6 Mental Strength Tips for Men to Train Like a Man

I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!  Before I begin on my rant I want to mention that I’ve been training for over 20 years, I’m a certified personal trainer, MMA Conditioning Coach and Fitness coach.  I’ve climbed rock walls, mountains, practice martial arts and even survived an avalanche.

My rant comes from my personal experience and my recent observations…are you ready?  Here goes…

Come on guys…put the pink dumbbells and back away from the salad bar.  Guys, incase you haven’t noticed, we are different from women.  I know, I can hear you from here…”No sh*& Sherlock!”

We’ll then, let me ask…why are you training like a woman?  I see it everyday I go to the gym.  There they are…the dawn patrol of the gym….the boot-campers!   Now I want to make something perfectly clear, I am all in favor and support ANYONE who gets up early and goes to the gym or other physically activity, but there comes a point where a guy’s gotta do what a guys gotta do…and that’s to lift!  I don’t mean the combo dumbbell bicep curl, triceps extension, shoulder press.  I mean compound movements and Olympic lifts!

Think about it, men are working out with women, eating like women and expecting to look like men.  Many men are so focused on “losing weight” they forget that much of the weight they are losing is muscle! 

Men are cutting their calories to such a dangerous level their metabolism starts to shut down.  Then they add on cardio and if that doesn’t work, they reduce their calories even more.  The only thing this accomplishes is reducing their muscle and decreasing their testosterone.  This fact is discussed in detail in The Testosterone Advantage Plan : Lose Weight, Gain Muscle, Boost Energy , check it out…you’ll be stunned!   One more great book that emphasizes training like a man is The Alpha Male Challenge.”  Both these books should be on every man’s shelf.

OK, so by now you’re either still with me, or you have fumed off somewhere, in which case what I’m about to say won’t effect you.

Here are the 6 Mental Strength Tips for Men to Train like a Man:

1. Stop the Cardio:  It’s been proven that you can get the same cardio benefits from lifting weights, H.I.I.T training or ‘turbulence training’ so get off the treadmill and H.I.I.T it.  Oh yea…when you are lifting, please don’t read the newspaper between your sets!
2. Perform Compound Exercises.  These involving multiple joint action like, bench-press, squats, dead-lifts and other Olympic lifts.  Again, this is NOT one and done.  Perform multiple sets with minimum rest between sets. 
3. Become a Swinger…no not like that…like kettlebells or sandbags.  By incorporating kettlebells and/or sandbags into your routine you’ll not only improve your strength, but your cardio endurance as well.
4. Eat, Eat and Eat.  Guys, it’s time to put some meat on those bones, and the best way it through a proper planned diet and nutrition program.  I happen to like Precision Nutrition.  It’s used by many pro and college level sports teams.
5. Increase Your Fat Intake.  This does not mean going out and eating more Big Mac’s.  This means adding more Omega-3 and other “good fat”.  Increasing your good fat intake has been proven to lower your LDL and raise your HDL…both of these are good things.
6.  Stretch.  This may sound “girly”, but let me tell you guys, nothing will cause an injury quicker then inflexibility…believe me, I can attest to this from personal experience.  If you’re too tight to stretch look for a good strength therapist, A.R.T. practitioner or message therapist.

Well I could go on, but I won’t.  I’ve ranted enough I feel like I need a cigarette, and no, I don’t smoke.  Oh yea, this brings up one more BIG thing guys have gotta do to improve their physical transformation…cut back on booze, or better yet, cut it out while you’re in serious training. 

I won’t get on that soapbox here, but let me tell, consuming alcohol will retard your body’s ability to shed fat….check it our for yourself.

Well I hope I’ve got you pissed off…in a good way, so that you’ll enter the gym tomorrow with a new sense of purpose to train like a man!

By taking a hard look at your training and incorporating the above recommendations you’ll not only look better, you’ll feel better and have greater energy to so that you can achieve your peak performance and personal success. 

Now let me hear from you!  Come on speak up…how well are doing with your training?