Hey Guys,
Here’s just a little thing that annoyed me over the weekend while I was in the gym…a lot of people notice that I keep a little training journal and always inquire about it…Now this weekend some guy that I’ve seen many times before starts talking to me about it when he saw me writing in it. You’ve probably seen the type…great genetics, probably does a little bit of juice and always seems to think he has everything figured out…So anyway, he starts telling me that after some time everything will become instinctive and I wouldn’t need to journal it-- as if I were some newbie…now I’ve been training consistently for over 10 years and I’ve been an avid reader of T-mag for over 2 1/2 years-I think by now I’ve learned what works for me and I know it has been working because of what I see in the mirror and the positive reactions I get from family, friends and even strangers I meet. “Instinctive” training!!! Isn’t that one of those Weider principles or something? After I point out to this jerkoff that I’ve been training for ten years and know what works for me at this point in my life, he then feels the need to throw out the fact that he’s been only training for five years…and then he tries to evalutate my situation by asking if I’ve been working out consistently for all those years (which I have) and then asks me what I’m working on that day which was chest and back…he then tells me that I’m looking for thickness obviously because I’m working those two bodyparts together which actually is not the case so I explain to him that the reason I’m using that combo is because I find it to be a great push/pull combo and both bodyparts complement each other…and then he tells me that no matter what whenever you combine chest and back together you’re going to get wider when viewed from the side…and he’s telling all this as if I’m new to this game and don’t know anything…At this point I’m starting to fume and then a friend of his comes in and they start talking so I end up making my exit and continuing with my workout…I’m sorry for the long rant…but does anyone else here ever deal with jerkoffs like this? I mean I’m sick of these people who have probably never heard of names such as Charles Poliquin, Ian King, John Paul Cataranzo, Charles Staley, etc. And they probably have never read T-mag…I mean is it just me? People look at me sometimes as if I’m crazy because I have a training journal but then again it has always helped me to accomplish my results…Am I the only one who has to put up with crap like this??
So, how does your physique compare to his? Yeah, I know that doesn’t really mean anything, but this is the reality. You could be incredibly knowledgeable, have masters degrees, have worked out since the womb, etc… but someone in the gym is going to first look at your physique. It’s hard to say that you know what is “best” if you don’t look as good as the drugged up moron with the genetic advantage. Probably not what you want to hear, though.
I know people that train using a training log and food log with good results and I know people who train without either, “instictively” as you say, also with good results. Training is so musch more than keeping a log. It’s intesity, cycling volume, diet, supplements, rest, drugs. I also think that after years of keeping a log, some lifters reach a point where they are so familiar with their workouts and know their bodies so well that they can train “instictively”. Remember, these aren’t professional athletes we’re talking about here, but everyday people like most T-Mag readers. We don’t have the luxury of a Poliquin or Staley or Davies keeping a log of our goals and accomplishments for us and meticulously planning out our training cycles and strategies, not to mention our diets.
I know exactly what U R talkin about, I recently made friends with this guy who is in very good shape but his knowledge about training is limited. I got a little irretated in the beginning too, but stayed patient with him and gave him some of my own tips, now he realizes that I know a lot more than him, and asks me all these questions. We R pretty good friends now, but thats just my way of handling people.
scocci - to borrow a phrase from Forrest Gump - this guy falls under the ‘stupid is as stupid does’ category. If you are approaching your goals and physical development the way it sounds like you are…your results will speak for themselves. Excellence always stands out in a crowd…in habit and results. Keep it up and don’t let the gimps bother you, and strive to better yourself daily. Results silence the strongest of critics.
Act stupid and ask to do his w/o with him. Proceed to bury him in reps with his weights. Doing this feels really, really good. If you can’t do this , just act stupid and ask him questions he can’t answer.
Bro, next time you are talking to him, take the pen/pencil you use in the journal and shank him with it 30-40 times in a rapid fire motion!!! Then take your journal, if it is hardbound, smack him in the head with it while he is hunched over from the shanking, and if it is soft cover, roll it up and shove it clean up his…get the point? I can understand your gripe bro. Fuck 'em. Just my opinion. Peace.
I think sometimes people need to feel important and by giving “advice”, they get satisfaction, obnoxious as that guy may have been. Its really hard in the gym though, to evaluate what an advanced person (like us!?) is doing that particular day. We could be re-habbing a body part or even warming up, which would look like we’re using a weight that’s ‘light’. Or a myriad of different things could raise eyebrows I guess…“why are you going all the way down on your squats” etc. I find its usually good to be pleasant, show your intelligence and maybe give the questioner a bit of knowledge.
“If someone has to ask you if you’re a bodybuilder, you’re not!”.
That quote really hit home for me. I know its frustrating to have a good deal of practical knowledge on a subject and not have the ‘means’ to back it up. But like someone already told me… its life.
The truth is that this individual does have reason to question your program/diet. Think about it for a moment. There’s got to be a reason why you arent getting the results you so justly deserve. Although the coaches you mentioned are highly published lately, it doesnt mean that their models are the only valid ones.
I sympathize for you being evaluated by this meathead. Unfortunately 99.999% of the population [meatheads included] will only judge you as an athlete by your ‘look’ and the numbers you put up on the board. If both are lacking dont waste anymore time with your current regime. Think outside the box and find ways which might not be en vogue to solve your problem.
View this encounter as a wakeup call instead of an annoyance.
I also train “instinctively”. I am sure that one day I will use a log, but for now I use my memory. It has worked so far. I also eat a lot of the same things, so a food log is not always necessary. But, I run into the same thing. I have a guy at work that thinks that he is the top dog. I will give him credit do to the fact that he is big and strong. Genetics are a big part of it, but there is some juice that attributes to it. One day I asked if he new what cortisol is and catabolic. Then I asked him what anabolic was and various other stuff. I think that those are pretty basic things to know. He didn’t though. He was like what magazine did you read about that in. All the things that I was asking, he had no clue. Then tried to act like it was all bull shit that magazines are trying to sell shit with. He then went on to tell me he has worked out for 8 years. I walked away.
I sometimes have people like the one you described come up to me and offer unsolicited advice. Often these guys are genetically much larger than I (although usually not particularly cut) and want to know why I’m not “training heavy”. Well, I am training heavy - it’s just that I’m not that strong, being an ectomorph and all. I tell them (pleasantly) that I have different goals from theirs, that I like looking good out of clothes as well as in them, that I do bb as much for the health benefits as anything else, and that strength isn’t really my primary goal (although strength gains are one good way of determining whether a program is working for me or not).
Again, this is said pleasantly. Usually that works. If not, and there is the occasional guy who still wants to insist that I’m training"wrong", I ask him what my goal for this particular mesocycle is. If he even understands the word “mesocycle”, he obviously will have to say “I don’t know” in reply. At which point I can then say, “Then how can you say my training is wrong?”
In my experience, this will shut 100 out of 100 people up, and solve your problem for all time (at least in that particular gym).
Ummmmmm yeah a few times. I started just acting dumb and stuff. Now I work out at home. When I get up to 200 lbs I won’t have to worry about this shit. 
When at the gym, I follow the practice of never a borrower nor a lender be. I shut one guy down, who insisted on talking with me, or more accurately, at me. He then after a few attempts over a few days of trying t “help” me, asked if he could ask me a few questions, all I said was, “let me give you my phone number and a rate sheet”
I’d say, “Did you know me ten years ago when I began?” When he says no you say, “Then shut up… I do what works for me.” Then smile and laugh and ask him to spot you. He can help you some how… 
Is it ok to give advice anyways? Like my noraml advice, to switch it up? And somtimes my suggestion of, get more rest if you are overtraining? I’ve never just walked up to someone but I have had fellow T-Men at the gym complain about this not responding that not growing etc… within ear shot or right at me. I say change your workout… you choose how. And if they are one of those people with a lot of drive but little patience I say, take a break. (I’m not directing this at you Scocci) I’m sure you got your shit together… no doubt. I am saying that you should impart your knowledge on that guy… and maybe just watch his form if he is getting good results. If he’s a dumbass he won’t be able to explain why he gets his results anyway. Also, I’m kinda old-fashioned-like in my opinion of a real T-man. He should be an Olympian in the eyes of the Romans: His body and mind should be equally capable. And he shouldn’t be ashamed of a lot of body hair.