okadamethodtraining:

As with anything, the most difficult part of any training program is the beginning. Why? Simply because most people don’t have a clue of where to start! I’ll admit, even when I “began” to train, I hardly had much of a clue of what I did. I just aimlessly lifted weights everyday for hours on end, doing push ups and not knowing what to do for my legs or back (not that I really cared back then, which was a mistake). I hardly ever ran for my conditioning and didn’t really know what the word “nutrition” really meant. All I really had on my side was consistency and a hunger for knowledge.

When it comes to building a proper program, there is much more to it than just exercise. What most people don’t understand is that building muscle or becoming healthy and in condition is more than just an hour-a-day task. When they commit themselves to becoming stronger or healthier, all they really think about is the time they will have to spend in the gym.

Let me just say now that no one has ever made big gains or have gotten extraordinary results from just committing 3-4 hours a week to becoming stronger. The hours outside the gym are just as important, if not even more important, as the hours you spend training.

I’ll just cut to the chase.

These are the main parts to any successful program

• Exercise program
•  Conditioning
• Nutrition
• Regeneration

Seems simple enough, but it gets a bit more complex when we break down each part. For the sake of keeping this post fairly short, I will briefly summarize the portions of each of these, uh, portions… (I guess I’m a bit redundant today) I will go more in detail of each in the future.

Exercise Program

Optimally, this portion will include a strength-training regimen and cardiovascular regimen. This is all-inclusive for everyone. I believe that everyone should lift weights to get stronger, even the ladies. My reasoning for that will also come in the future.

I will now adamantly state that the main reason to lift weights is to get stronger. It’s called strength training for a reason, and for that your program should be structured for long-term progress in strength. Do not fool around with “shaping” or “cutting” exercises, because they don’t work! All it does is make you look like an idiot to those that know what the hell they’re doing!

The other portion to exercise is to have a cardio portion. This is different than conditioning. This can be very simple from just playing sports games with friends to having more of a structure, such as interval training.

Conditioning

This is where some of the heavy cardio health comes into play. As one of my football coaches described it, your conditioning is how quickly you can recover from intense activity. For example, if you start running forty-yard hill sprints, your conditioning is measured how quickly you can recover from one sprint to the next without losing quality.

The best and most simple way to build up your conditioning is through sprints. There is nothing complicated here. Just chose a fairly short distance (about 40-60 yards is optimal) and sprint away. Use caution here, as sprinting is extremely stressful to the body. Take a few weeks to ease into a heavy conditioning program.

Other options include hill sprints, sled drags, and barbell complexes.

Nutrition

Going out to train is only a small portion of the picture. If you put yourself through such arduous exercise, you need fuel in order to survive and grow. Most people underestimate the importance of nutrition and ignore it completely. All fat-loss and weight-gain is in the game of nutrition. Read that over and over before you even think about going for a jog or doing another sit up to get rid of that belly of yours. The best diet is a balanced diet. This includes proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Any nutrition program that omits one of these is highly dangerous, stupid, and should be avoided at all costs. My reasoning for this can be read in a previous post.

 Why high protein and unbalanced diets suck

To gain weight, eat more. To lose fat, eat less crap and move around more. It doesn’t need to get any more complex than it has to be. In order for an individual to gain muscle mass, they need to eat more! I don’t understand how people can even think they will gain muscle from eating like an insect. You truly are what you eat. It is impossible to gain 20 pounds unless you eat that much food! That is akin to spontaneous generation and we debunked that myth hundreds of years ago. In order to lose weight… Cut out the crap in your diet! Don’t crash your diet either. That’s called starvation and we want to avoid that like the plague.

Regeneration

This is a bit more complex but just as important as the rest. If you lift weights, it takes a toll on the body and it will take time for your body to fully recover and come back stronger and in better condition. This is the sole reason as to why you always hear to not lift weights on consecutive days. This gets a bit more complex with beginners, intermediates, and experienced lifters, but the principle is the same.

Although days of rest are extremely important, arguably the most important aspect to rest and recovery is ample amount of good sleep. This will range anywhere from 7-10 hours a night depending on who you are. I am not exaggerating when I say that poor sleep can completely derail your progress. More on sleep a bit later.

This might be a very vague post but it will help get you started. Begin by assessing where you want to be and what you want to do with your health. As with everything, discipline and consistency is key to accomplishing anything with good results.