art icle s.e lit e f t s.

co m

http://articles.elitefts.co m/nutritio n/my-epiphany-o f-strength/

EFS Classic: My Epiphany of Strength

elit eft s Sunday edit ion

My Epiphany of Strength
T his article is a culmination of my 35 years of learning about strength, including the clif f notes to all my training logs and a brief look inside my mind. I hope to shed some light on the theories and principles that I used to gain my strength. T hese are the basic theories that I believe everyone can use to gain strength like mine and beyond. I f eel I should start by explaining a little about myself and who I am. Although Im a f airly high-ranked powerlif ter, many people still know very little about me. T his whole journey really started with my f ascination of strength, which began at a very young age. I still remember messing around at the Vic Tanny gym in St. Louis, Mo., while my dad was working out. Even then, I loved going with him and being at the gym. I daydreamed about the time when I would be able to train as hard as I could and become superhero strong. I wanted to be able to destroy people on the f ootball f ield, throw a shot put half a mile, lif t tons of weight, and win the worlds strongest man competition.

How I First Started Lif ting

No real lif ting started until my brother started his f reshman year of high school f ootball. He is about a year and a half older than me and needed a partner. I was more than willing to join. As it turned out, this was also my f irst lesson in how hard it would be to f ind a dedicated partner. We started with a crappy little old bench and a hodgepodge of weights. We even had some of the really bad plastic ones with the concrete in them. What the hell were they thinking when they made those and who came up with that idea? I loved working out, but it was on and of f f or awhile. I did not have much conf idence in my ability to set up a program and was looking f or someone to help af ter my brother quit. Everything began to change af ter my f reshman year of f ootball. I was unable to hold a starting position on the team, and this completely set a f ire in me. I was pissed and didnt like that one bit. I basically decided that I needed to just get of f my ass and f igure things out myself . I was going to learn strength training and come back better than ever. So, I started reading everything I could get my hands on. Unf ortunately, most of that was bodybuilding inf ormation. Despite that, I still kept getting stronger and working harder. One day, my dad came down to workout with me, and I was benching enough to make that little bench shake all over the place. My dad said the bench was starting to look unsaf e, and so we began looking into new options. We looked into gym memberships and new equipment. Both were very expensive, and I knew it would be hard f or my parents to af f ord either one. So every now and then, I would go hangout at the exercise equipment store and dream of the day I would save enough to buy some new equipment. T he saf ety issue didnt really concern me too much. I had a goal, and I was going to accomplish it no matter what. I would just work with what I had. On the Christmas of my sophomore year, I got the present of my lif e. I should mention that my parents were always very good at supporting hard work and dedication, even when it was dif f icult f or them. Christmas morning I opened

a box with a pair of collars in it. I thought, Cool, I got a new Olympic bar. But then I saw a note on the inside of the box. T he note said, Merry Christmas! Your new bench is in the shed. T he note explained that the equipment was very expensive, and I would have to pay f or a portion of it whenever I could. I dont really remember how much I paid, but I do remember not caring anyway because it was worth it. To me, this was the best damn Christmas present in the worlda new bench , an Olympic weight set , a Texas power bar , and a bunch of attachments. I know its kind of gay, but I couldnt even f ight back the tears. I really wanted that bench, and I knew it wasnt easy f or my parents to af f ord. I def initely worked out that Christmas day and started a tradition of getting equipment every birthday and Christmas. Training was going on at a very steady rate. During school, I lif ted as much as possible during f ootball and track, but I could never wait f or summerthree months of solid training. Sometimes I trained three or f our times a day. Eat, train, sleep, eat, train, sleep, and so on. I loved every minute of it. I remember eventually getting lectures f rom my dad because I wouldnt miss a workout f or anything. One time he got tickets to a Cardinals baseball game, and I didnt want to go because I didnt work out yet that day. T hat says a lot because I loved going to the games. My dad thought I might be getting too wrapped up in lif ting and that there was more to lif e. I never really listened to that lecture! I also still have many f ond memories of getting squished under a heavy squat, having to yell to my mom to help get me out f rom under a bar, or rolling a missed bench down my belly so I could get up. Ah yeahgood times.

Unsuccessf ul at Sports
As f or sports, I usually f inished near the back of the pack in my f reshman year. T his didnt sit well with me and was great motivation to improve. I wound up becoming pretty good on a local level by my senior year. I still take great pride in the f act that I f inally dominated all the people who beat me during my earlier years. I won my conf erence, districts, and sectional meets in the shot put. I also did ok in f ootball, but quit during my senior year. I had a conf lict with the whole team philosophy. I wanted everyone else to want to win as bad as I did. I didnt do any weightlif ting competitions, but could bench around 350, squat over 500, and deadlif t over 500 pounds. I was of f ered some partial scholarships to throw the shot put back in Missouri, but I wanted to move out to Nevada and throw at UNR. T his meant I had to work almost f ull-time, go to school f ull-time, and train to throw. My days were very crazy, and it was dif f icult to keep my head above water. My f reshman year pretty much sucked and so did my throwing. By my sophomore year, the problem I had in my lower legs since high school became unbearable. I f inally f ound a doctor who diagnosed the problem as chronic compartment syndrome. My choices were basically surgery, quit throwing, or keep at the same pace and take the chance of eventually losing my legs. Easy answer f or meschedule the surgery.

Surgery
Unf ortunately the surgery didnt work, and I was f orced to quit throwing. T his was not a very good time f or me. Basically, I f loundered around f or seven years or so. I would workout f or awhile, take some time of f , and so f orth. I always thought about trying powerlif ting, but I was one of those guys who thought I should get so strong bef ore I ever competed, and I didnt really see too much inf ormation about it. T hen, my little journey took a very good turn while I was living in a small town in rural Nevada. Two f riends of mine (Raul

Lopez and Wade Jensen) talked me into competing in a bench meet. Reluctantly, I did the meet and f inished second with a raw 405 pounds. A new chapter had begun. I had a blast and was hooked. T he f irst couple of years were messed up with moves, lif e in general, and learning about the sport. I did my f irst f ull power meet with a 1700-pound total. T his was just what I needed to get serious. I didnt know how good I could get, but I wanted to see. I directed all my energy into powerlif ting and whatever it took to get to my best. T his meant leaving jobs because they wouldnt work with me, selling vehicles to pay f or powerlif ting, and moving back home f or awhile to save money f or powerlif ting. I started contacting elitef ts to learn everything I could. Within 8 or 9 years, I increased my total to 2733 pounds with an 1173 squat, an 821 bench press, and a 755-pound deadlif t. I won multiple amateur nation and world titles. I broke the three-lif t bench World Record (WR) in my f irst prof essional meet. I was ranked as high as No. 2 in Powerlifting USA and put up the f ourth highest total of all time. Im currently chasing the all-time squat and total records. I managed to accomplish everything I did while having some pretty bad medical issues to deal with, too. Along with my chronic compartment syndrome, I developed sleep problems around f if th grade. I got to the point where I was basically unable to stay awake in class. T his was even in the classes that I liked. Every time I stopped, I would f all asleep. Luckily, by the time I was in high school, I was f airly big and mean so most of the teachers would leave me alone. I would just take my books home and learn it myself at night. It was much f aster and easier f or me to stay awake.

Sleep Problems
By my later high school years, I yelled at teachers if they tried to wake me up. I know its a jerk thing to do, but it pissed me of f . I wasnt disrupting class, and I had good grades so I was doing f ine myself well at least that was the way that I f igured it. Somehow, I managed to stay on the honor roll and graduate with a B average. T his became much harder in college with my hectic schedule, and my f irst semester was very bad. I only f inished 2.5 years, but had my GPA up to a B average. T hen, when I started working as a physical therapy assistant, I struggled to stay awake every time I sat down to work with a patient. I tried to stay moving as much as possible.

During this time when I was not training regularly, I knew I would have to cancel all plans f or every other weekend. If I didnt try to get as much sleep as I could every other weekend, my world would go very wrong. I started getting insane headaches, nasty depression, and become totally exhausted. On top of that problem, I developed sleep apnea because I started getting bigger f rom powerlif ting. At f irst, I didnt know that was the problem. All I knew was that things were getting worse. Af ter a trip to Calif ornia with some of my team members, I f igured out the problem. We all stayed in one room to cut costs, and all I heard about the next day was the f act that I sounded like a f reight train. Oh yeah, Ethan almost lost it getting up every time I quit breathing. I still havent f igured out if it was to help meor to go and stuf f a pillow in my f ace. T hat night led to a lot of sleep studies and CPAP machines. T he CPAP stopped the apnea, and the studies were still helping me f igure out my other sleep problem. I was diagnosed with narcolepsy, but disagree with that. My studies show that I dont get any stage three or f our delta sleep. T his is when all the recovery happens in the body. I am currently researching alpha delta sleep disorders and hope to try some new medications to help. I know there are a f ew people out there who will complain that Im bragging or something, but that isnt my intent at all. Its true that I am very proud of everything I achieved. Im proud that I started with nothing and that I overcame the problems I have. My intent in talking about all this is simple, its to show where I came f rom and what I did. I know there are a f ew people out there who say I got where I am because Im a genetic f reak or something. T hey say that Ill get strong no matter what I do, and they must think I dont really work at it. T hese people wont give my advice a second thought and may even criticize it. If people dont like my advice or think it is wrong, thats ok with me. However, I dont want it to be because of a misunderstanding. Im not a genetic f reak. I put up OK numbers in high school and did OK in high school sports. I dont recall any Big 10 schools knocking down my door to play f or them. I dont recall being nationally ranked in the shot

put. Since when is a 350-pound high school bench press all that great, especially af ter I busted my ass to get there? I wasnt goof ing of f in high school. I trained as hard as I could. T he only thing I ever really wanted to be was a prof essional athlete, and I knew I had to work my ass of f f or it. Well, I worked my ass of f (obviously Im talking hypothetically because my ass is huge), but I work in a warehouse. T hats crap! So the point Im trying to make is that Im no dif f erent or better than most of the other people out there. I just happened to f igure out what worked f or me, and maybe I can help some people get where Im at or better. Hell, what wouldve happened if I could sleep right? Maybe someone else who can sleep will take my advice and it will work f or them. I can hear the comments now.

Is this guy for real? Why would he want to help make someone better than himself? Isnt he a competitor? Or this guy is full of shit.

Well, all I have to say is think what you want. Anyone who knows me or reads the stuf f that I write knows that I say whats on my mind and in my heart. Im very big on morals and living with integrity. Words like pride, truth, honor, respect, and justice (my kind of justice) mean a lot to me.

What it Takes to be a Champion

One of the lessons that really helped sink these ideas in my head was when I f inally got the chance to meet one of the strength athletes f rom when I was a kid. He was a guy whom I really looked up to and aspired to be. Well, af ter I was able to meet and spent a little time with him, I thought he was a d@#$. T his guy who I looked up to was one of the greatest strength athletes in the world, but he was a jerk. I lost all respect f or him and

think being a true champion is more than just winning. If Im ever lucky enough to be considered one of the best in the world or to have people look up to me, I damn well better be enough of a man to handle it. I do strive to be one of the greatest lif ters ever and by my own def inition, that means I need to be more than the best lif ter. Of course, Ill always attack the competition with everything I have and never leave anything on the platf orm. I also need to be a person who loves the sport and wants it to progress. T his means I should want someone to eventually break my records and that I shouldnt criticize new lif ters or bag on them f or the changes that happen in the sport. T here are ways to talk about what you dont like without being negative. T hese things make the sport grow, and it has to be that way. I need to be positive and help other lif ters, especially the beginners. I dont care if someone eventually beats my records if I helped them do it. T hat would make me proud to know that I helped. Basically, I live my lif e the way I do and think the way I do because I know I have to look at myself in the mirror, and I want to be proud. I want my f riends and f amily to be proud to say that theyre my f riends or f amily. I want my niece, nephew, and all the kids around me to be proud to have me in their lives, and hopef ully, Ill have a positive ef f ect on theirs. It really doesnt matter what everyone else thinks. Yes, I do hope these people see me f or what I am, but I wont put up a f ront or act untrue to myself to make people think dif f erently about me. So I f eel as though I learned a lot of strength lessons over the last 8 or 9 years, and it would be great if I could help other people avoid some of the pitf alls that I f ell into. Lately, it seems as though everyone is looking too deeply into strength training. It seems as though they cant see the big picture or they cant see the f orest through the trees, so to speak. One of my greatest lessons is that the simpler I keep it, the stronger I get. Strength is not some hugely complicated equation. I know there are a lot of strength trainers, strength specialists, strength coaches, and highly educated prof essors out there who would try to make you think dif f erently. I even have a f ew f riends that are like this. T hey can talk f or days about philosophies, training tables, percentages, and theories. Some of these guys may even have helped train some really good athletes.

Intelligence
Still, my main problem with these intellectual types is why they dedicated so much of their lives to strength, but never use their own advice to get strong themselves. If these guys are so into studying and theories, why not become a physicist and make some real money. I never met anyone who wanted to know everything about strength, but not be strong themselves. I actually f ell right into this trap at one point, studying all the books and taking courses in college. Most of it was complete crap. T he more of that shit I f orget, the stronger I get. How can one style of program be suited to meet so many dif f erent peoples needs anyway? Just look around at everyone. Were all so dif f erent. We have dif f erent recovery rates, dif f erent muscle mass, dif f erent amounts of muscle types, and dif f erent muscle densities. Im sure all of our central nervous systems have minor dif f erences too. T hen, there are all the dif f erent mentalities. I keep hearing about the European programs f rom the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, but I never heard anyone talk about how maybe these programs they designed are only good f or one type of person. T hink about it. I know a lot of those countries were testing the children, and if they met the right expectations, they were in the program. So maybe those programs are just meant f or those specif ic types of people. Well, I really dont care that much about the true genetic f reaks. T hey already have a leg up. I care more about the regular people who did not get that gif t. Im not saying you shouldnt study or learn new inf ormation about strength training. Just think about it f or yourself and dont accept it as gospel. I was very f ortunate to talk with many top-level powerlif ters, and Im always looking f or good ideas to change things up. In talking with all these top athletes, I noticed that they all train dif f erently. I can probably tell you at least one top powerlif ter f or every dif f erent style of training. I heard some people say that you should ignore what all the top athletes do because they are the genetic f reaks and will gain no matter what. I dont think Im

the only exception to this case, and it logically leads me to think that the training program may not be the true key to strength. Maybe theres a specif ic training program f or each type of person. What I observed in my own team leads me to believe that the program isnt as important as everyone believes. Im not saying that you can just go workout doing whatever whenever and get strong. Im saying that theres no miracle program set up to met everyones needs. I think the answer is a program like the Westside program, even though its of ten misunderstood. T he reason I like the Westside program is because its basically just an outline. Its based on the very sound principles of f orce. Force = mass x acceleration. T hese are two keys that can help everyone. As f ar as the workout schedule, it can be adjusted. T he band tensions can be adjusted, accessory work can be adjusted, percentages can be adjusted, and just about everything can be adjusted to a persons specif ic needs. It basically consists of a max ef f ort bench workout, a max ef f ort squat workout, a dynamic ef f ort bench workout, and a dynamic ef f ort squat workout. You can start on the basic outline and adjust the workout schedule to meet your recovery or live schedule needs. T hen, you can f ind your weak points and adjust your accessory work to strengthen those. You can check your bar speed and adjust the band tension or percentages to get what you need the most. One of the things most people dont understand is that when a group is training Westside, theyll of ten do the main movement together but then split of f to meet their own individual needs f or the rest of the workout.

Top Athletes
I guess one of the things that I tried to do the most is to see if I cant f igure out what the common thread is between all the top athletes. One of the things I noticed the most about all top athletes is that they really know their bodies, and theyre conf ident in their training decisions. I mainly see this when it comes to overtraining. T heyll comf ortably take time of f or back of f their workouts. Many of them will just leave a workout if they dont f eel right. I also saw this in a lot of top bodybuilders but dont ever remember reading about that. I always read that they stick to their strict schedules. T hey know what their body needs and how it will react.

Its f unny to look at new lif ters or even look back at myself and see how I stressed out about workouts. I would f reak if I missed one and do everything to try and make it up. If I was sick f or a couple days, I went nuts. I even tried to workout if I was sick. T he workout would suck and just break me down more, but in my head, it made sense. I was such a dumbass. Now I see these prof essional bodybuilders or powerlif ters and something comes up in their lives, so they miss a workout. Its no big deal. T hey dont f reak out. T hey dont even make it up. I hear about them going into workouts, and they start to warm-up. T hen, all the sudden theyre leaving. It didnt f eel right, so theyre done. T heyll be back on the next scheduled day. Im not saying a novice should necessarily train that way, but be aware that you should get to that point.

Strength Tips
I compiled a short list with some of the philosophies I think are the most important f or gaining big-time strength. 1. Training breaks down muscle. T his means you actually get weaker in the gym. 2. You get stronger when your muscle recovers. T his mean you actually get stronger out of the gym. 3. Your body is designed to adapt to stimulus. If you keep doing the same exercises and training, your body will become accustomed to it. It will gain only enough to deal with that stress and then quit improving. If you keep changing the exercises and training, your body will have to keep adapting and growing. Its like a carpenter who swings a hammer f or 20 years of his lif e. His f orearms did not keep growing the whole time. T hey grew enough to handle that stress and then quit growing. 4. Youre only as strong as your weakest link. If you f ocus on always making your weakest muscle groups stronger, you will make much f aster gains. 5. T here is no miracle training program, no miracle drug, or no miracle exercise! 6. Technique is one of the best and easiest ways to lif t more weight. In f act, with proper technique, you can lif t more weight without even getting stronger. Its the best way to optimize what you were given genetically, and it will help reduce injuries. Understanding and executing proper technique will also help in f inding what your weak points are. 7. Four of the most important words to remember about getting stronger are DEDICAT ION, HARD WORK, and SACRIFICE. 8. Your heart is the strongest muscle in your body. I dont mean this literally. T his is the most important aspect of gaining strength and the most important thing I can tell you. T he HEART is the strongest presence in your body. I think this pretty much sums up the philosophies that I use in my training and lif e. Its kind of f unny to think it only took seven or so pages. T hese are the basics of what I base my training on. To f ind out more about what my actual training looks like, visit the elitef ts.com articles. I also recommend reading the other training logs on the site. I know some of these athletes, and this is the only place youll ever get to see what athletes of this caliber actually do f or their training. To learn more about me, visit www.chadaichs.com. You may ask questions f rom my website or the Q&A on www.elitef ts.com. I also recommend everyone signs up f or the elitefts newletter and read the articles on the site. T hey have an enormous amount of usef ul inf ormation. I sincerely hope that this article helps everyone out there achieve a greater level of strength.