If you have some level of experience in the weight room, any plan you do should be customized to your personal needs and goals, as long as it’s logical and makes sense.
Back squats are one of those sacred cows in weight lifting, and is an overrated exercise. It’s not necessary unless you compete in powerlifting. deadlifts (standard, trap bar), single leg squats (pistol, standing on elevated surface, rear foot elevated split squat), lunges and sprinting are plenty for lower body strength and power. And just because you can doesn’t mean you need to.
I agree, but whenever I left them out I felt like I was missing something and the results weren’t too good. I found that the best for me is to keep them in but with as little emphasis as possible (like a easy ramp up with low reps to moderately heavy weight at the end).
I would probably define that risk as anything, even the little things. Especially the little things if you ask me, shrugging off pain/tendinitis/feelings of being hit by a truck every morning.
The way I see it, if you’re pushing yourself and making improvements, you’re putting yourself at some form of risk of injury. Obviously, the severity and likelihood of injury is something you can control via smart training/rehab work but my point is, no one ever got stronger by laying on their couch and eating ice cream on a daily.
Personally for me, I would say I don’t train ‘hard’ 95% of the time. Training ‘hard’ for example would be someone pouring their blood sweat and tears into a meet prep, not just the training in the gym but the dieting/water loading/etc.
It’s my personal belief that every single person has a set amount of “hard training” before they burn out, it’s simply not humanly possible to go balls to the wall 24/7 365. If someone seems like they’re training a lot harder than you, they just probably have a better base of foundation built up over the years of constant effort being put in. Effort =/= balls to the wall
It really pisses me off when people cry about genetics as why they haven’t reached their goals.
On the other hand on the opposite end of the spectrum I get just as pissed at people on line that says genetics do not matter.
Spent my 20’s training like that… After realizing I just didnt have the genetics, and wasnt willing to do what it took, to be the proverbial 200 pound shredded body builder I kind of gave up the balls-to-wall training that could injure me at any session. I still deal with an injury-prone groin from trying to be “the man” on dead lifts after ass-to-grass squats and will happily skip them these days if I even think there is a mild chance of injury.
Wife… Kids… Career… A weight lifting injury just doesnt make sense.
Hell, I barely like getting leg soreness any more because of how damn limiting it can be. Walking around like an old man was “fun” for a decade, now… not so much.
Well he did get some brain injury of sorts from his motorbike accident a buncha years back. Who knows, might’ve made him stupid and he simply can’t feel pain like us mere mortals.
Damn, I think this might be my new favourite thread on T-Nation.
People (those who’ve injuries and are extra prone to injuries do not count) who pride themselves on having good form and constantly remind others about their good form/importance of form generally aren’t very strong. No one wants to see you deadlift 135 with good form. This however, does not apply to highly technical lifts such as the olympic lifts where technique makes all the difference in the world.
The power lifts are not technical and they can be self taught perfectly fine.
Although I never give advice that I’m not 100 % confident will help,many times I’m a bit ashamed to advice people on what to do when I only bench 270 lbs and squat around 340.I feel like that middle school friend that always told you what to do with girls when he had never even kissed one
I get frustrated with fat people with poor lifts in relation to their bodyweight condescendingly telling skinny lifters to eat more, and then giving them terrible diet plans.
I am also incredibly alarmed at the recent surge of 13-14 year old posters, along with their propensity to offer advice.