The Kaizen principle

An idea we got from lifting great Charles Poliquin, Kaizen is taken from Japanese philosophy. The word literary means "constant and never-ending improvement." When it comes to strength training, it's easy to succumb to the "more is more" approach. Why add five pounds when you can add twenty?

For novices, this approach can work. Until it doesn't. Often, when we first start lifting, our strength gains come surprisingly fast. It's awesome! But it only lasts so long. With experience, we become better lifters, more knowledgable and better able to create effective programs. But, with experience also comes diminshing returns.

As we get further into our lifting journey, it becomes more difficult to successfully move up in weight on our lifts. This is where Kaizen comes in. A small amoun of additional weight can eventually yeild big results. Adding very small increases to your lifts can, over time, yeild big advances in your lifts.

See you in the gym!