How I got the strongest I've ever been at 36 years old
Summary
TLDRIn this documentary, a fitness enthusiast shares his transformative journey through 100 days of powerlifting, leading to his first competition. Starting with a modest goal, he quickly finds himself immersed in the sport, achieving a 72% increase in his deadlift and significant gains in squats and biceps. He details nine crucial lessons learned along the way, including setting ambitious goals, the value of expert coaching, the importance of being consistently imperfect, and the strategy of progressive overload. Alongside personal anecdotes, the video highlights the impact of social media on motivation and the benefits of following a structured program. Sponsored by Squarespace, this story isn't just about physical strength but also about mental resilience and the power of dedication.
Takeaways
- π― Set clear and challenging goals to motivate action and commitment.
- ποΈββοΈ Hire an expert or coach to quickly progress and avoid common mistakes.
- πͺ Be consistent with your training, even if it's not perfect every time.
- π Implement progressive overload to continually challenge and improve your strength.
- π« Limit social media consumption to avoid comparison and maintain self-motivation.
- π Follow a legitimate, structured program designed by a professional for optimal results.
- π± Use tracking apps to monitor your progress and ensure you're meeting your nutritional needs.
- π Avoid training to failure to reduce risk of injury and maintain a consistent training schedule.
- π Focus on effort and intensity during workouts to maximize results.
- π Balance intense training periods with more relaxed ones to maintain long-term enjoyment and progress.
Q & A
What significant progress did the speaker achieve in the past 100 days of powerlifting?
-The speaker saw a 72% increase in their deadlift, nearly doubled their squat, and increased their bicep size by an inch.
What was the speaker's initial goal when they started powerlifting for 100 days?
-The speaker's initial goal was simply to do powerlifting for 100 days, but they eventually signed up for a competition after receiving suggestions from others.
How did having a deadline in the form of a competition impact the speaker's training routine?
-The deadline of the competition created a sense of urgency, making the speaker more committed to their training. It also made it harder for them to avoid training due to the non-refundable nature of the competition fee and the social obligation to perform well.
What role did hiring a strength coach play in the speaker's progress?
-Hiring a strength coach provided the speaker with expert guidance, live feedback, and personalized advice, which significantly improved their form and confidence, leading to the ability to lift heavier weights and make faster progress.
How did the speaker handle the challenge of maintaining consistency in their training despite life's interruptions?
-The speaker made adjustments to their training program to accommodate life's interruptions, such as taking fewer training days per week or using less ideal gym equipment when traveling. They focused on making 'imperfect progress' rather than striving for perfection in every workout.
What is Progressive Overload and how did it contribute to the speaker's strength gains?
-Progressive Overload is a strength training concept that involves systematically increasing the weight of an exercise over time to continually challenge the body and stimulate adaptation. The speaker applied this principle by gradually increasing the weight they lifted each week, leading to significant strength gains.
Why did the speaker decide to stay off social media during their powerlifting journey?
-The speaker found that social media, particularly fitness influencers and professional athletes, made them feel overwhelmed and deflated by constantly comparing themselves to others. They decided to log off to maintain their confidence and focus on their own progress.
What was the speaker's approach to tracking their diet and workouts?
-The speaker used an app called My Fitness Pal to track their calorie intake, ensuring they consumed enough carbs and protein. They also used an app called Strong to log their workouts and keep a detailed history, which included setting rest timers for their exercises.
What misconception about training to failure did the speaker uncover during their powerlifting experience?
-The speaker learned that training to failure is not as crucial for hypertrophy or strength gains as many believe. They found that stopping a few reps shy of failure could still yield similar results without the increased risk of injury and fatigue.
How did the speaker's mindset and approach to training change after their 100 days of powerlifting?
-After the 100 days, the speaker decided to pull back on the intensity of their training. They continued to use a legitimate program, focus on technique, and apply progressive overload, but they shifted their focus from seeking rapid transformation to enjoying the slow burn of continued progress.
What advice does the speaker have for those looking to improve their gym performance?
-The speaker advises to focus on effort and intensity during gym sessions, avoid distractions like phones and selfies, and prioritize following a structured program with proper technique over simply going through the motions.
Outlines
ποΈββοΈ Powerlifting Progress and Lessons Learned
The speaker shares their remarkable progress in powerlifting over the past 100 days, outpacing their improvement from the previous 10 years of gym attendance. They increased their deadlift by 72%, nearly doubled their squat, and grew their bicep size. They attribute this accelerated progress to a structured 100-day powerlifting program, culminating in their first competition. The speaker also highlights the importance of setting big goals, working with an expert coach, and the impact of their training on their overall fitness journey.
π― Setting Goals and Embracing Imperfection
The speaker discusses the importance of setting ambitious goals and the challenges of maintaining a consistent fitness regimen. Initially aiming for perfection by not missing any workouts, they had to adjust their expectations due to life's unpredictability. They emphasize the concept of being 'imperfectly consistent,' meaning making adjustments to training when necessary, and accepting that setbacks are part of the process. The speaker also introduces the concept of progressive overload, explaining how systematically increasing the weight in exercises leads to strength gains over time.
π Tracking Progress and Avoiding Social Media Comparisons
The speaker talks about the benefits of tracking their progress, both in terms of nutrition and exercise, using apps like MyFitnessPal and Strong. They mention the importance of understanding one's diet and the role of protein in muscle building. The speaker also shares their decision to limit exposure to gym-related content on social media to avoid negative comparisons and maintain focus on personal progress. They discuss the psychological impact of comparing oneself to others and the importance of focusing on one's own journey.
πͺ Training Smarter, Not Just Harder
The speaker shares insights on training effectively, including the revelation that training to failure is not as crucial as previously believed. They discuss their personal experience of injury from pushing too hard and the advice they received from their coach about always having 'one in the tank.' The speaker also talks about the importance of focusing on quality time at the gym, the intensity of their training, and how it contributed to their significant progress. They conclude with a reflection on the balance between enjoying the process and continuing to apply the lessons learned during their 100 days of powerlifting.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Progress
π‘Powerlifting
π‘Goals
π‘Consistency
π‘Expertise
π‘Progressive Overload
π‘Social Media
π‘Tracking
π‘Legit Program
π‘Effort
Highlights
The individual made remarkable progress in 100 days compared to 10 years of casual gym going, emphasizing the importance of focused and dedicated training.
Setting a big goal, such as signing up for a powerlifting competition, provides a clear deadline and motivation to maintain rigorous training.
Hiring an expert coach can significantly accelerate progress by providing live feedback, form critique, and personalized guidance.
Consistency in training is more important than being perfect; adapting to life's circumstances and staying committed leads to results.
Progressive overload is a key concept for building strength, involving systematic increases in exercise load over time.
The influence of social media can be detrimental to one's self-confidence and progress, suggesting that reducing exposure can be beneficial.
Switching to a solo creator role necessitates rethinking online presence, with platforms like Squarespace aiding in building a professional website.
Following a legitimate, expert-designed program can lead to significant progress, unlike piecing together information from various sources.
Tracking nutrition and workouts with apps like MyFitnessPal and Strong can provide valuable insights and help stay accountable.
Going to failure in every set may not be necessary and can increase the risk of injury; leaving some 'in the tank' can be a safer and equally effective approach.
Focusing effort and intensity during gym sessions, rather than casual distractions, leads to more effective workouts and better results.
The individual's transformation and newfound confidence are attributed to the structured and focused approach to training.
The importance of enjoying the process and maintaining a sustainable training routine is highlighted over pursuing rapid, intense transformations.
Implementing tools and strategies learned during the 100 days of powerlifting will continue to positively impact future training.
Transcripts
I've been going to the gym for the past
10 years but I've seen more progress in
the past 100 days than in my entire life
during this time I increased my deadlift
by 72% I nearly doubled my Squat and I
increased my bicep by a/ an inch so yeah
I've been pretty productive lately I
recently uploaded a 28-minute
documentary following my first 100 days
of powerlifting culminating with my
first ever
competition and in this video I want to
share nine of the biggest lessons I've
had and what you can take away from it
if you want to get stronger build more
muscle or just pick up a consistent
Fitness practice this video is sponsored
by my friends over at Squarespace later
I'll show you one of the biggest
projects that I've ever worked on on
their platform okay lesson number one
set a biging goal in the beginning I was
just going to do powerlifting for 100
days that alone would have been just
fine but a few people mentioned to me
that I should sign up for a comp and my
only thought was what the hell is a comp
I didn't really know much about
powerlifting in the beginning I just
thought it was a style of lifting at the
gym what I came to realize was that it's
an actual sport in and of itself that
combines your total one rep max for your
squat bench press and deadlift and when
I looked into what competitions actually
look like well it scared the hell out of
me so naturally I decided to sign up for
one it's really not that hard to find
other similar Fitness Milestones or
goals tough mutters Spartan races
triathlons and marathons all work to
motivate people into action and for a
couple reasons first they come come
built in with a deadline as soon as you
sign up and pay for your spot the clock
starts ticking every day you fail to
train is one less day you have to
prepare I have just over a 100 days now
to get myself in shape to prepare to
compete in a legitimately sanctioned
powerlifting event what the did I just
do and I found that it's really hard not
to talk about it whether it's with your
partner or coworker it's eventually
going to come up in conversation and
this really helped me stay able I knew
that I couldn't just quietly cancel the
competition and ask for a refund also it
was non-refundable so there's that The
Closer the day of the competition got
the more intense my training became
there were going to be over a 100 people
watching me lift the heaviest weight I
possibly could and the risk of failure
was incredibly high that was a huge kick
in the ass that helped me stay committed
to my goal there were some downsides to
this that I'll get to later in the video
but this definitely helps to explain why
I saw such significant progress in only
a few month mons if you want to get
stronger you should hire the world's
best strength coach okay that might not
work for everyone unless you also live
in Sydney have a large budget or a
YouTube channel with 3.8 million
subscribers that you can leverage but
honestly hiring any expert in the field
you're interested in whether it's
powerlifting or professional bed making
is one of the smartest ways to progress
quickly I was lucky enough to work with
one of the best strength coaches in the
world Sebastian bass orb he's held
several National records during his time
as a professional powerlifter and he
he's also the strength coach for this
guy Thor Boron you may have heard of him
before he's one of the greatest strength
athletes of all time and the current
world record holder for the deadlift at
51 kg no big deal I have never hired a
personal trainer or coach before I've
definitely always relied on the DIY
approach but in our very first session
together I saw the benefit he gave me
live feedback on my form critique my
lifts and helped talk me through each
set as I was doing them come under the
barbell place it on the rear delts
elbows back and shoulder blades down all
those muscles are nice and engaged take
a big breath to brace good one step back
to clear the rack side side good let's
try and stand very slightly
wider yeah I like that okay that's going
to allow for more strength potentially
okay now looking straight ahead tuck
that chin take a massive breath hold it
good push the knees out in the same
direction as the toes and stand great uh
tuck your chin you're looking up a
little bit too much good the result I
was able to lift far more than what I
was already doing at the gym I wasn't
worried about hurting myself or doing
the lift wrong I had much more
confidence and as a result I was able to
lift much more than I thought I could my
mind's blown it feels so much easier
than the way that I was doing it before
B offered to train me for the entire 100
days leading up to my competition and
that really meant that I could stop
scrolling Reddit looking for answers
from strangers and just throw them at
him during our sessions should I get a
powerlifting belt how do they work it's
giving me a bruise am I wearing it wrong
are there any supplements I should be
taking creatine cool what kind what
happens if I fail a set do I lower my
weight what do I do next week where
should I get my powerlifting singlet
does it make my butt look big okay yeah
you're right that's not cool honestly
I'm surprised I didn't annoy him so much
that he fired me as a client every week
I threw every question I had at him and
because he's a pro he had already spent
the past 20 years thinking about each
one so my advice is to find an expert
that you trust and work with them as
much as you can whether that's one day
per week or one day per month not only
will you get a better answer than Google
you won't spend months or years going
down the wrong path be imperfectly
consistent I have to admit this one goes
against my own Basic Instinct when I
looked at my program on day one I
thought to myself I'm not going to miss
a single day I'm going to hit every
single workout and check off every lift
but then of course life happens I took a
long trip out of town I had to cram
towards a work deadline I stayed up all
night with my newborn probably shouldn't
keep a baby up that late
now there might have been a time in the
past when I was able to power through
and live up to my regular perfectionist
standards but since I've become a dad I
just don't have the same flexibility
that I once did if I took my old All or
Nothing approach I'd end up with a lot
of nothing as bass told me when he
walked me through my program for the
first time there's optimal and then
there's practical a lot of people you
know look at a program and they say I
can't do that so therefore I'm not going
to do it it's like no that's as optimal
now now let's think about what's
practical for you we need to always
compromise and make sure one you can do
it and two I've spoken to you about this
you're going to enjoy it you need to
enjoy your training if you don't enjoy
it you're not going to stick to it as
life happened I made adjustments to
stick to the program the best I could
that meant sometimes I'd only train 3
days a week instead of the prescribed
four while on vacation I had to use my
hotel's shitty gym equipment and
sometimes I had to cut my workout short
if I had an urgent work deadline to hit
or if I was exhausted from being up with
my son all night as I moved from one
imperfect workout to the next I contined
to make imperfect progress toward my
goal I didn't let small setbacks deter
me and I saw far more growth than I
would have if I let perfectionism hold
me back on the technical side of things
one piece of the lifting puzzle that
helped me build strength very quickly is
something called Progressive overload
Progressive overload is a strength
training concept characterized by
systematically increasing the load of an
exercise over time to continually
challenge the body and stimulate
adaptation put a little bit more simp
if you want to get stronger you need to
lift more weight over time so on week
one I started by squatting 80 kg then on
week two I increased by 5 kg to squat 85
kg the next week I lifted 90 kg and
finally on week four I increased to 95
kg since it would be physically
impossible to continue at this rate
forever the next week would start the
beginning of phase 2 in which I would
deload and lower the weight starting the
process all over again over the course
of a few months you should be able to
see consider considerable strength gains
with this method if you're just getting
started out it's easier to see progress
they call them newbie gains once you're
an elite athlete you might have to train
for an entire year to get an extra 5
kilos on your bench press so compare
this to my typical approach showing up
at the gym week after week and lifting
what felt comfortable sometimes I push
myself other times I just have a casual
workout I never focused on Progressive
overload before and once I did the
results followed okay here's one that I
think is highly underrated
stay off social media I rarely have
Instagram on my phone these days but
early on into powerlifting I did and it
didn't take long before the algorithm
realized I was interested in seeing more
gym content and holy [Β __Β ] did it show me
more gym content overnight I started to
see hundreds of Fitness influencers
professional powerlifters and Crossfit
trainers I saw Natty or not videos Sam
solic takedown videos and videos of a
janitor doing a one-handed overhead
press in front of the biggest dude in
the gym can I clean cu
when I got started with powerlifting I
felt excited proud eager to learn I felt
unique and special but after seeing
these videos on repeat every day I felt
deflated overwhelmed confused I felt far
behind where I thought I should be and
then when you look at the comments oh my
God the comments they were just filled
with so much negativity and jealousy and
bitterness it was enough to make me want
to throw my phone out the window it's
great to have Inspirations to to look up
to and there are a lot of people making
great content online but I don't think
it's healthy to see hundreds of people
every day who are outperforming you in
every way imaginable it's hard not to
compare your day one to someone's 10year
journey and if you're someone who is
quick to compare it deflates your
confidence and Smothers the excitement
in the worst way the only comparison
that should ever matter is you today
versus you tomorrow and this isn't just
limited to powerlifting whether it's
baking woodworking cooking or home
renovations if you find yourself often
getting in a negative spiral of
comparing yourself to others do yourself
a favor and log off the apps completely
so as many of you know I recently made
the switch to become a solo Creator
again for the first time in 5 years that
change has meant that I've had to
rethink everything about my YouTube
channel and business and one platform
that's played a huge role in this
transition has been Squarespace they're
my sponsor for this week's video so my
biggest project so far this year has
been moving my YouTube course page over
to
Squarespace it's a ridiculously long and
beautifully designed landing page with
overlapping elements custom borders
Graphics icons buttons and a responsive
design now normally I keep my websites
incredibly simple this was not that and
so I was a little bit nervous about how
ambitious this project was but once I
jumped into Squarespace I was amazed at
what was possible look I can literally
drag this image anywhere I can overlap
Graphics I can create custom dividers
and even add little flourishes this is
exactly why I love Squarespace as a
platform as a solo Creator I don't want
to spend a lot of time and money on
developers and copywriters and designers
I want to be able to just jump into my
website and make a change if you've been
watching my videos for a while you've
heard me talk about Squarespace about
how they have great templates how it's
easy to use and great for people
building simple websites and now you
know it can also help you build a
ridiculously long a beautifully designed
course site with overlapping elements
custom borders and responsive design
visit squarespace.com to start your free
trial and then when you're ready to
launch go to squarespace.com slmd to
save 10% off your first purchase of a
website or domain getting back to my
learnings from 100 days of powerlifting
one thing that really made an
incremental difference was following a
legit program I went to the gym for 10
years and for 10 years I didn't think
hey maybe I should follow a legit
program created by a professional now
instead I piece together information
online I got tips from friends at the
gym and I took Reddit comments from
Anonymous strangers as gospel don't get
me wrong personally I found a lot of
progress with this DIY approach I was
able to build strength muscle and get
really fit with this strategy I felt
good had a few healthy habits on
rotation and actually enjoyed going to
the gym these were all huge wins but
there was one small problem at least
from a performance perspective after my
first few years at the gym I hadn't
really seen any sign significant
progress I was still lifting around the
same weight that I had and I still had
pretty much the same build obviously
some of this can be explained by slow
periods and extended time away from the
gym but now I realize it's largely
because I wasn't following a legit
program and by legit I mean one that was
developed by an expert with a track
record to prove it bass set me up with a
program on day one that was much more
structured than anything I'd followed
before although I'm a powerlifter I
don't train my powerlifters like typical
powerlifters we place equal emphasis on
the muscles of the front of the body to
the muscles of the back of the body okay
so we talk about a push pull ratio of
one to one so when we do our upper body
sessions you'll see the first exercise
of the day is bench press and we suet
that with a Pull exercise which in this
instance is a laat pull down before you
pick a program for yourself it's
important to know what goal you have in
mind Do you want to build muscle or
strength since I wanted to build
strength and specifically strength as a
powerlifter that meant I was largely
focusing on my squat bench press and
deadlift if I was trying to get as big
as possible in 100 days I'd follow a
very different program track everything
from your calories to your workouts I
used an app called My Fitness Pal to
track everything I was eating until you
actually measure out your meals you'll
never know if you're getting enough
carbs to fuel your workouts or enough
protein to build muscle by the way A
good rule of thumb is to get 1 gram of
protein per pound of body weight I also
tracked all my workouts I pulled each
phase of my program into an app called
strong you can create create super sets
see what you lifted the last time you
did the exercise keep a detailed history
of all workouts and the most useful
feature for me it has a rest timer built
in so once I check off a set in the app
the rest timer automatically starts this
is one of my new favorite apps that I've
been using and I definitely recommend it
to anyone who goes to the gym or follows
a structured program it's not free but
definitely worth it in my opinion I will
say that I did stop tracking my calories
after a couple months I found that it
got too high maintenance for me to
continue scan a barcode or measuring
almond milk before each meal was really
annoying but a couple months of tracking
did help me a lot and gave me a solid
grasp of what I was eating and how many
calories I was taking in and it was
enough to help me be more intuitive with
my eating going forward you don't need
to train to failure one thing I've been
told ever since I started going to the
gym is the importance of going to
failure I was told that the last rep is
the most important rep and if you don't
go to Absolute failure you might as well
not even go to the gym at all of course
the perfectionist in me absolutely love
this idea but in training with bass I
learned that it's actually not as
important as most people make it out to
be and most experts now agree that it's
largely hype I think that the research
shows that there's not a huge difference
in terms of hypertrophy or strength if
you go all the way to failure or if you
stop a couple reps shy agreed and I
would add that most of the people that
are saying that failure is super
important are coming from an egotistical
perspective in which they need to
emotionally drain themselves in the gym
and it's more cathartic and
psychological and less to do with what
gets optimal results the principle that
I learned over this time and started
applying to my training is to always
keep one in the tank meaning you should
stop when you feel like you have one
more solid rep in the set there was only
one time I didn't take this advice since
I was at the end of phase one I Was
preparing to Deo for my next session so
bass and I decided that I should go for
an AM wrap which stands for as many reps
as possible or lifting until you fail
and this is what happened let's go four
and again and again five you go one more
one more one more heels down heels down
Who's down Who's
down not have done
that that might not have looked like
much but I felt an immediate tear in my
PEC and after going to a physiotherapist
the next day it was confirmed so he said
it's like a it's probably a first or
second degree tear oh my God it'll be
okay it's a bummer I'll talk to
Sebastian tomorrow and just see kind of
what he thinks about programming and
stuff and he'll be able to kind of
adjust the program it'll be fine this
happens to top athletes all the time
this kind of stuff yeah I'm a top
athlete that's what I meant I'm the
strongest Matt devl in the world maybe
at least at least the second strongest
Le there's a few there's a few strong Mt
out there this is not to say that going
to failure often leads to injury lots of
athletes incorporate failure into their
regular programs it does however
increase the likelihood that your form
will break down you will get more
fatigued and you're making yourself more
susceptible to injury in the end I got
unlucky but the question you need to ask
yourself is if this doesn't give you
significantly better results is it worth
the risk for me personally I'm just not
going to go to failure as much as I did
in the past except of course when it
comes to competition
day I've got one more takeaway but real
quick I wanted to let you know that my
YouTube course just opened up for
enrollment and it won't be open again
for another 6 months in the course I
share a road map for creating a
successful Channel with Integrity
including handing you my own systems for
brainstorming ideas editing videos
creating compelling thumbnails and
titles and so much more go to mtd.com
youube to get started and also to check
out a pretty amazing website if I do say
so myself effort makes a difference but
at a cost if 100 people with similar
genetics go to the gym for 1 hour they
will probably all see very different
results and that's because not all time
at the gym is equal what you do and how
you focus your energy makes a huge
difference some people spend their time
at the gym scrolling their phone
taking longer rest periods than needed
taking selfies in the mirror or simply
just not focusing on each set I've been
guilty of all of these things in the
past except for maybe the bathroom
selfies and there's definitely nothing
wrong with being chill at the gym but
during my 100 days of powerlifting I did
notice a huge difference when I started
to be more focused and give more of an
effort into each lift I performed every
week I was pushing myself far beyond
what I thought I could do my intensity
was dialed up to 11 and that came with a
lot of huffing puffing and cursing under
my
breath make no mistake this was intense
training and it wasn't always enjoyable
I was no longer showing up at the gym
and leisurely jumping from one exercise
to the next I was methodical about
following my program and lifting the
weight I set out to because if I didn't
hit my lift this week how did I expect
to add another 5 kilos onto the bar next
week training like a worldclass athlete
taught me something else that was really
important I don't want to train like a
worldclass athlete all the time I had so
much fun doing this experiment and I
learned so much that I will continue to
apply to my time at the gym it's
actually amazing to think about the
transformation I made and how much
confidence I now have going forward I'll
still be using a legit program annoying
bass as much as he allow me focusing on
my technique first and going to failure
much less often implementing Progressive
overload tracking my workouts and
avoiding gym content like my life
depends on it but for now I'm
intentionally pulling back on the
intensity of my training instead of
focusing on getting radical
transformation in a short time frame I'm
going to be enjoying the Slow Burn of
continued progress only now with a few
more Tools in my back pocket
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