Happy Holidays to everyone and welcome to 2008! For Christmas, I asked for a big bucket of protein powder and some new lifting straps. Ask and ye shall receive! Anyway, all

I hate it when I’m injured. I hate any injury, not just those that result from weight lifting – everything from a stubbed toe to a broken bone. It’s not so much that I fear the pain, but rather that I fear the limitations that injury might place on my regular activities and routine (especially bodybuilding).

Over the course of my weightlifting career, though, I’ve come to accept them. If you spend all of your time worrying about injuries and how they’re affecting you, you’ll end up depressed and unmotivated. Instead, try to learn to recognize injuries as minor bumps along the greater road to success.

“No journey is perfect,” writes Sean Nalewanyj in one of his best motivational articles. “The difference between a successful bodybuilder and an unsuccessful one is in the way that they handle adversity.”

He couldn’t be more right. Next time you experience an injury, regardless of severity, take it in stride. Trust me, losing your cool or fretting about the injury will only do you more harm.

I don’t believe in using crutches to help me build muscle. I believe that proper form, hard work, and a healthy dose of obsession are the keys to consistent training results. That being said, I’m a natural bodybuilder, not a powerlifter. If you’re training for looks and to improve your physique, not to be as strong as possible, then you damn well better be using a pair of lifting straps for all of your back exercises.

In an exercise like the deadlift, the amount of weight you can lift is often limited by your forearm strength. Your grip will give out long before your back or legs do. To help resolve this issue, and ensure that your back is getting the workout it deserves, you need lifting straps.

Lifting straps wrap around your wrists and then around the bar or dumbbell you’re lifting, effectively giving you a far greater ability to maintain your grip on the bar. If you’re not already using a pair, get some! Most sporting stores have lifting straps, but you can also find a variety of quality straps at BodyBuilding.com.

Sadly, most people who begin any sort of muscle building or weight gain campaign fail miserably. Granted, many of them are not training properly and spend most of their time slaving away on the pec deck or curling dumbbells until their eyes pop out. Most, however, fail to achieve their goals primarily because they ignore the huge importance of eating. Eating will make or break your entire muscle building program! To learn more about the importance of eating, check out bodybuilding guru Tom Venuto’s article entitled “Training or Nutrition: Which is More Important?“. Venuto really knows his stuff, and this is a great article worth a few minutes of your time!