Ever sit down to a meal and really just being focused on getting to dessert? You know what I’m talking about, the kind of dessert you get up in the middle of the night to sneak a bite of, or eat for breakfast because you just don’t care. These desserts come in many forms. My personal favorite is a big piece of apple pie covered in a brown sugar crumble topping with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream (I know that’s too basic of me but I don’t even care). Whatever your favorite happens to be, you get the point. This article is in fact NOT about that dessert. It’s about another type of dessert, the type you don’t really want to eat but you know is probably the healthier option.

I’m talking about humble pie. Humble pie is one of the most necessary meals we all need to eat, but the least enjoyable to devour. Humble pie tastes horrible going down but in the long run is one of the most beneficial to consume. While this may just be an analogy, it is one that can prove useful. Humility is one of those character traits some of us pray for but really don’t want the process of being humbled. My mom used to frequently ask me what she could pray for and I distinctly remember saying, “Pray for humility.” Her response, “Are you sure?” She was right, the answered prayer did not come in a pleasant way. The process of getting humbled is often very unpleasant, uncomfortable and frustrating. However, on the flip side it causes us to grow, to be more resilient, to grow in strength, in mind and in character.

Webster’s dictionary defines humility as the freedom from pride or arrogance. Being humble can look different depending on application, but I have found a helpful definition to be: humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less. So in some ways humility can be taking your eyes off yourself and allowing yourself to see those around you. Another application would be to not focus so much on your present situation but to see the big picture. We talk about perspective all the time, as it is something that can be easily lost with the wrong focus. In the application to fitness it is important to maintain the correct perspective on where you’re at. To be mindful of your abilities, pushing to be your best every day, but not worried or focused on what others are doing.
That seems a little contradictory, but I want to flesh it out some. When you have some humility in your approach to your fitness, it allows you to have a crappy day in the gym and it be ok. It allows you to fail over and over, and still be able to get up and keep moving. Humility says, “Yes I pushed hard, and yes I failed. And it’s ok.” Maintaining the right perspective helps you to recognize and appreciate the success of others without feeling bad or sorry for yourself. This perspective allows certain aspects of life to carry less value in your self worth. Perspective in life is huge and can often dictate how we view ourselves or the world around us. A disproportionate perspective will leave you either under or overvaluing yourself in relation to the world around you. For example, someone who lacks humility will tend to think of themselves as way better than they are, while some who lacks confidence is not self aware enough to know what they are truly capable of.

To make it practical, here are three quick steps to eating humble pie:
1) Listen more than you speak. This could mean listening to coaches, peers, people you admire, listening to your body, etc. There are lots of ways this plays out. Being attentive to your surroundings will help you maintain the right perspective and remain humble. 

2) Never stop learning. This ties into the previous point. If you are talking you are often not listening, which makes it very difficult to learn. Allow yourself to listen, to seek other perspectives, to not get offended when someone differs from you, and educate yourself as much as possible. “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” 

3) Be willing to do things you know you suck at in order to get better. You must challenge yourself in order to become better in any given area of life. I like the analogy of three circles of growth: the comfort zone, the stretch zone and the panic zone. The stretch zone being the the circle for most growth as it challenges but doesn’t cripple a person in their pursuit of getting better. 
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All this to say: don’t forget your daily or weekly dose of humble pie. The pie that keeps you growing, keeps you learning and keeps you becoming the best version of yourself. Eat it often and watch yourself and others around you flourish.

“If you want to grow good corn, you must also help your neighbor grow good corn.”

Stay humble. Stay hungry.

Wolfie

What Would Buddha Bench? Yes, yes, I know. The answer to the title of the article is probably, "not very much." The historical Buddha lived a life of asceticism and meditation over 2,500 years ago. He wasn't what any of us would exactly call a warrior. However, over the centuries since the Buddha's death, the philosophy he spawned has helped countless warriors develop a mindset that has aided them on the battlefield and in life.

In China, Buddhism developed among the monks of the Shaolin Temple into a philosophy known as Chan. When this sect of Buddhism reached Japan, it became known as Zen, and it influenced warriors, martial artists, and—most famously—samurai.

The same principles for fighting, training, and living that helped the samurai and later martial artists of Japan can also be useful for helping martial artists, powerlifters, and strength athletes in today's world build extra strength, muscle, and power.

A path is really nothing more than a series of steps. Here are several steps that will aid you in your journey to attain what followers of Zen call "the Great Way." Plus, it will help you build a good deal of strength and muscle at the same time. What you won't find here are any specific set/rep schemes—no special routines that will allow you to unlock the muscle-building universe (or any other such nonsense). Here, you throw away all such "keys" to training. After all, there is really nothing to open, so no such keys exist.

Step #1: Let Go

The Buddha taught that the cause of our dissatisfaction in life is attachment. We are attached to our way of doing things, our way of seeing the world. This includes our way of doing sets and reps, our way of training frequency, our way of nutrition and supplementation. Yet, if the cause of our problems is attachment, it should be obvious that the remedy is to let go.

A wisdom proverb from Zen says it like this: "If you cling to nothing, you can handle anything." Have you tried "clinging to nothing" when it comes to your workout regimen? I believe there are two good ways to approach this step, ways that just might aid your training more than you realize.

It seems as if we are always hearing from bodybuilders how "variety" is the spice of a good training routine. Conversely—and somewhat paradoxically—powerlifters tend to stick with one training program, often for their entire career. What gives? Which one is correct? Well, neither. And, well, both. It is the "clinging" to either form of training that is often the problem.

We'll use an example from powerlifting first. Let's say that Joe Dick has heard it from all of his powerlifting buddies how Louie Simmons' Westside approach is the only way to train. After all, Dave Tate uses it and he's a monstrous beast. Not to mention the fact that more champions have been trained at Westside Barbell per number of members than any other powerlifting club in the world. Joe Dick believes all of this to be true—which it is—so he trains Westside for a few years but never really makes much progress, especially in his deadlift.

The problem is that Mr. Dick is genetically predisposed to make good gains at Russian-style volume training (lots and lots of sets of the same exercise). It's time for Joe to "stop his attachment" to Westside and try something else. If he doesn't "wake up"—as the Zen masters are fond of telling us—then he's going to be stuck in an endless cycle of workouts that, for him, don't work.

Now, let's take a look at a typical bodybuilder as an example. We'll name said bodybuilder Dick Dickson (Big D for short). Big D has been told every time that he goes to the gym that the secret to building muscle like Ronnie Coleman is to use the Weider Muscle Confusion Principle. Muscle confusion, as everyone in Big D's gym knows, works by constantly changing routines, therefore "shocking" the body into more muscle growth. Only problem is that Big D hasn't seen muscle growth in over a year. What he needs is a steady diet of barbell squats, bench presses, overhead presses, deadlifts, barbell rows, and very little else to start making progress again. If he doesn't wake up and smell the Zen, he's in for some long years of very little progress.

Take a long, hard look at your training and see if you have anything in common with Mr. Dick or Mr. Dickson. Chances are, you do. It's time to let go.

Step #2: Just Train

Another Zen saying goes something like this: "When you walk, just walk. When you sit, just sit. Do not wobble!" Martial artists and Zen masters call it mindfulness. It means practicing every moment of every day. And the only moment you have is this moment, right now.

There are a couple of ways to put this step to practical use, depending on what kind of training program you are using—or maybe what you're going to be using after reading our first step.

There's a real good chance that a whole heapin' lot of you who are reading this need to be doing a full-body workout. If that's the case, then I find that the biggest obstacle trainees have to overcome with full-body workouts is anticipation of all the exercises, sets, and reps they (perceive) they are going to have to do.

Let's say your program for the day calls for 5 sets of 5 on squats, 5 sets of 3 on bench presses (followed by a back-off set of 8 reps), and 6 sets of 2 on power cleans, followed by a few sets of curls, dips, and calf raises as accessory work. Not a bad little workout—the problem is just getting through it.

The first thing you need to do is just squat. In fact, tell yourself that the only exercise you have to do is the squat. When you do the first set, just focus on that. One set follows another (living entirely in the moment) and you're done with all of the squats before you know it.

Focusing on each set of each exercise--being in the now, and only the now—makes the workout not only a lot easier than you thought, but also a heck of a lot more enjoyable. In fact, performing the workout might just become downright fun.

Now, my favorite way to apply this step goes something like this: pick one exercise—and just one exercise—to train for the day. Pick just one number of repetitions to use for each set. If you're trying to build strength, then keep your reps really low: 1, 2, or 3 reps works fine. If you're trying to pack on the muscle, perform somewhere between 5 and 10 reps per set.

Don't even count sets. Sets don't matter here. The only thing that matters: each set every time that you do it. Followed by another set. Then another. Then another. And so on. You shouldn't even know how many sets you actually do. Just train until you can't perform the prescribed number of repetitions. Just train.

Step #3: You Are Everything You Need

The Buddha, like many great philosophical teachers, often taught through parables. Here's my favorite of all his parables:

Long ago in ancient India, an important politician—wealthy beyond measure—was riding in his carriage along a stretch of road outside of town when he came upon a beggar lying in the ditch. Feeling compassion for the poor man, the politician had his driver stop the carriage so that he could speak with the man. (Maybe he also wanted the beggar's vote at some point; who knows.) Anyway, the beggar was so intoxicated that the politician couldn't speak to him. However, the official still wanted to help the man, so he reached into his money purse and pulled out a precious gem—worth more money than the beggar had probably ever seen. "Although this gem is nothing more than a trifle to me," the politician thought, "it will be enough for this man to bring himself out of poverty and begin a new life." Not wanting the beggar to lose the gem, the man tucked it deep inside a pocket in the beggar's shirt. After that he left, feeling certain that the beggar would be a new man.

The years go by. One day, the official is riding along the same stretch of road when he sees the beggar walking at the edge of the dusty street. The beggar is dressed in the same filthy rags as years before, only now he looks worse. The politician yells for his driver to stop the carriage, gets out, and has some words with the beggar. "What the Sam hell is wrong with you?" he asks (or something like that). "I gave you a precious jewel all those years ago. You never had to live like this ever again." The beggar, startled and bewildered, says, "What are you saying? I know of no such gem." The politician grabs the beggar and reaches inside his shirt. He pulls out the gem. "Here it is. You have had it all these years."

Everything that you need for building strength, you already have. Everything that you need to transform your body into a work of art is already inside of you. Many of you simply don't realize it. You think that the "keys" for muscle growth (or whatever it is you're after) can be found in a new workout program, a new supplement, or by reading the latest article in the latest crossfit, bodybuilding or powerlifting magazine. Nothing is further from the truth. Articles such as this one help to point the way, but it is you who have to seize your muscle-building, strength-gaining destiny by your own hands. As the Chinese proverb says: "Teachers open the door; you enter yourself."

​Wolfie