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Build Strength And Muscle With YouTube?
By Matt (The Average White Dude) | July 1, 2008
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Does the thought of benching 315 pounds seem downright impossible to you?
Or how about squatting with 500lbs on your back?
Maybe you’ve got another goal in mind but at the moment it seems completely impossible.
Here’s a simple way modern technology can aide you in your pursuit of new personal records.
The Impossible Becomes Possible
Doctors used to believe that it was physically impossible for anyone to run one mile in less than 4 minutes.
Then Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute barrier. Within a few short months, a flurry of other runners accomplished the same feat.
In the 1960’s guys were dreaming wistfully about benching 600lbs. Today, the record is over 1,000 pounds.
Seeing Is Believing
Why did so many runners break the 4-minute mark after Bannister did it first?
Why did the record for bench press climb after Doug Hepburn cracked the 500lb mark?
Simple. It’s because the first guy proved it could be done. After it was proven possible, all the other guys quickly caught up.
Lessons From The Diving Board
When I was in high school, I was on the diving team.
I wasn’t very good at first. My coach would tell me what to do but I simply couldn’t see myself doing anything that elaborate 20 feet above the water.
But when the first competition came around, I got to witness more experienced divers for the first time. I saw first-hand exactly what my coach was talking about.
And I improved dramatically after that.
Seeing Is Believing
As human beings, nothing is more powerful than seeing an event with your own eyes.
When it comes to training and fitness, we sometimes put artificial limits on ourselves simply because we haven’t seen something with our own eyes.
Case in point:
Hardly anyone at my gym squats or deadlifts. And recently, I was approaching record weights (for me) in both lifts.
Only problem was, I found myself failing as the weights got heavier. I knew I could make the lift, but I had a mental block.
The Solution
Luckily, there’s a modern solution.
On YouTube.com, you can find a variety of videos of people doing a variety of different exercises with different amounts of weight.
Here’s The Interesting Part:
I’ve found that just watching someone else complete the lift improves your odds of making the same lift.
I don’t know why this is but it works.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say that you can deadlift 390 pounds but you find yourself struggling to hit 400 pounds. You tried three times at your last workout but failed.
Go to youtube.com and find a few videos of guys successfully deadlifting 400lbs.
Watch them over and over.
And next time you hit the gym, I’ll bet you’ll successfully complete a 400 pound deadlift.
Not Just A Powerlifting Trick
Remember, this isn’t just about squats and deadlifts. It can be used to accomplish a variety of goals.
A lot of guys struggle with pull-ups and chin-ups. Some guys can’t do a single one when they start working out.
And if you work out at home, you don’t get to experience the "seeing is believing" phenomenon since you never see anyone else doing pull-ups or chin-ups either.
But you can hop on youtube.com and check out some videos of other people knocking out chin-ups. And before you know it you will have accomplished your goal.
Topics: Articles, Gaining Muscle |
July 6th, 2008 at 7:25 am
Good post Matt. I think it would be a good idea if you made some videos and put them up on youtube.