Fostering Physical Excellence-- A better body, a better you

Every book, every trainer, every study done has some sort of conclusion or belief that a certain method of training is superior to one another. You look in muscle magazines these days and see article after article of a mass program that guarantees 30 pounds of rock solid muscle in 4 weeks or a magic workout that will make you the most aesthetic human being to grace this planet. The reality is there are basic principles to an nearly endless inventory of possibilities when it comes to training; all of which really mean nothing unless you have the knowledge of them and practice them religiously.

The beauty in fostering physical excellence is the extreme variation of each person. Everyone has a different genetic make-up, different levels of motivation, different lifestyles, and most importantly different goals. Some people want hypertrophy, some people want pure strength, some want to be the most athletic on the court/field, some are just looking to live longer. Because of this there are certain training styles, lifts, rep ranges, etc. that will work more efficiently for people's bodies, abilities, and goals. There is no way someone can tell you 'this is the best workout, or that is the best lift to do', due to the degree of variation between each person and what they are trying to accomplish. Your health, fitness, physical abilities... whatever you consider it, can only be optimized by not only your knowledge but your application to what you want to achieve. The point of this is not to tell you what's the key to your fitness goal, but instead give useful knowledge and tips that you can take and apply in order to optimize that goal for yourself!

That being said there are some general keys to training that can be applied nearly to everyone.

• Quality over Quantity
• Practice, Practice, and Practice some more
• Even top-level lifters practice the motion with little to no weight because the technique is so vital for a successful lift (and obviously avoiding injury)
• If you thought about going ahead, sit your ass back and practice some more... No matter how good you are, or how perfect you think your form is, there is ALWAYS room for improvement, never stop trying to maximize the efficiency for YOUR body
• Periodization-- fancy word for programming your training to increase intensity in some manner
• This goes beyond just lifting more, the overarching theme is to physically become better
• Lift more weight (the obvious one) 
• Add volume
• More reps
• More sets
• More TUT (time under tension)
• Isometrics, Pause Reps, Dropsets 
• Decrease rest times
• Work past failure 
• Movements for your Goals
• Athletes 
• Squat, Push movements, Hip drive
• Bodybuilders
• Movements to maximize muscle tension/contraction
• Moms and Dads
• Functional movements
• Overhead press
• Deadlift
• Core work (including pelvic floor, diaphragm, and lower back)
• Goals
• Micro (Short-term)
• Meso (Mid-range)
• Macro (Long-term)

Essentially you should always train mindfully, with a goal in your head. Whether it be for fun or preparing for the biggest competition of your life; have a vision and train according to it!!! As I post more I will give more specific programming and exercises+ techniques that can be very useful to certain fitness demographics, stay tuned!!