Overanalysis Paralysis

Training Bodybuilding
1

We’re all affected by it at some stage.

But believe me when I say: CUT THAT SHIT OUT!

The more complicated things are for you, the worse off you’ll be. Are you new to lifting? Then all you need to do for the next 6 months is lift heavy, eat clean and sleep 8 hours a day.

Still confused? Let me make it simple:

LIFT
Heavy, heavy weights. Basic exercises.

  • Push ups/Bench Press 10x3
  • Deadlift (if you don’t Jesus kills a puppy) 10x3
  • Squat 10x3
  • Pull ups 10x3
  • Chin ups 10x3

You’ll see I have no direct arm work or ab work included here. If you are a beginner - then you don’t worry about it. The exercises listed will in some way workout your arms, and squats and deadlifting will help the “core”.

There you go, now get to it! After a few months, come back and start looking for a “routine”.

EAT
Eat clean, fresh, unprocessed whole foods.

  • Green Vegetables can help you feel more full with less calories if your a bit on the chubby side.
  • Red meat will NOT kill you, eat it.
  • Chicken is your best friend. If you don’t like Chicken, seek help. Fast. Or try Turkey.
  • Unless you’re lactose intolerant, drink milk. If you think you’re lactose intolerant, have a Doctor confirm this or kindly piss off.
  • Don’t be afraid of losing your “hawt abz” when bulking. If you’re all of 110lbs soaking wet, you need to bulk. If you’re skinny fat… you need to bulk.
  • Water. You need it.
  • No soy. I know some (ghey) people say otherwise, but no soy. And I mean that processed shit that they try and force down your throat by way of unmarked “stealth” soy.

SLEEP
What, you don’t get this bit? 8 hours every night.

If you’re still confused, just give up now. You fail at life. Also, if you are a vegan… you are a disgrace to humanity.

2

[quote]Makavali wrote:
We’re all affected by it at some stage.

But believe me when I say: CUT THAT SHIT OUT!

The more complicated things are for you, the worse off you’ll be. Are you new to lifting? Then all you need to do for the next 6 months is lift heavy, eat clean and sleep 8 hours a day.

Still confused? Let me make it simple:

LIFT
Heavy, heavy weights. Basic exercises.

  • Push ups/Bench Press 10x3
  • Deadlift (if you don’t Jesus kills a puppy) 10x3
  • Squat 10x3
  • Pull ups 10x3
  • Chin ups 10x3

You’ll see I have no direct arm work or ab work included here. If you are a beginner - then you don’t worry about it. The exercises listed will in some way workout your arms, and squats and deadlifting will help the “core”.

There you go, now get to it! After a few months, come back and start looking for a “routine”.

EAT
Eat clean, fresh, unprocessed whole foods.

  • Green Vegetables can help you feel more full with less calories if your a bit on the chubby side.
  • Red meat will NOT kill you, eat it.
  • Chicken is your best friend. If you don’t like Chicken, seek help. Fast. Or try Turkey.
  • Unless you’re lactose intolerant, drink milk. If you think you’re lactose intolerant, have a Doctor confirm this or kindly piss off.
  • Don’t be afraid of losing your “hawt abz” when bulking. If you’re all of 110lbs soaking wet, you need to bulk. If you’re skinny fat… you need to bulk.
  • Water. You need it.
  • No soy. I know some (ghey) people say otherwise, but no soy. And I mean that processed shit that they try and force down your throat by way of unmarked “stealth” soy.

SLEEP
What, you don’t get this bit? 8 hours every night.

If you’re still confused, just give up now. You fail at life. Also, if you are a vegan… you are a disgrace to humanity.[/quote]

QFT.

Makavali, I want to be you. :frowning:

3

[quote]Flow wrote:
Makavali, I want to be you. :([/quote]

Men want to be me, women want to be with me. It’s a big responsibility, but someone has to do it.

4

I agree.

Even look at my bulking thread of TCA. I’ve made progress with a very simplistic workout program and eating lots of calories not worrying about minute details.
Yet, people still say I should change this and this.

If something simple works, why not stick with it till progress no longer comes then worry about looking at the details.

I still think it never will be that complicated (especially for bulking), lift hard and heavy, eat lots of good food, get quality sleep.

5

You really don’t need a doctor to tell you whether or not you are lactose intolerant. It is really quite evident if you are.

I’ve never been a fan of 10x3, either (sorry, Chad). I found the number of sets to be rather excessive and found it difficult to properly progress on some exercises (bench, pull-ups, chins).

I experimented and found 2 exercises of 5x3 to be a better bet (with the progression outlined in ABBH). Actually, I think Chad might have gone with this for ABBH II (though I’m not going to check). It allowed me to go heavier on the lifts while preventing burnout in later sets. Doing two exercises also allowed me to keep the volume where it was supposed to be.

I think beginners should play with higher reps, too, in order to drill exercise technique into their domes and prevent them from starting out too heavy (part of the learning curve is teaching yourself to check your ego at the door).

Some might think they can go super heavy (since it’s “only” 3 reps), and that can be a bad idea for certain exercises that require solid technique (squats, for example) to execute safely.

Also, one of my regrets is listening to Chad’s “no direct arm work” advice for my first six months, or so (don’t know whether or not you got this silly idea from him). I thought I was smarter than everyone else at the gym. Turned out, I was just the guy whose arms weren’t really going anywhere.

If my goal is “bodybuilding”, I want to work my entire body to be best of my ability…this does not include relying solely on exercises that will hit my extremities “in some way”.

It’s not like tossing in some curls with stunt my progress, anyhow. If you truly want to start out on the right foot, start out by doing some of the things that will become a cornerstone of your program down the road.

Other than that, no real complaints. Nice work.

6

Sounds good I think.

7

[quote]anonym wrote:
You really don’t need a doctor to tell you whether or not you are lactose intolerant. It is really quite evident if you are.[/quote]

Have you seen the amount of people who are self diagnosed with lactose intolerance? I bet most of them are just not that keen on milk.

Ah, but this is for beginners young Padawan. Oh wait… it should probably be 3x10, shouldn’t it? I mean 3 sets with 10 reps.

[quote]If my goal is “bodybuilding”, I want to work my entire body to be best of my ability…this does not include relying solely on exercises that will hit my extremities “in some way”.

It’s not like tossing in some curls with stunt my progress, anyhow. If you truly want to start out on the right foot, start out by doing some of the things that will become a cornerstone of your program down the road.[/quote]

It’s about building a base to work with. Some people come onto this site with NO muscle whatsoever. I don’t think curls should be too high of a priority.

8

[quote]anonym wrote:
Other than that, no real complaints. Nice work.[/quote]

Muchas gracias.

9

Unfortunately you can’t teach someone to “lift heavy”, if they don’t have the willpower to make it happen then nothing else matters

10

[quote]Makavali wrote:
anonym wrote:
You really don’t need a doctor to tell you whether or not you are lactose intolerant. It is really quite evident if you are.

Have you seen the amount of people who are self diagnosed with lactose intolerance? I bet most of them are just not that keen on milk…[/quote]

There is a distinct difference between not liking milk and chipping the porcelain off the toilet with watery stools for hours after consuming some of the cow juice.

When I get some milk in me, my farts alone can effectively neutralize an enraged buffalo. If I drink enough milk, my shits can leave me biting a towel to stop the screaming. I don’t need a doctor to tell me that isn’t normal.

I think the real confusion lies in peoples’ inability to distinguish between lactose intolerance and a milk allergy. You can eaily, and cheaply, buy tabs/specially forumulated milk for the former.

[quote]Makavali wrote:
anonym wrote:
I’ve never been a fan of 10x3, either (sorry, Chad). I found the number of sets to be rather excessive and found it difficult to properly progress on some exercises (bench, pull-ups, chins).

Ah, but this is for beginners young Padawan. Oh wait… it should probably be 3x10, shouldn’t it? I mean 3 sets with 10 reps.[/quote]

I started with ABBH, which had me doing 10 reps at times, as well. I can feel you on this one.

[quote]Makavali wrote:
anonym wrote:
If my goal is “bodybuilding”, I want to work my entire body to be best of my ability…this does not include relying solely on exercises that will hit my extremities “in some way”. It’s not like tossing in some curls with stunt my progress, anyhow. If you truly want to start out on the right foot, start out by doing some of the things that will become a cornerstone of your program down the road.

It’s about building a base to work with. Some people come onto this site with NO muscle whatsoever. I don’t think curls should be too high of a priority.[/quote]

If one’s goal is to build a solid base off of which to launch the rest of their physical pursuits, why omit exercises that can be used effectively to achieve the best foundation possible?

I’m not saying they should be a priority, in that they should replace one of the exercises you mentioned earlier…just that it doesn’t make sense to start off by neglecting certain muscle groups or placing them on the back burner by refusing to perform exercises that really do not dip into the recovery well all that much, yet can lead to some excellent growth in the areas that are receiving secondary (at best) attention from every other exercise.

I don’t know of anyone who has overtrained simply by intelligently tacking some curls/lateral raises on the end of their program.

Hell, I was one of the “no direct arm work” guys for a fairly long time - and I do regret that.

11

To add to issue #3: if a beginner does, indeed, start off with the exercises you listed for 3x10, I feel that such a workout can actually be shortchanging their potential progress during the best time for their “newb gains”.

In fact, I think that most new lifters can get away with MORE volume at the start (within reason, naturally, and especially if they are only doing 3x10), because, at that stage, they aren’t using heavy enough weights that will really “tax” their bodies.

If someone is so grossly out of shape that they can’t perform more than one 3x10 for a muscle group (especially at the relatively non-CNS taxing newb weights) without winding up bedridden by overtraining, they probably have issues that go beyond our expertise.

12

[quote]anonym wrote:
I don’t know of anyone who has overtrained simply by intelligently tacking some curls/lateral raises on the end of their program.[/quote]

Call me jaded, but I don’t know many beginners who come to this site who could manage that. If they ARE that smart I really doubt they need to read my post - they’ll already be training!

:slight_smile:

13

[quote]anonym wrote:
If someone is so grossly out of shape that they can’t perform more than one 3x10 for a muscle group (especially at the relatively non-CNS taxing newb weights) without winding up bedridden by overtraining, they probably have issues that go beyond our expertise.[/quote]

So you think 5x5 would be better?

14

[quote]anonym wrote:

When I get some milk in me, my farts alone can effectively neutralize an enraged buffalo. If I drink enough milk, my shits can leave me biting a towel to stop the screaming. I don’t need a doctor to tell me that isn’t normal.

I think the real confusion lies in peoples’ inability to distinguish between lactose intolerance and a milk allergy. You can eaily, and cheaply, buy tabs/specially forumulated milk for the former.

[/quote]

Okay, question.

Last semester in school while I would study and do school work at night I would down a half gallon in about an hours time. I did this somewhat consistently, maybe 4 nights a week for 2 months or so. When I was like 3/4s of the way done… man, my gas was fucking awful. It smelled like shit, and my shits would come out liquidy, but it was never painful, but I didn’t mind.

I felt kind of bad for my roommate and my bowel movements became the joke of my hallway hahaha. I thought maybe I was developing a food allergy or I was somewhat lactose intolerant but I love milk so I kept chuggin. Plus I was gaining weight and getting oh so close to the magical 200!!

Now, I spread my milk consumption out over the course of the day and I rarely feel the effects that I used to. Is it possible that it was the extreme amount in a short amount of time that was making me gassy?

I sip on a big-ass glass of whole milk as I write this haha. Sorry for the hijack. Solid post Mak.

15

Good post, THis has to be the biggest progress killer for me in the last 5 years. I always make better gains when I just commit to doing things instead of reading tons of articles. I think the biggest problem among people is they don’t realize how long you remain a beginner. I’ve been “training” for 5 years now but I don’t think i’ve effectively jumped into the intermediate pool yet.

I know this because I still maintain my stats if i miss a week of training, and these beginner programs are almost certain to elicit a growth response. I’ve gained 20lbs and doubled or trippled my numbers in the big lifts but that doesnt mean I’ve accomplished anything it just means that I’ve started.

Anyway enough talking about myself I want to keep this bumped at the top of the activity window because the bodybuilding forum would be a lot more intelligent if everyone just read this instead of asking the first question that comes to them for a while. Also on the lactose intolerance thing - It’s pretty damn obvious but now they sell milk just for lactose intolerant people and that is a godsend.

16

[quote]Makavali wrote:
anonym wrote:
If someone is so grossly out of shape that they can’t perform more than one 3x10 for a muscle group (especially at the relatively non-CNS taxing newb weights) without winding up bedridden by overtraining, they probably have issues that go beyond our expertise.

So you think 5x5 would be better?[/quote]

5x5 would be fine; I just don’t think that any beginner should start off by immediately risking undershooting his/her potential volume threshold.

If nothing else, I would think that it would be better to add exercises with the risk of overshooting this threshold, then dialing back some to find the “sweet spot” where they have enough exercises to ensure optimal growth while still managing to progress every single workout*. I just feel that most beginners can’t do enough “damage” to their CNS to make this a bad idea…especially if their diet/recovery is in order.

A blanket statement like “don’t exceed one exercise for 3x10 or you run the risk of overtraining” just doesn’t sit well with me…I feel it takes the individual out of the workout and can prevent some beginners from learning their bodies during this time.

I hope you don’t take any of this as me tearing into your thread - I liked most of it. It’s just that I know I made a lot of mistakes at the start of my lifting career and would like to add in my two cents to (hopefully) prevent others from wasting as much time as I did.

*obviously, this is not a recommendation to start of with Arnie’s 2x a day, 30 set per bodypart split…just a thought that people are better off starting with a few exercises and risking finding their brink for “overtraining” and scaling appropriately from there as opposed to staying 20 steps behind it right out of the gate.

17

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
Is it possible that it was the extreme amount in a short amount of time that was making me gassy?

[/quote]

Yea, Milk is inherently tough on the digestive tract, and lactose intolerance is just a matter of severity. I can eat cheese pizza but god help me If i try and down a glass (let alone half a gallon) of milk without my pills. I think spreading out your consumption is a good idea, you’ll probably process it better.

In Dr. Darden’s book ‘The new bodybuilding’ he tells a story about a bet between him and arthur jones about drinking several bottles of creme in an hour and an old bet about drinking 2 gallons of milk in an hour. These kind of goofy anecdotes make me think that ‘the dosage makes the poison’ as far as dairy is concerned.

18

[quote]Makavali wrote:
anonym wrote:
I don’t know of anyone who has overtrained simply by intelligently tacking some curls/lateral raises on the end of their program.

Call me jaded, but I don’t know many beginners who come to this site who could manage that. If they ARE that smart I really doubt they need to read my post - they’ll already be training!

:)[/quote]

Haha, I hear ya on that - just when I’m starting to have faith in people these days…I accidentally click on the ‘Rate My Physique’ forum.

19

This won’t help people who overanalyze. They’re predisposed to thinking like that and they won’t stop.

I got around it by deciding that my program was concrete and unchangeable for a certain amount of months. I analyzed as much as I wanted in the meantime and when my program’s tenure ended I changed things accordingly.

Diet is pretty simple so I never worry about that. (Underestimating calories is very easy I’ve learned though.)

20

[quote]LiftSmart wrote:
This won’t help people who overanalyze. They’re predisposed to thinking like that and they won’t stop.

[/quote]

That’s bullshit and I wish people would quit saying it. If your “overanalysis” has resulted in little to no progress, I wouldn’t blame that mental state on being “predisposed” to not being able to stick with something long term and make changes as needed based on the results you see.

The mistake is the assumption that people who aren’t trying to count out the EXACT number of everything they eat are somehow less obsessed with the end goal. The truth is, the guy making progress simply figured out his own body faster than someone else can figure out their own.

Unless you are predisposed to failure, doing shit that is holding you back makes no sense.

Bodybuilding is NOT for everyone. If you happen to be someone who simply can not see the forest for the trees, you may need to find another hobby rather than spend several years running in place because you can’t help holding yourself back.

No one has to be that way. You are that way because you choose to be. When the world is filled with people who saw great progress by NOT approaching things that way, why do so many newbies think they have a better grasp of the situation in spite of the fact that they see LESS progress?