Progressive barbell and bodyweight training is the BEST way to build the sort of body apt to give your ex post-traumatic stress disorder.
Everyone knows this.
This isn't the question.
This is the question:
Are you prepared for a future of progressive barbell and bodyweight training? Many people aren't, which is why I created Zero to Barbell.
Zero to Barbell is a digital course available to every member of the Arcade. Arcade memberships are $197 for the first month. After, you can retain your membership for a measly $7 per month. You will have access to Zero to Barbell and the library of other courses in the Arcade as long as your membership is active.
When you click the button below you’ll be taken to my secure retailer, ClickBank*, to complete your purchase. After payment, you’ll be invited to the private members-only portion of my website, where you can access every lesson of Liquid Metal Muscle on any device. This is not a physical product. This is not a downloadable product.
Zero to Barbell (Z2B) is a digital resource designed to help you master the following four movements
Bodyweight squat
Standing hinge
Bodyweight row
Push-up
Mastering these four movements will give you a dual foundation of technical skills (software) and physical attributes (hardware).
With this dual foundation, your brain and your body will be better equipped to perform every single barbell and/or bodyweight exercise your vanity driven ego could contemplate performing, in the name of building the sort of body that'll make your former classmates stalk you on Facebook.
The least important component of Z2B: technical breakdowns of the four exercises. You'll learn how to perform the exercises with proper full range of motion, and how to put yourself in mechanically favorable positions, which will reduce your risk of injury and increase your training's effectiveness.
Are you keeping your elbows tucked into your torso when you do push-ups? Are you keeping your heels on the ground when you squat? Are you initiating your rows with shoulder-blade retraction?
The technical breakdowns are the least important component of Z2B. If learning good technique was “enough” to master the four exercises, I wouldn't have made Z2B. I would have made Dear Jackass: Search YouTube.
YOUTUBE TUTORIALS SUCK ANYWAYS
Understanding good technique is different than being able to implement good technique. Most people have flexibility and mobility restrictions, which prevent them from implementing good technique.
And so, the most important component of Z2B is a system that helps you diagnose and repair restricted ranges of motion, so that you can perform the four exercises safely and effectively.
In other words…
If you CAN'T stop your elbows from flaring during push-ups… If you CAN'T keep your heels glued to the ground during deep squats… If you CAN'T stop hunching your shoulders forward during rows…
Don't worry.
It's okay.
I got you.
Your body doesn’t give two licks about “mechanics” or “technique.” You probably won't notice many detrimental flexibility and mobility restrictions.
Your body doesn’t roll over and die when confronted with a challenge. It does what it can do, as a system, to accomplish the task at hand. Right or wrong. Your body doesn’t think about long term mechanical implications. All it knows is the here and now.
So maybe it’s not so much about whether or not you’re able to do certain things, but rather if you’re prepared to do certain things.
Because I can run one mile… but I certainly ain’t prepared to run one mile. Different beasts. And you don’t want to confuse beasts. Unless you don’t care about your joint integrity.
The gym is an awkward and (somewhat) scary place. Don't believe me? Check it. A girl gets tangled in a giant hunk of machinery and tossed to the floor, and dude doing chest flies doesn't even flinch.
He continues his set, probably because he doesn't want to seem like he was low-key creeping on the chick for the past hour.
I know everyone and their mother says “No one is watching you in the gym!” but here's the truth: Everyone is watching everyone in the gym. You know this. Be honest. When you're in the gym, you're watching people.
Nothing is worse than “gymtimidation.” You're on your 3rd squat rep, mid-set, and you can't help but think:
Am I doing these correctly? Does that big guy in the corner staring at me want to use the rack? Or is he laughing at my technique? Making fun of me? Judging me? Am I using the right equipment? What am I doing here? This is awkward. Maybe I should just use the machines.
You're concerned about the people in the gym and the atmosphere of the gym more than doing your programmed exercises and getting your work done.
Good news:
The majority of Z2B can be done in the comfort of your own home. Because the best way to deal with gym awkwardness is to not deal with gym awkwardness.
You can do Z2B alone. Behind closed doors. And then, after, when you actually walk into the gym, you'll have a solid foundation of coordination and technical prowess.
You won't become a meme.
You know…
You won't be that guy.
I look out for my fellow self-taught introverted nerds.
By the time you’re finished with Z2B, you’ll be able to walk into the free-weight area of any gym and not only act like you belong there, but also perform like you belong there. (And perform better than 95% of the people in the gym.)
Humans don’t come with an instruction booklet.
Before you think about a bunch of exercise with extra weight, you need to think about doing said exercises without weight. You need to build comfort and confidence in movement patterns that will transfer to barbell training.
When you’re comfortable at the bottom of a squat, you’ll be a lot stronger in the squat. And when you’re stronger in the squat, you’ll build more muscle in your legs.
Not to mention, when you're comfortable in positions, you're safer in positions. Here's the secret to EVERYONE'S success, when it comes to body composition: Consistency. Seriously. There are no magical exercises. The BEST exercises have been around since 1900.
Think about the body you want ten years from now. What does it look like? What does it feel like? What does it move like? You need to start training TODAY with THAT body in mind.
This is NOT what most people want to hear, but Mark Twain had things figured out long ago when he said: “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
Questions?
Hit me:
anthony at anthonymychal dot com
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