No matter what it is, there is nothing that cannot be done.

If one manifests determination, he can

move heaven and earth as he pleases.
Yamamoto Tsunemoto in Hagakure

You probably have heard the

word
Bushido
before,
maybe in a movie about
samurais or in a martial arts
contexto; the word results
from a combination of two
words: Bushi and Do,
meaning The Way of the
Warrior.
Normally, when you talk
about Bushido you have to
talk about Samurais; they
ruled their life by this code
and believed in it so deeply, that if found breaking the code, a samurai would take his
own life through the ritual of Seppuku. You can see that these guys were not the type
of enemy you would want to face in a fight because they were ready to die for their
beliefs.
The Samurai lifestyle is sometimes difficult to understand in the western civilizations,
even in those days it was difficult for even the people of Japan understand completely
The Way of the Warrior. But if you ever went to Japan youll see that the spirit of the
Samurai still lingers in its people; most Japanese people dont understand being late
for an appointment or even calling in sick at job, maybe thats why they are in the
cutting edge in several fields.

Now getting to the point

A Samurai would perfect his craft every single day, he would always try to improve
himself in every way he could. The evolution of a Samurai was physical, mental and
philosophical.
We, the ones that actually train that dont just workout, are not so different from the
Samurais; like the Samurais, we also dont blend to well with the average population.
Which one of us, strength and physique athletes never had to answer to stupid ass
questions about why we do what we do or why we train every single day, and so on.
Ocasionally we will even be criticized for the choice of living a healthier life or pursuing
excellence in our sport.
Can you see how Bushido applies to our way of life?
Dont get me wrong, this isnt supposed to be some self-help BS with a bunch of
obvious truths. Im not going to unravel the meaning of life nor sugest that you commit
Seppuku when you break the code.

But the mental part should never be disregarded, HELL, I will even dare to say that the
philosophical part is critical for the full development of an athlete. If you are not
completely sure on why you do what you do, you will face some serious problems
down the road and the road of an elite athlete is a bumpy and dangerous road. If you
take the time to learn from the legends in your sport, you will discover that theres a big
mental factor envolved in being elite.

Basic Principle: Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese word that means Improvement but more than a simple word
Kaizen is a philosophy based on the basic principle of always trying to improve
yourself, everyday in anyway you can.

The summary of the Kaizen Principle, then, is to never be satisfied with your current level of
skill or development. Always try to improve, in every aspect of your life. There is always
someone out there who is stronger, bigger, leaner, or more skilled than you are. If you are
starting at the bottom of the mountain, thats the only way to climb to the top. Nate Myaki

A Samurai trains daily to improve the mastery of his craft, they would seek perfection in
all areas of combat physical, spiritual and mental. He would repeat the most basic
movement thousands of times in a daily basis until he reached full mastery over it.

Do not collect weapons or practice with weapons beyond what is usefulDo nothing that is of
no use. Musashi

That said, stick to the basics. This applies for the basic movements and training
principles, you dont need to learn every movement there is nor to learn the one
legged squat on a BOSU ball while balancing a bottle on the top of your head; stick
with a training method, dont overthink it and give it time to work.
I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced
one kick 10,000 times. Bruce Lee

A Powerlifter should do technique work daily, the main focus of your training should be
to Squat, Deadlift and Bench Press. Technique work will allow you to improve your
poundage but it will also reduce the overall stress on your body reducing the chance of
injury. The same applies to other strength and physique athletes, in simplicity lies the
secret for progresso.
Bodybuilders and physique athletes can benefit from technique work for the same
exact reasons, however, they should change their focus in the movement execution.
Physique athletes should look to improve the rep performance on a mass building point
of view, trying to improve muscle recruitment and mind-muscle connection.

The second lesson is to try to perfect every aspect of your game, meaning dont
neglect none of the basics: technique, diet, rest, muscle balance, mobility and training
method.
Normally, we usually hate the movement that we are weakest, its just the way it is. But
never heard a deadlift record holder say I hate to deadlift, and its an exercise that its
not fun on your body and nervous system, so take off your girly pants and just hit your
worst lift head on. If you suck at benching, direct your focus to that single movement; if
you hate to deadlift, do it more and you will learn to love it.
When a movement is falling behind I specialize it, usually creating a high frequency
program, in which I do that exact movement 4-6 times a week, sometimes doing real
hard work and some technique or speed work. Keep doing the other movements, just
do them by feel and dont kill yourself with them leave all your energy for that
movement that you hate.
Same principle applies for physique athletes and body parts. Let me tell you about the
body composition that infests gyms worldwide: guys with an imbalance between their
Chest and their Upper Back, very weak abs, no lower back muscles, anterior pelvic tilt
and almost no leg work at least when compared with their chest and arms; and those
that think that work their legs have overdeveloped Quads (comparing to Hams) and
basically no Hams.
If you dont pay attention to your full body this will make progress much more dificult
and it will get to a point that you cant get more out of it, also it will make you more
prone to injuries (rotator cuff problems, hamstring tear,). If your goal is to look good,
simetry is essential, you can look good all dressed up in a t-shirt that shows your Chest
and Arms, but I bet that fully naked aesthetically speaking you are no match for me,
and I am a Powerlifter, imagine if you have the bad luck of being next to a true
physique athlete.
So shut the hell up and do what you suck doing and find a way to improve your
weaknesses.

Bushido had seven main virtues, that I think are essential to become a master in your
sport and strengthen the mental and philosophical aspect of your game.

Gi Integrity

To do the right thing by yourself.

A warrior makes a full commitment with his decisions.

Yu Courage
Hiding like a turtle in a Shell is no living at all. A true warrior must have heroic courage.
It is completely risky. It is living life completely, fully and wonderfully.
Heroic Courage it is not blind. It is intelligent and strong.

Jin Compassion
Through intense training the Samurai becomes quick and strong. He is not as other
men. He develops a power that must be used for the good of all. He has
compassion. He helps his fellow man at every opportunity. If an opportunity does not
arise, he goes out of his way to find one.
Jin for me relates to giving back to the world, Arnold Scharwzenegger considers
giving back one of the secrets to sucess. Helping other people to be great is a clear
sign of your greatness, and will bring you respect from others and from yourself.
Unfortunately, hate to break it to you, you will not be na elite all your life but giving back
to your sport thats something you can do always.
You should make your responsibility to help your training partners get better, and if you
are stronger/bigger than your training partners you should double your efforts to help
them.

Rei Respect
True Warriors have no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength.
Warriors are courteous even to their enemies. Warriors are not only respected for their
strength in battle but also by their dealings with others.
Personally, as a Powerlifter I dont have much love for Bodybuilding but I do respect
them because I know the hardships they go through and I can see the sacrfices they
do daily, so they got my respect. Strength athletes have to respect Bodybuilders and
vice-versa, you dont have to actually agree with the way they train or conduct their
lives but you have to respect them.
I even respect the weekend warriors that just want to workout and look good, off course
this guys will never see results even if they are in a gym until the grim reaper comes
but it isnt my job to judge their the way living; my job is to simply excel in my sport;
actually my job is to be a genius and find some magical way of getting amazing results
out of dudes that make an halfass effort, but I digress.

One more thing, if you are going to pick on the little guy or make fun of the weight that
someone is lifting make sure Im not around or that you are the strongest guy in the
gym, because you may ear a Pick an exercise dumbass. And I will double the weight
you put on it., all the way across the gym.
So if you want to stand out at the gym focus in getting better at what you do and
respect others, eventually you will stand out and be respected without the need of
having to belitle other people.

Makoto Honesty and Sincerity

When Warriors say that they will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will
stop them from completing what they say they will do. They do not have to give their
word. They do not have to promise.
Speaking and doing are the same thing.

Meiyo Honor
Warriors have only one judge of honour and character, and this is themselves.
Decisions they make and how these decisions are carried out is a reflection of who
they truly are.

Chu Loyalty