Today we revisit our roots with one of the Top 10 most downloaded shows at Barbell Logic. We often say that good training has three qualities: it's simple, it's hard, and it's effective. The "hard" part is where the grind comes into play. Every novice has to go through a period where every set feels like a Herculean effort, every rep a bone on bone grinder. It's tough, and those who can make it through this phase of training become tougher people.

During this process -- and even at later, more advanced stages of training -- it's important to establish some criteria for what a hard effort is. Matt tells his lifters to keep pushing on a lift for "five hard seconds" before calling it quits, even if they think from the start they won't make the rep. Scott tells his new lifters that they're simply not allowed to stop pushing until he tells them to. With either approach, the lifter is using objective, third-party observations (five seconds, as counted by a coach or training partner) to calibrate their effort, rather than their subjective experience. As any lifter knows, the brain usually tells you to quit far quicker than your body does.

So, whether you've been training for years or you've just started, embrace the grind, and get a coach or training partner to double check your effort on the next heavy set.

Have a question about the new Professional Barbell Coach (PBC) certification? Email [email protected] and include the word "cert" in the subject line, and Matt and Scott will answer your question on an upcoming Saturday Q&A!

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