Blueprint Blog

Here’s a tip to identify signs of overtraining. We’re talking about your waking, resting heart rate. Ideally, you’ll want to get a “baseline” reading from which to work with. This is best done during a week off, and it’ll be very revealing to many.

As I look back over 30 years of training, I thought it’d be helpful to discuss those times where I made the greatest gains. This may help those of you in your teens, 20’s, 30’s and 40’s because the circumstances certainly aren’t unique to me. In fact, it may help you see when one of these times is coming and help you make the most of it.

I’ve had a lot of success with consolidated workouts over the years, so wanted to speak to them here. First, let’s define our terms. Consolidated training means cutting your exercise selection back to 2, 3, maybe 4 big movements at the most. These are incredibly demanding exercises, and require a great deal of mental as well as physical effort.

We talk a lot on this show about strengthening the pecs, arms, quads, posterior chain and even back – but very little about the spine. That needs to change, because it’s second only to your brain in athletic performance.