You’re Invincible…Until You’re Not

This a a guest post by Eric Cressey.There’s a natural progression to many lifters’ careers that happens all too frequently.A motivated teenager – we’ll call him Average Joe – starts out with strength training because he wants to get more girls, impress his buddies/teammates in the weight room, and maybe…just maybe…improve in his sport of choice.The course of action is generally either something directly out of the muscle mags, or the clean-squat-bench press program his high school football coach has handed out to every kid since the 1960s. Fortunately, because Joe’s a complete novice lifter, the program pays off and delivers bigger muscles, greater strength, and more self-confidence.

Invariably, the “newbie” gains run out, and Joe is left with a few options:1. He can either - nix training altogether and find something else to pass his time. Or2. He could continue to do what he’s already doing and hope for a different result (the very definition of insanity). Finally...Joe can learn and adapt, taking on more challenging programs to continue his gains well into his 20s. If you’re reading this post, chances are that you took on this final option (even if it was a bit later than your early 20s).Here’s where things get complex for Joe, though. He’s accumulated more work capacity and strength, which means that every training session is longer and takes a greater toll on his body. He’s carrying more muscle mass, which means more time for eating and food preparations.Just as Joe recognizes that it’s getting harder to continue progressing, though, he realizes that social factors start impacting his progress in the gym. Work gets busier, and all of a sudden there are long days at the office and dinners with clients. He meets the girl of his dreams, gets married, and has kids. He starts worrying about his mortgage, property taxes, student loans, car payments, saving for college, and a host of other obligations. Sure, Joe’s making more money at this point in his life, but he can’t buy more time for sleep, especially when he stays up all night thinking about all the things he has to do the next day.So what does Joe do?He starts “stealing” time from elsewhere – and the gym and quality nutrition are usually the first things impacted.Instead of being in the gym six days a week, he cuts back to three.

And, even when there, he skips his warm-up to save 10-15 minutes.Joe does the same program all the time because it’s easier than having to think about doing something new.He gets rid of conditioning because he thinks he can get it exclusively from lifting. When something hurts, he wraps it up, rubs some Icy Hot on it, or just knocks back some Advil.On the nutrition front, Joe starts picking up more fast food, drinking too much caffeine, and plugging in “fake” foods like bars and shakes to save time on cooking.The next thing you know, Joe’s over 30, and his frame of reference has changed. It used to be cool to have abs and deadlift 400 pounds, but now Joe just wants to be able to chase his kids around without his knees hurting, and to avoid being confused for a manatee when he takes those same kids to the water park.This unfortunate cycle is all too common. Just when you get experienced and educated and should be well on your way to elite performance and a physique of which you can be really proud, life gets in the way.Simply “making time” isn’t an option for fixing the problem, though. What is an option, however, is separating yourself from your personal biases of how you use that time. In other words, you let someone else tell you what to do with your limited training time and recovery window.Have financial problems? You seek out a financial planner and accountant.Have legal issues? You call a lawyer.Have a painful tooth? You visit a dentist.Somehow, though, many individuals have come to think that they’re 100% capable of managing their own bodies in spite of no formal training in physiology or biomechanics. While this can make for some very entertaining “Awkward Gym Moments” videos, it also leads to a lot of people coming up short with respect to their fitness goals, And, taking it an unfortunate step further, a lot of people wind up injured.

When in doubt, outsource your fitness.Separate yourself from a decision to which you clearly have emotional attachment; in other words, don’t let yourself pick the things that are easiest or that you enjoy the most. This might mean hiring a coach or trying out a new program.To that end, you may be interested in checking out my resource, The High Performance Handbook.This product includes a quick, easy-to-apply self-assessment component that helps match the program to you. Additionally, it includes 2x/week, 3x/week, and 4x/week strength training programming options, as well as supplemental conditioning for various goals:

• Fat Loss
• Athletic Performance
• Strength Gain

In other words, it’s an incredibly versatile resource that can be tailored to your needs – but not at the expense of leaving out important things you need to feel good and sustain your exercise habits in the decades to come.If you’re looking for a 16-week program to kick your training up a notch, it’s a great option – and there is no better time to check it out than now, as it’s on sale for $50 off this week only. Click here for more details.