Happy Thursday Friday Saturday, friends. I’m running behind this week, so just getting around to sending this out. Wishing you a peaceful weekend. <3

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Every week, I see hundreds of people working out — not just at Flagship, where I coach, but also at places like Equinox and Fitness SF, where I train.

Between coaching, lifting, and watching folks in between sets, I’d say I see 300+ athletes / week.

Over time, certain patterns become impossible to ignore — especially among solo lifters.

It’s clear people are ready to show up and work hard… but a few key habits consistently hold them back.

So I pulled together the 4 biggest success tips I’d give if I could walk over and coach them mid-set.

Here’s what they are — and why they matter.

Train Smarter: 4 Tips for Solo Lifters Who Want Better Results

Tip #1: Don’t Skip the Warm-Up — It’s Not Optional

Yesterday at Equinox, I watched someone walk in, head straight to the bench press, slap several plates on the bar — and go right into a heavy working set.
No warm-up. No ramp-up. No prep.

Within seconds, they were pinned under the bar.
No spotter. No plan.

A trainer rushed over and saved them.
But it was a painful reminder that intensity without preparation isn’t just ineffective — it’s dangerous.

And unfortunately?
This isn’t rare.

I see it a lot:
Lifters skipping the warm-up, going straight to heavy sets, thinking that’s how you “maximize time” or “go hard.”

But that’s not training. That’s gambling your safety.

As a coach, I’ll say this clearly:
If you want to move well, lift strong, and stay injury-free, warming up is non-negotiable.

What a Warm-Up Does

If you’ve ever felt stiff in your early sets, struggled to hit proper range of motion, or felt like your coordination was off — you’ve already experienced what happens when you skip a warmup.

A proper warmup:

• increases joint range of motion

• improves muscle elasticity

• boosts blood flow

• primes your nervous system for output

That means:

→ Stronger lifts
→ Smoother reps
→ Better access to full range of motion under load

A simple, effective structure for your warmups:

Keep it simple, stay focused, and you’ll start to feel — session by session — how a few minutes of prep can take your training to new heights.

Tip #2: Control the Weight — Don’t Let It Control You

It might be social pressure.
It might be a misunderstanding of how strength and muscle are actually built.

But somewhere along the way, it seems athletes pick up the belief that heavier always means better.

So they load up.
Then load up again.
And again — chasing higher numbers instead of quality of movement.

Next time you’re in a gym, I encourage you to take a moment to look around. You’ll start to see the same patterns repeat themselves:

• Deadlifts initiated with momentum rather than tension, often paired with a rounded spine
  

• Overhead presses driven by hip extension and leg drive, rather than controlled shoulder strength
  

• Bicep curls performed with excessive body sway, using momentum to move the weight rather than isolating the muscle

These aren’t just technical flaws — they’re signs that the weight has exceeded the athlete’s ability to manage it with intention.

And while it might look impressive in the moment, it’s not the kind of work that builds lasting strength.

Strength that lasts is built through control.

How to Train for Control:

→ Use tempo to sharpen mechanics

Start with a lighter load and SLOWWWWWWWW your rep down.
Try 3 seconds down, pause at the hardest point, clean drive up.
This teaches your body how to stay engaged under stress — where true control is built.

→ Build gradually with progressive overload

Add weight over time (as in over weeks), not all at once.

→ Film your key lifts weekly

Use your phone like a coach would: check for range, posture, timing, bar path, velocity, and positioning.

Commit to this process over multiple sessions and you’ll likely start noticing improvements in:

• Muscle engagement and strength

• Joint mobility and range of motion

• Overall movement quality and consistency

And if you’re not sure about where you’re at?

Send me a clip of your lift. I’ll share my feedback and tips.

Tip #3: Follow a Plan — Don’t Just Wing It

If you want to get stronger, move better, and build real stamina — you need consistent, sufficient stimulus, paired with adequate rest.

That’s the foundation of progress.

And when you’re training solo, it’s easy to miss the mark in both directions — not enough, or way too much.

[see our previous post on training adaptations and the Overload Principle]

Here’s what I often see:

Someone walks in, does a few sets of bench press, throws in some lunges, maybe finishes with curls — and that’s the whole session.

It’s movement, yes.

But without enough focused work or intention, it’s unlikely to create any meaningful adaptation.

Then there’s the opposite — the person who’s in the gym for three hours doing 12 different leg exercises.

They’re working hard, no question.

But without structure or recovery, they’re just building fatigue their body won’t easily bounce back from.

How to plan workouts better:

→ Follow a 4–6 week training cycle

Repeat key movement patterns weekly.
Track volume and intensity, and build over the weeks.

→ Track your metrics

Not just reps and load, but recovery, soreness, and energy levels.
Progress isn’t just weight on the bar — it’s how your body responds to the work.

[Check out our post on Rate of Perceived Exertion and other training metrics.]

→ Use recovery as a training variable

Adaptation happens when training and rest are in balance.
You don’t need more exercises or longer sessions.

You need a plan that knows what you’re building — and how to get you there.

And if you’re not sure what that looks like yet — Reply here and I’ll be happy to help you figure it out.

Tip #4: Stop Comparing — Focus on What’s Yours

Every so often, athletes ask about the weights or times other people hit.

“What did so-and-so do?”
“Did they finish in time?”
“What do you think is hard, coach?”

Sometimes they’re just looking for a baseline.

But often, it reflects something deeper — that feeling of not knowing how to measure our own effort.

How to factor in our goals, fitness, recovery, training age, stress, or nutrition.
How to know if what we did was “enough.”

I get it — I’ve done it too.

When we don’t have a strong internal system to evaluate ourselves, we look to others.
We use vanity metrics to rank ourselves.
We let someone else’s performance shape how we feel about our own.

And it rarely helps.
It disconnects us from what actually matters.

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Because the truth is: there are so many variables that go into progress.

• Nutrition

• Stress Levels

• Whether we were a D1 athlete

• Steroids & other ‘enhancements’

• How long we’ve been training

• What our priorities are right now

You don’t always see those things on the gym floor or on a leaderboard.

And trying to match someone else’s path will ALWAYS pull us off our own.

How to focus on what’s actually yours:

→ Track your own progress

What’s getting easier?
What feels more stable?
What’s changing quietly in the background?

→ Measure what the mirror can’t show you:

• Speed

• Stamina

• Confidence

• Control

• Energy

• Decisiveness

→ Let your body shift

Because it will. That’s normal.

We’re not meant to stay the same — we’re meant to respond, adapt, and evolve.

The best thing about all of this is that it doesn’t have to be perfect.

It’s a process you get to play with, explore, and keep coming back to - again and again and again and again.

Movement of the Week: Ankle Mobilization

I wanted to leave you with something I’ve been working on myself.

Ankle mobility is an easy area to overlook — often skipped (again, I’m guilty!) in favor of more common stretches like pigeon pose, hamstring stretches, or forward folds.

But limited ankle dorsiflexion can affect your entire movement system. It’s been linked to:

• Compensations in squat depth and stability, with early heel lift and limited knee travel

• Increased knee valgus (collapsing inward)

• Poor force transfer in running and jumping

• Elevated injury risk in the Achilles tendon, knee, and even lower back

So I want to leave you with this guided mobility video from Yoga Body.

I’ve been doing these and other mobilization techniques to improve my lower leg range of motion.

I’ll share more updates over the weeks!

That’s it for today… I’m off to go bother Jackson at Flagship and film some content for our socials.

As always, I’m just a reply away.

Ivan

p.s. Plug for San Francisco Run Club

If you live in SF, Jackson, me, and a few other coaches are doing an informal run club. Every other Wednesday, 530pm @ Kezar (next May 30th).

Come train running and other accessory work with us, and ask us any questions you have. <3