Author: Skip La Cour

Many people in the bodybuilding and training world disagree on the importance of lifting heavy weight in order to build muscle. Regardless of what the “everything-in-moderation” preachers try to tell you, believe me when I tell you that big weight will lead to big muscles. I firmly believe heavy, overload training is the cornerstone to effectively building high-quality, dense muscle mass in the shortest period of time. I like to refer to the human body as a “sensitive adapting machine.” When you lift heavy weights, you call upon your body’s adaptive abilities to make the necessary adjustments. Your body simply…

What are the things you must do every day to eventually earn a great physique? That’s a simple question. But, if you’ve been pursuing this ambitious goal for any length of time, then you already know the answer is quite complicated. Do you need to train with intensity? Do you need to pay meticulous attention to your eating habits? Is it important to take advantage of the latest developments in sports supplementation? Yes, yes, and yes! If you really want an outstanding physique, you must train, eat properly, and take supplements. Not only will you need to do all those…

One of the greatest feelings you can experience as a bodybuilder is being “in the zone” or “on a roll.” It’s those times when your training habits are going so well that they almost seem effortless. I’m sure you’ve had the pleasure of encountering this special feeling, haven’t you? When we are training with such focus, intensity, and consistency, those periods of time easily make up for any of the pain, sacrifice, or deprivation that we must endure in order to accomplish our bodybuilding goals. The fulfillment that you’ve earned by sticking with your passion for bodybuilding has benefits which…

Too many bodybuilders who have the goal of packing-on muscle mass avoid cardiovascular training. When it comes to their overall training regimens, cardio will be the first aspect they’ll choose to leave out. “I hate cardio!” is a mantra often heard around the more hardcore weight training gyms. These cardio haters have even developed physiological reasons why they should not include much cardiovascular training into their bodybuilding efforts. “I lose way too much muscle when I do cardio!” you often hear them say. These bodybuilders’ avoidance of cardiovascular training wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that, when done…

Drugs, drugs, drugs, drugs! Who’s using them? I don’t care what he says — he’s not fooling me! What? You’re accusing me of using steroids? Hey, I’m not one of those guys! Do you know how long and how hard I’ve been training? How dare you say that about me! In my opinion, too many natural bodybuilders are absolutely obsessed with talking about the subject of drug use. They spend too much time determining who they feel is using them, passing judgment upon them, and at the same time defending their drug-free status against the assumptions of others. These discussions…

Your weight training sessions should last no longer than one hour. And you know what? I’m being extremely liberal with that amount of time. I really believe you can be extremely effective in far less time. But, because I know it’s such a challenge for most of us to shorten our workouts and still feel confident that we are doing enough to meet our bodybuilding goals, I’ll make the cutoff point one hour. Regardless of how you try to rationalize it, longer training sessions are NOT more productive. You must force yourself to become just as effective in a shorter…

It doesn’t matter what other people think of you. What’s important is what YOU think of you.

Create your own definition for “good form” when training. Everyone has their own definition. What is and isn’t considered good form isn’t universally accepted so you’ll never please everyone. Stop trying. Blaze your own path toward success. Ask yourself before and every set “Did I effectively stimulate the targeted muscle group with a taxing enough weight?” Your honest answer is the ONLY person’s you need.

Make sure the people you spend your time with are just as determined, optimistic, and driven as you are to reach YOUR definition of success. It’s a fact that you will become a product of the environment you create for yourself. Never fail to realize that the quality of that environment is totally under your control.

Instead of setting goals like “Get to the gym” and “Eat better,” you might find it more helpful to focus more on the RESULT. Setting the goal of earning a ‘Rock-hard body that turns heads and has tons of energy’ is a great example. Then, think about all of the awesome benefits in life you’ll enjoy once you have it. Executing the steps will become much easier.

RESULTS are what matter most. Never become satisfied just because you get a lot of tasks checked off your list or use strategies that your friends all agree are the “best” if you aren’t getting the RESULTS you really want.

The person who creates the largest gap between where they started and where they are now with their bodybuilding and training efforts that is truly the most successful. You can’t do anything about your genetics. You must take your gifts and exploit the hell out of them. You must work around your challenges the best you can without bitching about them.

There are more productive and positive ways to motivate yourself than to focus on the HATERS. In the long run, it wil hurt you. You never want to link the potential emotional PAIN to the success your hard work will bring you. At least on a subconscious level, it will make your journey tougher than it has to be. You don’t want to ingrain the thought into your mind “When I work hard to get THIS, I will also get THAT (negativity from other people).

Hitting a plateau, or in other words, having your training progress come to a screeching halt, is probably one of the most feared and frustrating events a bodybuilder can ever experience. There isn’t anyone on this planet who wants to work extremely hard at something and not show signs of improvement. This is especially true when it comes to such a demanding lifestyle as bodybuilding. Becoming stagnant with your training will surely lead to frustration—a feeling that undercuts the level of fulfillment you hope to enjoy from bodybuilding. The mounting frustration, if not quickly alleviated, will eventually overwhelm you. Becoming…

In your pursuit to build the physique you desire, you will undoubtedly run into challenges along the way. It doesn’t matter if your aspiration is to become a national-level competitive bodybuilder or simply build a little muscle while cutting body fat; your commitment to continue working toward your goals will eventually be tested. Now, I know that sounds negative, but I’m simply stating reality. Obstacles, problems, or challenges, whether they are something physical, like an injury, or mental, like an unfair placing in a contest, can check the level of your inner strength, will, and desire. How you choose to…

We all know how important our training performance is to developing our physiques. There are many different approaches to effectively build muscle and you’ve probably had at least some success with many of them. Go to any bodybuilding website and you’ll probably be able to find several training strategies that, if applied properly to your workout regimen, could become catalysts which produce growth beyond your wildest dreams. But why is it that one strategy works extremely well for one person while the same one works fails to produce for someone else? The key is how to properly apply that strategy…

This single lesson could possibly be the “breakthrough” secret that propels you into a whole new level of growth because you will learn to utilize the skills and strategies that are already producing successful results in other areas of your life and apply them to your endeavors in the gym. Learning to use the factors that you know already motivate you, instead of relying on someone else to “pump you up” or convince you why you should give your utmost effort, will obviously be more effective immediately and in the long run. The key to using your mental and physical…

Your weight on the scale is NOT your number one indicator of success. Some guys place far too much importance on the number they see on the scale. What they’re not getting is that it’s not about gaining weight, it’s about gaining high-quality, lean muscle weight. The mirror is a far better yardstick for measuring your success.

The sooner you can get a clear picture of your longer-term ultimate goals, the easier it will become to make hour-to-hour and day-to-day decisions.

If you’re thinking about the sets that you have after the one you’re about to do, you’re thinking too far ahead.