The hardest programme imagineable

So I've started a new programme and I've done the unthinkable. I've done something which I have been threatening myself with for a few months now, but it's taken until this point for me to have the bottle to go through with it. The truth is I've given myself the hardest programme that we give at RWL. It's the phase that we give to beginners, it's called phase 1.

So why do we give the hardest programme to our beginners? Well the truth is we don't, because it is important to acknowledge that there is really no such thing as a hard or easy programme. There are some programmes which make it easier for you to push yourself than others but if you put 100% in to every programme then they are all the same difficulty; they take 100% of your effort.

I appreciate that  have just contradicted myself with my first two paragraphs, but in my head they are both true; and here's why.

Why it's the hardest programme

My claim that this is the hardest programme is no reflection on the programme itself but more on my ego. Phase one is an endurance based programme and like most blokes I am only happy in the gym if I am making a lot of racket with big weights.

So asking myself to complete 15 reps at 6 seconds per rep is seemingly impossible. The biggest obstacle is that because I usually train nearer maximum load, in order to complete the programme I have to drop my weights down to almost 50% of my one rep max, which is very, very low.

The problem is that by avoiding the higher rep programmes I am stunting my growth and I will explain why:

Your muscle has two ways of being stronger, the first is by increasing the size of the muscle, the second is by increasing the efficiency of the muscle contraction. There is only so much more efficient a muscle contraction can be before you will hit a plateau and the limiting factor becomes muscle size.

What you must do is put on more muscle and then return to strength training.

So in order to be stronger sometimes you have to expose your weakness.

Then it becomes the easiest programme in the world

Once you have put down your ego and get started with whatever it is that challenges you then you can begin to rebuild, the hard bit is over. All you have to do from that point is just do it and do it as best you can.