By: Tony Gentilcore, CSCS, CPT
If I could give anyone one piece of advice on what I feel would improve their overall progress in the gym it would be to improve their training environment. It’s that simple. It has nothing to do with following some advanced training program that has you following some complex Russian periodized scheme. Nor has it anything to do with eating 1.458643 grams of protein per kg of lean body mass compared to 1.654758 grams per kg (although BigGunz22 over at www.trainingminutia.com might say otherwise).
In an ideal world, everyone would train at a place where nothing but Rage Against the Machine is played and the only cardio machine is used as a coat rack. Chalk is not only allowed, it’s encouraged; and the overall attitude is that rust on the bars builds character.
I trained at a place like this (South Side Barbell in Stratford) when I was working in Connecticut during 2005-2006. It’s the strongest I have ever gotten. Coincidentally it’s also where I almost killed myself (literally) doing chain suspended goodmornings with 445 lbs on my back. Apparently one of the chains wasn’t connected to the top of the rack I was using, and as I set the weight back down, the right chain collapsed and the weight came crashing down to the floor pinching my right hand between the bar and rack. Almost killing yourself builds character too!
Eric Cressey and I would drive 45-60 minutes BOTH ways to train at this gym, and it was totally worth it. Honestly, I don’t want to hear about how you would have to drive an extra 20-30 minutes to train at “x” gym. Suck it up buttercup.
If traveling to another gym is totally out of the question, seek like minded individuals who tend to have a no nonsense attitude about their training. This may come across as me playing the role of Captain Obvious, but finding a suitable training partner will hold you accountable for getting your butt to the gym and I can almost guarantee that the added motivation will help you break PR’s you never knew you could break. Trust me, the weights will feel like feathers compared to when you train on your own.
