In this article, you’ll learn 25 valuable lessons on training, nutrition, and recovery to help you become your best self. These tips are backed by science and over 25 years of experience.
For almost ten years now, it has been my privilege to be a contributor to Muscle & Strength and play a positive role in helping so many people around the world achieve personal fitness success. Like many of you, I live this lifestyle because of how it makes all aspects of my life better.
I’ve committed a quarter of a century to training and self-improvement. I’ve done bodybuilding transformations, ran in 5K events, competed in powerlifting, and even did Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Olympia training program for a month.
Along the way, I’ve made several mistakes and learned valuable lessons that I apply to this day and will in the future. Each of us has our journey and path to travel, but if I can share a few tips to help you avoid making unnecessary mistakes along the way, then I can and should.
Here are 25 valuable lessons I have learned to help you become your best self. Some of these are backed by research, while others are simple lessons learned from mistakes and experience.
Lessons in Training
Treat Warm-Up Sets the Same as Working Sets
Following the same approach, set-up, and execution every time makes training safer and more productive. If you are doing squats, go through the same process with the bar that you would with a max attempt. Using the same method can help prevent injuries and will increase your chances of success with bigger lifts because you are programming yourself to execute.
Recommended: The Best 15-Minute Warm-Ups
Learn Proper Form, Then Master Your Execution
Everyone should know how to perform the exercise correctly. That is why learning proper form is important. As you improve, you will find tweaks to help you feel the exercise is working better. Don’t be afraid to do something a little different if it helps you.
Master the Basics Before Anything Else
I have no issue with the kneeling concentration cable curl, but the bread-and-butter movements can be very effective for a very long time. Keeping it simple can still be best sometimes.
Do Cardio Regardless of the Goal
What’s the point in getting big if you can’t enjoy it? Two sessions of 20-30 minutes a week should be a minimum for all lifters and athletes, even if swole is the goal and size is the prize. Obviously, that would be more if you need to lose weight. It can be either High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) or steady state, whatever helps you stay consistent.
Don’t Train Like Your Idols All the Time
Learning from them is great, but what worked for them may not work the same for you. It probably won’t. Some things they do may help you, but you won’t look like them because you train like them.
Try Exercises and Decide for Yourself if it Works
Every exercise has its critics, but you should try things out for yourself before eliminating them from your plan. For example, behind-the-neck movements have the worst reputation, but many of your favorite athletes swear by them. If you find it doesn’t work for you, then ditch it.
Control the Weight, Not the Other Way Around
Moving weight alone doesn’t build muscle. Controlling the tempo with each rep does. Slow concentric (lifting) and even slower eccentric (lowering) is optimal.
Don’t Go 100% Every Week
The body needs a break. So, a deload week or total week off every three to four months can serve you very well. When you finish one of our programs, take a week to do 50-60% volume, or take a whole week off, then be ready for your next program with new goals.
Related: 5 Frequently Asked Questions When Choosing Your Next Workout Program
Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
If you are not a runner, enter a 5K event in the next few months. If you have only been lifting weights, commit a few weeks to yoga. Going outside your comfort zone will help you improve in those uncomfortable areas, and that can help you in all aspects of training.
Nothing Works Forever
We have many workout plans here on M&S for a very good reason. Eventually, it will be time to try something new. Don’t believe that one way is the only way because there will be no way to sustain progress. Change is good in all aspects of life, including fitness.
Lessons in Nutrition
Always Stay Hydrated
It has become an Eddie Hall joke in recent years, but water matters for function as well as fitness. Don’t ignore it. Most of you reading this can benefit from a gallon a day. Bare minimum – drink half of your body weight in ounces. If you weigh 150 pounds, that would be 75 ounces of water a day.
Eat Protein First
Protein is vital for building and protecting muscle mass and eating it first in the meal can help regulate blood sugar and help satiate the appetite, and yes, high protein diets will help you lose weight.1
The Meal Plan You Can Follow Works Best
We don’t have many specific diets because we found that no one single method works for everyone. As long as most of the food you eat is healthy, the most important factor for nutrition is that you can be consistent. Research backs me up on this one.2
You Can’t Out Supplement a Bad Diet
Many have tried, and many have failed. Supplements are designed to support a well-balanced diet full of high-quality food. High-quality food is the most important component that will help you reach your goals.
Related: The 5 Basic Supplement Staples
Calories In < Calories Out for Weight Loss
If you need to lose weight, then tracking the calories you eat and the calories you burn is going to be crucial. The M&S BMR Calculator will be a valuable asset that can help you figure this out for yourself and your goals.
Creatine for the Win
For adults, creatine monohydrate will be your friend, regardless of the goals you have. If you are asking yourself if you should use it, the answer is yes. There have been many studies on its effectiveness, and it has been verified as safe in recent years.3
Everything Matters When It Comes to Potential
Just like each brick of a building is important, every meal, rep, step, and minute of sleep stack up when it comes to being a better version of yourself. Mistakes will happen but focus on moving forward so you can keep getting better.
Lessons in Recovery and Mindset
Sleep is Vital, Regardless of the Goal
Get a bare minimum of seven, eight would be best, and many world-class athletes shoot for nine. It’s the most basic form of recovery and preparation for the next workout, but it is also the most effective. Consistent sleeping patterns can positively impact your fitness and overall health.4
Discipline Over Motivation
There are only so many motivational speeches on YouTube, and even they will tell you the same thing. You must commit each day, even on those you don’t want to. I found the days that I didn’t want to train were some of the most important workouts I did because I improved mentally and physically.
Have a Plan and Stick with It
Many of the workouts you see here are for a certain length of time. That is because consistency with the same plan and exercises can be a great way to track progress. You will either move closer to your goals or find something you know won’t serve you. Either way, you’re getting something valuable.
Related: How To Choose Your Next Training Program (Plus Program Recommendations)
Make Sure Your Motivation is About You
The incentive of being attractive to others will only get you so far. Try to be better for the person that it should matter to the most, yourself. Many people beat themselves up because they don’t look at their fitness inspirations, but they may not have had to start where you started. Focus on being one of one instead of emulating the results of someone else.
Listen to Your Voice Instead of Those Around You
People will doubt you, but more often than not they are reflecting on themselves, not you. If you believe in yourself, keep going. You may not reach your optimal goal, but the success you do achieve will make you better than where you are now. As a matter of fact, speak it out loud because it can keep you even more motivated to hear it.5
The Best Teachers are Still Learning
You can be doing this for 60 days or 60 years, but there is always something new to learn. Keep your eyes open for those lessons, and you will find ways to keep progressing. No one ever knows it all.
Find Like-Minded People
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a community of like-minded people to become your best. High tides elevate all ships.
Enjoy the Journey
You will feel a big hit of dopamine once you reach a goal, but that won’t last forever. Enjoy the process itself, and your fitness journey will be much more rewarding. Changing your body and life for the better should be celebrated and appreciated.
