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Ten Training Principles from the Art of War
Training is a daily battle in which our will and desire are tested. It is more than just working out. It is
more than a hobby. Those who have been successf ul in powerlif ting have all approached the sport
with an amazing will to conquer. This resolve is built through time spent approaching training not
just as a lif ter, but as a warrior.
The Art of War is the legendary book of military strategy thought to have been written by the Chinese
general Sun Tzu in the f ourth or f if th century. It is one of the most revered books on strategic thinking ever
written and its principles have been applied to all dif f erent walks of lif e.
Whatever your goals, its time to start treating training as the battle that it is. But it takes more than just
aggression to achieve victory in this sport. It takes calculated strategy. Take these ten principles f rom The
Art of War and move a step closer to victory.
On preparat ion
1. Know your goals and train accordingly.
Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier
works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing.
No matter what your goals are, you need to understand them and develop your training philosophy to suit
them. With the large volume of training inf ormation out there, its easy to get overwhelmed and over-
complicate things. If your primary goal is training f or a powerlif ting meet, dont try and combine 5/3/1,
Westside f or Skinny Bastards, a program to improve your 40 time, and a bigger guns in f our weeks
program f rom a bodybuilding magazine. It sounds ridiculous, but its easy to f ind yourself trying to tailor
your training to several very dif f erent goals. Know your goals, pick a proven program that suits them, and
stick with it.
2. Secure your victory in your daily habits.
To not prepare is the greatest of crimes; to be prepared beforehand for any contingency is the
greatest of virtues.
Never underestimate the importance of daily preparation in your training. In powerlif ting, how you perf orm
on the platf orm will be a direct result of how you spent every day of your training cycle leading up to the
meet. This doesnt just include your time in the gym. This includes all aspects of recoveryyour sleep,
nutrition, stress management, and mental f ocus. If you discipline yourself and devote your time to
preparing f or success, you will succeed on meet day.
On t raining st rat egy
3. Train smart.
Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemys army without battlethey conquer by strategy.
Any proven program is based on strategy and getting the most out of your time in the gym. The conjugate
method, 5/3/1, the Cubethe list goes on. They are all developed on the basis of training optimally and
ef f iciently to reach a goal. As a novice lif ter, you may be able to go into the gym week af ter week and just
go crazy f or heavy singles, but bef ore long, youll need to be more calculated. You need to have a method
to your madness in order to last long term in this sport. Just because youre in a sweaty heap on the f loor
or puking doesnt necessarily mean that youre getting stronger.
4. Choose your battles.
Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be
gained; fight not unless the position is critical.
In any good program, youll be provided with some f orm of auto-regulation. This may be using a daily max,
going f or a subjective rep range, or changing your assistance work. Youll have days when you wont be at
100 percent and you must adapt accordingly. You arent always going to be able to go crazy and hit a PR.
Jim Wendler explains this in an excerpt f rom his program 5/3/1: Life is filled with distractions and youre going
to get stressed out. Combine that with a bad nights sleep or a lack of food and youre looking at a lot of things
that can potentially go wrongWhen this happens, I recommend going into the weight room with one purpose:
getting your prescribed weights and leaving. The weights may feel heavy, but every part of this program is
designed to build on to every other part from one workout to the next and one wave to the next. This week 35
will earn you the right to move on to the next 35 week of the next wave.
5. But be ready to strike when the iron is hot.
though we have heard of stupid haste in war, cleverness has never been seen associated
with long delays.
You can have the best program in the world, but if you dont work hard enough, you will f ail. Along with the
ability to pull back some days, every good program also gives you the necessary opportunity to push
yourself to your limits. Whether its your max-ef f ort exercise in conjugate training or your three or more
set in 5/3/1, there will be times when you need to get in the zone and make a PR happen.
6. Dont train afraid to fail.
Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
You dont want to f ail lif ts regularly throughout training, but if f ear of a certain weight or lif t starts to
control you, its time f or that to change. If you can destroy a 490-pound deadlif t, but 500 pounds barely
moves of f the f loor, chances are youre letting that number get in your head and conquer you. Dont let f ear
control you in a negative way. If youre going f or a tough attempt, dont pace around f or f if teen minutes
talking yourself out of lif ting it. Youve been putting in the work. Now go execute and reap the rewards!
On compet it ion
7. The battle is won or lost before you step on the platform.
Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won.
Whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
Dont approach the platf orm on meet day just hoping that youll maybe, somehow be able to pull of f a
miracle and get your attempt. This seems common sense, but its incredibly easy to def eat ourselves
mentally bef ore we even step on the platf orm. As we discussed earlier, prepare mentally and physically so
that on meet day, its just a matter of getting in the zone and making it happen.
8. Technique is everything.
Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty of victory, for it means conquering an
enemy that is already defeated.
Mental preparedness in approaching the platf orm isnt just a matter of conf idence. Technique and the
mental f ocus to execute it will make or break your perf ormance. Countless lif ters have discussed the
importance of mental execution in training. Developing it starts right f rom the second you walk into the gym.
Watch training videos of some of the top prof essional lif ters. They train in such a way as to execute every
rep exactly the same.
Kirk Karwoski, arguably the best squatter of all time, discussed the mental execution of stepping on the
platf orm at a meet: The lift starts as soon as you set your first foot on that platform and youre going in to go
to work. Everything needs to be the same every timeIf you can manage to not screw up for 20 seconds, you
will get the lift.
Hone your technique mentally and physically in training, so at the meet, youre just twenty seconds away
f rom a sure victory.
9. When its go time, pull the trigger.
Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow, decision to the releasing of a trigger.
All the yelling and ammonia in the world wont get that deadlif t bar of f the ground if you dont believe you
can do it. Training yourself to be conf ident can be one of the toughest things to do, but its imperative f or
your success. Dont let f ear or doubt ruin the months of hard work that youve put in leading up to a meet.
Youve sweat, bled, sacrif iced, and devoted yourself to training f or something many will never do. Be
conf ident in that and, when your name is called, go up to the platf orm and make the decision to pull the
trigger.
Lastly and most importantly
10. You learn the most from years in the trenches and under the bar.
It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand
the profitable way of carrying it on.
There are countless articles and resources that will greatly benef it your training, but nothing will ever
replace years spent under the bar. The only way people like Dave Tate and the experts on this site were
able to gain the knowledge that they share on a regular basis is through time spent overcoming adversity.
They learned f rom both success and f ailure and devoted years to this sport. Read and research, but know
that at the end of the day nothing can replace the lessons learned under a heavy barbell.
Ames R (1993) Sun-tzu: The art of warf are. (1st ed.). New York, NY: Random House Publishing.
Wendler Jim. 5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Ef f ective Training System f or Raw Strength.