@@IMFAEmperor I agree that most people make too much excuses, but sooner or later you'll realize you can't constantly redline, and that optimizing everything about your lifestyle just to chase some arbitrary numbers in the gym isn't really sustainable long term. There's no point forcing yourself through an exercise regime that you dread all the time unless you're a professional athlete, which I assume you're not. Consistency and a good balance of life and training is key. I have a friend that started going to the gym just before me and convinced me to go too. He went 7 times a week, meal prepped, bought expensive supplements and stuff. Eventually he burnt out and quit. I wasn't that obsessed and never went more than 3 times a week, never changed anything about my diet apart from eating an extra plate at dinner (never counted calories or macro's), and probably progressed slower than ideal because of it. But that is a good balance for me and allows me to stay consistent.
"Sometimes in an attempt to make things perfect all the time, you only become fragile when things aren't perfect." This really, really resonated with me. When I was big into Starting Strength, I felt like if I wasn't eating 4,000 Calories a day on my novice progression, I was a failure. How "strong" is someone squatting 300 lbs but who has to eat three times as much as the average person just to maintain that strength?
So much I feel this. I don’t want to hate the gym or dread it. So doing things that are fun and enjoyable makes me want to go. Like I always tell people who ask: the best exercise is the one you’ll do. Also, I kept hurting my back on squat, became terrified of the movement, and just realized it doesn’t have to be done. And the world went on. It was amazing. Now I do leg stuff that’s awesome and can protect my back.
If you’re having trouble with going to a session throughout the week just add a few exercises that you love doing and feel great doing to the exercise session. You’ll be pumped for each session because you want to do good during these exercises and will feel good doing them. No anguish and stress. Just breath and enjoy the forms.
Yup this is why I like 531. I'll do my programmed sets for squat/deadlift/press and then I'll just wing it and do 50 reps for push/pull/core/single leg, then some conditioning. It makes my gym sessions much more bearable when I can do whatever.
This! I did starting strength in my youth and totally bought in to the “do the programme” mentality and sometimes, I’d like to have done some curls, but didn’t because of what Rip said… as I got older, I realised I should have added a bit do spice and wouldn’t have hated those workouts as much.
The best video out there ...I haven't seen a whole video in youtube for years (especially that long) but this one...oh boy, I've watched every single minute! Every lifter should watch it. It was so revealing for me. Thanks Alan! I am watching you from your very beggining. You taught me the big 3 movements in an easy way. I loved your sense of humor and motivated me even more. Every single word in this video was such an apocalypse for me because I am in your shoes a few years now....a hard working mother/wife, that tries really hard to not collapse and keep doing what she loves....
That’s a great workout mind set. I have found that I really enjoyed the powerlifting and power building movements until my body was getting hurt too often. I try to workout in ways that I find fun and keep me motivated.
I love the signature train untamed outro. What a throwback. Been watching for years. Anyone that complains about other people changing may need to do some introspective analysis.
I just passed my first year in the gym, and your videos got me into powerlifting early on. Your deadlift video helped me get past the initial "I looked at a barbell and hurt my back," and I recently hit a 2x bodyweight deadlift. (Thanks for getting me on the right track there, BTW.) But I also don't enjoy the bench press, so being a competitive powerlifter ain't an option. I discovered that I really enjoy the Olympic lifts, so that's where I'm putting my effort these days.
Dude this is awesome and inspiring. I remember watching some of your stuff like 10 years ago and it's super interesting to see how your routine has changed. I'm in my thirties now and my whole mindset has evolved as well. Especially section 5. I've learned to chill out about PR's and how much I'm pushing. Listening to your body is so key in maturing when it comes to any sort of exercise. I still have those days though where everything is not going well and I take it out on the weights. I don't think that will ever leave me.
A bit of retired competitor mindset in here. Still loads of good advice. I have been watching this channel since 2014 or 2015. Shit loads of quality content and Alan as a person is such a beautiful human being.
I'm happy for anyone that wisens up and finds what's best for them. But I've been noticing all of the strength guys transitioning. One by one, all of the strength focused channels I followed religiously on RU-vid are moving on to new areas of fitness, which again is totally awesome, but man I don't want it to happen to me. Maybe it's inevitable. Many of these people were competitive powerlifters (or strongmen) though, which I think contributes to the fatigue and need of change of pace. Thrall has helped me reach so many PRs that I'll always be appreciative and support his next move.
Its great to see that his mentality evolved. Too many lifters who came up in the early years of RU-vid fitness (from 2012 on) Got stuck in one mentality and never progressed. He arguably looks better than he did when he was only chasing numbers. excellent progression!
Just you sharing your experiences, mentoring and educating while playing video of you doing different workouts is the perfect format. I mostly have your videos playing the background while I workout instead of music. I pick up different tips each time. The thing that has made a change for me from this video is what you said about "chasing numbers on the bar". I've been doing that for too long and now starting to focus on "adjust intensity at xx reps" and have a new joy of gaming my workout.
I’m 46 and was a weightlifter throughout my 20s. I still lift, but definitely have earned the pale shadow of my former self award. I still love it though and will do my best to keep going.
As I've aged I have realized the most important thing is that I keep working out. The best way for me to do that is to enjoy what I do. That for me means training in a similar way you described.
I've had to recently learn to "care a little less," after my gym got evicted suddenly, and a hamstring problem decided I needed a break from deadlifting and squatting heavy. It took a while to accept that no one cares what my numbers are, vocalizing it is only part of that process. Definitely good advice, considering most of us are just regular people trying to fit our love of the gym into the work / life balance.
This is some fantastic advice. The older I get( 45yrs old) the harder parallel is on LOW bar squats. Not to mention that rep ranges other than 1-5 really help fitness as well too. I still try to “lean” on my squats but I have to really slow it down to eliminate the stretch reflex on squats. The lean is still good for flexibility but I can’t take the “ bounce” at the bottom. Keep it up Alan Thrall.
great advice. I am still young in the powerlifting scene and I am still chasing those numbers. But I recognize what you are saying and I agree with a lot of it. I have always wanted to run a marathon, but have put it off for years due to my powerlifting goals. I will continue to do so, because I still love chasing the numbers too much, but I can tell that in a few years, I will want to really change the way I train.
Love how you are always learning and evolving and using good science and logic to explain your rationale! Thanks for sharing good content! God bless you!
Agreed! OHP is my prioritized pressing movement now, because it's just much more fun. Fun is where it's at for longevity, I think. I still bench though, but just for volume to add to the OHP.
Alan, I can't really put it in words but such videos of yours always make me question myself and my training philosophy and I can say that good questions leads to good answers. For example, I think that I am stuck at 100 kg squat for a year now but I couldn't be more wrong about it. Now I weigh around 8 kg less...can run 8 kms under 46 minutes and also snapped my back in between, learnt about rehab and new nuances about training and also not to mention that I managed to do all that when I moved out for college and had barely any time but still managed to squeeze 2 or 3 full body sessions per week. this video of yours was really a wakeup call.
You said it all. After 43-plus years of training, that´s exactly what I'm doing. For instance, having some fun chopping wood has been part of my training lately. Thanks for the video!
Respect for making this video. I could totally relate to it. Evolution as a trainer is important. Getting older and wiser as a lifter does have its advantages.
While this is great insight into the mind of a mature lifter, and I thank you for it, I still think you have the luxury of having this mindset now because you've accomplished so much in terms of numbers. If your all time squat pr was 315 I doubt you'd be satisfied enough with your fitness journey to train like you currently are.
The message of this video is so reassuring to me. I have tried so many times following various powerlifting programs and although I have gained a decent amount of strength, I have not been able to finish a single program without sacrificing my health in some other way (low back issues being the most common). I have started replacing some exercises with more bodyweight/calisthenics work, but I still feel guilty when I am unable to finish my squat sets/reps at the prescribed weight. I think following a more movement and feel based routine (by that I mean focusing on quality of movement and not overexerting myself when I already feel drained) works much better for me (aka average gym enthusiast), but it is much harder to stay true to myself and not make excuses when there is no definitive amount of weight and reps for me to do.
I think one thing Alan is touching on here is finding your identity outside of lifting. Is there more to you than just weight on the bar? Of course there is.
Another late 40s guy here in the comments saying that I feel this so much. I remember vividly about 7 years ago leaving my wife and daughter behind at a family Christmas lunch so that I could go home to train. I remember struggling to get in and out of my car because of an ongoing hip complaint from squatting. I remember being constantly sleep deprived and in pain. And why? I'm not even that strong. But for years I pushed through, comparing myself to other people on the internet and believing that weight on the bar was all that mattered. But eventually I realised nobody gives a crap except me, and even my care factor was for the wrong reasons. I've transitioned now to a place where all that matters is I get in and train as hard as I can on that day. To make that happen I need to select loads and movements that feel good based on where I'm at, and not arbitrarily locking myself into the big three and their variations. I still get anxious about going to the gym, I still don't always feel motivated, but it usually gets done and my quality of life outside of the gym has been better for it.
I can relate to so many things you've said Alan. I used to only blast the big 5 barbell lifts but feel sore for days because I had to hit that weight and rep range and I couldn't even run for 10 minutes. I'm now a father and I still train, just with different priorities, mobility is also something I take seriously in order to perform optimaly and I can run for 30 minutes and I don't feel like death.
I agree, I wish I could transfer my passion to lift to others. when asked a couple of days ago, I responded, that I still get butterflies when I'm heading into a session after 30 years of training. I admire your evolution. It's inspiring. I would have never guessed your thoughts on bench press. I started doing bench after many years of not doing them due to shoulder pain. Honestly, I want to say about 2 years ago you made an updated tutorial on the bench. I studied that video closely and that's what got me into bench I'm pretty much only doing Larsen's as I'm more on the body-building side. Thank you! Oorah!
Forget the stupid comments, I’ve been following you since 19 years old and I was a former fatty. Like fat asf. TIL this day my entire fitness education was birthed by you and IT WORKS, I wouldn’t care if things changed or didn’t. YOU KNOW, what you’re doing so please keep this channel up forever !
Good. Very good. I've incorporated a few of those things into my own training over the years. Training for me is more pleasure than chasing the brass ring nowadays.
If you're training for health and to look good, not for sports, you should be implementing all sorts of varied training styles on a cyclical basis over the years. People do Starting Strength or Stronglifts (which are absolutely what I recommend for a beginner to the gym) and see results in the gym for the first time ever and think that powerlifting must be magic, when really it's just the first time they've ever progressively overloaded
"It(exercise) makes them more independent". Exactly! Lack of muscle mass is one of the leading predictors of mortality among old people. I work out because I don't want to be in that group that cannot move or do anything by themselves.
great video, very relatable to recent times for me. have been chasing a 500 squat but due to how i lowbar my left elbow kept getting hurt. decided to just not care and do other types of squats and now i actually enjoy leg day instead of hating it.
Thanks for this Alan. I’ve been experiencing most of what you discussed including getting away from bench lol. I’m glad to know it’s not just me but a natural happening. Time to figure out how I want to train for the rest of my life. Again thanks for the inspiration it’s been a long time coming.
I feel you on bench. I believed I HAD to do the bug 3 and be strong on them. Now I do deficit weighted pushups and weighted dips and I like mt chest training way more.
Woah bro great vid! What great timing for you to put this out when I needed some clarity about my feelings towards the gym and lifting. You put a lot into perspective for me and I'm very thankful for that.
relate to your first point about bench press. im mostly doing dips, bodyweight push up variations and some incline work now and my shoulders are no longer in discomfort all the time. my shoulder flexibility/rom has improved so much too. i do miss powerlifting but i dont miss bench pressing
i was a one time powerlifter, i train bodyweight now. i was good at the bench press, but never felt that it demonstrated much athleticism, and i also started having shoulder issues. i'll be 70 this year and have a youtube exercise channel under my name
Relying on something, which is unhealthy for you, to regulate your emotions is the definition of addiction. Whatever you are going through, deadlifting is not going to solve it. But if you really need something to take the edge off, switch it up. Find other things, which make you feel better, and just keep up the variety. Do not let the same unhealthy behavior become chronic. Good luck to you and I wish you all the best!
@@parkatabg thanks for the reply man. Yeah I use it as a coping mechanism. Deep down I know it’s not healthy and bad for me but the addiction is real. Been dealing with untreatable depression for my whole life. Now that I’m pushing 30 it doesn’t make it any better. Just one day at a time is the way I see life ❤️
@@parkatabg What a load of crap. You can love something that sometimes make you experience pain, without being a coping mechanism or addiction. Sports are the most common example.
@@kapoioBCS You are absolutely right! Never let anybody make decisions for you. Evaluate what you have to sacrifice and what you have to gain on each side. Working up to one more plate on the deadlift and dealing with the knee injuries might be worth it for you - especially if you are a competitive power athlete. But if you lift for fun or health, living in pain is in direct opposition for your goals. There are many difficult physical things you can pursue. Make sure you gain more than you give up! 💪
