength to a significant level. The following quote comes from his book "Rock Iron Steel: The Book of Strength".

Remember, consistency and momentum are the keys to success in the world of super strength. As it is in any pursuit, aim high with your goals and keep chipping away at the rock. Think of every workout you go through as a little chip off a big rock, and when you get that rock whittled down to nothing, you'll know you've been someplace. In the art of super strength, you must think in terms of years, not months or days. And have fun along the way. Don't get upset or discouraged if you fail to move a certain weight a certain number of reps. The main thing to think about is what you can do. Don't worry about what you can't do.

Persistence Is Key to Success. Whatever it is you want. Nothing can stop you if you put your mind into something and work on it systematically until you get it. Persistence will deal with any setback that comes your way.

• How many people do you know who never set goals? They're doing the same exercises, lifting the same weights for years without progressing. And then they wonder why they're bored or why they don't see results.
• How many people set those big goals that they never achieve instead of setting mini-goals that bring them closer to their big goals?
• How many people think strength training, building muscle, losing fat or anything else in life that demands an effort from their part, is a sprint rather than a marathon?
• How many people get pissed because they had another bad workout instead of focusing on the fact that they went to the gym although they were sick, tired or didn't feel like going to the gym in the first place.
• How many people don't get what strength training is really about: that getting your Squat up to 1.5x your body-weight & beyond demands persistence, sacrifice and much more from your part. And that the place it brings you, is a place of increased self-confidence and self-knowing.

Share your views in the comments below.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

I need some help getting motivation to hit the gym and the weights.

I don't know why but I haven't been there for a week. I feel extremely weak but at the same time I have no desire to regain my strength. I meant to go yesterday but I got distracted.

If anything I'm thinking about going today, Thursday, and Saturday and then skipping my two day off just for this week and re-starting fully on the StrongLifts 5x5 program (as in correct days and what not) on Monday of next week...

I'm scared I'm going to keep getting weaker but at the same time I'm just not motivated to go to the gym.

I was starting to stall on my overhead. I went from pretty much bar squat to 165, Bench to 115, Row to 105, Deadlift 205, OHP 95, 10 dips each set and like 7 pullups each set.

Then prom came and I got lazy. Now I have no motivation to do anything.

Turning Pro. In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield writes the key to overcoming resistance is to become a Pro. A Pro shows up everytime and does what he has to do. Quote:

There’s no mystery to turning pro. It’s a decision brought about by an act of will. We make up our mind to view ourselves as pros and we do it. Simple as that.

What I Do. Today was one of those days. Slept bad, woke up tired and didn't feel like training. I did what I always do: go to the gym & lift the weights. Don't let your mind play tricks on you, strength is always there.

• Set Goals. You Squat 165lbs. Put 200lbs as goal. Review your goals before going to the gym. Set new goals when you achieve them.
• Just Go. Don't rationalize. Put your gym clothes on, check which exercises you'll do today, drive to the gym, lift the weights, done.
• Deload. Lower the weight by up to 50% if you've hit a plateau. Add weight progressively until you're back on track.
• Eat. You need food for energy. Eat every 3 hours, eat proteins, veggies & fruits with each meal, eat carbs for energy, drink plenty of water, etc.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

A wise guy's always right. Even when he's wrong, he's right.

Wise-guys are everywhere: work, family, relationships ("Wise-gal"), friends, gym, Internet, ... They always know better than you, even if they don't. And some believe their stuff so much, they can make you doubt what you do.

How to Spot Wise-guys. The above definition probably already rings a bell. You've met wise-guys before or have some in your social circle right now. Wise-guys always display these typical behaviors.

• Give Unsolicited Advice. While you didn't ask for anything. Can't shut up. Always share their views instead of listening to other people.
• Nitpick. With the only intention of showing their superiority. Correct you on small things that don't matter when looking at the big picture.
• Challenge. Without any intention to challenge their own beliefs. It's all about showing they're smarter than you.

Why Do Wise-guys Act Like That? Some Wise-guys are unconscious of what they're doing. The worst cases do it on purpose: they're well aware of what they do. In both cases Wise-guys act that way for 3 reasons.

• Ego. The ego's natural defense mechanism is to attack. Wise-guys are driven by their ego. If their ego feels attacked by you, they'll defend themselves by showing their superiority.
• Low Self-esteem. On the inside they lack confidence and have a low self-esteem. They'll qualify to you by showing off with their knowledge, skills, belongings, achievements, ... Anything that feeds their ego.
• Jealousy. They're jealous of your accomplishments. Insecurity of dropping out, caused by a lack of self-confidence. Ego feels attacked. Instead of doing what you did to get there, they'll try to stop you.

How to Deal with Wise-Guys. Philosophical conversations and constructive criticism are all good. But changing people's mind or proving yourself is unnecessary. And trying to win arguments is wasting your time.

• Stop Caring. Let it become noise. You hear it, but it doesn't affect you anymore. Don't think or know this, become it. How? By acting in ways that shows you don't care. Eat differently at work, train differently at the gym. The more you do things differently in public, the less you'll care.
• Agree. Life isn't like school where you get points for giving the right answer. It doesn't matter who is right. Agree. Or say you're free to think differently. Or tell them that you might be wrong, that you're often wrong about things. What they think doesn't matter anyway.
• Ignore. Focus your time & efforts on the achievements of your goals. Again: it doesn't matter what they say or think, so don't waste time replying to/trying to win arguments.
• Be Confident. Wise-guys can believe what they say so much, even when wrong, that they can make you doubt about your own stuff. Don't rely on what people say. Do your own research. Read books.

Example. You'll meet people who won't agree with our philosophy. Who won't agree with training for strength, using weight lifting exercises, to build muscle and lose fat. Fine. They'll do what they want, we'll do what we want.

Sometimes I get challenged. I've been challenged on the cardiovascular fitness post for example. Genuine questions: I have answers. Challenges: I don't have time for you. You have the Internet, do your own research.

Sure I could be wrong. I'm often wrong. Anthony wrote my attitude changed since he started to come here. Expect it to change more in the future. Nothing is permanent except change. I'm in a constant learning phase.

Do you know Wise-guys? How do you deal with them? Share in the comments.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Reader Randy Hunt replied to what would you do if this happened to you?

There are only two options - either give up and accept it, or push, push, push until you overcome it. That’s really what strength training is about anyway. Every day is a mental challenge as much (or even more so) as it is a physical challenge.

Thomas Jefferson once said, “a strong body makes the mind strong.” But the concept is much older than him, and has been said throughout history.

Moreover, the principle of overcoming adversity is the single most important factor in success. You find the theme repeated throughout history by all the most successful people, and it’s really driven home in the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

Winners never quit. Quitters never win. The choice is simple.

Which condition do you have to master before you can get successful?

Failure.

Napoleon Hill experienced poverty before becoming rich. Lance Armstrong had cancer before winning the Tour de France 7 times. Steve Jobs made Apple big 10 years after getting fired out of Apple.

Napoleon Hill spends a whole chapter in the Law of Success about failure and the 7 failures he experienced before becoming successful.

Every failure will teach you a lesson that you need to learn if you will keep your eyes and ears open and be willing to be taught. Every adversity is usually a blessing in disguise. Without reverses and temporary defeat, you would never know the sort of metal of which you are made. - Napoleon Hill, The Law of Success.

You would never know the sort of metal of which you are made. Winners know failure is temporary. Winners know increasing your failure rate increases your success rate. Winners know the only answer to failure is persistence.

Rocky. Before Sylvester Stallone became a successful actor, he had to deal with many adversities. Much of the Oscar winning movie Rocky is based on Stallone's life. Here's a video of Anthony Robbins telling Rocky's story.

Click here to view the embedded video.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.

Jamie Gillentine lost all feeling and movement from his upper-chest down to his legs. He had some arm movement but no hand dexterity. Here's a video of his recovery which took several months.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What would you do if something like this happened to you? Would you flight or would you fight? Would you weep or would you get mad? Would you give up all hope or would you persist until you're your old you again?

I know what I would do. Tell me what you would do in the comments.

STRONGLIFTS BVBA © 2011 All Rights Reserved.