Good morning and a happy Monday to everyone. I hope you all had your grind on hard this weekend and are starting off this week ready to conquer.

Today we have a guest post by Lou Skunt. Lou has been in the body building game for nearly 30 years now and is as knowledgeable as anyone I have ever met on the topic. His comments here have been a trove of wisdom. I hope you enjoy this post he wrote, I certainly did. Check back in tomorrow for an article on the importance of functional stretching and foam rolling.

Achieving considerable gains in both muscular development and strength is a life-long process.  Having lived the bodybuilding lifestyle my entire adult life, I can assure you that bodybuilding will not only help you build a physique worthy of respect and admiration, but you will create a very high-quality life for yourself, filled with tremendous physical capability, mental clarity, confidence and discipline.

With that said, it does take work, lots of work, and recognizing the distinction between “Exercising” and “Training” will make all the difference in your pursuit of the ideal physique.  Let’s clarify…

– Exercising: Any physical activity that helps promote overall health and wellness.

– Training: Physical activity that is (structured) to specifically meet to your goals and abilities.

We’re constantly inundated with fitness fads, and while I support anything that promotes general health and fitness, I’m wary of anything that has the potential to skew the lines between exercise & training, as well as placing well-intended people in harms way, which brings me to CrossFit.  I’m not here to shit on CrossFit, rather, I would like to use it as the prime example: CrossFit IS NOT TRAINING, it is Exercising, plain and simple.

Crossfit has been highly successful in getting iron into the hands of more people than probably any fad in history.  You may think: “hey, that’s great, more people are exercising” – in theory yes, in practice, maybe it’s not so great.  Let me explain… The biggest issue is that they incorporate Olympic Style lifts (deadlifts, cleans, etc.) as well as other advanced movements in a very dangerous manner.  These movements are highly technical and require proper instruction, focus & form, along with many months, or even years to master – they were never intended to be performed in a “random” timed manner.  CrossFit focuses mainly on time and intensity, and it’s frequently combined with improper instruction, which leads to poor form and the inevitable injury. There is no science behind the way they perform these movements which violates all logic and basic biomechanics.  Please read this sentence carefully: even if you have some success early on with their process, as some people may, you will eventually reach the point of diminishing return, as you will no longer be able to progressively overload the muscles with their exercises without greatly increasing the risk for serious injury.

When you have a moment, take a look at an anatomy chart, it’s very complex, and in order to properly develop those muscles, it requires many specific movements for each muscle group.  Sure, there are benefits to the physical elements of CrossFit, but as far as I’m concerned, CrossFit just makes you good at CrossFit.  Make no mistake about it, all the top Crossfit contenders built their bodies through proper “Training” methods, incorporating all the fundamentals,many of which I’ll list below:

–  Utilizing perfect form, focusing on both the concentric & eccentric portions of an exercise and achieving the proper pump

–  Incorporating a routine with specific movements for each muscle group

–  Always using your brain and constantly educating yourself

–  Learning how to properly listen to your body

–  Prioritisation of your weaknesses

–  High Performance Nutrition

–  Rest and Recuperation

–  the list goes on…

All of these principles are assembled and utilized in a structured, methodical and safe manner, resulting in a perfectly balanced physique.

For anybody considering shortcuts in their training, please take note: Random Exercising will yield Random Results, while Structured Training will yield Consistent, life-changing Results – the choice is yours.  Don’t make excuses, and remember, there’s a reason why the fundamentals will always be around – they work.  You want a great physique and all the benefits that go along with it? – You absolutely have to put in the work – no exceptions.

So what are your options you may ask?  Well, you can take the necessary time and effort to research and develop a proper training routine on your own through trial and error.  Another option may be to enlist the services of a real coach, somebody that will create a custom-designed program based on your goals and make the necessary adjustments throughout the process, which can easily put you on the fast-track to success.

Stay focused and accept nothing less than your best!