Resonated with this one a ton! Newer lifters should realize that it's a skill, and not some innate capability. I've heard the ability to grind is "genetic" but I think it's more just something that can be cultivated over time if the desire is there. Committing to the reps is key and there are a ton of great examples in this video!
You’d think this isn’t rocket science: “if you constantly train to failure you will be better at judging where failure is”… yet, from what is see a lot of people saying it is apparently in fact rocket science 😂
Its crazy how this philosophy translates to many obstacles that life has to offer, my friend Alex is one heck of fitness influencer. SO UNDERRATED in this industry
I spent a lot of time focusing on everying BESIDES basic hard work, and it showed. Once I realized that hard work is the foundation of everything else my progress was way better. It's so easy to get caught up in every little detail and forget the main underlying driver for progress. I credit a lot of that realization to your videos so thank you Alex!
You can find bodybuilders and powerlifters who gained impressive levels of muscle and strength using all different kinds of splits, frequencies, volume, exercise selection, different diets etc. The thing that they all have in common is hard work and consistency over a long period of time.
I use very high RPE (9-10) for my intensity/volume day and it works brutal, mind is being trained, its like a meditation and you stop complaining about nonsense problems you may experience. Happy new year Alex!
Thanks Alex! You have helped me achieve 380lbs bench, 600lbs deadlift etc. And I have gained so much mass. My current bw 225lbs and totally looking enhanced. We have so much potential as natural!
@@mayankshuklla2251 I follow my own program. 6 times a week and main lifts are squat, bench and deadlift. I do one main lift for 3x2 85% and then back-off 3x6-8. Back-off sets are close variation of the main lift like high-bar, larsen press, close-grip bench, incline or romanian deadlifts/good mornings. Just getting more range of motion. And then 3 sets of accessory: weighted dips or chin-ups or lat pulldowns and leg curls or leg extensions. Then 2 sets of bicep curls or french press or cable lateral raises. Workout typically lasts about 90 minutes.
This is something I'm eager to master as well, I'm a late intermediate now and it's becoming really apparent that the same level of intensity just won't cut it anymore. STAY HARD!
You have a point about calisthenics. When I started training I was fat so I couldn't do a proper pushup or pull-up. When you finally achieve that first rep you are close to failure by definition, so you instantly learn how it feels and maybe even seek out the same feeling again.
Your videos are therapeutic and motivating. When ever my mind is scrambling to find excuses to no workout your content stops that nonsense. Thank you for all your hard work and helping out the community. Happy new years
My little brother was my first training partner. He's 2 years younger but started lifting when he was 14 while I didn't start till I was 22. So by the time I started training with him he was a 20 year old dude with 6 years of lifting experience. And this was back in 2010. It was just like you described with your first training partner. I learned what it meant to push till failure really quick. And I made crazy gains that first year. Truly learning where your failure lies is possibly the most important thing I can think of when it comes to training.
One thing I always appreciate about Alex is how, even when I know mostly what there is to know about what he's saying, he says things in such a way that it mentally reinforces and explains the nuance of important concepts (while highlighting the importance of them!) Of course, I'm always learning new things from you, Alex, still have after around a decade and half of working out, so thanks for all the awesome videos man. I can't find that just anywhere for sure. I appreciate the level you elevate these videos to, and nuance you put in 💪
Personally I think i learned most of it through mindset. As a novice before working with rep ranges meaning that every set wasn't over untill i hit the set reps. After my first year of lifting i just fell in love with the aspects of putting in hard work and how it made me feel plus i was looking to join the military so i had to be able to push beyond. Perhaps a bit ego, but everytime I go to the gym I want to be that one dude that just works harder than everyone else. This was only amplified after reading and learning about David Goggins.
Even on topics I already have a pretty thorough grasp on, your video format and demeanor spike my motivation to get training so high every time. Been following you since 2019 brother! Just got my strength back after a year of injuries and stress in 2021, so I'm going into 2023 looking to take everything to new PR's. Cheerss!
When I saw you all this time ago I thought you were one of the craziest guys I've ever seen haha. Weird variations, stupidly high volume, full body 2x a week, prs every week... I was so confused but only now am I seeing what it means to be different and unique; these crazy methods ony build integrity and character which people are learning nowadays. You just keep pumping out content year after year and you're only getting better. Keep it up man, you're in the zone right now and it's looking good.
I like that point about "breaking limits before establishing boundaries". Learning how to strain (not neccesairly 1rm, but straining on those" last few reps" )with good form is very valuable for beginners, before dabbling with rpe. Start with a baseline to establish form and progress relative to that baseline. Be PROGRESSION MINDED . You'll automatically reach that "high rpe"/failure zone without thinking about it, by then form would be dialed in, and training hard is a given. Great video as always.
funny, i have now trained for about 1 year and 7 months, and i remember watching you since day 1 and thus have trained hard, more than many other beginners, i remember one set of preacher hammer curls i thought i had failed but i NEEDED that one extra rep, and so i grinded, eyeballs popping out, me legs and core straining to keep me down in the seat with strict form, thinking, forcing energy to my bicep and brachialis to just pull it up. After what must've been 10 seconds it finally moved and i got it
I've gone from 3 sets of 5 pullups this year to 4x8. There's just something about the strength curve that just makes them so damn hard once you're close to failure. Shooting for sets of 12 in '23 🤘
Thanks a lot Alex. I’ve been watching you when I was younger. I’m 21 now, I quit working out two years ago. I regret it everyday, because the progress I would’ve made in between would’ve been immense. I learned my lesson and there’s no way I’m quitting this time. I’ve been back in for two weeks now and I can’t wait for what will happen.
There is something simple and elegant about the pain from bodyweight push ups with strict, clean form to failure. The first reps fly, and the last ones are literally impossible!
I feel this with dips too, just slowly doing your last rep and when it ends the world comes together again as you put your feet on the floor, now breathing freely and left to ponder the gains you made with that hard set
Effort is most certainly the key. 100% effort on a subpar program will lead to much better results than 75% effort on the most “optimal” program. “If you’re not willing to go too far you’ll never go far enough”- Chael Sonnen
Mentality really is everything. If you’ve been hitting your three sets of calf raises for the same weight/reps for 2-3 weeks… that should piss you off… so much so that you attack the next session to the point where you do the dance with failure and take satisfaction with the extra half rep and try to make it a full rep the following session
I did 3 years of cycling then calisthenics / hiit circuit workouts for a year. And now lifting for hypertrophy for 8 months. Cycling is top tier, you're forced to work hard, no escaping the hills, having to keep up with others, forcing to finish what you've started if you want to go home. Hiit are also top tier, extremely hard, once you've wrote the workout you won't stop until you're done, very hard on everything. Lifting is easier on the mind, you're limited by muscle failure, the real struggle never last more than 10s, enough rest in between. It gets harder when fatigue comes in the end of the session, but overall it's too short of a struggle and too low on pain to really make you mentally strong. Also tout never have big recurrent events where u push to your limits mentally compared to other sports. i think it's why people with no background struggle to push, because the sport is not very demanding mentally.
First video of the year! I first came across your chanel at least 6 years ago around the time when you helped Jonnie Candito increase his bench by pointing out that his OHP was relatively weak. I started lifting back in 2010. I used to watch Mike Chang's videos (everyone loved to make fun of him and his gimmicks but he actually helped me just by saying "stop overanalyzing it, just go ahead and do some push ups first and search for the optimal programm later"), then I came across Scooby, Elliott Hulse, Lee Heyward, Omar Isuf, Jonnie Candito and then you. You are the one guy that started back then and is still growing as our online coach! That goes to show the mentality of someone that "can grind" better than any max effort lift. Keep it up man and thanks for you consistent hard work. Happy new year Alex! P.S. You are both Alexander and Leonidas after all, love from Greece!
Loving all these videos man. They help so much on my fitness journey. Curious though, ever planning on making another book? Loved naturally enhanced but I know you've grown a lot since.
Damn Alex, you changed the channel name? That's awesome. It's about time you get recognized. You're mad underrated bro. Love from Malaysia, happy new year Alex.
The way i got to being a workaholic in the gym weirdly enough started in exercise classes when i was a teenager and overweight. I used to do classes that involved sandbags and when it got hard the only way was to push through to keep up with the class. I eventually stopped doing that and started with the gym about a year later. The habit of sticking it through must have stuck with me because i never considered not taking something to failure for the first 2 years of lifting. This had its own problems of course but id been watching motivational videos and absorbed that whole ecosphere so it took a while to show out through my own hard headedness. Despite being on a rubbish program i wrote myself for 2 years the work ethic lost me the weight i had tried so hard to lose and helped me get to about 60kg on the bench from about 30kg without any knowledge of progressive overload at the time. Goodness knows how i didnt get injured but i eventually worked myself into the floor until i got onto starting strength and started learning how to program for real from guys like you and omar and jeff nippard. Cheers for the years 👌👊
I firmly believe Mentzers hit style training is best for beginners. Teaches them how to train hard and stops junk volume or the idea that volume is what makes muscles grow.
just a week before you changed your channel name, i was wondering why you wouldn't just have your actual name, now that Leonidas is a pretty cool name, then you did it lol. Great content, long time viewer greetings from Denmark.
Man I’m 24 now and used to watch the hodge twins in middle school just to hear them answering questions not really any of their fitness stuff. They were hilarious back then and I’m def gonna search them up right after this😂
I credit my father to my ability to gladly and easily push to my limit every time I train. He instilled the never give up mindset in me from day one. Rather, learning to efficiently program alongside that desire to push hard has been the difficult aspect of training for me.
Happy New Year, Alex. Been watching your channel for years, and love to watch you progress in every way. This is my default channel for any type of advice and programming knowledge. Your the natty GOAT.
Really enjoyed the video, I haven't anyone talk so in depth about the mindset of training hard. I especially like the segment on calisthenics and can relate a lot, after doing calisthenics for a year myself before getting into lifting weights, I can see how much it helped me with pushing high intensity, volume and not over-complicating things by just sticking to the basic routines (but not minimalist by any means!) of progressive overload, variations and using simple biomechanics to train smarter
No bro ... you gotta do the time under tension only . Nick from BB and BS told me to avoid stupid compounds movement and only use machines if I wanna build muscles .
I am a full believer that endurance is the way to build discipline and mental toughnes. Endurance sports like running and high rep calisthenics exercises allow you to not only challenge your body but also your mind which I believe is everyone's biggest barrier of your true potential.
Yup, and when I look at former endurance athletes who transition to Bodybuilding, I've noticed they all have extreme pain tolerance and tend to have very comparable grinders to myself. Geoffrey Verity Schofield exemplifies this.
It's these reasons I always encourage anyone starting to train to failure and push beyond that (obviously safely) every single working set. Too many people this past decade or so quoting "what the studies say" in relation to RIR etc and having never training to failure properly or understanding what that truly means as they have conditioned themselves to leave reps in reserve and be scared of stressing their nervous system. I see RIR as an advanced technique to use at times in order to push volume when you're at a stage where your body will benefit from that to keep eaking out more gains only, aside from that pushing to failure should be the default
I recently discovered true failure on reps, failing singles and 1Rm is one thing but I thought I knew what failure was in reps recently or at least proximity to it was but turns out I've only been going to an 8 and not 10. Don't get me wrong I made plenty of gains doing that but it was never to RPE 10. SO What did it? Me and my mate decided to do a 5 min cluster set on a tricep v bar pushdown. In the final minute I got to the 3rd rep of a set of 5 and my arms felt like they were pushing against a table, like there was a physical block in the way. That was a true failure on rep work.
I was a workhorse from the beginning, just had been through a lot of shit so that physical pain wasn't a big deal, it helped to get my mind off things. Plus I started with super light weights (only had up to 3kg(~7lb) dumbbels also did some calisthenics, started to weigh them soon, so I ended up doin' crazy stuff like sets of 300+ on curls, 70 sit ups hanging over a chair or bench, so more like an full upper body neck curl with the dumbbells on my shoulders, etc. Then when I got to heavier weight cause it was hard to progress with such high reps failure was easy, in fact it felt weird to not do a shit load of reps. Now 20+ reps kinda suck(at least on the big lifts but I'm used to push through, only on deadlifts and maybe squats sets of 30+ to failure are a real problem, but not the best for hypertrophy anyway
If you just get a rack with safety pins/straps and take it to failure for a couple weeks on everything or at least you're main top set. You learn what it feels like to go to failure without putting yourself close to injury by doing one rep max's. Granted powerlifting is what got me that base of understanding and that was through that type of training along with one rep max's in competition and failure. This is something I also have to revisit every 6 months or so to stay in touch with my current Max or at least what it feels like to actually go to failure. You begin to forget when you get comfortable.
Dude, you could probably make some fine, dry-humored stand up about fitness. I have no doubt in my mind that you could do something like that as an audiobook. I would buy it. Informed comedy is the best kind, sadly, few people are informed AND able to share it in an entertaining way. Like you do. Many thanks for your videos.
I don’t feel like they’ve given good fitness advice for years. And given their strength fall off these days I don’t think they were natty at all (maybe they’ve admitted that idk!)
They fell off hard nowadays and look weird with beards. In the OG clean shaved days they were absolutely hilarious. I couldn’t even look at them without laughing.
As being quite advanced lifter, and at the same time spending very much time on brain-demanding work and having social life, I really have to focus on the Stimulus to fatique ratio, to be able to realize other parts of my life beside training. Also, I prefer to give myself 2 reps before failure and Im doing myoreps, this way I quite minimalize fatique
Very interesting topic,man. I've caught a flu this week and because of this just seeing someone training to failure makes me tired and out of breath lol
I learned how to train hard when I wanted to learn the front lever. I would go all out, until I literally couldn't hang on the bar, rest a few seconds, and then try again. I made very few gains for the amount of work, considering I did this upwards of 50 times a day for three months straight, I got to a five second advanced tuck. I did, however, gain a huge amount of size in my lats, from the real slow eccentrics, and just the sheer volume, along with an ability to work until my body fails. the mindset I got from that training, being able to maintain a grind for minutes at a time, has allowed me to lift in ways I've never seen in person. I did a zercher deadlift once, it was only two plates, but I wasn't that strong at the time, especially with all my leg day skipping, and it took me, according to the guy who was watching me, 15 seconds, from the point it got over my knees, to the point of lockout. it's also really great for training rear delts, because I can just keep pushup with partials for hundreds of reps with stupid high weights.
That is why im so grateful for doing sports my whole life that included some kind of resistance training. As soon as i started going to the gym I knew exactly what it meant to strain to the absolute max and was never scared to push myself but knew myself enough to know that the next rep will fail.
This should definitely scare those fake ass new year resolutioners off and keep the real ones. Thank you for providing value to my life these past few years dude.
Crux of the video ,fail better keep failing unlock new you.Thank you Alex u r my go to natty RUclipsr ,God bless you and happy new year to you and your family bro .
Something to note is that most bodybuilders use machines specifically because it allows them to do lots of volume to failure safely. Lots of people will say they train like sissys using machines but if your only goal is hypertrophy this is a really smart way to train. Going to failure on compound barbell work is a recipe for disaster.
Resonated with this one a ton! Newer lifters should realize that it's a skill, and not some innate capability. I've heard the ability to grind is "genetic" but I think it's more just something that can be cultivated over time if the desire is there. Committing to the reps is key and there are a ton of great examples in this video!
I've heard people say discipline is genetic, the crap people will tell themselves before getting shit done blows the mind.
You’d think this isn’t rocket science: “if you constantly train to failure you will be better at judging where failure is”… yet, from what is see a lot of people saying it is apparently in fact rocket science 😂
> I've heard the ability to grind is "genetic"
When you transfer the sigma grindset to your bloodline.
@@vsauce6664 They sound like some of the most pathetic people I could have ever imagined my god
@@vsauce6664 it actually is, genetic expression is almost limitless. Some people just don't have it in them.
This channel has arguably benefited me more than any other fitness channel on the platform. Thanks for your continued hard work on these videos Alex.
I'm honored, thank you so much Sir.
same
Yep same here
Its crazy how this philosophy translates to many obstacles that life has to offer, my friend Alex is one heck of fitness influencer. SO UNDERRATED in this industry
The gym teaches you how to succeed in life! The discipline/work ethic carries over, you get what you put in.
I spent a lot of time focusing on everying BESIDES basic hard work, and it showed. Once I realized that hard work is the foundation of everything else my progress was way better. It's so easy to get caught up in every little detail and forget the main underlying driver for progress. I credit a lot of that realization to your videos so thank you Alex!
Sometimes we just have to look back at our roots. The answers are often simpler than we realize.
THIS!
You can find bodybuilders and powerlifters who gained impressive levels of muscle and strength using all different kinds of splits, frequencies, volume, exercise selection, different diets etc. The thing that they all have in common is hard work and consistency over a long period of time.
Yup, it's truly that simple. HARD WORK + CONSISTENCY TRUMPS ALL!
Ya I think it’s important to find whatever split or training style that works for you and u see progress from and then train hard as fuckkkk
I use very high RPE (9-10) for my intensity/volume day and it works brutal, mind is being trained, its like a meditation and you stop complaining about nonsense problems you may experience. Happy new year Alex!
Oh it's one hell of a flow state, that's for sure! Happy New Year brother
Thanks Alex! You have helped me achieve 380lbs bench, 600lbs deadlift etc. And I have gained so much mass. My current bw 225lbs and totally looking enhanced. We have so much potential as natural!
that's sick!
Can you pls throw some light on what workout program you followed and what exercises u preferred performing?
@@mayankshuklla2251 I follow my own program. 6 times a week and main lifts are squat, bench and deadlift. I do one main lift for 3x2 85% and then back-off 3x6-8. Back-off sets are close variation of the main lift like high-bar, larsen press, close-grip bench, incline or romanian deadlifts/good mornings. Just getting more range of motion. And then 3 sets of accessory: weighted dips or chin-ups or lat pulldowns and leg curls or leg extensions. Then 2 sets of bicep curls or french press or cable lateral raises. Workout typically lasts about 90 minutes.
You're officially.. NATURALLY ENHANCED!!!! Great work my man, you're huge and have impressive natty numbers. Bet you'd mog me IRL.
@@AlexLeonidas I will Alex, I promise that. 💪
This is something I'm eager to master as well, I'm a late intermediate now and it's becoming really apparent that the same level of intensity just won't cut it anymore. STAY HARD!
STAY HARD!
You have a point about calisthenics. When I started training I was fat so I couldn't do a proper pushup or pull-up. When you finally achieve that first rep you are close to failure by definition, so you instantly learn how it feels and maybe even seek out the same feeling again.
2:46
"It takes failure to know failure", Man! that was enlightening,
19:50 Holy shit man🤯. Wasn't expecting a straddle planche there. Fair play man👏
Your videos are therapeutic and motivating. When ever my mind is scrambling to find excuses to no workout your content stops that nonsense. Thank you for all your hard work and helping out the community. Happy new years
My little brother was my first training partner. He's 2 years younger but started lifting when he was 14 while I didn't start till I was 22. So by the time I started training with him he was a 20 year old dude with 6 years of lifting experience. And this was back in 2010. It was just like you described with your first training partner. I learned what it meant to push till failure really quick. And I made crazy gains that first year. Truly learning where your failure lies is possibly the most important thing I can think of when it comes to training.
One thing I always appreciate about Alex is how, even when I know mostly what there is to know about what he's saying, he says things in such a way that it mentally reinforces and explains the nuance of important concepts (while highlighting the importance of them!) Of course, I'm always learning new things from you, Alex, still have after around a decade and half of working out, so thanks for all the awesome videos man. I can't find that just anywhere for sure. I appreciate the level you elevate these videos to, and nuance you put in 💪
Gold, wishing you all the best for the new year alex and all the natty bros out there.
okay but this is the coolest fitness related thumbnail ive seen im really impressed
Personally I think i learned most of it through mindset. As a novice before working with rep ranges meaning that every set wasn't over untill i hit the set reps. After my first year of lifting i just fell in love with the aspects of putting in hard work and how it made me feel plus i was looking to join the military so i had to be able to push beyond. Perhaps a bit ego, but everytime I go to the gym I want to be that one dude that just works harder than everyone else. This was only amplified after reading and learning about David Goggins.
Even on topics I already have a pretty thorough grasp on, your video format and demeanor spike my motivation to get training so high every time. Been following you since 2019 brother! Just got my strength back after a year of injuries and stress in 2021, so I'm going into 2023 looking to take everything to new PR's. Cheerss!
When I saw you all this time ago I thought you were one of the craziest guys I've ever seen haha. Weird variations, stupidly high volume, full body 2x a week, prs every week... I was so confused but only now am I seeing what it means to be different and unique; these crazy methods ony build integrity and character which people are learning nowadays. You just keep pumping out content year after year and you're only getting better. Keep it up man, you're in the zone right now and it's looking good.
You know it OG everything had a purpose and just look at the results now. Thanks a bunch 💯
I like that point about "breaking limits before establishing boundaries". Learning how to strain (not neccesairly 1rm, but straining on those" last few reps" )with good form is very valuable for beginners, before dabbling with rpe. Start with a baseline to establish form and progress relative to that baseline. Be PROGRESSION MINDED . You'll automatically reach that "high rpe"/failure zone without thinking about it, by then form would be dialed in, and training hard is a given. Great video as always.
Best luck to everyone in 2023! Hope you achieve your goals!
And don't miss your workouts
Cheers to never skipping workouts!
thanks sofiana. because of her we are getting quality content and motivation
Alex and gvs always make me feel like i can grind harder everyday
funny, i have now trained for about 1 year and 7 months, and i remember watching you since day 1 and thus have trained hard, more than many other beginners, i remember one set of preacher hammer curls i thought i had failed but i NEEDED that one extra rep, and so i grinded, eyeballs popping out, me legs and core straining to keep me down in the seat with strict form, thinking, forcing energy to my bicep and brachialis to just pull it up. After what must've been 10 seconds it finally moved and i got it
This sets matters the most.
I've gone from 3 sets of 5 pullups this year to 4x8. There's just something about the strength curve that just makes them so damn hard once you're close to failure. Shooting for sets of 12 in '23 🤘
Thanks a lot Alex. I’ve been watching you when I was younger. I’m 21 now, I quit working out two years ago. I regret it everyday, because the progress I would’ve made in between would’ve been immense. I learned my lesson and there’s no way I’m quitting this time. I’ve been back in for two weeks now and I can’t wait for what will happen.
You're still young, keep at it this time 💪🏼💪🏼
Good you picked the gym up again! It's never too late
This channel is a diamond in the dirt we so call ”fitness industry”
One of the realest out the🤙🏽
There is something simple and elegant about the pain from bodyweight push ups with strict, clean form to failure. The first reps fly, and the last ones are literally impossible!
Just hits different, especially once you fall on the floor!
I feel this with dips too, just slowly doing your last rep and when it ends the world comes together again as you put your feet on the floor, now breathing freely and left to ponder the gains you made with that hard set
Happy new year Alex!!! Thanks for continuing to share your knowledge!
Happy New Year brother, it's my pleasure!
Effort is most certainly the key. 100% effort on a subpar program will lead to much better results than 75% effort on the most “optimal” program.
“If you’re not willing to go too far you’ll never go far enough”- Chael Sonnen
Just to say, many bros of back then got wayyyyy better gains than many of the optimal nerds of today.
Mentality really is everything. If you’ve been hitting your three sets of calf raises for the same weight/reps for 2-3 weeks… that should piss you off… so much so that you attack the next session to the point where you do the dance with failure and take satisfaction with the extra half rep and try to make it a full rep the following session
I don’t comment very often, if ever, on anything, but your video quality and editing is getting very good. :)
Haven't watched the video yet, but you have really outdone yourself with that thumbnail Alex. It just screams POWER!!!
Alex, that thumbnail is legendary
This video is the one dude, nicely done!
Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year, big bro! May all the gainz be with you.
Cheers to another Happy New Year of gains!!
Facts! Train HARD for years and you WILL get good at grinding through reps. You gotta fail to know what failure is 💪
I did 3 years of cycling then calisthenics / hiit circuit workouts for a year. And now lifting for hypertrophy for 8 months.
Cycling is top tier, you're forced to work hard, no escaping the hills, having to keep up with others, forcing to finish what you've started if you want to go home.
Hiit are also top tier, extremely hard, once you've wrote the workout you won't stop until you're done, very hard on everything.
Lifting is easier on the mind, you're limited by muscle failure, the real struggle never last more than 10s, enough rest in between. It gets harder when fatigue comes in the end of the session, but overall it's too short of a struggle and too low on pain to really make you mentally strong. Also tout never have big recurrent events where u push to your limits mentally compared to other sports. i think it's why people with no background struggle to push, because the sport is not very demanding mentally.
i have acne, i was doing incline curls, my acne popped on its own when i was doing my last rep of rpe10 incline curls
First video of the year! I first came across your chanel at least 6 years ago around the time when you helped Jonnie Candito increase his bench by pointing out that his OHP was relatively weak.
I started lifting back in 2010. I used to watch Mike Chang's videos (everyone loved to make fun of him and his gimmicks but he actually helped me just by saying "stop overanalyzing it, just go ahead and do some push ups first and search for the optimal programm later"), then I came across Scooby, Elliott Hulse, Lee Heyward, Omar Isuf, Jonnie Candito and then you. You are the one guy that started back then and is still growing as our online coach! That goes to show the mentality of someone that "can grind" better than any max effort lift. Keep it up man and thanks for you consistent hard work. Happy new year Alex!
P.S.
You are both Alexander and Leonidas after all,
love from Greece!
Loving all these videos man. They help so much on my fitness journey. Curious though, ever planning on making another book? Loved naturally enhanced but I know you've grown a lot since.
New Calisthenics program! Preciate you OG.
Damn Alex, you changed the channel name? That's awesome. It's about time you get recognized. You're mad underrated bro. Love from Malaysia, happy new year Alex.
Was about time! Much love from Canada brother. Happy New Year!
The way i got to being a workaholic in the gym weirdly enough started in exercise classes when i was a teenager and overweight. I used to do classes that involved sandbags and when it got hard the only way was to push through to keep up with the class. I eventually stopped doing that and started with the gym about a year later. The habit of sticking it through must have stuck with me because i never considered not taking something to failure for the first 2 years of lifting. This had its own problems of course but id been watching motivational videos and absorbed that whole ecosphere so it took a while to show out through my own hard headedness. Despite being on a rubbish program i wrote myself for 2 years the work ethic lost me the weight i had tried so hard to lose and helped me get to about 60kg on the bench from about 30kg without any knowledge of progressive overload at the time. Goodness knows how i didnt get injured but i eventually worked myself into the floor until i got onto starting strength and started learning how to program for real from guys like you and omar and jeff nippard. Cheers for the years 👌👊
I love the 405 bench flex because I watched almost every video you put on that journey
The ultimate gym bro flex, I enjoy referencing it to prove how fraudulent these so called "experts" are 🤣🤣
Hey man can’t wait to get into this video! Love your content of videos as of recent!
Alex the lighting on this video was great imo
I firmly believe Mentzers hit style training is best for beginners. Teaches them how to train hard and stops junk volume or the idea that volume is what makes muscles grow.
just a week before you changed your channel name, i was wondering why you wouldn't just have your actual name, now that Leonidas is a pretty cool name, then you did it lol. Great content, long time viewer greetings from Denmark.
One of the best natural physiques in You Tube fitness.
Good vid Alex love your vids great inspiration
Huge thanks for this dude, happy new years
Man I’m 24 now and used to watch the hodge twins in middle school just to hear them answering questions not really any of their fitness stuff. They were hilarious back then and I’m def gonna search them up right after this😂
Lol I used to watch them during class, couldn't get enough! 😂😂
Enjoy the throwbacks homie
I credit my father to my ability to gladly and easily push to my limit every time I train. He instilled the never give up mindset in me from day one. Rather, learning to efficiently program alongside that desire to push hard has been the difficult aspect of training for me.
Sometimes a strong mindset is all you need. Good stuff Coley and props to your dad.
Happy New Year, Alex. Been watching your channel for years, and love to watch you progress in every way. This is my default channel for any type of advice and programming knowledge. Your the natty GOAT.
Thank you so much for your long term support! I'm honored to be your default source 👊
19:50 did he just planche?!! Damnnn I want to see a video about that!
Love your Video sir!! I will be training even harder for the new year.
Really enjoyed the video, I haven't anyone talk so in depth about the mindset of training hard. I especially like the segment on calisthenics and can relate a lot, after doing calisthenics for a year myself before getting into lifting weights, I can see how much it helped me with pushing high intensity, volume and not over-complicating things by just sticking to the basic routines (but not minimalist by any means!) of progressive overload, variations and using simple biomechanics to train smarter
No bro ... you gotta do the time under tension only . Nick from BB and BS told me to avoid stupid compounds movement and only use machines if I wanna build muscles .
Alex give us an updated video on rack pulls!! Super underrated
I am a full believer that endurance is the way to build discipline and mental toughnes. Endurance sports like running and high rep calisthenics exercises allow you to not only challenge your body but also your mind which I believe is everyone's biggest barrier of your true potential.
Yup, and when I look at former endurance athletes who transition to Bodybuilding, I've noticed they all have extreme pain tolerance and tend to have very comparable grinders to myself. Geoffrey Verity Schofield exemplifies this.
It's these reasons I always encourage anyone starting to train to failure and push beyond that (obviously safely) every single working set. Too many people this past decade or so quoting "what the studies say" in relation to RIR etc and having never training to failure properly or understanding what that truly means as they have conditioned themselves to leave reps in reserve and be scared of stressing their nervous system.
I see RIR as an advanced technique to use at times in order to push volume when you're at a stage where your body will benefit from that to keep eaking out more gains only, aside from that pushing to failure should be the default
Valuable perspective. Thanks for articulating it for the bois. I look forward to the vista of my advanced training days.
Enjoy not being advanced for now, you're in the glory days homie!
I recently discovered true failure on reps, failing singles and 1Rm is one thing but I thought I knew what failure was in reps recently or at least proximity to it was but turns out I've only been going to an 8 and not 10. Don't get me wrong I made plenty of gains doing that but it was never to RPE 10. SO What did it? Me and my mate decided to do a 5 min cluster set on a tricep v bar pushdown. In the final minute I got to the 3rd rep of a set of 5 and my arms felt like they were pushing against a table, like there was a physical block in the way. That was a true failure on rep work.
Interesting way to learn it! A 5 minute cluster set sounds hardcore, especially with a training partner.
Happy new year King and here's to more gains for all of us this year!
Happy New Year Shawn, cheers to continual success for all of us!
2007-2013 roughly was an awesome awesome time to be a lifter.
I was a workhorse from the beginning, just had been through a lot of shit so that physical pain wasn't a big deal, it helped to get my mind off things. Plus I started with super light weights (only had up to 3kg(~7lb) dumbbels also did some calisthenics, started to weigh them soon, so I ended up doin' crazy stuff like sets of 300+ on curls, 70 sit ups hanging over a chair or bench, so more like an full upper body neck curl with the dumbbells on my shoulders, etc. Then when I got to heavier weight cause it was hard to progress with such high reps failure was easy, in fact it felt weird to not do a shit load of reps. Now 20+ reps kinda suck(at least on the big lifts but I'm used to push through, only on deadlifts and maybe squats sets of 30+ to failure are a real problem, but not the best for hypertrophy anyway
If you just get a rack with safety pins/straps and take it to failure for a couple weeks on everything or at least you're main top set. You learn what it feels like to go to failure without putting yourself close to injury by doing one rep max's. Granted powerlifting is what got me that base of understanding and that was through that type of training along with one rep max's in competition and failure. This is something I also have to revisit every 6 months or so to stay in touch with my current Max or at least what it feels like to actually go to failure. You begin to forget when you get comfortable.
Oh damnnnn Alex finally got some new plates
Dude, you could probably make some fine, dry-humored stand up about fitness. I have no doubt in my mind that you could do something like that as an audiobook. I would buy it.
Informed comedy is the best kind, sadly, few people are informed AND able to share it in an entertaining way. Like you do. Many thanks for your videos.
Happy new year Alex, insane gains coming this year, thanks for the training philosophy
Happy New Year Gonzalo, big gains for the both of us!
Hodgetwins are the OGs. They’re so hilarious!
I love them!! Hilarious and informative 💯
Hodge Twins, POG, LOA, CT Fletcher, Omar Isuf, Big J, Lui Marco to name a few!
I don’t feel like they’ve given good fitness advice for years. And given their strength fall off these days I don’t think they were natty at all (maybe they’ve admitted that idk!)
@@hammerhead2362 there political RUclipsrs now
They fell off hard nowadays and look weird with beards. In the OG clean shaved days they were absolutely hilarious. I couldn’t even look at them without laughing.
As being quite advanced lifter, and at the same time spending very much time on brain-demanding work and having social life, I really have to focus on the Stimulus to fatique ratio, to be able to realize other parts of my life beside training. Also, I prefer to give myself 2 reps before failure and Im doing myoreps, this way I quite minimalize fatique
Jesus that thumbnail is absolutely glorious
For me having a training partner and training log realiy thought me about training hard. Training log is super underrated
That combo is unmatched
Very interesting topic,man. I've caught a flu this week and because of this just seeing someone training to failure makes me tired and out of breath lol
Time to rest bro, I don't recommend high intensity training with a flu
19:51 no way that was a straddle planche!?! Sick seeing you also being able to do straight arm exercises
I'm truly grateful for this wisdom, God bless you
I came here looking for Alex’s plan for the year. Instead I’ve left with saiyan type resolve and energy
Yooooo just noticed you changed your channel name, I approve!
I learned how to train hard when I wanted to learn the front lever.
I would go all out, until I literally couldn't hang on the bar, rest a few seconds, and then try again.
I made very few gains for the amount of work, considering I did this upwards of 50 times a day for three months straight, I got to a five second advanced tuck.
I did, however, gain a huge amount of size in my lats, from the real slow eccentrics, and just the sheer volume, along with an ability to work until my body fails.
the mindset I got from that training, being able to maintain a grind for minutes at a time, has allowed me to lift in ways I've never seen in person.
I did a zercher deadlift once, it was only two plates, but I wasn't that strong at the time, especially with all my leg day skipping, and it took me, according to the guy who was watching me, 15 seconds, from the point it got over my knees, to the point of lockout.
it's also really great for training rear delts, because I can just keep pushup with partials for hundreds of reps with stupid high weights.
Preciate you!
2:09 no cell phones in sight, just people living in the moment
Happy new year Alex
Anyone else also noticed the straddle planche at 19:51?
The thumbnail looks like the hardest bedroom enhancement pill ad I’ve ever seen
🤣🤣🤣
You're looking good broooo, nice separation alredy
Thanks Aitor, I love this weight!
Great content as usual, big Alex and happy new year!
Looking forward to seeing what you'll bring for 2023.
Great video! Aneurism levels💪🏽getting to this level is a lot hard work endured through resistance training!HappyNew Year🎉
You know it Jake, no shortcuts to getting here. Happy New Year 🎉💪
Thoughts on the Arnold split?
That is why im so grateful for doing sports my whole life that included some kind of resistance training. As soon as i started going to the gym I knew exactly what it meant to strain to the absolute max and was never scared to push myself but knew myself enough to know that the next rep will fail.
Top motivational speech dad. I already hit a Rack pull Pr earlier today but I feel like going back to the gym for another go 😆
Thumbnail goes SO HARD
This should definitely scare those fake ass new year resolutioners off and keep the real ones. Thank you for providing value to my life these past few years dude.
You’re an elite beast Alex. A true 1%er in this regard. Looking like that just from calisthenics is amazing. I wouldn’t even bother doing calisthenics
Crux of the video ,fail better keep failing unlock new you.Thank you Alex u r my go to natty RUclipsr ,God bless you and happy new year to you and your family bro .
Happy New Year to you and your family Joseph. Let's always upgrade 💯
Thank you for making this Alex. Let's head into the new year stronger than ever.
Always brother! Stronger year than last time.
*Happy New Year, brother!*
Happy New Year, Daniel!!!
Something to note is that most bodybuilders use machines specifically because it allows them to do lots of volume to failure safely. Lots of people will say they train like sissys using machines but if your only goal is hypertrophy this is a really smart way to train. Going to failure on compound barbell work is a recipe for disaster.
That is your best thumbnail for sure
Wait,u can do straddle planche!Wtf bro master of all🙌🙌
Great motivation this video is