August marks five years that I've been in the fitness industry. I still feel like a rookie in this fitness game, more confident, sure, but I know I still have a lot to learn. Over at T-Nation.com many of the strength coaches I follow wrote about their "a ha" moments. It's that moment of clarity, when the light bulb turns on in your head, so to speak. So here's my top 6 "a ha" moments that have helped me progress with my training (to gain some size/muscle) thus far.
1. Big Boy Moves - When I first started as a personal trainer, I weighed around 150 pds soaking wet. I was that skinny personal trainer dork you usually see at big commercial gyms doing bicep curls in the squat rack or on the leg extension machine with the wife beater on!!! I just couldn't pack on any significant amount of size let alone strength!! It was then I got turned onto the t-nation site and that's when my real education began. I ditched all the isolation and "body part" days and focused on big compound movements like the squat, bench press, deadlift, and pull/chin ups. Those exercises work many of the big muscle groups and I saw some noticeable improvements in my size and strength within a couple weeks!
2. Bring The Pain! - No, I don't mean injure yourself, I'm talking about intensity, going past your perceived physical and mental limits. Squeezing out that one extra rep, making that vein stick out of your neck kind of pain!! A crappy program done with all out intensity will yield more results than the perfect program done half assed. Cutting down my time in the gym, and focusing all my efforts into those exercises mentioned above, set me on the right path for success.
3. Less reps, more weight - So I had the "money" exercises, upped my intensity, made some gains, but after a few months the inevitable plateau happended. I had been doing the typical 3 sets, 12-15 reps on those exercises. Luckily, from my continued readings and application of the correct programs, I dropped my reps down to 3-5 (sometimes 1 rep maxes) and added more weight/reps to the bar each workout. This helped me actually fill out my wife beaters!!
4. Eat like you train - All this hard training is useless if you don't properly fuel your body. I guess this could be on the top of my list because I used to be the worst when it came to my diet and I was a trainer!! No wonder I couldn't put on any weight!! It's amazing how just small changes like eating more food, eating breakfast, cutting out the junk food, and getting in a post-workout meal/protein shake helps all the other things (related to eating right) fall into place. Also of note, as Captain Obvious would say, you need to basically eat along the same lines as your goal. If you want to gain weight/muscle, you need to up your calories eat more, to lose weight, decrease calories. Training and eating go hand in hand. It's, well, obvious, but many people think that one hour in the gym is good enough. That one hour is important, but don't forget, there are still 23 more hours in that day. Don't waste your hard work in the gym by not working just as hard outside of it.
5. R & R - Another thing I overlooked in my younger days was getting proper rest and utilizing recovery methods. I just didn't understand why I always felt like a walking zombie. The answer was not enough sleep!! This had to do with working two jobs at the time, but still, I could've went to bed earlier instead of watching tv. Once I started personal training independently (2 yrs ago), I was able to get good sleep at night and also slip in an afternoon nap. I wasn't fatigued during the day anymore and my energy levels in the gym were sky high. You break down your body in the gym and it repairs itself outside when you sleep/rest. The
foam roller has been a revelation in helping me recovery from the tough workouts as have
contrast showers too. Also simply listening to my body and taking that rest day or just lifting a little lighter (de-loading) has done wonders in terms of my recovery (I guess with age comes more experience??). If you got the training and nutrition part down, but still find yourself stuck, getting a few more zzz's may be the answer to your problem.
6. Cult worship - I feel so free now that I've stopped trying to argue exercise stuff with the "gurus" or people who "sip the kool aid". I've found you can't argue with the know it alls, and, with all this fitness (mis) information out there, everyone thinks they're an expert!! I'm pretty confident I'm on the right track in terms of the latest information out there (see my resources links) so now I just have an open mind, "keep doin what I'm doin", learn everyday, and smile at the "haters'".
As I write, I keep thinking of many more revelations I've had, but to keep this from becoming a novel, I'll stop for now. So in five years, I've gone from a skinny 150 to 195 at my heaviest, and now at a comfortable 175 pds. Those "a ha" moments have shaped me into the trainer/person I am today. Far from a finished product, but moving forward everyday. These are my personal "a ha" moments, what are yours?
Bolt, as well as other sprinters have the body most guys strive for at the gym, lean and ripped, however, not many are willing to put in the necessary work to look like that. 
Long Distance vs. Sprinting!!! Who do you want to look like?
