Always use PERFECT form. I’m not saying arch your back like a cat during a dead lift - but sometimes perfect is the enemy of good.
Don’t eat carbs.
You NEED to do a 5 day split with 94 different exercises for each muscle group. I went to the gym with a guy when I was in my early 20’s and we spent 45mins doing different forms of bench press. I thought this was “normal”.
Pull ups are “useless” in getting bigger and stronger.
I think this is absolutely true when it comes to bros. But serious bodybuilders I knew would train their backs like the way I described above . So there was more overall volume because they would do lats, “upper lats”, lower back, mid traps etc with separate movements but the overall volume wouldn’t be that high since a row, for example, would cover both lats and “upper lats”. Hyperextensions and incline would also count as volume for back training. Hell, we even did those SL deadlifts standing on a bench with round backs at the bottom like doing a weigghted hyperextension.
“Squat heavy.”
No, at least not most of the time. I think most people make better progress in the squat if they spend most of their time in the 8-10 rep range. Legs and glutes like reps and volume.
“overhead pressing will wreck your shoulders”
“5x5 is ideal for strength AND size”
“Be careful not to do too much volume”
“You can only train for one quality at a time”
A million times yes to your last point! Now that I’m 33 and have been in the game over a decade, every new phase I typically have 2-3 focuses. I’m more or less always incorporating a component in my training geared towards strength, size, and body composition. Maybe it’s not always 33/33/33% and will skew like 50/30/20% for several months, but I’m at bare minimum always maintaining each component. I’ve always been my most motivated and seen my best results from this approach versus something like 6 months strength, 6 months hypertrophy, now 3 months cut.
Losing weight and training for “functional” fitness took mass and strength that I will never get back.
I just got the new memo. Sets to failure is out again. I can’t keep up. I think I’ll just go where my heart takes me.
I do like the PL idea though, that you just stop when the bar speed slows markedly. It’s what you might call, an elegant solution.
The idea of function fitness. Bench press isn’t functional, but, for some reason power cleans and shitty kipping pull-ups are?? BS
“Body builders aren’t athletic” I’ve seen many counter examples.
“Deadlifts will hurt your back” This one is kinda true. I’ve found mixing it up with block pulls to help.
“Fitness goes off a cliff after 40” I’m in the best shape of my life at 42 (strength, cardio, and mobility)
This one is probably just self-fulfilling prophecy. If you decide you’re done at 40 and focus on golf, you shouldn’t be surprised that you aren’t as strong and quick as you were when you were serious about lifting. But that’s a function of your chosen activities, not your age.