I confess I can’t figure out why so many people in the Paul Carter forum struggle to recover…
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Ben Pollack’s take on the “evidence-based” fitness trend
Are you saying that you find it weird they can’t recover even with the low volume approach PC has been pushing lately? Sorry, I don’t have a general clue with the PC forum, except for the occasional interesting thread that pops up every now and then
Nah, I’m talking about the lack of recovery that drives them to the low volume approach in the first place.
Been seeing people ask about 5/3/1 BBB and if it’s “junk volume” and you see young acolytes chirping in that “you can’t recover from that”. And then they’ll say the same about the Juggernaut AI programming.
And I’m like, how broken are you people? This kind of mediocrity is why everyone is so quick to accuse others or steroids/jump on steroids themselves. The bar keeps getting set super low.
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Stress I think, about what question to ask in their next thread.
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@T3hPwnisher I must have missed someone claiming that you can’t recover from BBB. I’m going to venture this remark, without having science or personal experience backing it but extrapolating from the experience of others:
Scientifically, it’d appear as if you want to tax the muscle to a certain amount in order to elicit the maximum amount of muscle growth. Seemingly, this does not necessitate a very high rep range assuming you have adequate load. And, then you take those sets and push them to failure (or beyond) and lo-and-behold you’ll grow - allegedly. You can’t go to failure too much though, or you’ll fry out. This is where all of that jazz about effective reps come in. The load dictates the recruitment of the different types of fibers.
But I imagine that by the same token that caffeine has better uptake when delivered through coffee rather than in a pill form there is some process that a higher workload (more sets and more reps) trigger. Conceivably nutrient partitioning and growth hormone release plays a factor here.
And again, the point of the effective reps thingamajig that is trending right now is to build muscle mass with strength being secondary. And it also has the added bonus of being time-efficient.
Finally, I’m not convinced that it’s material suited to the majority of the training population but is better served for those trainees that are at an advanced level and that a beginner would have more success with the higher volume stuff as we beginners (with me I mean me and not you) aren’t as efficient at recruiting our muscles anyway. Because that takes practice. Which takes reps. Spread out over sets.
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I think it’s very easy for people to find out what works for themselves, but that kind of gets forgotten somewhere along the way.
Let’s say that size is one’s goal, and one has a (decent) training program that promises size gains. Take measurements before, execute on plan while eating accordingly, take measurements after. Compare the measurements and the answer for “will it work?” and “did it work?” will be the same.
Recovery used to be waiting for the doms to subside before going at it again.
Even then, the compulsion to train in case your gains disappeared, meant that you would train regardless.
Now you’ve got a bunch of paralysed pussies wetting their knickers over the paranoia that they’re not ‘recovering’
Most folk need to remember that this shit is a hobby at most and should be enjoyed as such.
Oh and I just found out that I’m going to be a dad again.
My ‘recovery’ is out the fucking window.
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Nah, apparently I was blending the BBB thread with the RIR thread where someone said “too many compound lifts: it’d be impossible to recover”.
In times like these you have to ask: WWBBD
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The next program I’m going to run gives the user carte blanche to either A. stick with the same main movements during the entire program, or B. use 3 variations in addition to the main movement during the program.
My confession is that, I have no idea what I’m going to choose.
I honestly think there is just WAY too much information online now about training and eating.
I think if most people were to:
- Pick 1 program they like the look of
- Eat in a way that supports that program
- Shut off the internet and do #1 and #2 for one whole year before asking any questions
I think most trainees would be SHOCKED how different they look, feel, strength level after one year.
I know programs like BBB are not meant to be run for one whole year, but there’s no workout police to stop someone from doing that.
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You’re not wrong, but you miss a key component that @T3hPwnisher touched on: people as a rule aren’t prepared to work when it starts feeling unpleasant. You look at anyone who has achieved something beyond their initial spurt of progress and you’re looking at someone who has accepted that the price of progress in lifting weights is going through a degree of discomfort on a regular basis.
Same with tattoos. You can’t get a tattoo without some pain.
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I consider myself quite a pussy when it comes to training and pain,but even I’m enjoying sheiko. Granted, my weights are so low that there really isn’t much to “recover” from LOL
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I spent too much money on my kids today. It was so worth it though.
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It isn’t pain. That’s ‘I’ve nailed my hand to something’ or ‘what the fuck just went crack in my shoulder’. Training is just discomfort, and doesn’t have much to do with recovery. Maxing out every day is less uncomfortable than training with reps and short rests and getting a pump, but it fucks your recovery.
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So much for No Nut November…
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No, that’s ‘I’ve nailed my dick’
Second kid?
I wanted to include this link in my post yesterday for how there is a progression model even when it comes to moving beyond failure Pump Down the Volume