Which is why I mentionned that I’d still know what kind of movements i’d wanna do (if I was actually doing that kind of training), and when. You just said you know what works for you… well im guessing it doesnt completely change every day does it?
[/quote]
I didn’t say it needed to change completely everyday. I know what works because I listen to my body.
I have gone to the gym planning to train legs and just felt like arms were more recovered…so I trained arms.
I am not sure why this is so hard to understand. You question me as if what I am writing is difficult to comprehend.[/quote]
I do not question you I feel like we actually are in agreement but you make it sound like you never have NOTHING “planned/in mind” before actually being in front of the weight while I say that I still think most guys doing “instinctive training” still have a pretty good idea of what they are going to do but that its not “set in stone”
My bad didnt read it as such. What I thought you were saying was that you would be using weight based on a written sheet of paper or based on what you should be using that day no matter how strong/weak you felt that day.[/quote]
Does not compute considering the topic. Nothing is written down.
I do not question you I feel like we actually are in agreement but you make it sound like you never have NOTHING “planned/in mind” before actually being in front of the weight while I say that I still think most guys doing “instinctive training” still have a pretty good idea of what they are going to do but that its not “set in stone”
Kind of like a strict diet vs iifym kind of[/quote]
I have a skeleton in mind of what I will do.
Things like me doing curls in between chest last night was done on the fly.
It felt right so I did it.
That has worked for every body part over the years. I train what feels right.
Does not compute considering the topic. Nothing is written down.
[/quote]
You don’t keep a workout log?
Instinctive training is a very general term, almost too broad which leads to people defining it differently. I have a game plan what I’m going to do that day, but things change. Maybe I feel like I need more upper back training on back day, so I’ll focus my exercises a little more in that direction.
Or maybe my knee is feeling a little funny, so I’ll squat a little lighter than I wanted to that day. I follow my weekly split and log my numbers to make sure I’m progressing, but those are not absolute by any means. Numbers will fluctuate, but the important thing is that they are increasing over time.
[quote]howie424 wrote:
I agree with X and Savaged.
I train entirely on instinct. I “make decisions on the fly” as X put it. It works for me. I use to turn everything into an equation, spending hours in the log book trying to come up with some sort of plan but I could never follow it. I know my favorite rep ranges, I know my favorite exercises/variations, now I just go to the gym and do whatever and it works for me.
[/quote]
You have to be careful with this kind of thing. It can lead to better workouts, but you can also end up just doing the shit you like instead of what you NEED to be doing and develop weaknesses. It takes a lot of discipline to do what you should even if it isn’t as fun. That’s one of the reasons I still go in with a pretty concrete plan that I only let myself stray so much from.[/quote]
True. However, when I hit the gym, my main focus is the lagging parts. I hit rear delts nowadays with the kind ferocity I should have been doing from the get go lol. I aim for balance in my physique. If weren’t for that, Ill be doing incline bench all Fucking week long!
i have to mostly agree with X on this one. Granted I have only been lifting for a couple of years now, but I think i get the gist of what he is saying. Like most of us, I go into the gym to focus on a body part or two and I have the exercises that I want to do with the weight or rep progression or pyramiding pattern that i want to push that day for that particular exercise.
but I might have strained my calfs helping my brother move new applicances into his 3rd floor apartment or perhaps slept twisted up and have a crink in my neck or shoulder (poor examples - i know) - so i adjust for what I know I can do without aggravating a strained or sore muscle.
Although I do not usually switch body part for the day, I do occasionally change the type of exercise I am training with. But i can see where one could switch body part for the day. Remember, this is training - not exercising. Recovery (and I am an old fart so I know this all too well) is the key to effective training. So when X says he trains the most recovered body part - well it just makes sense.
I don’t think X is at all trying to say that you shuold go the “easy” route with what feels easier, but instinctively knowing what body part is ready for the most effective workout and then being willing to change your plan to take advantage of that recovery. That is where I want to get to - to know my body so well that I can identify that recovery point and make the best calls for progression.
[quote]IrishSteel wrote:
i have to mostly agree with X on this one. Granted I have only been lifting for a couple of years now, but I think i get the gist of what he is saying. Like most of us, I go into the gym to focus on a body part or two and I have the exercises that I want to do with the weight or rep progression or pyramiding pattern that i want to push that day for that particular exercise.
but I might have strained my calfs helping my brother move new applicances into his 3rd floor apartment or perhaps slept twisted up and have a crink in my neck or shoulder (poor examples - i know) - so i adjust for what I know I can do without aggravating a strained or sore muscle.
Although I do not usually switch body part for the day, I do occasionally change the type of exercise I am training with. But i can see where one could switch body part for the day. Remember, this is training - not exercising. Recovery (and I am an old fart so I know this all too well) is the key to effective training. So when X says he trains the most recovered body part - well it just makes sense.
I don’t think X is at all trying to say that you shuold go the “easy” route with what feels easier, but instinctively knowing what body part is ready for the most effective workout and then being willing to change your plan to take advantage of that recovery. That is where I want to get to - to know my body so well that I can identify that recovery point and make the best calls for progression.
Going into the gym, finding out that something hurts and either changing up the movement so it doesn’t hurt or switching to a different body part is considered Instinctive Training?
If so, anyone who isn’t doing “Instinctive Training” is not very smart and won’t be lifting weights for very long.
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
Going into the gym, finding out that something hurts and either changing up the movement so it doesn’t hurt or switching to a different body part is considered Instinctive Training?
If so, anyone who isn’t doing “Instinctive Training” is not very smart and won’t be lifting weights for very long. [/quote]
It’s a good thing I don’t use “something hurts” as a guide to my training.
It is strange you think guys got huge by not knowing what the hell they are talking about.
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
Going into the gym, finding out that something hurts and either changing up the movement so it doesn’t hurt or switching to a different body part is considered Instinctive Training?
If so, anyone who isn’t doing “Instinctive Training” is not very smart and won’t be lifting weights for very long. [/quote]
No that wasn’t the point of the thread nor video. It was not having a set rep scheme, not knowing what exercises your doing and it wasn’t specifically hitting or targeting a bodypart. It’s just going into the gym and just going with it. Intensity high and just doing whatever you feel like. Heck if you want to squat and you were hitting arms, then do it! That’s the point here.
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
Going into the gym, finding out that something hurts and either changing up the movement so it doesn’t hurt or switching to a different body part is considered Instinctive Training?
If so, anyone who isn’t doing “Instinctive Training” is not very smart and won’t be lifting weights for very long. [/quote]
No that wasn’t the point of the thread nor video. It was not having a set rep scheme, not knowing what exercises your doing and it wasn’t specifically hitting or targeting a bodypart. It’s just going into the gym and just going with it. Intensity high and just doing whatever you feel like. Heck if you want to squat and you were hitting arms, then do it! That’s the point here.[/quote]
Sort of. I don’t just do what feels “fun”. There is logic to what I train in the sense that if I am doing back today I won’t be doing biceps tomorrow likely…unless my biceps really feel like they can take it.
It is simply not allowing a piece of paper to rule your choices…because you already have the basic knowledge to make your own routine and plans on the fly.
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
Going into the gym, finding out that something hurts and either changing up the movement so it doesn’t hurt or switching to a different body part is considered Instinctive Training?
If so, anyone who isn’t doing “Instinctive Training” is not very smart and won’t be lifting weights for very long. [/quote]
No that wasn’t the point of the thread nor video. It was not having a set rep scheme, not knowing what exercises your doing and it wasn’t specifically hitting or targeting a bodypart. It’s just going into the gym and just going with it. Intensity high and just doing whatever you feel like. Heck if you want to squat and you were hitting arms, then do it! That’s the point here.[/quote]
Just go into the gym like a piece of drift wood floating in the ocean.
No plan, no idea where you’re going or what’s next.
Just go wherever the wind and seas may take you that day,
[quote]Smashingweights wrote:
Going into the gym, finding out that something hurts and either changing up the movement so it doesn’t hurt or switching to a different body part is considered Instinctive Training?
If so, anyone who isn’t doing “Instinctive Training” is not very smart and won’t be lifting weights for very long. [/quote]
No that wasn’t the point of the thread nor video. It was not having a set rep scheme, not knowing what exercises your doing and it wasn’t specifically hitting or targeting a bodypart. It’s just going into the gym and just going with it. Intensity high and just doing whatever you feel like. Heck if you want to squat and you were hitting arms, then do it! That’s the point here.[/quote]
Just go into the gym like a piece of drift wood floating in the ocean.
No plan, no idea where you’re going or what’s next.
Just go wherever the wind and seas may take you that day,[/quote]
You don’t seem to have an easy time understanding what people are writing.
Uh, yeah…clearly I trained wrong.
The muscles came by accident.
There is always a plan.
I just know enough to be able to make changes when needed.
For instance, you can PLAN all you want to before a surgical procedure…but you still have to be knowledgeable to completely change the game plan should anything not go as planned.
One thing we learn in treating patients is to always be prepared for the unexpected. Things hardly always go exactly as planned.
This take MORE knowledge of your body, not less like you seem to think.
I have a split and stick to it. I have a general scheme bastardized JM template that I work from generally I do a lot of the same stuff but rather than freaking out like I used to when a piece of equipment is taken. I change exercises but still sticking To something that fits the criteria for that exercise. Ie max pump, power ect. Never made better progress than the last 6 months
