A lot of my assistants used to ask me, "Bender, do you have any general words of wisdom?" and it got me thinking - I should probably start writing down some of the stuff I have learned. I started this project a few years ago in Charlotte, and carried it into my days at Cal.
Some of this is very specific to training. I have adapted and modified it for general interest. I have redacted an immense amount that was focused on coaching.There is also some passion and bitterness here, so please excuse a few curse words. My life advice comes as I eclipse another decade and turn 30 this weekend. Hence the numerical choice and perspective.
And so, without further ado, I present to you my best 30 Thoughts for Strength Training and Life:
Training
1. Let me be clear: I generally think form is very important. But sometimes you just have to move some damn weight. If not for any other reason, mentally getting yourself to a place that you demand more out of your body will serve you well long-term.
2. Exercises are motor skills. In general, the more you practice the more you will improve. The more advanced you are, the less frequent you need to train to hold onto adaptation.
3. The lower the training age, the more reps in a workout should be similar. The higher the training age, the more variation in reps is needed within a training session.
4. Strength is the mother of all qualities. Just as winning cures everything, so does being strong.
5. When in doubt, core and back strength.
6. Gaining strength is specific to the angle at which it’s trained.
7. A very intense (%RM) stimulus is the same as a very explosive one. We should probably train both.
8. Chin-ups, squats, and bench need frequency to improve quickly. Chin-ups can be performed 4-6 times a week, squats 3-5 times a week, bench 2-3 times a week. The more frequent, the more volume and intensity variation you must have.
9. The best way to develop chin-up strength is to increase the total volume. Either do this by adding more sets, or increasing the time under tension of each set. To increase the time under tension, have an elongated tempo on the eccentric portion of the lift.
10. The easiest way to get better at chin-ups is to lose fat. Take the built-in weight belt off.
11. Vertical pulling for strength, horizontal pulling for growth.
12. There is no set-in stone way to progress toward a bench press. Too often we are told, “you need to be able to dumbbell bench X amount of weight before you can barbell bench.” This is just simply not true. They are very different motor patterns, so young lifters need both. There is a correlation between strength, but at some point, you actually need to get under the bar and bench.
13. If trying to improve overhead press, you must consistently train it for weeks. You can’t do it one phase and come back to it, or else you will lose the strength adaptation you achieved.
14. Hypertrophy is an output, not an input. Thus, you can grow from many different methods and rep ranges. It is highly preferential. The basics are that you need to exhaust motor units.
15. Hypertrophy training should have a lot of variety and is fun. Strength training should be very methodical and boring. That’s just the way it is. If your training programs are always fun, chances are you’re probably not very strong.
16. If doing a hypertrophy workout, train in body part splits. You will obviously fatigue more motor units. If doing a strength workout, I prefer total body as it is far less boring.
17. Front squats directly correlate to backsquats, but the opposite is not true.
18. Trap bar deadlifts are cool, but they aren’t the end all be all. A shitty trap bar deadlift doesn’t beat a light(er) front or backsquat.
19. People are too afraid of deadlifts. Your back hurts because it is weak and so are your hips. So squat down, squeeze your back, and lift that shit off the ground.
20. The hamstring has two functions: flex the knee and extend the hip. Most people only train hip extension. Depending on the amount of intensity, it can vastly change the recruitment of motor units in the posterior chain. A lighter intensity RDL will primarily target the hamstring, but if you add a lot of weight, you will start recruiting the glutes.
21. Hip flexors need less mobility and more strength. Your hip flexors aren’t tight, they’re weak.
22. You are not going heavy enough if you look at the weight on the bar and aren’t a little scared.
23. The weight room is the most humbling place of all. At the end of every single day, year, and decade, that bar still weighs 45 pounds. It doesn’t change. You either lift it or you don’t. It’s you or the bar.
Life
24. Don’t fight the current. Listen to the wind. How often do we choose resistance, and not realize that if we went with the flow, we could be happier and more productive? Sometimes it pays to be a feather in the wind. Swallow your pride and do something new.
25. Be the buffalo, not the cow. There’s an old parable that when a storm comes in on the plains, the cows start running the other direction. Only to be caught in the storm, move with it, and endure it for a long time. On the other hand, buffalo will go directly into the storm and endure the hardship. As a result, it passes more quickly.
26. Your relation to something should always be “want to” not “have to.” Do less “have to” and more “want to.”
27. Best doesn’t mean anything when it also means only. It’s a superlative, not a noun. Best implies that there are two options. Don’t limit yourself. Have options, and choose which is best.
28. If everything is more important than something, than something isn’t very important. Be extremely intentional about things. Prioritize.
29. Stop seeking confirmation and start seeking information. Also known as confirmation bias. This is so prevalent in health and fitness. We should always seek the absolute truth, rather than being told what we want to hear. Society walks around like we’re out here getting mugged by donuts. No, you’re just obese.
30. We listen to authority and not trust. But trusted sources should be authority. Just because someone has credentials or is in a position of power, doesn’t mean they should be trusted.
If you made it through, thank you so much for reading. This probably means two things- you are generally interested in information, and you are a great supporter of mine. I am impressed by the former, and grateful for the latter. Have a great weekend everyone.
-Coach Bender