Latest / Cameron's Conversations: The last weight loss podcast you'll ever need. / Episode 103: How to get much more out of your training
Transcript
- Cameron: Welcome to Cameron's Conversations Podcast. And today I am with Louis, and we are going to be talking about how to get more from your training. And we're going to talk about a couple of strategies that we use with our clients to allow them to get more from their training. So I will let Louis start. I know he's got something that he likes to use with his clients, so I'll let you jump in. Louis: Hello, hello. ⁓ well, I had one and I've just thought of another one. ⁓ and I'm gonna go I'm gonna lead with that. Because ⁓ I think where a lot of people go wrong when it comes to training is comparing the progress with fat loss. Obviously, with fat loss you can see quite quite quick results like on the scales. Yes, measurements and then photos take a little bit longer, but you can see quite quite immediate kind of results for your hard work. Whereas, especially as you get really, really, really into training, you see the the progressions are so slow. They're so slow. They can be really kind of like almost demoralizing at times. ⁓ I mean I've been I've been dieting for yeah the last like more or less two months and in that time I have seen very, very few ⁓ progressions with my lifts. That doesn't mean to say that my ⁓ sessions have been bad or anything like that. I still come out of the gym feeling like I've been beaten up, which is obviously, you know, w what I go for, you know. but I think it's I think one thing that I like to remind clients is just reframing the progression side of things a little bit in terms of don't expect to see such rapid progress. That doesn't necessarily mean it's not working. Of course it is. ⁓ but you kind of have to rewire your brain to expect almost different ⁓ or slower progressions, if that makes sense. Cameron: Yeah. Yeah, it does. And I I always think this is actually a really it's definitely a counterintuitive thing. And you're probably a really good example of this is like if I was coaching you and you were saying to me, I'm adding five reps to my leg press every single week, the first thought I'm gonna have in my head is, How hard were you pushing on that leg press beforehand? Now If you that's brand new, like if let's say that you've not leg pressed in like nine months because I don't know, you've been doing lunges or something completely different for the last nine months and it's a new training block, new jump in your leg presses, maybe the first session you you know you're easing into it a little bit, like that's really, really normal to see faster progression. But if you're telling me like six, eight, ten weeks in and you're a bit more advanced, obviously you've trained for quite a while, there's an ego booster called your advanced with training. There you go. ⁓ but that that that'll make a day. But you know Louis: Right. Cameron: That's a really nice way of think thinking about it, isn't it? Is like if someone who's been training for a year Louis: Yeah. Cameron: Is adding five reps to a lift that they've already been doing for that year or six months or the last few months, it probably suggests that actually they've just not been pushing hard enough. So in a counterintuitive way, sometimes it's a good thing when you're only adding one to two reps on your lift because it probably suggests that you're quite close to the intensity you should be training. Now, like I say, if there is a new movement on a block, if I throw Louis something completely different and he's been doing like dumbbell bench and I maybe give him barbell bench, you'll probably see a lot of progress in the first six to eight weeks, but then it'll likely taper off and it'll just be one rep every week or every other week. That's f absolutely fine for someone who's more advanced, right? That would be really normal. Louis: Yeah, I'm lucky if I get that nowadays. I've been on the same pro programme for like six months though, so I probably need to freshen it up. But it's just like I go into or Yeah, I go into autopilot when I walk in the gym. I know exactly what I'm doing and I can get in and out within an hour. So ⁓ and it's working. It is working slowly. yeah, I I've got a specific example. ⁓ one of my clients, Rose, she started ⁓ I can't remember when she started now. She's been with me like six months, I think. Cameron: Perfect. Yeah. Louis: But when she first started like you know, w with the ⁓ one to one coaching and programming and stuff like that, I think the first time she got on the leg press she was in like I don't know, sixty kilos maybe. And like ten, twelve reps sort thing, which is obviously good. Now she's pushing so like, yeah, four to six months later, ⁓ she's doubled that. ⁓ so now it's like around one twenty. ⁓ Which is an insane progression, but it will slow down and it certainly has slowed down in more recent weeks. It wasn't a case of like each week it was like, you know, split completely evenly. Definitely the first couple of months we saw quite rapid progress and then it started slowing down, as you said, tapering off and things like that. ⁓ still, you know, still getting there. But that that's like that's how the gym and progressions with your lifts. Yeah, that's how it works. That is how it works. You're right. Cameron: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Louis: You shouldn't be expecting to add sort of five, ten reps every session because that just kind of tells us that yeah, you've probably got a lot more in the tank than you're giving yourself credit for. ⁓ this comes on to my next point about ⁓ form reviews and form checks. so this is obviously sending, you know, record putting your phone against your bottle, filming yourself in the gym, ⁓ which I know can be a bit, you know, ⁓ anxiety inducing, I guess. And suddenly you you find out what it's like to be one of us where we have to film ourselves walking to a camera in the in the gym. Yeah. Self conscious, right? Cameron: Always always fun, right? Yeah, yeah. You do get used to it after your hundredth video, right? That gets easier. Louis: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But we understand that 'cause we were there as well. ⁓ but it's so, so, so helpful. I've lost count of the number of times where someone's, you know, recorded themselves doing certain lifts or doing their whole workout, ⁓ sending it through, and within probably about a couple of weeks their lifts have have doubled just because form is suddenly like way better. They're moving, you know, it it with to good tempo and they're squeezing at the right points and all of this sort of stuff. But then the other thing as well, and this is arguably a a bigger ⁓ reason to do it, is their confidence with the lift goes up as well. Because they're having someone check, who most of the time knows what they're talking about, right? Because they're having someone check it. And then the feedback, either like, okay, this is good, you you know, it's almost giving them license to then be like, right, I'm gonna push the boat out a little bit. ⁓ or I'm gonna, I'm gonna try. Because when I I I've done that before years and years and years ago, before I was like really into this, and I was just like a Joe Wicks fanboy and whatnot, and I was starting sort of getting into the gym and and and stuff, I I wouldn't always have the confidence to like put the pin in it. at another weight or like put another plate on the machine or whatever like that because I'd be I'd be con well I'd convinced myself that what I was doing was good and anything heavier than what I was doing would hurt myself. And I would just like break into a thousand pieces and shatter. ⁓ obviously that doesn't happen, but we we kind of our brain has this, you know, mechanism of not well, well, not no. Procting ourselves, right? Cameron: Yeah. Yeah. Louis: We don't want to die, ideally. And Cameron: It's always it's always a good bar for your gym session. Did you die? Yes or no? If if no, if no repeat next week. Yeah. Louis: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Did you make it out alive? Yeah. Try again. Try harder next time. But yeah, so I I do understand it, but just filming the lifts, you can get feedback, your form will improve dramatically, right? Because we understand as well that if we send a you know, if you go on YouTube and you look at a tutorial for an exercise, great, that's gonna put you in the right ballpark of getting it right. But it's it's not quite the same as you filming yourself so you can look at what you look like as well. That's one of the mo you know, ⁓ a really important point. But then someone else who knows exactly how to execute that exercise properly and has probably three to five different ways of ⁓ giving you some feedback and like tweaks and things like that. The the progression when you film your exercises it it really like accelerates your progress. It really, really, really does. ⁓ so I can't recommend that enough. I know I know it's an anxiety inducing filming yourself in the gym, but honestly, no one cares. People are far more concerned about what they look like than what you're doing. That's why there's so many mirrors in the gym really. So you can just look at yourself. Cameron: Yeah. Yeah, I think this is so true. And and I think there's a good couple of points in there. The reason I think that people make so much more progress after the technique reviews or the form reviews, like you said, I actually think yes, it's in part 'cause their technique's better. That obviously objectively helps. If your technique's better, you're gonna get more from the movement. I think that's a big factor, but I honestly think Lou hit the nail on the head there. Like when you were talking about the confidence, I think that's a big thing. Because there's there's a big difference when a client gets a video of me sitting there reviewing the technique and maybe pulling up the two to three key points we need to work on. They then go into that next time knowing like, okay, like I was mostly doing this right, but I just need to make these one or two tweaks. And then they feel it a bit more and and they start to feel like they're getting more out of the movement and they have more confidence. So then they're also more likely to push themselves. Because I know we've all been there. Like we've all been there at some point in our journey where you've been doing a movement that you're not a hundred percent confident in. So you do the movement but you're you're too cautious, right? Kind of like what you're saying, you're worried you're gonna like do Do something. So you end up like leg pressing at like 50 kilos and it's dead easy, but you don't have the confidence to actually go up because you don't know if you're doing it right. So that's a a great point. I think the other one you make as well is like I often talk about this is like strength is relative sorry, ⁓ weight is relative to your strength. So I think sometimes people will be like, ⁓ I could never do a hundred kilo leg press. Like if I did a hundred kilos, like my knees and hips would explode and and I would chatter into million pieces, like you say. But you don't go from like nothing to a hundred straight away, usually, right? Most people are gonna do like fifty kilos, then they do fifty five, and then they do sixty, and then over w however long it takes, depending on the person, they build up and I see exactly like running as an example. Like nobody unless they're absolute bonkers decides to go and do like a marathon, right? Like you don't just wake up and you're like I have never run before or I've run like to the bus and that's it. Today is the day I do a marathon or an ultra. Like you just wouldn't do that. But it's kind of the same again, right? Like you just wouldn't what what was that? Louis: Wouldn't recommend that. Wouldn't recommend it. Cameron: Would recommend well, no, I mean you could try. ⁓ and it's an admirable attempt, but yeah, you're probably not worth it when you're lying in A. But there's not much point in that. But I like I like that approach to it, is like it sounds like so much. And I have clients that will do weights and other clients will be like, I could never do that. And I'm like, You can't do it yet. It's just a matter of time. Like the dumbbells I can press now. When I first started training, like I never thought I'd be able to press like forty kilo dumbbells, right? If I had tried when I weighed like sixty-five kilos. And I was like 16, it would have ended in a near-death experience, if not an actual experience. That would not have worked. But that doesn't mean they're like far too heavy now. It's just relative to your strength. But that took time to build up. I didn't like train for two weeks and then I was like, right, let's try those 40s. Although to be fair, 14-year-old Cameron would try that. That that was the type of thing that seemed like a good idea, but then I wouldn't get anywhere else. I wouldn't be able to move them, but that's not the point. So but I think that's a good thing. Louis: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think the other thing as well is the accountability aspect of it. Whenever I've filmed myself ⁓ doing certain exercises to like show ⁓ you know, a certain part to the movement to to a to a client or whatever, I try harder because I know that someone is looking at it. And this is me, right? This is someone who's been training for years and years and years and years. Suddenly there's the the You know, my brain like, ⁓ my God, someone, somewhere, is going to see this. I best pull my finger out, right? It's the same thing when when you guys would would film exercises and send them into your coach. Like it's exactly the same thing. But it's like going to the gym with a friend, right? I went the this week I've trained I've trained three times and I've trained twice with ⁓ mates. Each time I've trained with mates, I have accidentally like increase the weight just because they're you know they're stronger than me so I want to try and like ⁓ it's just yeah typical ego is like ⁓ god then but that that's the point right you wouldn't you pro if you were on your own you probably wouldn't put the weight up because you know what why would you right whereas if you train with someone or Cameron: Your ego ego can take it. That's the truth. Let's call it as it ends. Louis: You've got a camera on you and you know it's getting sent somewhere where it's gonna be critiqued in a positive way, obviously. Not just like that was shit, do it again. like suddenly you you're like, okay, maybe I should give it a go. I had a client the other day who ⁓ she's doing RDLs. RDLs, really difficult movement. So if you've nailed RDLs, then fair play to you, 'cause like, yeah, ⁓ It's it's it's tough going, especially when you start really adding sort of load to it and everything. I mean yesterday I did RDLs and and my second set I finished and I was like, that was that was shit. That was really bad. 'Cause so like sometimes you just get the the technique is kind of off or you don't get set properly or whatever. But anyway, ⁓ she was saying to me that ⁓ she tried adding I think either one point two five kilos in total Or two and a half kilos in total. and she was like, I couldn't I couldn't pick it up at all. And I was like, I don't believe you. In a in a nice way, I like, I don't believe you. I don't believe that you couldn't pick up a two and a half kilo difference because two and a half kilos on its own is not dramatic. So I think next time just film it, concentrate on what you're doing, really get yourself set, and I think we'll we'll be okay. And I'm pretty sure if my memory serves me correctly, w we did just that and it was okay. So again, it is about having the the kind of confidence and the that additional accountability and things like that. So if you haven't ha given it a go yet in terms of filming yourself, please do. ⁓ yeah. Cameron: Yeah, it's worth wow. You do. I mean, how many ⁓ I always joke about this, but how many times have you filmed a set that you were like, ⁓ that was really hard, and then you've look watched it back and be like, I'm a wet blanket. Like I actually I actually train like my granny. Like my granny my granny on having a word of his original could train with a bit more training intensity. Like, I am exaggerating a little bit, but there's definitely times where I've looked at a set and I do this all the time. Like I always think the leg extension's perfect example in my head, like Louis: Okay. Cameron: I am absolutely a max effort. Like it's it couldn't do more. And then I watch it and I look like I'm having a seat in the park. I'm like, come on, Cameron. Like you've probably got a bit more. And sometimes it does encourage me to like dig deeper and try and get another rep or another rep or two. And I think you get better. This is something, this is actually in research too, is like people get better at gauging their Ability to train and how hard they can push as time goes on, but even as time goes on, people still underestimate it. So basically, you're guaranteed to underestimate it. It's just by how much. And if you're new to training, I mean I've seen this and you'll see this too. Where I have clients where I'm like, you could do so much more, but they just don't know yet. And you do get more tolerant to it. But yeah, I think it does take a bit of time. And that actually kind of brings me on to like one of the things that I like to do with clients, which is really simple. So if I'd given like Louis three sets, we'll just call it leg press because it's nice and simple. What I might get him to do is do an am rap set, which is just a fancy way of saying as many reps as possible. So just little acronym there that's quite handy. And what I would get Louie to do is I'd say, like, look, we're we're kind of going eight to ten reps on set one and two at the same weight on the final set. I want you to go until you can't do any more. The amount of times that someone will be like, Yeah, that's a really challenging weight. Let's say Louis's doing 70 kilos, he does 8 to 10, 8 to 10 again, and then in the last set, he actually ends up doing 17. And the first thing we would do as coaches is look at that and say, actually, you've got way more capacity to go up on the first two sets. Because remember, by the time Louis got to his third set, he's tired, right? His legs have already had a bit of a drubbing from the first two sets. So in theory, he should go into that third set and he should struggle to hit the eight to ten rep mark. the last set should be the hardest one to hit your rep range. But if he's then adding another nine reps, all that tells me is actually the first two sets were far too light. And it can be a really good gauge because you can feel like on especially on certain movements, like a quad extension is probably a good example of this. It's kind of burning no matter what. Like you could probably be able to do eighty kilos on a leg extension and you could do forty and probably still find it a bit burning. Like you always feel a little bit of sensation there, but that doesn't mean you're at your upward limit. And then until you do like a little test, so that's also worth a little spin is. next time you're in try and pick some movements. Now there's some movements I probably wouldn't do that on. So I wouldn't do it on like a deadlift, for example, but on a leg press, on a chest press, on you know upper arm exercise, bicep curls, tricep extensions, these kind of things, leg extensions, hamstring curls, a lot of machine work that's can be a really good option is to do something like that on a machine and test the water, see how many you can do. Louis: Yeah, I've done that numerous times with clients before and it's yeah, it's just a really good way of ⁓ getting comfortable being uncomfortable, I think. ⁓ and seeing how how much you can push it. 'Cause it does feel a bit grim when you're like towards the end of a set and like, yeah, everything's burning and your brain is just like, just stop. What's the point? Like, sack it off, you've done enough, kind of thing. Cameron: ⁓ listen, yeah. Yeah. Louis: ⁓ I don't know how true this next statement is, but it's like when you feel like you're done, your your body is only forty percent done. Obviously those numbers someone's just plucked out of their arse, but I do feel like there's some merit to it because I my brain definitely wants to give up before my legs can. Do you know what I mean? ⁓ 100%. A hundred percent. Cameron: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, a hundred percent. You've you've even if you feel like you're very much at your limit, you're probably one to two limits away from absolute failure. And the thing is, is we actually don't need to train to failure in every single set. But the problem is you don't want it to be a really big gap. And a lot of the time, like if Louis was to do 10-10 and 10-10-10 and 17 on his leg press, that means sets one and two. If you think about it this way, right? If he does 17 reps on his final set, that means he is if assuming he goes to absolute failure, on set three, he was seven reps. Reps over. Now on set two, he would have been a bit less tired. On set one, he would have been a little less tired again. So he might have had 10 more reps in the tank on set one. He might have had seven more reps in the tank on set two. That's leaving a lot on the table. And if you started training with more intensity, you would probably find you made loads more progress. Like if Louis was to strip that down and he's maybe one or two reps away from failure, he's gonna make tons more progress. Whereas he'd be seven to ten reps away. Yeah, I mean he's slowing himself down basically. Louis: Yeah, I would say I I haven't really properly tried training to absolute failure before this programme that I'm on now that I've been doing for the last six months. And I would say that I've seen the biggest change in terms of my upper body in the last six months than in the last like five years. So that probably just tells everyone that Cameron: Yeah. Louis: For the last five years I was training like a wet blanket. Cameron: Yeah. The thing is though, is like it gives you it's a for context, like you've done lots of CrossFit as well, haven't you? We won't hold that against you. But ⁓ the thing about CrossFit is like if there was one skill I would say you learn from CrossFit, it's how to train hard. It might not necessarily be the most efficient modality for building muscle or for building strength, but it's a pretty good it's an all-rounder, that's kind of what happens with CrossFit. It's quite it's not very deep, but it's very broad. That's kind of what you develop. So the thing is of losing that where you obviously did like CrossFit quite a lot as Well, I think you had quite high frequency. You were used to training hard, and even then you you notice in your own training you've had more to give. So it just shows you how big the gap sometimes is between what we think we can do and what we actually can do. And that's from someone with experience in a group, because CrossFit's also a group environment, right? So you're more inclined to train harder in a group environment than you are solo. Louis: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, definitely makes a difference. Cameron: Yeah. So hopefully that episode was helpful. Basically we're saying don't train like a wet blanket. That's the ⁓ short version of that. So ⁓ worth doing little form reviews, doing little videos, giving yourself a bit of a push and asking yourself honestly is like why did I stop? Did it stop because I couldn't do any more or did I stop because I hit the amount of reps I think I should hit or because it felt kind of hard. We want to be a bit clearer on that as well. So hopefully that was helpful and ⁓ hopefully weren't too offended by us ⁓ suggesting that we train like wet blankets ⁓ as well. That's probably that'll be my new phrase. I feel like a client's definitely repeating that to me in a check-in sometime this week. ⁓ but anyway, ⁓ I hope you have a great week. If you are interested in coaching or have any questions at all, the link to my WhatsApp to pop my message is going to be in the show notes. Speak soon.