Bio:

“Commit, Focus, EXECUTE!”

“Commit, Focus, EXECUTE!” is a saying I like to use in bodybuilding, but the principle applies to accomplishing anything in life. First, you must commit yourself to your goal. Make sure you have made this goal a priority in your life. Instead of your goal being a “should”, you have to make it a “must”. Figure out all the reasons why you are absolutely committed to accomplishing your goal. Then you focus. Come up with a plan of attack. How are you going to go about accomplishing your goal, what specifically do you need to do, as the old saying goes “if you fail to plan, plan to fail.” Then comes the fun part, simply execute your plan with passion. To achieve the physique of your dreams all you have to do is commit, focus, EXECUTE!

Although I place a high priority on my success on the competitive stage, it is also my sincere desire to help YOU. I want share with you my expertise so that you can achieve your fitness results NOW. There is so much information out there in books, magazines, and videos that many people don’t have any idea what’s right. So, what makes me think I am such an expert? Is it because I have the best body? No. Is it because I am the smartest guy out there and have two PhDs? No. It is because few people share the same the passion that I do. I eat, sleep, and live bodybuilding. It’s not just my business, it’s my passion. I’ve never been the kind of person to spread myself around and be pretty good at a lot of things; instead I wanted to be the best at just one thing. Luckily I have found my passion in bodybuilding. Most importantly though, how can I help you?

There are certainly more effective and more efficient ways to train than others. There is also tons of nutrition information that can get flat out overbearing and complicated. I’ve got all that information too. But, the real key to success in any area of life and what I enjoy coaching you on the most, and bodybuilding is no different, is the mental aspect. I have placed so much focus on the mental side of training. One of my favorite sayings goes:

“ Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge

You don’t have to be a competitive bodybuilder to benefit from what I’ve learned. No matter what anyone else tells you, we all face the same challenges. No matter what it may look like from the outside, we are all trying to overcome the same obstacles when it comes to developing our bodies. I hope you enjoy your visit to my website; you can count on frequent updates on what I’m doing, and be on the look out for more books, videos, and articles soon.

Commit, Focus, EXECUTE!

Chris Knickerbocker

Training

Through the years I’ve been lifting weights I’ve tried every kind of style, heavy, light, power lifts, drop sets, super sets, pyramiding, compound exercises, isolation exercises. After years of trial and error I’ve found key factors that dictate the way I train today, 1) progressive overload, 2) compound free weight movements, and 3) mental intensity.

A lot of people follow training routines that supposedly “shock the muscle”, or “confuse the muscle” or “isolate the muscle”. If you ask me, this is all crap! I don’t want to confuse my muscles; in fact I would prefer my muscle were 100% certain that I wanted to them to get absolutely huge! Instead of following these crazy styles I preach progressive overload. Progressive overload is simple and effective. The definition of muscle hypertrophy is that the muscles of the human body grow larger and stronger to adapt to the demands of their environment. Simply put, you either lift more weight or do more reps each and every time you train a body part to literally force the muscle to grow. Muscles no longer grow naturally after puberty, you have to force them to grow through stress, and progressive overload is that stress that produces the best muscle growth.

I train primarily with free weight compound exercises. Why do I this. Number one you can lift the most amount of weight with these exercises. Lifting a large amount of weight will allow you to achieve more overload & hence grow more muscle. Also, these exercises recruit multiple muscle groups at the same time. Also important is the fact that you are able to work with your body’s own naturally movement instead of being hooked up to a machine that may not work in your own natural range of motion. Some great examples of compound exercises are squats, deadlifts, leg press, military press, bench press, barbell rows, barbell curls, and lying triceps extensions.

Mental intensity in the gym is all about creating a mind to muscle connection. It’s more than simply working hard. Doesn’t everyone work hard? Instead of lifting a weight and moving it from point A to point B, it’s about contracting a muscle to generate overload & growth. You do this by focusing on what you’re doing. Instead of checking out the girl next to you in between sets, you are focusing on your next set, picturing in your head your ideal physique and taking yourself through the next set performed with perfect form. Intensity in the gym is what separates the have from have-nots.

Commit, Focus, EXECUTE! -Chris Knickerbocker