The Plague of Overthinking in the Social Media World

The Plague of Overthinking in the Social Media World


I trained for 2020 and 2021 SC Nationals with no program or coach. I trained for Clash and 2024 USS Nationals with a deadlift coach, but otherwise made my own programming for events and overhead press. 


Insta-fluencer “science” and programming suggestions have resulted in chronic overthinking among strength athletes. With so many “coaches” out there, we have moved away from the simple strategies, that quite frankly, work. This isn’t a slam dunk on legitimate coaches, but rather a reality check for folks getting into any strength sport, thinking they need the perfect program to make progress. Success in training really comes down to a few simple elements, which I will outline in the article. 


Deciding on a Compound Lift to Push, and Sticking with it 


Boring is most often best. In my opinion, the best cookie-cutter template created is 5/3/1. Simple, effective, and can be run over and over again. Jim Wendler has even produced many great books outlining the philosophies of the program. 


5/3/1 is simple. Pick your lifts you want to push (perhaps push press, conventional deadlift, and front squat) and run it over, and over, and over again, gradually adding weight over time. 


The key is sticking to the compound lift you have decided on, and continuing to progress on that lift overtime. The best lifts to pick are the ones that you won’t have too many “false gains” on. What is a false gain? It’s a technical gain that results in an instant improvement. Yes, all lifts will have this, but some more than others. An implement you can game will result in inconsistencies in your reps, and be detrimental to your progress. Stick to KISS (keep it simple stupid) and pick some barbell exercises. 


Stay Healthy 


Shocker. In order to get strong overtime, you need to stay healthy and avoid injuries. Nothing is more detrimental to your progress than an injury that was entirely preventable. If you are constantly pushing RPE 10 reps, you are putting your body at risk for injury. Save them for the show when you need them, or once a year to test your progress. If you are consistently grinding your reps, you are asking for an injury eventually. 


I stand by the goal of only being your absolute strongest when necessary. Yes, you will progress over time, but you DO NOT need to be ready to demonstrate your 100% every week. 


Stretch a bit (and no, I don’t mean arm circles and touching your toes for sets of 5), listen to your body, and complete some sort of recovery work... ALSO DON'T USE BEING A LARGE HUMAN AS AN EXCUSE FOR LOSING MOBILITY.


Be Consistent 


Nothing is more important than getting into the gym and training. You can have everything else right, but if you don’t get it and train, you aren’t going to make progress. The first step is being there, and something is always better than nothing (unless it is detrimental to your physical or mental health).


Not every session is going to be ideal. In a given week, if I train four days…

  • One day will be the near perfect session. 

  • Two days will be average. 

  • One day will be below-average. 


On those below-average days, be proud you got it done and be ready for the next one. 


Avoiding Overthinking


Yes, the simple way to do this is to say, “stop overthinking”. But what does that actually mean? How do we put this into action? 


I’ve found myself overthinking when I…

  • Compare myself to others. 

  • Try to make progress too quickly. 

  • Watching too many reels from fitness “experts”. 


The first two go hand in hand. When you compare yourself to others, you will inevitably attempt to catch up far too quickly. For example, Chris Otero just pulled 930 pounds as a u105 athlete. I am not about to jump ship and start trying to throw a million things at the wall because I want to catch up to this phenomenal achievement. This is mainly for two reasons…

  1. I won’t. I doubt I ever pull 850, let alone 900+ pounds (I’ll be damned if I never pull 800 though!). 

  2. What I’m doing is working, and I’m consistently adding 20 pounds per year to my pull. 


Part of it is the harsh reality; a 900+ pull just isn’t in the cards for me. Go ahead, tell me I have a quitters attitude. This is not a quitters attitude, but instead an intelligent decision to continue doing what I’m doing and maximize my own output. 


Stop the comparison game! It’s bad for you! Be happy for those guys who have amazing feats of strength. You can too! It just might take a bit longer. 


Comparison to others is one part of the equation. The other part is due largely to the ongoing advancement of social media. We live in an age of rapid overconsumption. Blogs (yes, I’m a hypocrite), tiktok, reels, and a constant output of e-books from fitness professionals... all examples of media we consume on a day to day basis. Overconsumption leads to overthinking. If you have already found what works, keep doing it. Never stop learning, but also be aware that if you are constantly changing your methodology because of something a professional has said, you aren’t practicing consistency. 


I’m going to leave you with this; be proud of yourself for what you accomplished. This was not mentioned above, but perhaps is the most important part of getting stronger. Look at where you started and where you are now. I never imagined I’d be where I am strength wise, and I’m proud of that achievement.


Enjoy the journey!




 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pressing: A Five Year Journey beginning with Absolute Mediocrity

Improving the Press: A Five Year Journey beginning with Absolute Mediocrity Note: This is written as a article to describe an individual who already has technical efficiency, but lacks the power to do much with it. If your not technically sound, this article probably isn’t for you. Every strongman has that one event when they first start… The one event that no matter what they do, seems to stagnate behind the rest. In my case, this was the overhead press. I was shocked with this, given that I had shifted from an olympic lifting background to strongman. Here are the results from overhead events from my first three shows… SHOW 1: Keg, Circus Dumbell, Log Clean and Press (Three Reps) for time 6th SHOW 2: Circus Dumbell, Max Reps in a minute Dead last, zero SHOW 3: Log Medley, three logs for time Dead last: 30 seconds to get through a 190, 200, and 215 log. Here are the results from my most recent three shows… Arizona’s Strongest Man (Open): 180 Circus Dumbell, 300 Axle, 300 log x 4 reps F...
Read more

Lifting the Husafell Stone; Five Years in the Making

  Lifting the Husafell Stone; A Five Year Journey For those unaware, the husafell stone is a 186 kilo (410 pound) basalt stone found in Husafell, Iceland. The stone was used as a door for a sheep pen by Snorri Bjornsson. Legend has it, the husafell stone was used as a testing stone for passing travelers. Regardless of what you read in this article, I suggest picking up a copy of Stonelifting off amazon, written by Martin Jancsics and Dr. Bill Crawford. This is the book that got me interested in stonelifting, and led to trips to both Scotland and Iceland.  https://www.amazon.com/STONELIFTING-Ancient-Test-Strength-Revived/dp/1719808015 In order for a lifter to reach ‘Fullsterkur’ (Full-Strength), the lifter must pick up and carry the husafell around the perimeter of the pen.  My five year journey began as an ambitious novice strongman. I was 23 years old, fresh on the scene, and had fallen in love with the idea of lifting the husafell as soon as I was made aware of the chal...
Read more

Utilizing 5/3/1 for Strongman; Playing the Long Game

  Before I write any of this, I want to be clear: Jim Wendler is the owner of this program, and his work is fantastic. If you haven’t picked up a copy of 5/3/1, you should. It’s a great read and explains the principles of 5/3/1 better than I ever could. It’s 22 dollars, which compared to the useless supplements you are probably spending money on, is worth a buy.  https://www.jimwendler.com/products/5-3-1-for-powerlifting-ebook-version Why 5/3/1? I started my strongman journey believing I was a higher level than I was. Combine arrogance with being 22 years old (or the byproduct perhaps) and an undeserved ego, I rightfully got my ass handed to me in numerous shows. The issue? I simply wasn’t statically strong.  My legs were weak.  My back was weak.  My upper body? Weak.  My initial solution was to jump to complex ideas… “I have to press with chains and against bands, and sleeveless!”  This is all nonsense.  Not that bands and chains don’t have a pla...
Read more