mark
01-17-07, 5:45 pm
I've read several of the topics posted on the board, replied to some, too baffled to reply to others, totally perplexed by some of them...
Why is that people always try to use ADVANCE "itensity" enhacers (such as drop sets, negatives, slow reps, etc) in their programs when they're not really advanced lifters. Is it the Joe Weider era of bodybuilding magazines that has people doing these? Idolization of their bodybuidling superstars that they're trying to emulate? This whole "phenominum" just leaves me bewildered...
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE BASICS?!?!
Whatever happened to getting strong? Starting simple and working up? Why is it that people are always trying to train harder? What happened to training smarter? Why do people always think more is more? Has the idea that less can be more been tossed out the window? Why do most people think they need advanced techniques?
For most people, if you weigh under 200lbs, hell, most of this will apply to most people who weigh under 250 for sure, and you're can't figure out why you can't put on any more size to your chest, "guns", back,etc, you should probably look at how much weight you're using on your exercises. If you bench less than 315 for 3, then you should make this your bench press goal. I guaranatee you, that if your work out consists of working up to to a "heavy" set of 5 with 225 followed by some drop sets with a lighter weight (i don't care how long you spent lowering the weight on the set of 225) that you'll get bigger by tossing out the ultra slow negatives and focussing more on working up to 315 for 5. Typically, the more weight you can use for an exercise the bigger the muscle will get due to the increased volume- and the more volume you have in your training, the more time your muscles will spend under tension (for those of you who live by that principle)- therefore, if you just focussed on getting stronger, you'll get bigger. Plain and simple, if you keep is simple, it'll be easier to make gains. You don't need to do a million and half drop sets and whatnot... you just need to get stronger.
If you truly put everything you have into your big compound movements (squat, bench, deadlift, and pull ups) you should barely have any energy to do much of anything else during the workout. If you can do more than 3-4 exercises in a workout, then you're not putting enough into your compound movements, your true strength and mass builders.
I truly believe most people here could benefit from simply training smarter, not harder. The classic formula that applies to all forms of training:
Train+ Eating+ Sleeping= Progress
2/3 of the formula is recovery, yet I've barely seen any threads about people asking what they can do to enhance their recovery. Yes, there are the peripherial questions about food and what not, but what about other recovery methods? I think people here would be suprised how much they gain by focussing some on their recovery. When was the last time you got a deep tissue massage? Saw a chiro? Got ultra- sound? De-loaded? Or god forbid, take an... OFF- WEEK??? Hell, I take every 3rd or 4th week off or deload upwards of 80% of both my volume and intensity, and I only train "hard" twice a week, and I might do some light assistance work between those workouts, but its nothing hard or overly exhausting. Yet since SEPT06, I've gone from 205 @ 18.1%BF to 225@ 19.8%BF, and my strength gains are even more impressive. And just to let everyone know, my supplement routine would make most of the people here cry because I'm lucky if I remember to even take my multivitamin, I hate protien shakes and only drink them if I don't have time to eat a meal, and I haven't touched creatine since April.
So here's my advice to most people who have hit a speed bump in their quest for their goals...
-Apply the KISS principle as often as possible
-Get Stronger
-Do a honest review of your training, and see if you're doing too much
-Take a few days off and do something to imrpove your recovery
-Eat more food
-Sleep more, be it naps or going to bed earlier
-Supplements will only work as good as your training, so focus on your training, including your recovery, and then add the supplements on top
Be Smart,
mark
Why is that people always try to use ADVANCE "itensity" enhacers (such as drop sets, negatives, slow reps, etc) in their programs when they're not really advanced lifters. Is it the Joe Weider era of bodybuilding magazines that has people doing these? Idolization of their bodybuidling superstars that they're trying to emulate? This whole "phenominum" just leaves me bewildered...
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE BASICS?!?!
Whatever happened to getting strong? Starting simple and working up? Why is it that people are always trying to train harder? What happened to training smarter? Why do people always think more is more? Has the idea that less can be more been tossed out the window? Why do most people think they need advanced techniques?
For most people, if you weigh under 200lbs, hell, most of this will apply to most people who weigh under 250 for sure, and you're can't figure out why you can't put on any more size to your chest, "guns", back,etc, you should probably look at how much weight you're using on your exercises. If you bench less than 315 for 3, then you should make this your bench press goal. I guaranatee you, that if your work out consists of working up to to a "heavy" set of 5 with 225 followed by some drop sets with a lighter weight (i don't care how long you spent lowering the weight on the set of 225) that you'll get bigger by tossing out the ultra slow negatives and focussing more on working up to 315 for 5. Typically, the more weight you can use for an exercise the bigger the muscle will get due to the increased volume- and the more volume you have in your training, the more time your muscles will spend under tension (for those of you who live by that principle)- therefore, if you just focussed on getting stronger, you'll get bigger. Plain and simple, if you keep is simple, it'll be easier to make gains. You don't need to do a million and half drop sets and whatnot... you just need to get stronger.
If you truly put everything you have into your big compound movements (squat, bench, deadlift, and pull ups) you should barely have any energy to do much of anything else during the workout. If you can do more than 3-4 exercises in a workout, then you're not putting enough into your compound movements, your true strength and mass builders.
I truly believe most people here could benefit from simply training smarter, not harder. The classic formula that applies to all forms of training:
Train+ Eating+ Sleeping= Progress
2/3 of the formula is recovery, yet I've barely seen any threads about people asking what they can do to enhance their recovery. Yes, there are the peripherial questions about food and what not, but what about other recovery methods? I think people here would be suprised how much they gain by focussing some on their recovery. When was the last time you got a deep tissue massage? Saw a chiro? Got ultra- sound? De-loaded? Or god forbid, take an... OFF- WEEK??? Hell, I take every 3rd or 4th week off or deload upwards of 80% of both my volume and intensity, and I only train "hard" twice a week, and I might do some light assistance work between those workouts, but its nothing hard or overly exhausting. Yet since SEPT06, I've gone from 205 @ 18.1%BF to 225@ 19.8%BF, and my strength gains are even more impressive. And just to let everyone know, my supplement routine would make most of the people here cry because I'm lucky if I remember to even take my multivitamin, I hate protien shakes and only drink them if I don't have time to eat a meal, and I haven't touched creatine since April.
So here's my advice to most people who have hit a speed bump in their quest for their goals...
-Apply the KISS principle as often as possible
-Get Stronger
-Do a honest review of your training, and see if you're doing too much
-Take a few days off and do something to imrpove your recovery
-Eat more food
-Sleep more, be it naps or going to bed earlier
-Supplements will only work as good as your training, so focus on your training, including your recovery, and then add the supplements on top
Be Smart,
mark