I’ve decided to move this blog to a new website that is more consistent with the new direction for my business. If you are subscribed to the feed through FeedBurner, you’ll automatically get the new blog content as soon as I complete the switch.
You can find the new blog here.
I’ll be moving articles from this blog over to the new blog over the next few weeks, so you might see some repetition.
The Rippling Brainwaves blog has an interesting post about the ‘worst interview question,’ namely “What is your greatest weakness?” and the related questions “what are you bad at?” or “in what areas do you need improvement?”
According to the author, these questions represent a ‘Catch-22′, and make him wonder if there is any good way to answer them or whether they have ever “done anyone any good.”
As a job candidate facing this question in an interview, you don’t want to avoid or evade the question, and you don’t want to lie, but you don’t want to torpedo your interview by revealing a glaring weakness either.
So, how do you answer this question effectively?
First, let’s talk about why an interviewer would even ask this question. Does it serve any legitimate purpose?
From the perspective of a potential employer, this type of open-ended question can be good to see how the candidate handles stress and challenges. The answers can also provide insights into the awareness, maturity, and thinking process of the interviewee, which could be useful in making a final decision among several equally qualified candidates.
In his book Working with Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman argues that emotional intelligence and so called soft-skills can make a tremendous difference in the workplace, and often distinguish superstars from average workers. One of these emotional intelligence skills is self-awareness and the ability to see, recognize, and adapt to our own strengths, limitations, and weaknesses.
From an emotional intelligence perspective, this type of question provides insights into the self-awareness skills of the candidate, revealing whether they recognize their weaknesses or not, how much they’ve thought about them, whether they can learn from past experiences, and what self-development actions, if any, they are taking.
I would say that employers are not only justified in asking this question, but it can actually help them spot the potential superstars in the candidate pool.
Instead of looking at this as a stupid or meaningless question that interviewers just ask, a question where you just need to use a ‘canned’ response that the interviewer has heard a million times before, or a question where you need to somehow ‘trick’ the interviewer, you can look at it as an opportunity to shine, to show your emotional intelligence skills, and to distinguish yourself from all the other candidates competing for this job.
Here are three tips to help you answer this question effectively:
This is the type of question that you want to have considered long before the actual interview. You don’t want to have to come up with an answer right there on the spot.
Being prepared is not dishonest, it is what will separate you from the crowd.
Part of the preparation is doing the work, exercising your self-awareness, thinking about what your relevant strengths and weaknesses really are, and learning from past mistakes.
Then, take it a step further, and actually do something about some of your more relevant weaknesses so you can avoid repeating past mistakes.
“But what if the interviewer doesn’t even ask the question?”
That’s not the point! By honestly preparing yourself for this question, you are actually doing something very valuable; something that only superstar performers tend to do.
This is something you should be doing anyway, whether or not you are going to have an interview.
Sure, you could take the safe approach and pick a generic weakness like being disorganized, or a perfectionist, or procrastination, or working too hard, and then telling them how you are already working diligently on improving this weakness and have already conquered it.
Or you could try a psychological trick to turn the question on it’s head and say something like “My weakness is that I get frustrated by red tape and lack of action, I want to get things done.”
Just remember that these ‘canned’ responses are what the interviewer is going to hear from most of the other candidates, and the tricks that you play could backfire.
If you really want to show that you have self-awareness, you can take a riskier approach and actually pick a weakness that is relevant to your job and industry.
For example, if you are a software developer, you could say something like “I sometimes focus too much on solving the technical problems and not enough on figuring out what the real need is.” Then explain what steps you are taking to avoid this problem in the future.
If you really want to stand out, try finding an example from your previous work of a time when this problem surfaced, what you learned about yourself, your work practices, and your industry, and how you are planning to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
You could talk about a process you now use to identify the real needs before you start working on the design, or how you use regular design reviews to ensure that the real needs are considered.
By choosing something that is relevant and applicable to your job, you are showing the interviewer that you are able to see and recognize your own mistakes, and that you are also aware of some of the common problems or issues facing your industry.
By showing a practical example from your previous job, you are not only showing the interviewer that you can learn from your past experiences, but also that you take a proactive role in self-development and continuous learning.
Another important aspect of emotional intelligence is self-confidence. Not arrogance, but confidence in your own abilities, skills, and potential.
When you answer this question, you want to do so in a confident manner. Choosing a relevant example from your previous job shows confidence and that you are willing to take risks.
Having said that, most HR managers suggest that you focus on technical or job skills if possible, and avoid revealing potential problems with people skills, even if you’ve taken corrective actions.
Unfortunately, people skills are an area that could open up a can of worms and torpedo your interview even if you’ve resolved the problem successfully.
You should still be prepared to answer questions in this area if they come up, just don’t volunteer it if you can use a technical skill instead.
Hopefully, this post has shed some light as to why anyone would ask such a question during an interview, and some of the steps you can take to prepare yourself to answer the question effectively.
Would you like to significantly improve your health in just 10 minutes a day? With interval training, that significant improvement is possible, even if you’re accustomed to working out for 30 to 60 minutes a day.
Why is this possible? Because interval training exercises your body in a way that is vastly differently than traditional cardio programs. Traditional cardio programs increases the efficiency level of the heart and lungs so that they can better supply oxygen and energy to the muscles and subsequently increase muscular endurance. Traditional cardio also burns a high percentage of fat calories or energy. Both seem like strong benefits, right?
However, traditional cardio programs train the body at a relatively low exertion level for an extended period of time. This has two effects.
First, the heart and lungs are not conditioned for sudden and severe increases in activity, like running to catch a young child who’s about to step out into traffic or joining in a pick-up game of basketball. These are the kinds of activities that most often trigger heart attacks, because the heart is not strong enough and big enough to handle the sudden and massive need for increased blood flow.
Second, slow steady-state cardio training burns so few calories that it takes a lot of cardio to burn a significant number of fat calories.
Interval training, on the other hand, conditions the heart to handle rapid increases in activity, thus lowering your chances of having a heart attack, and it compresses exercise time by burning more total calories in a short period of time.
Interval training is a style of cardio exercise that alternates periods of high-intensity exercise with periods of low-intensity exercise. An example of interval training would be alternating 30-second sprints with one or two minutes of walking. If you repeat this sprint-walk interval 10 times, you can see how your heart and lungs would adapt to sudden increases in activity.
It’s also not hard to see how sprinting would burn calories faster than walking or jogging. You burn more calories because you cover more ground in less time and because it takes more muscle to move your body faster. On average, a 160-pound person will burn 100 calories per mile. If you jog at 6 mph, it will take 20 minutes to burn 200 calories. However, if you sprint at an average of 12 mph, it will take less than 10 minutes.
Of course, when you first start out, you will not be able to compress 20 minutes of exercise into 10 minutes. Start with 20 minutes of low-intensity exercise, and count how many miles, yards, steps or repetitions you can do in that time. Keep it to a comfortable pace this first week to get used to the increase in activity. Each week set a goal to reduce the time it takes to complete that much work by 1-2 minutes.
The ideal interval workout consists of 10 minutes in which you perform five intervals that include 30 to 60 seconds of high-intensity exercise with 1-2 minutes of low-intensity exercise.
Here is one way to get to that point: Start by dividing your 20-minute workout into five intervals of 4 minutes each. In each interval, exercise at a comfortable pace for three minutes and at a slightly faster pace for one minute. If jogging is your chosen cardio exercise, you will jog at a comfortable pace for three minutes and go to a light run for one minute. Each week reduce your total time by 1 ¼ minutes by cutting 15 seconds from your low-intensity period and making up the extra distance or repetitions by increasing the speed of your high-intensity interval. Note, that the high-intensity interval remains one minute long.
Once you reach a point where you can’t increase the speed or intensity of your high-intensity interval any further, start increasing the speed of your low intensity interval. However, make sure there is a significant difference between the high-intensity interval and low-intensity interval.
Once you are able to do your original 20-minute workout in 10 minutes, take a week off from all exercise. Then do the following: Do your new 10-minute interval workout, then add 10 more minutes of comfortable-pace exercise onto the end. Write down your total distance, steps or reps for the 20 minutes. Now, on each workout, do your new 10-minute interval workout for the first 10 minutes. Divide the second 10 minutes or additional distance/steps/reps into three intervals that are 3 to 4 minutes long. Gradually shorten your new intervals, as you did before, until your total workout time is less than 15 minutes.
You can repeat this procedure every 13 weeks. Make sure that you do your workout at least twice a week. If, at any point, you cannot complete the workout as scheduled, take a few extra days off and pick up where you left off.
Although the examples used in this article involve jogging, running and sprinting, it is possible to do interval training with other forms of exercise. For example, you could alternate marching in place with calisthenics. Or, you could alternate several high-intensity barbell exercises with rest periods. Interval training works with any exercise that raises your heart rate close to its maximum, combined with any exercise that allows you to rest while still exerting yourself a bit.
About the author - John E. Fike is a professional writer specializing in health and fitness writing and marketing copy. With more than 8 years of professional writing experience, John can provide you with the custom e-books, articles and marketing copy you need to grow your business. Contact him today by emailing john[at]proclaimstudios.com or go online to www.johnefike.com.
Written exclusively for KSuccess.com. All rights reserved.
“Oh, I eat out every day because I just can’t cook.” “Cooking takes too long; I’m hungry now!” “It’s just too much trouble to go to the store, get all those ingredients, chop them up at home, then have to cook it!” “I sure love to eat, but I can’t stand my own cooking.”
If any of these comments sound familiar — as in, “I say that all the time!” — then you are certainly not alone.
Of course it’s a chore to some: You work all day, either at home with the kids, at the office, or while traveling for your business — but let’s face it: You are one tired person.
You’re also probably, like most of us, either overfed on junk food or “take-out” or the brink of anemia because you just aren’t getting any good, old-fashioned, home-cooked meals anymore.
What happened? Even the greatest cafeterias or the finest restaurants with the most impeccable service don’t give you that comfortable feeling of, “Well! I’m happily full!” that your mother, grandmother, or even your great-grandmother provided — usually on a daily basis. Boy, are we starving, or what?
But the truth is, are you really content to just live out the rest of your life not providing yourself with the nutrients, the aromas, the actual pleasure — yes, pleasure — of creating a really terrific dinner for yourself, your family, or even, when you get ready for this frontier, your guests — at your first try in the art of “entertaining others for dinner”?
The remarkable thing is, we’re so conditioned to think “instant satisfaction” applies to everything, including the food we consume every day, that we really believe we are incapable of either performing the task of cooking, or setting aside the time required to cook.
Neither is true. You don’t need to be Martha Stewart or Emeril Lagasse, and though this concept of “cooking” may seem far too advanced or involved for your lifestyle, it really doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort. There’s an easy way out of everything.
Start by thinking of a world in which there’s no browning, broiling, baking, or sautéing involved. Most people can put a pan on the stove, fill it with water, and boil it, or, they can fill a dish with water and “zap-boil” it in the microwave.
That’s how you start. Next, when the water is boiled, throw any kind of fresh vegetable into the water and let it go, by itself, for just 8 minutes. This is called “steaming.”
For a little zest, plunge in a few vegetables at the same time, add pepper, a little lemon juice, even a dash of your favorite spices – basically anything you find in your cupboard that looks like it might taste good with whatever’s in the pot.
You can do the same thing with something as simple as beans. You can even take it a step further, and boil beans in beer. Some people use other flavoring ingredients, like coriander, walnuts, or “fatback,” also known as bacon, for extra zest.
The list is endless. Now you have beans, vegetables, and some seasoning, so there’s a plate of food. All you need is a simple salad. Tear apart some leaf lettuce, toss a few more vegetables in, and put it in another bowl (it adds to the overall culinary experience to have a separate bowl for each dish).
Now, you’re thinking, “What about meat?” Same thing. You can boil a chicken or a side of beef. Just flavor it with salt and pepper, create as you go, and enjoy. Fish can be done in a similar fashion, through what is known as “poaching.”
And by the way, poaching fish is guaranteed not to smell up your house and it’s easily done: Put water in a low pan, just below the height of the fish. You’ll know your fish is “done” when it either changes color or is easy “flaked” with a fork.
Color, atmosphere, and variety are the Three Great Principles of Cooking. Anyone can accomplish this in his or her own home, for as many people as needed, or for an elegant treat for one.
Bon appetit!
As parents, we all want our children to have the best things in life. But in our quest to give them the best “stuff,” we sometimes forget about some of the other more important gifts we can give them.
In the end, these priceless gifts are much more valuable than any ‘Tickle Me’ Elmo, iPod, toy, vacation, gadget or any other “stuff” we could give them.
If this were one of those MasterCard commercials, it might go something like this…
“A Tickle Me Elmo, $45, an iPod shuffle, $79, a vacation in Hawaii, $4500, a great childhood, priceless.”
Children need parents who respect them as human beings. This does not mean giving in to a child’s every whim, but it does mean treating that child as an active and important member of the family.
A parent needs to listen well, paying attention to a child’s hopes, fears, dreams and hurts. Children have strong feelings, and the way a parent deals with those feelings affects children all the way through adulthood.
Let your child know that it is okay to feel angry, sad, happy, scared, and all of the other powerful emotions that humans experience. Teach your child healthy ways to deal with their feelings, both with your words and most importantly with your actions. Children are smart and notice everything you do, so respect them enough to model healthy living.
Keeping your word to your child shows that you respect them. When you make a promise, don’t dismiss it readily saying to yourself something like “It’s just a child.” If you would keep that promise to an adult out of respect, do the same for your child.
Perhaps the most important way you can show respect for your children is by eliminating negative destructive criticism from your household.
Destructive criticisms, like “You are so stupid, why can’t you clean the dishes right,” is as corrosive as ‘Drano’ to your child’s self-esteem and dreams. You would never think of physically harming your child, but that’s what you are doing to their soul when you attack them with destructive criticisms.
Children need opportunities to try different things. One of the biggest mistakes a parent can make is to force a child into just one hobby, just one sport, just one way of thinking, etc. Growing up is a time of exploration and learning, so parents need to create opportunities for those things.
Let your child try things that they find interesting. If she is interested in animals then take her to the local animal shelter to volunteer. If he loves bugs, then go for a walk in the local park and see how many bugs you can find.
The key is to find ways to provide your children with the opportunity to do a variety of things and have a variety of experiences.
Expose them to new & different ideas. Cultivate their wonder and curiosity. Help them discover the joy and pleasure of learning.
It is clear that parent involvement plays a crucial role in the education of children. The more involved you are in their education, the better off they’ll be academically and in life.
Don’t rely solely on the school system to teach your kids. Make time to help them with their homework, expand their knowledge, and help them discover new things.
And remember that some of the most important life lessons won’t be taught in school.
Children need boundaries and structure to help them navigate through life. They crave them, even if they won’t admit it.
One of your most important jobs as a parent is to guide your children and teach them right from wrong. It’s often very easy to say ‘Yes’ to someone you love, but sometimes what they really need most is a strong ‘No.’
Discipline is much more about teaching than punishment. Effective discipline is always about the behavior, not the child. Avoid destructive criticism and make it clear to your kids that you’ll always love them, even when you disapprove of their actions.
Discipline is important because it teaches children how to control their impulses, feelings, and behavior. As they grow, they will learn self-discipline and how to delay gratification in order to go after what they want, both of which will serve them well for the rest of their lives.
Children need a sense of belonging to a family, regardless of the structure of that family. One of the worst things that can happen to a child is to feel isolated and alone, with no support or caring from their family. Children crave that special feeling of being connected and part of a family, so make a conscious effort to nurture that feeling.
Establish family traditions, even simple ones like making pancakes on Saturday mornings or planting flowers each spring.
Support each other as a family, with expectations for appropriate behavior and unconditional love for the person. Give your child a sense of family and he or she will thrive.
Children need parents to teach them persistence. It communicates something that is critical to success in life – when you start something important and that you really care about, you may have setbacks, you may face difficult obstacles, you may fail, and you may need to struggle with doubt and disappointment before finally having a breakthrough.
Children naturally like to give up on things that get boring, hard, and the like, but children who don’t know how to persist grow into adults who don’t know how to persist.
This has a powerful impact on the ability to get and keep a job; start and finish schoolwork; stay and build a healthy relationship, and more. If you teach your children to persist, you prepare them to be responsible adults.
A great way to teach your children persistence is to offer them encouragement when they want to try something new, and give them support if they happen to fail. It not only builds their self-esteem and gives them confidence to go after what they want, but it also helps them pick themselves up after a fall and continue marching forward. It let’s them know that it’s OK to fail, you just have to get back up and find a different way to achieve your goals.
This article has some other ideas on how you can reframe the definition of failure for yourself and for your child.
Another way to build persistence is to help your child focus on and enjoy the process of getting better at something rather than just the final outcome they want. For example, if they are struggling to shoot free-throws, you can help them focus on practicing and doing the work that it takes to get better.
Learning to enjoy improvement and mastery rather than just outcomes helps your child persist through setbacks and obstacles.
If you want to see an amazing example of what an encouraging parent can do, you’ll want to see the story of Ben Underwood, who was blinded at an early age by cancer.
His mother always supported him and encouraged him to try new things. She regularly told him there was almost nothing that other kids could do that he couldn’t do as well. It paid off, because now he can ’see’ using echo-location like dolphins and does all sorts of normal activities you wouldn’t expect a blind teenager to be able to do.
Love is the most valuable and important gift that a parent can give to his or her children because children need a constant flow of love to have excellent physical and emotional health.
According to Brian Tracy, there are three main ways that parents show their children that they love them.
The first, and most obvious, is to simply tell them that you love them. Tell them every day.
The second is through physical contact and affection. A hug, a pat on the back, even a warm smile and a soft “I love you” can have a huge impact on your child. Affection from a parent reassures a child who has made a mistake that while their behavior was incorrect, they are still a lovable person. It shows a child who has experienced disappointment that you are a safe, secure source of support who can help in difficult times.
Warm, loving affection given openly and frequently strengthens the bond between parent and child and creates a strong foundation for the future.
The third way to show children that you love them is through your actions. You can say the words all you want, but you also need to walk the talk, spend lots of quality time together when you can give them your full attention.
Leslie Karen Lobell argues convincingly why love is the greatest gift we can give our children.
Children need parents who play with them. A child’s brain is programmed to play because that is how it learns, so find a way to play with your child as often as possible. Shoot hoops with a basketball, play a card game, play tic tac toe, or draw pictures – it doesn’t matter what you choose, it just matters that you take the time to do it.
Did you have a favorite game when you were a kid? Go ahead and teach that game to your child. You will share a piece of yourself with your child, your child will learn something new, and the two of you will strengthen your relationship along the way.
Children also need parents to give them the gift of laughter. Life is far too full of serious times, so be sure to foster those light hearted times when you and your child can simply laugh. Read a joke book together, play a silly game together, practice making faces in the mirror – whatever it takes to step away from every day life and soak up the benefits of laughter.
Laughter should be a part of every single day. Encourage your child to read their favorite comic strip every morning, or make up a joke each night at the dinner table. Most of all, show your child the value of laughter by allowing yourself to laugh right along. You’ll be amazed at how good it makes you both feel.
Some parents dread the time when their kids will leave the nest and go off on their own, but it is just a natural part of the growth process.
You can help them on their journey by teaching them basic life skills, like cooking and laundry, how to handle finances, how to learn and think for themselves, how to respect and interact with others, and how to be responsible human beings.
For example, even something as simple as learning to cook teaches children about healthy eating, measuring and volume, weight, temperature, and more. It is a practical skill they will use the rest of their lives and is a great teaching opportunity for other important life skills.
Teach your children to put together a healthy meal and you are teaching them to plan, make a schedule, and nourish their bodies. Just the trip to the grocery store alone offers wonderful learning opportunities, from using money to reading labels to budgeting.
Another way you can help your kids become more independent is to let them struggle and find their own solutions to problems. As parents, we often find it difficult to see our kids struggling. Of course we want to help them. But sometimes, the best help we can give is to let them struggle and figure it out on their own.
Obviously, you don’t want to do this if there is any real danger involved, and you don’t want to make their whole life a struggle. Just recognize that problems can sometimes be wonderful teaching opportunities for your child.
If your child is having problems figuring out the solution, you can provide constructive forms of criticism to help them find the right answer.
Constructive criticism focuses on the behavior, strategy, or techniques used, rather than on the traits of the child. For example, “That doesn’t seem like a good way to solve this problem, why don’t you try something else,” or “You are missing those free-throws because you have to bend your knees, tuck in your elbow a bit more, and follow through with your wrist.”
Remember to avoid destructive criticism at all costs… so don’t say, “Any idiot could do that… You stupid or something? Do it again!”
Children need parents to praise them. They thrive on knowing they are doing well, whether it is learning to walk, learning to use the toilet, or learning to drive. But don’t think for a moment that children need empty or insincere praise, because they see right through that and know you don’t really mean it.
Instead, find legitimate, positive reasons to offer praise. When your child comes home with an art project, praise the shape or the color or something else about it. When your child brushes his teeth without being reminded, praise him for being responsible. When your daughter solves a difficult math problem, praise her for getting through it instead of giving up. The key is to praise your children often and sincerely, reinforcing important life lessons and giving them the confidence they need.
A recent article by Po Bronson provides clear evidence that ‘false’ praise, or general praise aimed only at the child’s natural abilities, can actually backfire and lead to less confidence and lower self-esteem.
It may seem counterintuitive, but telling a child that he or she is ’smart’ when they accomplish something may lead them to believe that it should be easy for them to do other similar things. Because of this belief, they may take fewer risks, only attempt things that they can easily accomplish, or easily give up when they face a real challenge.
“I am smart, the kids’ reasoning goes; I don’t need to put out effort. Expending effort becomes stigmatized - it’s public proof that you can’t cut it on your natural gifts.”
Some advice from the researchers in the article:
Whether you like it or not, the moment you became a parent, you also became a role model. Children learn by imitating and doing what their parents do and say. Remember that your everyday actions, what you say, how you treat people, how you treat yourself, all are literally shaping and molding a young life.
Be an example of the kind of person you want your child to become, but don’t force them to follow your path. Let them find their own path through life.
If you want your child to find and have a loving relationship someday, then show them what that type of relationship looks like. Love your spouse and your family.
Make exercise a lifelong habit in your household, and it will eventually become a lifelong habit for your kids as well.
Show them how to interact with others in a respectful and courteous manner. Be a true example of the golden rule, show them how to share, and let them experience the joy of giving first hand. Openly admit your mistakes, and apologize when you treat them badly.
A wonderful poem by Dorothy Nolte says that children learn what they live, and I could not agree more.
Above all, remember that children are not ‘yours.’ Children are unique and precious; they are not here to make you happy, to help you experience what you missed out in life, to meet your expectations, or to fulfill your needs. So give them these priceless gifts out of love and don’t expect anything in return.
Poet Kahlil Gibran wrote a wonderful passage about children in his masterpiece The Prophet…
“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness; for even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.”
Most weightlifting programs these days have people working out in the gym for long periods of time, anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. They instruct people to do 8 to 15 exercises and to do at least three sets of 8 to 15 repetitions, sometimes more.
Supposedly, these routines are designed to make a person stronger and more muscular. Really, though, they make people big, sore and tired, and they take far too much time out of a person’s day. People with busy schedules don’t even start such programs, because they can’t make the time commitment.
Really, though, if your goal is to increase your strength, you don’t need to spend more than 15 minutes working out each day. With the routine I’m going to share with you in just a minute, you can squeeze in your workout before taking your shower each morning.
That will give you the added benefits of waking you up faster and jump starting your metabolism for the day. The jump start to your metabolism will help you burn more calories all day long and help you reach any fat loss goals you may have—as long as you don’t eat more than you usually do.
Remember to get an OK from your doctor before starting any exercise program, especially if you’re not currently in the habit of exercising or have a family history of health problems. This is an advanced program for experienced athletes/exercisers who want to develop serious strength. Working with heavy weights carries a risk of injury if you don’t take proper precautions or you don’t know what you are doing. The authors/publishers disclaim all liability for anyone interested in pursuing this program.
This program does two things to increase your strength. First, it trains your nervous system to signal more muscle fibers to contract. There are a lot of muscle fibers in your body that you don’t even use, because you aren’t in the habit of requiring their power so the nervous system doesn’t signal them to contract.
Secondly, this program exercises your muscles in a way that causes them to grow more myofilaments in each fiber. Myofilaments are microscopic filaments that use a ratchet-like mechanism to produce contractions—they are the real source of strength. Bodybuilding programs, which this is not, typically cause your muscles to grow more of the fluid and non-contracting parts of muscle fibers than the myofilaments that produce strength, so you get big muscles without their full strength potential.
This program achieves the goal of getting stronger by having you lift a lot of weight just a few times and allowing you to get lots of rest in between, similar to Olympic powerlifting routines. This will cause your muscles to grow stronger and adapt to the additional weight load.
Long rests between sets (most bodybuilding programs call for short rest periods in order to exhaust the muscles) allows the nervous system to recuperate between sets, which helps your muscles be equally strong for the next set. You will only do four exercises for two sets of five repetitions each. That’s it.
Though it’s different than most weightlifting programs in the popular exercise magazines, athletes who are after raw strength have been using routines similar to this since the early days of circus strongmen, like Arthur Saxon who was able to press 150 pounds overhead with one hand.
Your daily routine will look like this:
Rest as little as possible between exercises, except where indicated. Ideally, you should not rest at all except for the designated rest period. Make sure you warm up thoroughly before beginning your routine.
You can warm up with bodyweight squats, jumping jacks, windmills, jogging in place, etc. Warm up, but do not exhaust yourself or your strength will be less than it could be.
The exercises you choose must be compound exercises that work many muscles of many joints at a time. No leg extensions, leg curls, arms curls, triceps extensions or deltoid flys. Those exercises work only a few isolated muscles at a time.
Here are some good exercises to choose from:
Lower body:
Front squats, back squats, hack squats, deadlifts, lunges (if you choose lunges, make sure you do both legs for 5 reps in each set)
Upper body pull:
Chin ups, pull ups, bent over rows, upright rows, one-arm dumbbell rows (do a set with each arm), pull-overs
Upper body push:
Bench press, side press, parallel bar dips
A really good combination for folks that workout at home with a barbell and bench is to do front squats, bench press and bent-over rows. Because it takes a lot less weight to get a good workout with front squats than it does with back squats or deadlifts, the weights for each exercise will be pretty similar and you don’t have to spend a lot of time changing weights from one exercise to the next.
And since front squats don’t require you to get your whole body under the bar, you can keep the barbell racked in the bench press and lift it right into position on your chest—no need for a big squat rack.
For sit-ups, do them with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Do not hook your feet under anything, because doing so will reduce the amount of strength that is required from your abdominal muscles. Make sure you do slow, full sit-ups. Don’t do crunches and don’t do them fast so that momentum helps you.
If you get to the point where you can do 5 sit-ups easily, hold a 5-pound barbell plate or other weight on your chest or behind your head. You can do the same for chin-ups and pull-ups when they become easy, just hang the weight from your belt or shoulders, or grip it between your feet. I sometimes throw a couple of barbell plates in a back pack and put the backpack on to do chins—probably works for pushups too.
For the first week, use a weight with which you can do five repetitions fairly easy. Increase the weight by five or ten pounds every couple of days for upper body exercises and by 15 to 20 pounds for lower body exercises. When you reach a weight that is too heavy to lift five times, take a couple days off and start again at a weight that is just a few pounds heavier than you originally started with.
This cycling from light weights to heavy weights and back again, gives your body an opportunity to recover and grow after several days of heavy lifting, while still lifting enough to cause your body to adapt to a rigorous workout.
When I first started lifting in cycles, the most I could lift for 5 repetitions was 265 to 275 pounds. After a couple of months, 265 became my starting weight. Your growth rate will depend on your current fitness level and your weightlifting experience.
Below is an example of how this might work. The actual weight you’ll use is likely to be different than this, depending on your fitness level and weightlifting experience.
As I stated above, start out with a relatively light weight and work your way up to heavier weights to accustom your body to the program. A beginner may want to start with as little as 30 pounds on the bench press, and 50 pounds on the back squat, where an experienced athlete might start with more weight than I’ve listed below.
Also, remember to adjust the exercise weights accordingly based on your size, weight, and body type!
|
|
Back Squats |
Bench Press |
Bent Over Rows |
|
Day 1 |
100 |
90 |
30 |
|
Day 2 |
115 |
100 |
40 |
|
Day 3 |
130 |
110 |
50 |
|
Day 4 |
145 |
120 |
60 |
|
Day 5 |
160 |
130 |
70 |
|
Day 6 |
185 |
140 |
80 |
|
Day 7 |
200 |
150 |
90 |
|
Day 8 |
215 |
160 |
100 |
|
Day 9 |
230 |
170 |
110 |
|
Day 10 |
245 |
180 |
120 |
|
Day 11 |
OFF |
OFF |
OFF |
|
Day 12 |
OFF |
OFF |
OFF |
|
Day 13 |
115 |
100 |
40 |
|
Day 14 |
130 |
110 |
50 |
|
Day 15 |
145 |
120 |
60 |
|
Day 16 |
160 |
130 |
70 |
|
Day 17 |
185 |
140 |
80 |
|
Day 18 |
200 |
150 |
90 |
|
Day 19 |
215 |
160 |
100 |
|
Day 20 |
230 |
170 |
110 |
|
Day 21 |
245 |
180 |
120 |
|
Day 22 |
260 |
190 |
130 |
|
Day 23 |
275 |
200 |
140 |
|
Day 24 |
OFF |
OFF |
OFF |
|
Day 25 |
OFF |
OFF |
OFF |
In this example, each cycle comes to an end at the same time. This is unlikely to happen in your workout. You will likely reach the end of your upper body cycle faster than your lower body cycle. In this case, you can do one of three things:
1) Take two days of rest on all exercises and start the cycles again together
2) Take two days of rest on the exercise in which you’ve reach the end of a cycle and keep going with the other two exercises.
3) Take two days of rest on all exercises, but only start a new cycle with the exercise whose cycle has ended and pick up the other two where you left off.
The first five days or so of your workout will not feel like a workout. It will feel too easy. That’s OK, you’re body goes through an adaptation period during that time to get used to the new level of exercise. The end of a cycle will seem difficult, because you are lifting a lot of weight several days in a row. Because you aren’t doing a lot of reps of any exercise, you should never feel really sore or fatigued the next day. If you do, or find you don’t have the strength to complete a workout, take a day off and pick up again where you left off.
About the author - John E. Fike is a professional writer specializing in health and fitness writing and marketing copy. With more than 8 years of professional writing experience, John can provide you with the custom e-books, articles and marketing copy you need to grow your business. Contact him today by emailing john[at]proclaimstudios.com or go online to www.johnefike.com.
Written exclusively for KSuccess.com. All rights reserved.
Tony Robbins is not only a great communicator and coach, but also a master salesman and marketer. A great example of his marketing savvy is adding the firewalk experience to his motivational seminars. You have to admit that a firewalk is a very flashy, colorful, and memorable way to market a seminar!
But is it only a marketing gimmick, or is there actually something valuable to learn from the experience?
For those of you who are not familiar with it, firewalking consists of walking barefoot over a bed of 1,000-degree red hot coals from one side to the other. It is an old tradition dating back to India that has been used for centuries as part of religious festivals for many different cultures. And no, there are no open flames like the cartoon depicts 
Some promoters claim that firewalking requires you to be in a special mental state or have an unwavering belief in order to prevent the hot coals from burning your feet. Others claim it is proof of the power of the mind over the body, saying that if your belief and concentration are strong enough, it will actually prevent your skin from burning.
Critics quickly point out that firewalking doesn’t have anything to do with the power of the mind. In fact, it doesn’t require any special mental state, ability, concentration, or other paranormal explanation. It all has to do with basic physics.
They are right, of course. The only reason you can walk on coals is that they poor conductors of heat. It is the same reason why you can touch a cake baking inside an oven without being burned, but you can’t touch a metal plate inside the same oven (you can find some basic explanations of the physics involved here or here.) There are definitely risks involved in firewalking if you don’t prepare the coals correctly, so don’t try it at home!
I don’t think Tony Robbins has ever claimed that you need special mental abilities to firewalk, or that if you don’t believe or concentrate your feet will be burned. That’s not the point he is trying to make. Firewalking is just a tool that Robbins uses to teach some valuable lessons.
While every participant probably gains something different from their firewalking experience, these are what I consider to be the five main lessons…
Your beliefs are a mental model or paradigm that you’ve created based on your perception and interpretation of past experiences, events, and what you’ve been taught by your parents, teachers, religion, authority figures, and culture.
Beliefs serve as a frame of reference that helps you understand the world around you, process what happens to you, decide what actions are appropriate, and interpret the results you experience.
Your beliefs about what is possible or impossible in your life are also created in a similar fashion. They are a reflection what you’ve been taught and of the way you perceive and interpret reality.
Most people that have not seen or experienced a firewalk find it difficult to believe that anyone could actually walk on hot coals without getting burned. Unless you really understand the physics involved, it does seem to go against common sense and our previous experiences with hot coals. When you think about it, hot coals are what you use to cook burgers and hotdogs on a picnic!
People who’ve never experienced a firewalk are naturally hesitant to try it. If you truly believe that it is not possible to walk across the coals without getting burned, you’d have to be an idiot to actually do it. Even if you accept that it’s theoretically possible to do it, you may believe that it’s something that you can’t do yourself.
Fear is our natural reaction to a perceived threat, and often stops us from taking foolish risks or gambles. This type of “good fear” probably saved the lives of many of our ancestors, which is why evolution has given it so much power over our behavior.
However, fear can also be limiting and prevent us from taking actions that would be very beneficial to us. This type of fear can paralyze and keep us trapped in our current circumstances and behavior patterns.
When we attempt to make a change, either positive or negative, or take some other action that contains an element of risk, our brain can perceive that action as a real threat. The fear we feel can be just as real as if we were risking falling off a cliff, or gambling away our life savings.
The key insight is to recognize that fear is a reaction to a perceived threat, and not necessarily a real threat. Your brain has to first interpret what it sees, then determine whether there is a threat, and then decide how big the threat actually is. Your beliefs and past experiences play a crucial role in this process.
Because of the way beliefs are formed, they tend to be subjective interpretations rather than objective facts. Beliefs are often based on inaccurate or unreliable information that we accept as true.
Some beliefs form from our own experience, while many others come from what other people, like parents, teachers, and authority figures, have told us. Most of us have had the experience of truly believing something that we later found out to be false.
Because our brain likes to ensure that our perception of reality is consistent with our beliefs, we often interpret events in a way that reinforces our beliefs. We may notice and pay attention to information and experiences that confirm our beliefs, while ignoring and disregarding information that would contradict them.
The firewalk experience is a perfect example. The belief that walking through the bed of hot coals without being burned is impossible turns out to be flat-out wrong. The truth is that not only is firewalking possible, but anyone can do it.
A useful acronym for FEAR coined by Zig Ziglar is False Evidence Appearing Real. This is the “bad” form of fear that is not grounded in reality.
When you change your beliefs, you also change how you interpret and perceive the world. Depending on which beliefs you change, you can often see dramatic and profound effects on your future experiences and behavior.
One of the most important set of beliefs you have are the beliefs about what is possible for you in life, because these beliefs not only influence your choices, behavior, and actions, but they also influence the risks that you take and what you are willing to try. If you believe something is impossible, or more important, that it is impossible for you, what’s the point of even trying?
Once you start believing that something is possible, it opens up a whole new set of avenues for you to explore.
The more you believe, the more self-confidence you get. Once your belief is strong enough, you can conquer the fear that is holding you back and take that important first step.
Does that mean that the fear disappears completely? No, because fear of the unknown is always present in some form or another. But your new beliefs often do provide you with enough courage and self-confidence to act in spite of the fear that you might feel.
That’s usually what happens in the firewalk experience. The coach may go first in order to show everyone that it is possible to do it without injury. Then a few other brave souls may try it. Eventually, after enough people have walked through the coals, almost everyone starts to believe that it really may be possible for them to do it too.
All they need then is a little encouragement and prodding to try it for themselves.
It is important to realize that we do have real limits on what we can accomplish. Believing that you can do absolutely anything is simply unrealistic. However, most people have self-imposed limits that are far more constraining than any real limitations they may have. Plus, you can often expand real limitations through training, education, knowledge, persistence, and practice.
Tony Robbins says that beliefs are like tables. The belief itself is the surface of the table, and all the supporting evidence, experiences, and other reinforcing beliefs are like the legs of the table. The more “legs” a belief has to stand on, the stronger it becomes.
So how do you change a belief?
The first thing that you need to do is become aware of the belief you want to change. Most people are unaware of many of the beliefs that hinder and limit their progress. You can’t change a belief that you don’t acknowledge.
The next step is to start knocking down some of the “legs of the table” that are supporting the belief using questions that create doubt, expose false assumptions, and show contradictory evidence. It’s important to do this first so you can weaken the belief you want to change.
In the firewalk example, this is what happens when people start walking through the coals. Since you can see with your own eyes that other people are doing it without getting hurt, this immediately starts creating doubt in your belief that it is impossible. How can it be impossible if other people just like you are doing it?
Another way to create doubt would be to explain why it’s possible; that it has nothi