Episode # 7 Training VS. Working Out

In this episode we cover the difference of training vs. working out and setting realistic expectations for your bodybuilding journey. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

All right, guys, welcome back to the NLF Coaching Podcast. Today we're going to cover training topics of training versus working out and real expectations of bodybuilding. Alright, Will. So let's start off with uh training versus working out. What does that really look like to you?

SPEAKER_01 0:19

Yeah, I think this is really important because I think when you become goal-driven, especially in something like bodybuilding, the distinction between just coming to the gym and kind of checking the box of being at the gym versus coming in and actually training, it becomes so important, right? So I think training is when first and foremost you have a goal that you're actually working towards. Secondly, you have ways to measure your progression with that goal and know that you're actually getting closer towards that goal. So, what does that look like? You know, that looks like logging your lifts, it looks like coming to the gym on really a mission, if you like, coming into the gym with intent, with purpose, and a great degree of focus, and something I've thought about a lot because obviously we live in the gym, right? So there's a huge blend of people in the gym. We have bodybuilders, powerlifters, we have a lot of just you know, people trying to be better and healthier, um, which those goals look completely different. And something I think about is professional athletes, when they're training, they're in their own environment. They don't have you know, like regular people asking them questions between their in their training, right? Like if you were to think Michael Phelps training for the Olympics, he wasn't being, I don't want to say interrupted because it sounds harsh, right? But there weren't people in between him swimming length saying, Hey, Mike, like, what'd you go up to over the weekend, you know, or or you know, just took my dog to the bed, or whatever it may be, right? So I think it's when you want to be an elite level bodybuilder, you've really got to view your training the same way, in my opinion. That level of focus when you turn up to the gym, of I'm here with a specific purpose to train with intent, and I have to be focused throughout that. And I've had clients ask me, you know, how do you deal with um your clients not coming up to you during training and you know, wanting to just ask questions about life or whatever. And for some people, I think maybe they can hold their focus when they're in a session. I can't. Like when I get focused and dialed in, I have to stay in that zone, I have to make sure that I'm in that zone. Otherwise, once I lose it and get distracted, it's very difficult for me to get back into that zone, right? And I'm not trying to be rude to people, but I do want people to understand that I'm here for a specific purpose, and also we spend most of our day talking to people on the gym floor. Our time to train is that period where we get a break from talking and we get to like dial it in ourselves, right? That that's my opinion. What would you say about it?

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Yeah, I think it's uh like a unique challenge of what we do for a living. It's like we're in the gym professionally, right? Like most people come into the gym and that's like that's their fun time, that's their that's the highlight of their day, versus like this is where we're we're operating a professional business. So, like our lens of how things operate in here versus like somebody like a member or client when they come in, like this is this is their fun time. This is it's our it's where we make a living, right? So I think we have to view our approach with our personal workout time completely differently, and you do have to be a little bit selfish, and that can be a challenge because for us, it's like people come in, they're in here to have fun and talk, and this is where they see their friends. Um, we are busy all day with working with clients one-on-one session, so when we do have that window time where we can train, it's just important to be dialed in and take advantage of the time you have because you know you have a client maybe an hour and a half after that, like you have to get ready for like everything on our day is kind of scheduled around our sessions with our clients and when they're available, right? So you do have to be a little bit ruthless with your time, and that can be a challenge because people come in and mom and say, Hey, what's up, Will? What's up, Nate? Like, and that's awesome. Like, it's cool that we have the relationship with people in the gym for and I definitely value that. Um, but it's something you definitely have to learn to kind of strike a balance with. It's like, and that's why I even sometimes if I'm just listening to a podcast, we don't have anything on at all. I usually train my headphones just so people kind of get them the memo that it's like, all right, he's not being a jerk, he's just this is his lunch break, if you will, and that's when he gets his time to train. And like, yes, I I take my body wound very, very seriously, um, but I also still want to make sure that I develop relationships with people on the gym floor. So I do try to strike that balance. Um, but I think as your schedule gets busier and you start to have other life responsibilities away from the gym, it it makes you really shift your focus to all right, this hour and a half window I have to train, like I've got to be on it because I've got computer work to get done after this, and then I've got to get home to my family at a certain time. So that's like, I think for me, an area that's been, I guess, an area of growth for me over the last year and a half, like being new to fatherhood and stuff like that, is like, all right, I can't be as like last on the gym core as I used to do with my training sessions. I need to keep my headphones in, I need to be logging out of this, I need to be timing my rest periods so that I'm not wasting time, really just taking advantage of it. I think that's like striking that balance and kind of figuring that out. Working in this industry is is it's massively important, especially if you want to pursue some type of competitive goals, whether it be physique, um, just just your physique as a business card, as a physique athlete, or maybe power lifting, whatever that looks like, whatever your your hobby of choice is in the in the gym. It's like finding how to prioritize that within your business is definitely a unique challenge.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Yeah, for sure. I mean, in the old gym, especially, it was like a a running kind of joke or theme that if Will's training, don't bother him unless the building's on fire. You know, it's it's like because which there's a let an element of truth to that, you know, because again, like you said, when you're a father and you know you've got to leave the gym by a certain time, you only have so much time that you've got to take advantage of. And at the same time, you've got to remember that we have our own goals, right? It's like we spend all day helping clients work towards their goals, but we also have our own goals as well, of being, you know, elite-level bodybuilders or whatever it is, which requires a certain level of focus and attention. And one thing I would say to anyone, this is something I do, is I'll often leave the gym and go do something. I'll go to the bank, I'll go go run an errand somewhere because I'm changing my environment, right? So if we've spent all morning on the gym floor, for me, I kind of need a change of scenery to be alone and be able to get myself in the right headspace to be able to come back and put the amount of effort into a training session that I need to put into it. So I think for some people, if you work on the gym floor a lot, just changing your environment before you come back to train can just help you, you know, get your head in the right mindset to be able to really push that training session as hard as you need to. And I think there is a massive difference between people coming to the gym just to work out to be healthy, which again is a great goal, that's awesome, versus those that are really there to train. There is a big difference, and it should be obvious when you watch people train what they're there for, you know. And I think about it, if if as coaches, as trainers, um, if I went into a gym and I saw a coach that was clearly dialed in and focused, that's what I would want to see. You know, I would be far more likely to hire that person because I can see that they take their training seriously and they're not just goofing off in the gym. And again, you know, depending on what your goals are, there's no issue with that. You know, this isn't saying that everybody needs to come into the gym and train as hard as they possibly can. But once you do become someone that has big goals, that has purpose, it should reflect in the way that you train, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Yeah, I agree. And I think that's why you hear about a lot of like personal trainers going to other gyms to train when they're when they have their off time. But we're in a we're blessed to be in a position where like our facility is so good that I wouldn't want to go train anywhere else. So, like I just kind of you know, I just that's accepting part of it is like training where you work. Yeah, it's not always ideal, but we have a fantastic facility, so I wouldn't want to train anywhere else. So for me, it's like I come back to my office, I'll put my headphones in, you know, write my um log of my workouts out for the day, kind of get a vision of what I'm gonna go do, put in my music or my podcast, what I'm not listening to while I'm training, and kind of flip the switch and get on with it. But I think it's it's one of those things that it is important as you, you know, kind of dive deeper into like your your bodybuilding journey or wherever that is, figuring out how to flip that switch and strike that balance. Um, but we're definitely, I mean, we're in a great position here where it's like even if even if the schedule is like hectic for the day, most people do respect what we do because they've seen us compete and go through some of those challenges. I think they kind of understand the body language of like, all right, is this a day where I can maybe come up and talk to them or or maybe not? And I think people would generally do a really good job of kind of striking that balance because you can usually tell somebody's body language if they're they're training or just kind of working out, shooting, you know, conversation, make small talk, things like that. Like there's a difference, and I think I think for the most part, people do a really good job of kind of striking that balance with us at this point. And it just for me, it depends on the day. Like, if I'm in here on a Saturday, like no headphones in, I'm I'm good to just kind of you know make small talk with people and do whatever. But during the week, like the schedule is more time constrained based on like availability with my clients and things like that, and that's where I feel like I'm more on a mission. That doesn't mean I don't want to talk to people, it's just it's just by choice, you kind of got to get it done, right?

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yeah, 100%. And I think once upon a time, we could, if we didn't get the final two exercises in, we train our clients and then we finish off in the evening. Well, there's you don't have the opportunity to do that anymore. Yeah, you know, often we might have just a two-hour window to train, which sounds like a lot, but by the time you've got change, by the time you've maybe eaten something, by the time you've warmed up, then you've done your training, then you've got to eat again, then you've got to change, you've got to prepare for clients. All of a sudden, that two hours becomes a very short window. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

When you tell people you have a two-hour window during the day where you train, they're like, Oh wow, that's a long time. It's like, well, no. So if I have a client till one and then another client at three, that means I've got to like switch off from that client, you know, get back to the office, change, drink my pre-work out, warm up, train, eat, change, get ready for my next client. That that two hours is really more like an hour and 20 minutes. Yeah, like it's not quite as long as it sounds. So like it it sounds all happy-go easy at first, but then you think about like all the things you have to actually fit into that two hours, it's it's quite a quite a uh a task to get everything kind of like.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Yeah, and if you're trying to throw cardio in on the end of it as well, you know, it's like if you're trying to get 15 minutes of you know, uh incline walking or stairmaster or something like that, it's it's very quickly your time gets eaten up, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:58

Yeah, I think I think for the for me that's why it's it's forced me to change some of my approach about how I do some of those things. Like I rarely have time to get my cardio in with my workout, so that might look like during during contest for me maybe getting up a little bit earlier and knocking somebody or the front end of the day, or um during the day in between sets walking with my clients to help us both kind of get some of our activity level up, and clients typically love that. But there's there's ways you have to kind of adapt your process um to kind of accommodate all those things, and that's kind of what's really changed for me with my training over the years, is like as I've had more responsibilities come onto my plate, my approach to my training's had to differ a little bit, but you find a way to get it done, right? Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

And uh, you just become a master of efficiency, basically, like there's no room for procrastination, which is which is nice. So I think moral of the story really is if if you're training, you're you're goal-driven, you're training with intent, there's clear purpose in the way that you train, there's a much, much higher degree of effort that you're putting into all of your sets, you're logging your lifts so that you can progress them week to week, or at least you have some form of feedback from the week before. Um, and then I would even go outside of the gym. Everything outside of the gym reflects somebody that's really trying to progress, right? So the way that you eat, the way that you sleep, you stay hydrated, you try and keep stress as low as you can. All of those things are going to contribute towards the end goal. Whereas I think when people are working out, they kind of come in the gym and it's like, ah, you know, I just feel like doing this today. Um, they might be talking a little bit more between sets, they're not as focused on getting to sleep on time. Um, and and I do believe that if you stay in the gym long enough, eventually everybody has to go down the training path because you you want progress. Like, what's the point in putting in all of that effort if nothing is changing, right? Yeah, it's way too much effort and discipline to put in if you're not seeing any change at all. So I think eventually everybody kind of gets into that. They there's different levels of it, but people eventually say, Okay, I need to take this a bit more seriously.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

How do I train versus just working out? Yeah, and I think that kind of bridges the gap into our next topic that I wanted to cover today with like expectations of your training too, and whether that be as like a lifestyle client, as a bodybuilder, as a powerlifter, it's like how are your processes like what are you doing to make sure that you're optimizing the results of what you're trying to achieve, right? Like whether that be like you're just trying to lose weight, feel good, whether you're trying to be a high-level bodybuilder or powerlifter, what does your process look like? And I think if you're realistic with yourself and and transparent about what you're doing with your time in the gym, what you're doing most importantly, your time outside of the gym because you're in the gym a couple hours a week, but there's a lot of hours in the week that you're not here. And so, what are you doing with your recovery, your diet, your sleep, your stress management? All of those things accumulate into the success of what you're trying to achieve. How would you say for yourself, like your expectations have changed since business has gotten busier and you've got kids now and things like that? Like, what would you say your mindset on your expectations for bodybuilding for yourself have changed over the last I'd say since you've had kids six years now, so five six. So, how has your expectations of all these things changed and evolved? What have you done to kind of find a balance there?

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Well, so I want to start this out by saying basically the way I explain it to people is that you can't speed it up, but you can slow it down, right? So, what I mean by that is that if you if you're giving a hundred percent in every single area, be it training, be it your nutrition, be it your sleep, be it anything that can contribute towards progression, you can't go faster than that, right? Like that's your max. So it might be saying to someone, okay, if you do absolutely everything right this year, you're gonna gain eight pounds of muscle. We can't gain more than that, but you can definitely gain less by being less committed to the end goal, right? So if you're saying to someone, okay, you need to lose 50 pounds, all right. Well, we're gonna lose 50 50 pounds in 52 weeks. That's the goal, right? So, yeah, you might be able to lose it a bit a little bit faster than that, but there'll be some slip-ups in there and whatnot. So basically, now instead of saying, Well, how can I lose more than that, it's uh if I don't do everything I need to do, then I know I'm gonna lose it slower than that, right? And that's what I think where people get confused is they think, Well, I want to do it as fast as possible. Well, by doing it as fast as possible, you're probably going to fall off, and then you're not gonna see the progression that you want to see. And if anything, if it's weight loss, you're then gonna lose some really quickly, and then you're gonna gain it all back because it's not sustainable, right? So I think for me now at this point of life, and saying, I know I can't give every single area of bodybuilding 100%, I just can't, because you know, there are gonna be nights when I don't sleep well because the kids are up, or they're having a nightmare, or they're sick, or that that's gonna happen. So if the threshold is 100%, meaning I get eight hours of sleep every single night, I eat exactly what I'm supposed to eat every single day, like you know, every single training session I do, I definitely can't hit that 100%, but I know I can hit it at about 90. So to me, I've become okay with that because the those other areas of my life are so important, right? Like, I'm not gonna give up time with my family for bodybuilding, I'm just not gonna do it. I've done it in the past, like I had my years of being selfish with it and giving it 100%, but I'm not in a phase of life now where that's what I'm gonna do. So I'm okay with that. Like, I think you have to come to the conclusion that I know that I'm gonna sacrifice a little bit here, but it's because I'm gaining so much here, and then I'm okay with that. Like, we can't be upset at the results we don't get from the work we're not willing to do. Now, if I was gonna say, okay, I'm gonna be a hundred percent all in on bodybuilding, well, that might end up in me being divorced and me being a terrible father, and those aren't two things that I'm willing to do, right? So at that point, I have to be okay with the fact that maybe I'm not gonna improve as a bodybuilder as much as I could, but I'm still gonna make sure I'm improving. Does that make sense? Yeah, it does. And and I think a lot of people struggle with that because they're all in, you know, they're very type A, they're very when they're into something, they're all in, but you can't be all in to all of those things at the same time, and then you have to make the decision of what is the sacrifice that I'm willing to make. And we never get the choice of whether or not we sacrifice, we always sacrifice, but what are you gonna sacrifice? And then at that point, what are your priorities?

SPEAKER_00 17:51

Yeah, no, that's that's that's a great point. Um, and that's kind of like how I try to explain to people like if I started with a client that let's just say their general weight loss lifestyle client, when I'm like mapping out like what expectations would be like, I always explain to them like this all right, if your goal is to lose this much weight, we need to be ultra ultra strict to get from point A to point B in this amount of time. You can get there slower if you want to have more off-plan meals and things like that. And that's kind of how I view, I've had to change my mindset with my bodybuilding business and different things too. It's like since becoming a father, I've had to kind of I've learned a lot from you in this regard, but it's like my expectations need to be a little bit more level. You know, what's most important for me? For me, my family and my clients are more important than my bodybuilding career. Um, bodybuilding is definitely a big passion of mine, but those things are gonna be more important for me. So I've had to have that expectation and be level with myself with my own journey. It's like, yeah, I might might not get to that level quite as quickly as if I was putting 100% all my eggs in one basket. But like at the end of the day, it's like, is my personal bodybuilding career gonna really fill the cup and make me feel full on life? I don't think so. But like being a father, being a husband, like having a good home life, and then having a successful business with happy clients that are reaching their goals, those things are much more rewarding and fulfilling for me. So being able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture, that's like a big area of growth for me over, like I would say, the past year and a half. It's like just being realistic with those expectations. Like, yeah, at the end of the day, you're gonna get where you need to get at some point if you don't give up. But slowing it down a little bit, watering all the things equally and putting your eggs in the right basket, if you will, is is has been a big game changer for me. Because I'm I'm the type of person I try to be like I get very like like whatever I'm into, I'm obsessed with. And it's like I think that's like that's a great gift for me, but it's also a flaw in some capacity, it's like not being able to step back and see the bigger picture sometimes. So that's an area like I've had to reflect on and and change my approach to certain things. It's like, all right, you're not you're not just a bodybuilder anymore, you're a husband, you know, you run a small business, you have a client, you're a father. Like, there's other things you have to take into account now and and and prioritize and put them in an order, and you don't want you definitely don't want to get those priorities out of order because I've been there before and it's not a good deal, right? Like you need to make sure that the you are realistic with expectations and putting those things in order of importance, and then I think those things kind of settle themselves out. Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

I think you know, I used to be pre-kids very judgmental because you you don't know what you don't know, right? So you have no idea what it's like to have kids until you have kids. You don't understand the time commitment, you don't understand how motivations for some things change and your direction goes into other things, right? So I remember when people would be in a prep and they wouldn't follow it through and they'd quit. And then I would be like, How do you how do you do that? Like if you're in something, finish the job, like follow it through. Now it's changed because those people may have kids and they may be in a point where I can't commit the time I need to commit to this to a prep right now, so I'm gonna pull out and then I'm gonna do a show next year, and that's often what I advise my clients now. You know, it's like, look, if you're not in a position of life to be able to give this as much as you possibly can, the stage isn't going anywhere. The stage is gonna be the next year, there the next year, it's gonna be there the year after as well. You don't have to force yourself onto the stage to show everybody how hardcore you are, right? It's like find the season of life when it works well for you and then go for it, which for me, right now, typically ends up being like every two to three years, which as a natural bodybuilder works out well because it takes us much longer to grow. Um, but it also means that I can spend some real quality time with my family, with my business, and then I can say, Okay, I think now is a good time for me to pull the trigger on it, you know, and versus I I don't know that many people that have young kids that are competing every year. There's some, and I take my hat. To them, but it's a very difficult thing to do when you have young kids. So I think just being realistic with the season of life you're in and not trying to force something that isn't realistic at that time.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

Yeah, 100%. And and when you know I've had many conversations about this with me being newer to Fatherhood and stuff like that. Just an example of like recently for myself. Like I was coming in here before church on Sundays early trying to like squeeze in an extra workout because I felt like if I wasn't, I was kind of letting down my bodybuilding. But then I had the conversation either week, so I was like, dude, I'm not like Sunday's the one day a week where I can wake up at home and deal with my son and throw some cartoons on in the morning. And like, am is is it worth it to like sacrifice that so I can get like an extra workout squeeze in that week? I don't know. I was like, it's not, and that's like just an example where I feel like your mindset has to change on certain things and understanding that long term, yeah. Like I think I can go as far as I want to go with bodybuilding, maybe not as fast, but that's okay because it's a very long-term progress-driven sport, anyways. And once you get to be okay with that, like I think all the things sort of kind of settle into place. And we talk about this like slow, steady growth is much more sustainable, anyways. Like, you're only gonna you're only gonna grow to the level you're you're ready to take on, anyways. Like, like if you have like massive growth overnight, which is business or or body wearing things like that, and you're not ready for it, like it's it's gonna smack you in the face, right? Like you need to be you need to be ready and be in the right season of life for that stuff. And I think I think as you get older and life humbles you a little bit, those things sort start to sort of make a lot of sense. Because I've I've been in those shoes where you like having a conversation with a client that's in a different life place than you, they have kids and stuff like that, and they're telling you about all these challenges that they have, and you're like, What do you mean? Just get in here and work out, but then once you have kids, you're like, Oh, I see what they need. It starts to make a lot more sense. But when you're like 23, you don't have those responsibilities yet, the whole concept is formed. You're like, you're like, you're responsible for other people? It doesn't make sense, yeah. But once you're responsible for another human being, then you're like, ah, okay, then your priorities start to kind of align how they need to, yeah, absolutely, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 24:06

And I think the other thing with realistic expectations, too, is something I had to be very mindful of is who I'm following on social media, right? It's like, you know, as natural bodybuilders, we are going to need to be in a slight surplus to grow. So we're gonna have to gain some extra body fat, and it's gonna take us a lot longer to grow. So if you're following people that are making crazy progress in a very short time frame and then expecting that of yourself, it's totally unrealistic, you know. And I often say, I think with natural bodybuilding, you've got to be a decade into training, not working out, training to be able to really see what your potential is. At that point, you can say, okay, like if after that long you still don't look very good, it probably isn't the right sport for you, right? Whereas after 10 years, if you can say, okay, like I've I've seriously pushed on and made crazy progress, like imagine what I can do in the next five years, right? Because the best natural bodybuilders in the game have pretty much all been lifting for like 15 years. There are definitely outliers, but when you're looking at the pro level, most of them are in their late 30s, early 40s, you know, potentially even older. They've got 15 plus years of training under their belt to get to that level. And I think people are expecting to do it in two to three years, which is just not long enough. I mean, if you're a genetic outlier, then yeah, you can probably make a real dent to your physique in that time, but you're still not going to be reaching your full potential until you're 10, 15 plus years into the sport, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 25:40

Yeah, and that's I think like as a coach from like a coaching lens, it's it's so refreshing when you have a consultation with a potential new athlete and they have the growth mindset of the long-term game. Like you don't have to convince somebody and they're already like they already have the wherewithal to understand that like longevity and years of consistent training and being immersed in the sport is is key to success. Like, if if you're gonna build a pro-zique, it's gonna take time unless you're a genetic anomaly. Like I had a conversation with guys at this other day, and they were like open-minded to the the concept that it's gonna take time, but it's so refreshing for us as coaches because like when somebody's like, I want to turn pro and they've been lifting for six months, it's like, all right, well, let's be realistic with like, do we have a pro physique yet? Right, and it's like, if not, all right, how long is it gonna take us to build? Like, let's focus on what we need to do to get there long term instead of how quickly can we get to you know, just get on stage just to get on stage. Do you want to get on stage and just say you did it as a bundle listing, or do you want to be competitive and have a pro-orthy physique that could potentially get you to that long-term goal? It's like, all right, there's steps to get to that point, or you want to do that. Um, yeah, but yeah, I mean, that um that was pretty much covers everything I want to say. Ironically, we have clients here in two minutes. So this is all we have time for today, guys. We appreciate you listening to us ramble about bodybuilding and gym's shenanigans. And uh, if you guys have any topics you want us cover soon, drop it in the comments on the next podcast, and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks, guys.