I am of the belief that in order to train properly you must be willing to train within your own strength zone. This mean selecting an appropriate amount of weight in relationship to your personal strength level. Perhaps the two biggest deterrents that keep people from training within their strength zone are the desire progress too fast, and training with weights that are too heavy for maximum lifts and too heavy for the amount of reps and sets that are done in a workout.
Why People use Too Much Weight
Why do people try to progress too fast and push too hard and lift too much weight in their workouts? I believe one of the biggest reasons is an unrealistic perspective based on books, magazines, and internet hype that over exaggerates realistic levels of strength. The three biggest hype factors that lead to all of the exaggerated perspectives on strength consist of:
- Steroids and performance enhancement drugs.
- Lifting Gear
- Focusing on those with superhuman genetics.
I am assuming that most people who get involved in weight training do not want to take steroids or performance enhancement drugs. This is a significant factor that will make it hard to ever get as strong as those who are taking part in the use chemical advantages. I am also assuming that most people who get involved in weight training are not using bench shirts, or using the suits and wraps that are used for squats and deadlifts. There are guys who bench around 700 pounds raw but are able to bench over 1,000 pounds with a bench shirt. Lifting gear can add anywhere from 50 pounds to 300 pounds to one’s true raw strength.
Finally, I’m assuming that most people who are involved in weight training do not possess freakish genetics. Not everyone is designed to weigh in at over 300 pounds like some of the super heavies who are putting up huge poundages. You can look at someone like Eric Spoto who is a classic genetic wonder and start to feel hopelessly weak. He’s mega strong even when lifting raw without lifting gear. Resist comparing yourself to a super heavy, and if you must compare yourself with others, compare yourself with those in your own weight class.
A Distorted Norm for Success
When you look at the advantages of steroids, performance enhancement drugs, lifting gear, and genetics that apply to only one in a million lifters, and you combine all those factors together, the outcome is exaggerated performances and poundages. The more realistic strength level of those who train but don’t take steroids, or use lifting gear, or possess super human genetics are ignored in favor of a constant focus on exaggerated performances that are seen so often on youtube that they begin to be seen as the norm for success.
When those who don’t take steroids, or use lifting gear, or have supreme genetics are exposed to those who do, they can feel as though they are way behind and do all kinds of things to make up for it in their training. It’s easy to start shortening up the range of motion of various lifts and to start using sloppy form in order to use more weight. This only serves to give a lifter an inflated view of their own strength to convince themselves that they are making progress.
One of the keys to training within your strength zone is to use weights that are right for your own strength level. It may mean backing up and using less weight with good form, or doing less reps with a given weight so that you don’t over train. It may mean using light weight to do some dynamic speed training. All of this can be brutal on your ego if you are fixated on the exaggerated strength levels plastered all over the internet. However, in the end, you will be satisfied with honest strength gains if you train within your own strength zone.
Expose Yourself to Realistic Standards
Exaggerated hype is the lure that the muscle media uses to attract the biggest crowd possible. If you want a more accurate picture of what strength level you should be at without drugs, lifting gear, or extreme genetics, I suggest looking at the standards that are on Muscle and Brawn as they are much more realistic to the general population of people who train with weights. You can see these standards by clicking on the article, “What is Strong? Real World Strength Standards for Raw, Natural Lifters.” These standards will help you shoot for realistic goals and help you to train in a realistic manner. Best of training to you.