Should we imitate the workouts of the greatest lifters? If so, which lifters? The problem is that they don’t all workout the same way. If the best lifters are using different training methods, which method is best and how would we know? Perhaps it is not a specific program that we should imitate, but the advice to listen to your body and learn from how your body responds. Here’s what some of the great ones have to say about the importance of listening to your body and being aware of what you are feeling in terms of exercise technique, how often to train, and how hard to train:
A quote by Richard Hawthorne: Pound for pound, the world’s strongest deadlifter.
“You know, when I feel something, I listen to it: what’s going on, figure it out; I don’t mind sitting out for a second, I totally, totally let go with what my body is telling me, I totally listen to it. I’m going to get stronger no matter what.
Feeling, is better….. feeling is better eyes than our actual eyes. Learn how to feel out your body. And you can’t learn how to do that when we deal with speed (comment from the author: Richard prefers the concept steady drive rather than momentary explosive speed). But feeling is important. You have to know what’s actually going on in your body at all times.”
More from Richard on the importance of Feel
Leroy Colbert: Tune In
Leroy Colbert is often considered the first bodybuilder to develop arms that measured over 20 inches before steroids and PED’s were available. Leroy gives the advice to tune in to your body and listen to what your body is telling you. He explains the importance of this in the following video.
Leroy Colbert
Ed Coan
Ed Coan is considered by many to be the greatest powerlifter of all time. In the following videos, Ed discusses the importance of being in touch with your body to learn how to workout. In the second video, he along with Chad Wesley Smith and Max Aita explain that it is not feasible to prescribe a set training program or training frequency to everyone. People will have to take the time to tryout different types of training in order to discover what produces the best results.
The bottom line is to learn your body. There are written programs that give you a good starting place, but you must learn how your body responds to that program and make adjustments according to your capacities. This is not something that you will master in a few weeks, because what works best in the first year or two may not work at all as you continue to train. Tuning in to your body will always be important in every phase of training and development; so don’t neglect to do it if you want to make the most of your training. Best of training to you.