I think he was mostly respectful, I don’t feel as if he is roasting him. Generally, I believe his comments probably applies to a lot of people across many lifts. People don’t get tight, everywhere.
Personally, if I could get proper tight all the time I’d be lifting a lot more weight on everything compound.
Curiously, I can produce a lot more body tension while climbing. I noticed today while bouldering that my abs tensed up as I touched the starting hands and placed my feet without any conscious effort on my part. I probably get more tense across my core climbing than I do lifting. My all-time biggest cramps and pumps were all in the climbing gym.
He has a great book called “66 strategies to program design” and a lot of podcasts/articles/tips on his website.
He also has a youtube channel where you can find instructional video’s on exercise execution as well as a limited series of “coffee with steph”, a Q&A platform where he answers questions of trainers/trainees.
It’s definitely worth checking out. If you’re a type 3, you’ll find that his program design/periodization style probably matches what you’re looking for.
Having said that, CT’s program design/periodization along with the neurotyping series sparks a lot more interest. If I were to use an analogy, I would say that personally stephane’s work is like the oatmeal you eat on a daily basis. You need it to feel good in the morning. If stephane’s work is the oatmeal, CT’s work is the rotational addition of fruits, nuts, maple syrup to make the oats taste much better which makes you feel even better in the morning.
Bare in mind that this simple analogy is just a means to explain what I mean. I have the utmost respect for both Stephane and CT. There’s a good reason why they are perceived as one of the best coaches in the fitness industry and the quality of their work proves that.
I just have a perverse fascination with reading about training, really I could’ve stopped reading about training ages ago and still made progress. Arguably, more than I have.
I’m no longer a huge fan of neurotyping. The reason being how people apply it to themselves. My view is that it is a system, a lens, from which one can arrive at a heuristically viable starting point with regards to training (and perhaps diet, haven’t read the new diets) and perhaps has greater utility for a personal trainer to use to find a good base for their clients.
What ended up happening instead seems to have been that people prone to overthinking, or people that are dangerously passionate, lost contact with their own intuition which would’ve guided their actions in the past. They’re so afraid of not getting everything right, and there’s something wrong with people being completely stymied from paralysis by analysis where in the past they’d try something and if it didn’t work then change things.
Hopefully, I can write all that without it seeming as if I have no respect for CT. I do have respect for him, and he’s treated me very well for which I’m most appreciative.
I just no longer (would’ve in the past) would say that I am a type. I prefer the more, in my opinion, correct phrasing which would be “within the neurotyping system it’d be fair to label me as a X”. What that X is doesn’t really matter to me personally, but the most correct option is arguably 2A.
That’s exactly why I like the neurotyping series. I believe it gives you an advantage over someone who doesn’t apply it because it’s basically a huge shortcut to training the right way for your personality and brain chemistry (provided that you made the right analysis about your neurotype).
I totally agree with the fact that people can get caught up in the details (I am very much guilty of this) instead of just trying things and making adjustments based on experience. BUT I do believe there is a huge benefit to getting it right early in your training career. If you are 16-20 years old, you still have plenty of time and it’s totally fine to experiment (although training the right way from the start would significantly improve gains and genetic potential).
However, once you pass 30 the clock really starts ticking and you want to at least maintain or gain some more muscle. Knowing the right approach instead of wasting months or even years of trying out things sounds a lot better to me. I do understand your frustration though with being identified as a certain type which leaves less room for intuitive thinking.
I also like neurotyping because it gives you a deeper understanding about yourself and other people. About their personality traits and why they act/think the way they do. I see a huge benefit here for honing your social skills and improving relationships with friends/partners/family or by meeting new people.
As long as people use it as a loupe, and not the sole model in which they perceive others I have no qualms with this. Very few people in the world know about neurotyping, but a lot of people know about the Myer-Briggs test and personality categories. I think it is especially sad when a person reduced themselves to one of these types.
Now, it does provide a useful litmus test in that if a person self-ascribes themselves to a type how do they respond when you inform them that the test does not have any real supporting evidence. A person that replies with anything indicating that they just view it as a useful shortcut to relay certain attributes of theirs but agrees that humans are fuzzier than that might be worth conversing with further.
But if all they want to do is distill people into neat labels then that person and myself have very different ideas on how nuanced the human experience can be.
Like, I expect that if Jim and I sat down, and I said “Jim, my quads are really fucking weak so I want to do this machine here because it really allows me to target them quads. Do I count those reps as push, or do I subtract it from my single-leg work despite it being bi-lateral?” he’d just shake his head and wonder why is this guy who still fits into skinny jeans is asking him about anything.
I mean, he does briefly talk about leg presses in the books. I feel like he doesn’t really care so long as the effort is being put forth on the main lifts. It seems like he hates assistance questions in general.
How did I miss that then, or not remember. Thank you both for replying, and evidently asking a question I should already know the answer to. I have been leafing in Forever mostly recently that might be why.
How’d that go? I’ve got grand plans to turn the loft above my garage into a bouldering area. I’ve never set a route though so I’m sure there will be hiccups.
That sounds cool! It went just fine and dandy. Saw some people climbing it yesterday, asked them what they thought and they enjoyed it. Especially the start.
How much are you looking to spend? I hear it becomes quite expensive. I was listening to an interview with the crew from Tension Climbing where they were comparing construction costs for a home wall compared to their “pre-made” kits and both are costly.
Ah, my shoulder is so unhappy. Going to experiment with letting the smith incline be my bench for a while which will be weird to program 531 style. Or find something else that doesn’t hurt. Seeing my physio on the 29th and we’ll have a look at the shoulder too. A self-screen verifies impingement. While I’ve started doing daily rear delt work I’d say my shoulder is at its worst the day after climbing now so need someone who knows their stuff to have a look.
I don’t really have a ceiling in mind as far as price goes. I figure I’ll start fairly slow and piece meal the wall together over time. I have access to pro deals for the holds, so I can save some money there, but I have no delusions about this being a budget project haha.
