Jimmy Fallon's "Thank You Notes" are hilarious. These short, subtle and randomly thought-up thank you notes are like mini Seinfeld episodes, and bound to strike a chord with any sense of humor. Here are a few I've gathered where he's referenced fitness/nutrition etc. Have any creative ones of your own? Add'em in the comments below!

1. "Thank you, gym, for being exactly like my grandpa—always there for me, even though I only visit you twice a year."
2. "Thank you, gym that I go to. On the plus side, your treadmills have TVs on them. On the down side, your TVs have treadmills on them."
3. "Thank you, brisk, rejuvenating, five mile run I had this morning… in my dream, right before I woke up and got a bear claw at Starbucks."
4. “Thank you, protein bars. I know you are just a candy bar. You know you are just a candy bar. But I’m glad we can share a delicious chocolaty lie together.”
5. "Thank you, fitness tracking devices, for letting me know exactly how long I sat on the couch today"
6. "Thank you, first week in January, for being the one week of the year when there are people at my gym who are fatter than I am.”
7. "Thank you, living on campus, for a gym membership that's included with my full-time student status and is walking distance from my room!"

As dedicated and passionate as we are about training, some of the day by day, session after session, and gym to gym quirks you can encounter are hilarious given the right perspective. Any funny, quirky, or annoyingly humorous "Thank You Notes" about training out there? Channel Jimmy Fallon and drop them here!

Making the individual commitment to get to workout is difficult. You can find 20 other things that require less effort, less time, and might be more enjoyable. None of those things will have the same kind of lasting pay-offs as spending an hour with 10 other people dedicated to the same effort - GETTING BETTER. Being able to share that experience with friends, partners, and fellow-members at your gym is special and should be taken advantage of at a gym that provides that opportunity. The benefits of a sense of camaraderie with those you train with at the gym go beyond good company, and should be highly sought after and quickly embraced when discovered or cultivated, here's why:

• Motivation - A partner will push you harder than you might push yourself
• Competition - A competitive personality needs to set their sights somewhere...a group can provide that atmosphere
• Dedication - The trust & bonds created while training together bring you back for that support & encouragement
• Accountability - The impact you have in a group makes you a valuable link in that chain, you will feel accountable to them
• Support - The continual practice of overcoming challenges together creates a unique bond amongst a group you train with

It's tough to find and qualify camaraderie in a gym, because it's something that is cultivated, experienced, and described in different ways depending on the gym, members, coaches, location, and time. But, one thing is for sure, you will know it when it's there because it will provide you with the benefits listed above, and when embraced it will have you reaching and setting goals you probably never would have, if you were alone.

Quality form, technique, and execution are top priorities in the pursuit of improving total body strength. After thorough a understanding and consistency in performing major lifts like the deadlift, back squat, and bench press has been established, it's time to get quantitative & number-savvy in assessing your improvements and strength gains. The importance of having numbers can't be overlooked, and after getting some baseline tests (bench-marks) logged, having your personal records (PRs) will add a lot of motivation, focus, and a sound empirical basis to continuing to set new PR's. The 1 rep max (1RM) test reigns supreme as a gold standard in assessing progress with your strength/fitness program. Here are some of the main reasons why:

• Knowing how much weight your capable of at 100% maximal effort will let you and your coach know proper loads & percentages of your 1RM to designate throughout your program.
• Having numbers and tracking your specific progress will guide you as you navigate through your training, work on your weaknesses, and maintain your strengths.
• Understanding your numbers will keep you safe and help you avoid injuries during your training.
• Rank your numbers against standardized age & gender matched controls to see how you compare.
• For those with a competitive drive looking to set gym records and be the athlete everyone's chasing after, you've gotta know the numbers.
• Testing periodically (8-10 weeks) will allow you to effectively periodize your training to maximize your potential on test days and make timely assessments.

It's important to know the numbers, have an understanding for what is good relative to your age, gender, and level of experience, but it's equally important not to get too competitive or obsessive over them. They should really be for YOU, and utilized only for exactly what they are - DATA. The value of understanding your 1RMs, weights, and relative training intensities makes the difference between just "getting a workout in" versus having a clearly defined intent and purpose behind your training. You should always make sure you've established a good technical foundation and have your form and technique validated by a trained & experienced eye. So, get excited about testing your 1RM! it's an important piece of the puzzle in the inherently difficult but entirely worthwhile pursuit of getting STRONG!

Bruce Lee - an amazing inspiration & legend during his time is a great reference for seasoned perspective & philosophy when it comes to setting goals, training, and succeeding in life. He was once quoted saying:

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." ~ Bruce Lee

The key to these wise words is "...you must go beyond them." Hitting plateaus during your training is inevitable. What is uncertain, but totally dependent upon reaching goals is how determined you are to push beyond adversity, plateaus, and frustrating set-backs. In the same way that negative thoughts & limitations can spread into your work and life, so too can cultivating a mentality and habit of pushing beyond perceived limitations. Some thoughts on taking the 1st steps towards going beyond limitations:

• Surround yourself with others aiming for the same positive achievements
• Keep positive reminders around you or in plain sight - it's easy to get distracted
• Be able to recognize the feeling and signs that you might be limiting yourself
  • Low energy, motivation, lack of excitement, longer than normal PLATEAUS
• Seek help/support from someone who's experienced or accomplished what your working towards
• Be open minded & embrace change - be ready to try different things or take new approaches
• Take risks & embrace failure:
  • "Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality" ~ Bruce Lee

Remember we create the limits & decide whether or not we're accepting defeat in our minds. So, doing the opposite also starts in our minds. But "knowing is not enough, we must APPLY. Willing is not enough, we must DO." ~ Bruce Lee

If you're training for strength, fitness, and/or performance...and not bodybuilding or figure competitions then the key and focus of your training should be on functional exercises, whole body integrated lifts, and training movements NOT muscles. Training isolated muscles and muscle groups certainly has it's place, but in the persuit of optimal fitness, strength, performance and body composition, training safe compound lifts will get you there faster than training back and bi's or chest and shoulders. Here are some reasons why...

• Compound functional lifts are what our bodies are hard-wired to perform, so improvements with these lifts and gaining strength with them comes more efficiently and adaptations are achieved successfully
• Since training whole body movements, like squats, thrusters, snatches, and upright presses are biomechanically natural they tend to be more safe, and reaching your training goals require that you stay healthy & injury free
• When emphasizing movements quality & understanding the point of a lift and what should be accomplished you will recruit the proper muscles required to successfully complete these lifts.
• Training whole body movements requires strength & stability through the core, so while you're training whole body movements you are effectively targeting your core.
• They require higher power output and contribute to generating an increase in your body's work capacity, in turn helping you burn more calories and increase muscle mass over time.
• They are purposeful and in many cases FUN! When there is a point and a purpose behind the lifts that you are working on there's much more a sense of accomplishment when you learn them successfully and can apply them in your day to day life!

So, in a nutshell...it's the quality of the movement and the purpose behind your exercises that should be emphasized. In most cases if its total body strength, general fitness, and an optimal body composition that you seek...learning how to perform whole body integrated exercises like the olympic and power lifts can be a fast, safe and effective way of accomplishing your goals!