This might sound a bit odd, but I’ve noticed that when I lift it has so much to do with the mind… Going into a set thinking “light weight” (ronnie coleman style) really works for me. If I look at the weight Im gonna be lifting thinking “god, that looks heavy” then chances are I wont get anywhere near as many reps as if i think to myself "yea, thats nothin… looks light… could be a warm up set…) haha… its surprising sometimes how the mind can affect u in so many ways…
[quote]bluefingas wrote:
- Know I’m better than the guy who does less weight on squats than me and doesn’t even go past parallel (he thinks he’s hot shit)
[/quote]
Really? I happen to think I’m better than the guy who does 1/4 squats with three times as much weight as I do my full squats with. Go figure.
-WANTING to shift that fucking weight is far better than any supplement or steroid
-Getting wierd looks because you deadlift is something that never gets old
-Squats fucking rock
-Knowing you put everytting into that workout and knowing that your going to benefit from it is possibly the greatest feeling in the world
With regard to lifitng in general, Everybody knows more than you. In particular people who have never lifted weights seriously or for more than two weeks happen to know that:
-a gallon of milk a day is very unhealthy
-whey protein supplements make you fat
-supplements in general are extremely bad for you
-you only lift more than them because you take supplements and that’s cheating and unhealthy
It is possible to do this for 20 years and make NO progress. And think you are doing fine. Do it properly. (been around long enough to see people actually do this)
Diet is 90% of it. But only after training, recovery are being done properly. Not before, and definetely not instead of.
It must be fun, but not just fun
It must be hard, but not too hard
There is nothing new in 30 years - heck, there might not be anything new in a hundred years or a thousand years - but there always is better, newer ways of understanding and organising and learning.
The best routine is always the one you are not doing - provided you’ve been doing the one you are on for about 3 weeks. And you’re roughly intermediate.
You’re a beginner if you can add weight each workout.
You’re intermediate if you can add weight only once per week.
You’re advanced if you can only add weight once a month after 4 weeks of clever tricky ass programming.
You’re very advanced if you’re the same as above but it takes 3 months to add any weight.
You’re elite if strangers know how much weight you are adding.
Full range of motion is good, but don’t knock partials as a great tool.
Injury - acute, or chronic - must be avoided. Pushing self to the max is not as important as avoiding injury as far as long term progress is concerned.
If you can tolerate milk, drink it. If you can’t, don’t tell me not to drink it.
Training at home in a dedicated gym is very efficient and can save thousands of hours of commute, parking, dealing with idiots. If you miss the hot chicks at the gym then marry one, and she will cook for you too.
Humans need exercise. We are not 100% functional without movement. Lymph for example needs movement to pump it around. Blood doesn’t completely move itself. The human brain isn’t just in your head, it’s nerves go throughout your entire body - movement is thought in motion, it is a part of our existence, it is magnificent and sublime.
The people who need to lift weights and take steroids the most are the elderly. And they need to start doing it in their youth. But it is never too late.
There seems to be widespread misinformation about health and exercise throughout the community. Where this comes from is beyond me.
A lazy person cannot be reasoned with if they think what you suggest is going to take effort.
A lazy person will transform into an energetic person once the ball gets rolling because it is our animal nature and desire for health and vitality that takes over.
Our stupid evolution made us want to be lazy, fat, eat a lot of calories and do little.
Our fantastic evolution made us want to move, do things, explore, exercise our strength, breath clean air and feel the exhileration of life.
Our crazy evolution needs a prod in the right direction to get things happening.
If a magic pill could make you the biggest and strongest overnight, you would miss the entire point of the journey, which is effort and many many victories. If you are young you probably do not get this, yet.
Buy quality equipment but don’t go overboard. If you can’t afford quality, get cheap gear - but don’t let it break and injure you. And save for better gear.
Everyone is looking for the quick fix, instant transformation, but really it is about long time, long term, longevity and progress over a looooong time, did I say long enough?
Having said that some things cannot be done slowly and require a shock to the system.
No approach works forever, because the body adapts and no longer cares what you throw at it. Unless an approach has built in change to confuse your body.
Never, ever underestimate your Daily Required Dosage of laughter. Surround yourself with good people who make you laugh. Marry one. Have kids and make them laugh. Most important thing for progress! One of the worst things you can do is take things too seriously. Except maybe safety. But you don’t have to fret about it!
[quote]Magarhe wrote:
If a magic pill could make you the biggest and strongest overnight, you would miss the entire point of the journey, which is effort and many many victories. If you are young you probably do not get this, yet.[/quote]
This should be put in the ‘Strong Words’ section of T-Nation
focus on achieving your own goals and don’t be distracted by what others are doing,in the gym or on the internet.
training enviroment is everything! if the gym you are in is crap go to a different one. stop making excuses to your self and just do it. (this proved costly to myself)
-
lift with intensity and proper form.
-
Eating big to bulk is important. But after 13 weeks of bulking, then it might be time to cut down a little.
-
Eating 1700 Kals on training days at 215lbs to cut down, will inevitably make you feel like shit-most of the time.
-
The difference between getting that PR or not isn’t how jacked you are, what you ate, what music you listening to, or-whatever-the-fuck-happened-in-la-la–land , its 99% mental.
-
Powerlifting form is the best form
-
If you ain’t feeling the burn, and the pump is non existent, you doing it wrong.
-
90% of doctors don’t know shit about bodybuilding nutrition, supplements, and steroids.
-
Pick up that bar and lift it up in different ways
-
Stop over complicating things, keep it simple-Less is more
-
Cutting down and feelin a bit tired? Stop whining and go lift.
-
Bulking and not growing? Just eat the fuck more damn it!
-
Olive oil and milk are awesome to bulk
-
Water is the best anabolic during workout. No fancy shit, just water. But hey, if you can get Surge more power to ya
-
No pain, no gain buddy.
-
Best way to ruin deadlifts is having a chick doing one arm bent over rows in front of you. You WILL suffer from chronic hurting cock disorder-and a slightly bent bar.
-
If you’re getting hemorrhoids from shitting twice or trice a day, congratz, you’re probably bulking correctly.
Things I’ve learned about bodybuilding and hypertrophy:
-Better isolation = more growth provided you are OVERLOADING the muscles each time you train.
-Overload is not a number, it is a feeling. No external quality is more important to a bodybuilder than the subjective feeling of destroying his muscles every time he works out.
-Every work set needs to be taken to failure, no exceptions.
-You know you are “done” when you can’t lift 5 lbs. anymore without shaking like an epileptic.
-No soreness, no growth.
-The fact that someone no longer gets sore from training does not prove that they CAN’T get sore. More often than not, it simply reflects the fact that they stopped pushing themselves hard enough to continue making progress. We make our best gains as beginners, when we also experience the greatest amount of intramuscular soreness.
-A hard training bodybuilder “lives in pain”, all the time. Tear down the muscles, build them back up, and repeat, ad infinitum.
-There is such a thing as being injured and there is such a thing as being fatigued. There is no such thing as being in a state of “overtraining”.
-Static stretching prior to lifting is beneficial, as are dynamic mobility drills.
-Training heavy actually takes stress off your muscles and redistributes it to the skeletal structure.
-You want “good pain” always, “bad pain” never.
-The only way not to get “bad pain” is to simply avoid doing full-ROM compound exercises with free weights.
-You have to get big before you can throw around heavy weight.
-Skinny guys with lanky frames are better off doing isolation movements for targetted hypertrophy.
-The maximum degree of overload that a given muscle can be subjected to is equivalent to the maximum amount of work that muscle can perform in isolation. If you can curl 50 lbs. as a max, then your biceps are only strong enough to produce 50 lbs. of elbow flexion, period. Doing a compound exercise with more weight will not change this.
In the above example, doing 100 lb. rows will not be any more effective in eliciting hypertrophy of the biceps than the 50 lb. curls. The extra weight being used on the second exercise is entirely a function of the other muscle groups involved with the exercise. To claim otherwise is a clear violation of physics which is nevertheless made by dozens of college-educated strength coach who write about the topic.
-The more muscles that are called upon to move a weight, the less work each of them will have to do individually. 3rd grade math skills refute the dogma of “heavier is better”.
[quote]polo77j wrote:
- There’s nothing like being in a crowded gym alone … if you don’t understand that now, keep at it, someday you will.[/quote]
I’m new here, but this caught my eye. Fricken amazing saying!!
[quote]Nominal Prospect wrote:
Things I’ve learned about bodybuilding and hypertrophy:
-Better isolation = more growth provided you are OVERLOADING the muscles each time you train.
-Overload is not a number, it is a feeling. No external quality is more important to a bodybuilder than the subjective feeling of destroying his muscles every time he works out.
-Every work set needs to be taken to failure, no exceptions.
-You know you are “done” when you can’t lift 5 lbs. anymore without shaking like an epileptic.
-No soreness, no growth.
-The fact that someone no longer gets sore from training does not prove that they CAN’T get sore. More often than not, it simply reflects the fact that they stopped pushing themselves hard enough to continue making progress. We make our best gains as beginners, when we also experience the greatest amount of intramuscular soreness.
-A hard training bodybuilder “lives in pain”, all the time. Tear down the muscles, build them back up, and repeat, ad infinitum.
-There is such a thing as being injured and there is such a thing as being fatigued. There is no such thing as being in a state of “overtraining”.
-Static stretching prior to lifting is beneficial, as are dynamic mobility drills.
-Training heavy actually takes stress off your muscles and redistributes it to the skeletal structure.
-You want “good pain” always, “bad pain” never.
-The only way not to get “bad pain” is to simply avoid doing full-ROM compound exercises with free weights.
-You have to get big before you can throw around heavy weight.
-Skinny guys with lanky frames are better off doing isolation movements for targetted hypertrophy.
-The maximum degree of overload that a given muscle can be subjected to is equivalent to the maximum amount of work that muscle can perform in isolation. If you can curl 50 lbs. as a max, then your biceps are only strong enough to produce 50 lbs. of elbow flexion, period. Doing a compound exercise with more weight will not change this.
In the above example, doing 100 lb. rows will not be any more effective in eliciting hypertrophy of the biceps than the 50 lb. curls. The extra weight being used on the second exercise is entirely a function of the other muscle groups involved with the exercise. To claim otherwise is a clear violation of physics which is nevertheless made by dozens of college-educated strength coach who write about the topic.
-The more muscles that are called upon to move a weight, the less work each of them will have to do individually. 3rd grade math skills refute the dogma of “heavier is better”.[/quote]
i used to train like this,
i have learn’t from experience, er… not to.
I bet you’ve gained strength and lost muscle mass since you stopped training that way, and you’re probably happy about that.
Although, I doubt you really ever trained the way I advocate. It’s just that I’ve hardly seen anyone do it besides me.
-
Don’t listen to Nominal Prospect
-
Listen to the big guys who know what they’re doing to get where they are now.
The only gene that matters is the one that makes you work hard.
Every body responds differently to training. There’s NO best way to train my friend. That’s what I think.
i agree with all the people who have said look at those who have accomplished what you are trying to accomplish… of course you will never be able to copy them exactly…but you can at least try, and you will develop a great foundation for success…over time you will build on what they did and find ways to enhance your own physique or performance…
and then maybe one day, somebody will copy what you have done…
I have done this several times whether that be learning poker or learning how to write essays(I write pretty terrible on here though lol) or learning how to produce music or public speaking…I keep emulating the best and building on what they have done until i reach my goals…
all the studies and fancy wording in the world will never compare to real world results…a lot of these authors never present their clients, so how can i trust them…I just don’t understand how you can follow somebody blindly when they don’t even have the real life results to back up their claims…
[quote]pumped340 wrote:
-
Don’t listen to Nominal Prospect
-
Listen to the big guys who know what they’re doing to get where they are now.[/quote]
Problem:
The big guys who know what they’re doing are saying the same things that I am. They are interviewed in magazines like Flex and ignorant people like you disregard their advice. Now it’s time to swallow your medicine, chump:
Mike Boyle:
[quote]
“Can a muscle tell the difference between a weight, a band or a spring? I don’t believe so. One of my favorite lines of bull is the old " this exercise or training method will give you long, lean muscles like a dancer”. This is akin to telling people you can turn an apple into an orange right before their eyes
…
changing the source of resistance in a resistance-based exercise will not produce a muscle that appears different
…
Muscles can’t tell the difference between resistance generated by a piece of iron or by a piece of rubber
…
We need to produce a resistance that will cause fatigue to occur at the 30 second point or later to induce hypertrophy
…
If we don?t want hypertrophy than don’t do light weights and more reps…I think the common prescription for female trainees ( light weights, lots of reps) leans more towards a bodybuilding, mass producing prescription than away from it. If I wanted less hypertrophy, I would stay in the 5-6 rep range with higher loads and generate less time under tension. I would also do less sets. The result, less time under tension, less volume and less hypertrophy. The fact is, training is about time under tension and the point of fatigue. I can produce hypertrophy with weights or without. [/quote]
Scott Abel:
“Everybody wanna be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody want to lift moderate weight for high reps.” - Diamond Delts, mod on BB.com Forums, 220+ lb. bodybuilder
A good workout isn’t just an outline of exercises, sets, and reps. It’s focus and form, pace and rhythm, exertion and feel, instincts and knowing. That all comes with time, practice, guts, and understanding. - Dave Draper
It’s the last rep and the extra plates that kill you. These are also the ones that build large, powerful, and well-shaped muscle. - Draper endorsing training to failure
Tim Henriques, NPTI Director, endorsing isolation training, the pump, and judging the effectiveness of a workout by the soreness it induces:
[quote]
I do believe that when training for size you should feel the muscle working, that is one measure of intramuscular tension which is the easiest and simplest way to estimate how many motor units are working. In some circles it is referred to as the mind-muscle connection and a lot of bodybuilders swear by it. I believe it is one of the biggest differences when training for size vs strength.
…
Neuromuscular coordination doesn’t matter much for bodybuilding. You don’t need to worry about skill transfer.
Instead, you want to make sure that a specific muscle, or muscle group, is doing the work.
That doesn’t mean you’ll rely solely on isolation exercises, but it does mean you should feel the muscle working during the set, and feel a difference within the muscle afterwards. You want to get a pump, to feel the burning sensation in the muscle (which we used to think was caused by lactic acid), and/or feel post-workout soreness a day or two later. Those are all signs of effective muscle isolation. Conversely, when you’re training for strength, you don’t want to feel the muscles working, or to establish a mind-muscle connection; you just want to do the movement.[/quote]
[quote]
"I totally agree on the buff Olympic lifters being the exception. There’s a guy in my gym who has competed internationally in Weightlifting and looks scrawny compared to rest of Powerlifters and bodybuilders in the gym.
There is no real reason for someone really good at weightlifting to have loads of muscle, especially bodybuilder type muscle on the pecs and arms. The guys are all legs really."[/quote] -wushy_1984, TN
[quote]
"Olympic lifters have very muscular legs and shoulders. And that’s it. But, arguably, these aren’t the result of the Olympic lifts themselves…Contrary to the Olympic lifts, the squat has a longer time under tension and an eccentric phase, which means that it’ll build a lot of muscle
…
Even among the elite, few lifters stand out as extremely muscular. And those that are, are often more muscular due to exercises other than the competitive lifts, or because they’re genetically blessed and would’ve ended up that way by lifting rocks.
Considering that maximum hypertrophy stimulation occurs with sets lasting at least 20 seconds (30 to 50 seconds being better for most), it’s easy to see why the Olympic lifts might not be ideal."[/quote] - Christian Thibadeau
“I wasted too many years back squatting. I got almost zero quads development from it.” -Berserkergang, T-Nation
[quote]
"Since the beginning of October, I have been going to the gym every day for at least 1.5 hours. I do alternate muscle groups throughout the week, and change up exercises frequently to keep my body guessing. I eat right and don’t use tobacco or any crap like that. My problem is, I am getting considerably stronger, but not much larger.
My chest for instance, you guys are gonna laugh, but when I first started my workouts in October, I was maxing my bench at 155lbs. I was 6’ even and weighed 170lbs. Tonight, and you will probably laugh again, I maxed again at 225lbs, I am still 6’ and weigh 173lbs. I know I gained 3 pounds since October, but I was hoping to be at least 180 something by now. I have tried to just lift heavy as many reps as possible, but I stopped because my shoulders started to feel like crap."[/quote] -DjFuzzy, BB.com
Ignore the critics, cables and machines build huge arms. - Contract Killer on BB.com, 200+ lb. bodybuilder
“I’m sorry powerlifting coaches, your DVDs about how to shorten the distance the bar has to travel so I can bench more weight just don’t apply much to me. I don’t compete, and I only bench to build my chest, triceps, and other pushing muscles. I want a long range of motion because it makes me work harder and helps to build more muscle.” - Chris Shugart
“Do you pay attention to time-under-tension?”
[quote]
Dorian Yates: I’ve never sat there with a clock and timed 'em, but I train the muscle to failure. I know what type of rep range I react best to and the reps are fairly controlled. I hold in the contracted position, make sure I get a full stretch, and slow down the negative.
“Then, squatting on a Smith machine, I could position my body so it was much more isolated on the quads, less glutes and lower back involvement, didn’t have to worry about the balance aspect. Actually my legs improved a lot when I was doing Smith squats, hack squats, leg presses ? I could isolate the thighs a lot more. So actually I used the Smith machine quite a bit for squatting.”[/quote] – Dorian Yates
[quote]
“?people are surprised when they see me train. I’m very precise with the movements. I’m not interested in lifting weights from point A to B. I’m interested in putting stress on the muscle and stimulating growth. I want to do a full range contraction, controlled negative, everything like that. So I could probably lift more weight, if I wasn’t using strict form, but that’s not my goal in bodybuilding.”[/quote] – Dorian Yates
[quote]
Training with heavy loads and low volume (sets x reps) is the best way to get hard and strong, but not big. Muscular hypertrophy is generally a response to a high volume work output; therefore, by keeping the sets and reps low with heavy training, you wont have to fear getting overly big.[/quote] - John Berardi
[quote]
A young lad recently wrote to me that he couldn’t do a single chin-up. When I asked why he wanted a program to make him better at chins, he said that he wanted to build his back. I told him that in his case, his back development did not depend on his ability to do chins.[/quote] -Scott Abel
[quote]“The young kids typically are going by heavier weights = huge muscles bullshit they get from others at school. Once a kid starts to put on some decent weight and attains a decent mind muscle connection is all about refining and using the weight properly. Not just piling more of it on.”[/quote] -DiamondDelts BB.com Mod
“This AIN’T ninth grade and no one gives a SHIT how much you bench” - Will Harris, IFFB Pro Bodybuilder, 240 lbs. @ 5’9
[i]"See it all too often in the gym I go to. Pair of young boys maybe 15-17yrs old. Dumbbell chest press way more weight then they can handle, they probably move the weight 10cm.
Another guy on bent over rows way too much weight, shit ROM no result in muscle mass. You see it all the time way too much weight and the result is they don’t look like they workout."[/i]
[quote]
"I’m the same way, I used to train arms very heavy and had ok results…but then started training with light weight and they grew much faster. I was like WTF?
But hey, it works for me so I’m going to keep curling my 30 lb dumbells and grow from it." [/quote]
[quote]
"When training to build muscle you shouldn’t focus on “lifting weights,” but rather on contracting the muscles against resistance. A lifting technique that’ll allow you to lift the most weight isn’t necessarily the one that’ll build the muscles you want.
A powerlifting squatting technique (very wide stance, hips back, torso at a 45 degree angle) will give you the best levers to make a big lift. However, as a quadriceps exercise (for a bodybuilder) this type of lift is basically worthless. A narrow-stance squat performed with the torso as upright as possible will place more stimulation on the quads despite using smaller weights."[/quote] - Christian Thibaudeau
[quote]
"I trained with exclusively low reps for several months and increased strength without increasing size–for the past 2-3 months I have been using 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps followed by 2 sets of 8-10 reps, but only on the major compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, chins, etc)
Strength is still increasing (though slower) and size is starting to creep back up with higher calories (higher calories on low rep only lifting added more bf than muscle)"[/quote] -wlhcrow, T-Nation forums
Now listen to Dave Tate defending pro BB’ers in this video:
What else does Dave Tate have to say about hypertrophy?
[quote]
"For powerlifting, a lot of isolation work ? concentration curls and shit like that ? isn’t going to do a whole lot. For someone trying to build hypertrophy though, whose main function isn’t going to be strength, I think movements like that are extremely important.
T-Nation: What about the “pump” and hypertrophy? Is the pump necessary?
Tate: [u]I’m part of the old school on this. I think if you’re trying to build hypertrophy, you still at some point need to pump the shit out of the body. You need to get the fluid and blood in there.[/u]
Contrary to what a lot of people think, that’s still what everybody fucking does. If you’re a competitive bodybuilder or are training for mass, that’s how you finish your session.
That’s where I like the idea of some of the different machines ? because they don’t place a huge demand on the body. You can get on a chest press machine, a pec deck, a cable crossover, whatever the hell you want to use, and you can completely gorge that muscle. "
“There’s always a height to weight ratio when it comes to strength. Regardless of what anyone says, if you’re 6’ 2” and weigh 165 pounds, you might pull okay but you’re not going to squat worth a shit. You don’t have the thickness or the torso. I’m not saying you have to have a fat torso, but a light lifter like that won’t have the torso support for leverage.
…
From a powerlifter’s standpoint, a bigger muscle is going to be a stronger muscle. While that’s not always the case, it is part of the equation. " [/quote]
-Dave Tate, proving that “you need to be big in order to throw around heavy shit”
There. I just doubled the amount of wisdom packed into this thread.
I have been proven right on so many occasions that it is truly embarassing for the naysayers such as yourself.
Everyone in this industry who knows what they’re doing already agrees with me or will in about a month’s time.
I write the things that I do because they are correct, not because I’m trying to show off. I don’t have a website (yet) and I don’t make any money by promoting these views.
So, you insolent fool. What’s the excuse now?
Are you going to keep listening to Chad Waterbury or will you finally listen and follow the examples of people who actually train and compete in bodybuilding - people who know body recomposition better than anyone else, because it’s their job?
The choice is up to you: Either follow the light or keep on “lifting heavy shit” and looking like a fat slob who doesn’t train.
With my style of training, I don’t have the problem of no one outside my gym knowing that I lift weights. All pictures taken without a pump:
By the way, if you think my physique sucks (which I have no doubt you’ll try to claim) then show it to Christian Thib and ask him if he agrees. Don’t tell him anything about it prior. Just show him the pic and say, “CT, do you think this guy has a shitty physique?”
I absolutely, 100% guarantee you that he will say no. In fact, I’d bet my account on it.
Seriously I think this ‘this is better then that’ is pointless…
Mike mentzer wasn’t small yet a lot of people don’t like his training methodologies. It worked for him tough, and he had a very aestetic physique and wasn’t small.
CT hates ‘lots of reps to preserve muscle while cutting down’, and tries to explain it with scientific purposes. Hey and works for the most of us.
I see guys at my gym that use a high rep scheme and preserve muscle well while cutting down tough. This happens not to work for me, at least from my limited experience.
A friend of mine has done a 6 week dbol only cycle with no PCT and blew up like a crazy fucker and he’s lean, no gyno, nuttin. He only used 30mg ED. I happen to gained some bloat, did a proper PCT and all I gained was water. This was a long long time ago.
…Every body is different. Listen to the big guys, try what they say sure. You’d be an idiot if you didn’t. Then experiment with what they said. It may work, it may not. What worked for ‘big guy A’ may not work for ya. But hey ‘Big guy B’ said something that absolutely contradicts what ‘Big Guy A’ said, and hey it works for ya! Everybody is different. It’s pointless to argue ‘who is right’. Thing is both of you are right, and you don’t even recognize that.
BC
I hope you don’t expect me to read all of that.
I read about 3 points. First of all I don’t agree with Chad Waterbury, I don’t like his material at all. Secondly I don’t disagree with all of what you said, probably closer to half of it (#1 of my post was somewhat of a joke).
as for the one part that said “I can produce hypertrophy with or without weight”…I’m hoping your not suggested people can build a significant amount of muscle without weight resistance.
Well, it’s Mike Boyle suggesting it, and no, I’m pretty sure he meant training without resistance from free weights, not without any weight resistance at all. He was comparing free weights to bands and cables and saying, essentially, that muscles respond the same to the same amount of resistance whether it comes from “iron or rubber”.
You may not be one of my biggest haters but they will turn up at some point, so I’m glad I made the post.
[quote]Nominal Prospect wrote:
"I bet you’ve gained strength and lost muscle mass since you stopped training that way, and you’re probably happy about that.
Although, I doubt you really ever trained the way I advocate. It’s just that I’ve hardly seen anyone do it besides me.[/quote]
nominal prospect wrote:
Things I’ve learned about bodybuilding and hypertrophy:
-Better isolation = more growth provided you are OVERLOADING the muscles each time you train.
-Overload is not a number, it is a feeling. No external quality is more important to a bodybuilder than the subjective feeling of destroying his muscles every time he works out.
-Every work set needs to be taken to failure, no exceptions.
-You know you are “done” when you can’t lift 5 lbs. anymore without shaking like an epileptic.
-No soreness, no growth.
-The fact that someone no longer gets sore from training does not prove that they CAN’T get sore. More often than not, it simply reflects the fact that they stopped pushing themselves hard enough to continue making progress.
We make our best gains as beginners, when we also experience the greatest amount of intramuscular soreness.
-A hard training bodybuilder “lives in pain”, all the time. Tear down the muscles, build them back up, and repeat, ad infinitum.
-There is such a thing as being injured and there is such a thing as being fatigued. There is no such thing as being in a state of “overtraining”.
-Static stretching prior to lifting is beneficial, as are dynamic mobility drills.
-Training heavy actually takes stress off your muscles and redistributes it to the skeletal structure.
-You want “good pain” always, “bad pain” never.
-The only way not to get “bad pain” is to simply avoid doing full-ROM compound exercises with free weights.
-You have to get big before you can throw around heavy weight.
-Skinny guys with lanky frames are better off doing isolation movements for targetted hypertrophy.
-The maximum degree of overload that a given muscle can be subjected to is equivalent to the maximum amount of work that muscle can perform in isolation. If you can curl 50 lbs. as a max, then your biceps are only strong enough to produce 50 lbs. of elbow flexion, period. Doing a compound exercise with more weight will not change this.
In the above example, doing 100 lb. rows will not be any more effective in eliciting hypertrophy of the biceps than the 50 lb. curls. The extra weight being used on the second exercise is entirely a function of the other muscle groups involved with the exercise.
To claim otherwise is a clear violation of physics which is nevertheless made by dozens of college-educated strength coach who write about the topic.
-The more muscles that are called upon to move a weight, the less work each of them will have to do individually. 3rd grade math skills refute the dogma of “heavier is better”."
my experience:
in the past.
mostly isolation excercises
everyset to failure
light weights high reps
exclusively machines
done when i felt so weak and exhausted i couldn’t push the gym door open
static stretching before lifting
now.
mixture of big compound and isolation excercises
occasional sets to failure
heavy weights short sets, variable rest periods
mostly free weights
leave the gym feeling tired but strong
stretching only after/away from lifting
i am a skinny guy with a “lanky frame”, only 20LBS heavier at the same body fat levels,39 years old
conclusion.
“what you have learned from experience” is at best misguided, at worse, just wrong
[quote]Nominal Prospect wrote:
With my style of training, I don’t have the problem of no one outside my gym knowing that I lift weights. All pictures taken without a pump:
By the way, if you think my physique sucks (which I have no doubt you’ll try to claim) then show it to Christian Thib and ask him if he agrees. Don’t tell him anything about it prior. Just show him the pic and say, “CT, do you think this guy has a shitty physique?”
I absolutely, 100% guarantee you that he will say no. In fact, I’d bet my account on it.[/quote]
Interesting to note that the ‘isolation mans’ arm are lagging pretty badly, along with his legs for that matter. Maybe your lack of evil compound squats and deadlifts has done your physique some harm after all. I doubt Thib would find that physique impressive.