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.

One of the most unfortunate facts of bodybuilding is that it’s tough. It’s really tough. In fact, at times it can be downright gut-wrenching and painful. Every Monday I get to experience this when I walk into the gym for yet another two sets of balls-to-the-wall deadlifts.

How can you get over this pain? There’s several strategies that seem to work. This varies from person to person, and you’ll have to find which method works best for you.
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Yesterday I received a very simple email that asked me, “if you could perform only five exercises in the gym, what would they be?”

The first three came to mind without even blinking. But what exercises constitute the second tier for building muscle mass? I’m not sure, because beyond the “big 3”, there’s so many potential exercises. I needed to answer the question somehow, though, so I decided on 5 exercises. My final picks were as follows:

1) Deadlift
2) Squat
3) Bench Press
4) Pull-Up
5) Military Press

#4 and #5 were definitely a toss-up, as there are many other logical options: rows, lunges, dips, etc, etc.

One of the most common questions I receive in my inbox these days is “how often should I change my workout?” 

In the muscle building community, it’s fairly well established that altering certain aspects of a weight training routine every now and then can prevent physiological adaptation, reduce injury, and lead to strength “breakthroughs”. (more…)