Some things never change. And that would include some the absurdities and self-hype that just lives on and on in the foursquares of a gym – or rather, the articles that come out of them. I think only professional wrestling has more (or less?) flamboyance to it.
So, what brings this on…
Well, occasionally I head over to a website that starts with “T” and ends with “Nation,” to partake of their collective knowledge. They have some wonderful writers like Nate Miyaki who has some dead-on nutritional advice. But I read two articles recently that just left me thinking, “What the….heck?!!”
Squat every day…
An article on a weightlifing coach who says that you should basically work out every day, going for max effort on all your lifts, etc. The guy believes that there is no such thing as overtraining – just undertraining. More to the point, those who can endure the most pain will be the most successful (I actually agree with this in the metaphysical sense).
The coach gives his reasoning that a new employee working the garbage route is going to be physically exhausted and after a few days, his entire body will be wasted. But that new employee doesn’t have the option to take a few days off to recover. He sucks it up and keeps going. Eventually, his body adapts and the garbage route is nothing to it. He likens this to weightlifting. Days off are the worst thing you could do when your muscles are fatigued.
But…
If you work 500 garbage cans in 10 neighborhoods everyday; then at some point, your body will adapt and will get more efficient. In weightlifting, as you seek to increase the stress at every workout, your body has no chance to adapt – it’s constantly fighting. In the real world, Bruce Lee will get tired after fighting 200 guys nonstop and at some point, the next 200 guys coming at Bruce will get him. (well, maybe not Bruce – but Al Bundy or me – definitely)
But, what do I know – I’m just an ordinarily and this guy is an olympic weightlifting coach. Still, I would not recommend squatting or deadlifting everyday.
Plus, this guy will tell you to ignore that pain in your elbow or thigh and work through it. Your wrist is on fire – stop being a wimp – and get on with powersnatch. Me, I’m thinking acute pain in your joints or muscle is your body telling you something’s wrong.
Here’s the link to the article – what do you think?
While we’re at it…
W
hat’s with these guys and their “high rep with super heavy weights” advice. Even back in the 80′s, some superstud would be telling a skinny geek (no not me), “yo man, youse wanta get big, youse gotta do 500lb bench for 25 reps – minimum.”
So, this mastadon is giving the same advice. He says pick a superheavy dumbbell and do as many reps as you can. For most that would, NO. Why? Because it’s SUPERHEAVY.
This author says he does 40 reps with 175 lb dumbbell (for dumbbell rowing) and 205lb dumbbells for 30 reps. By the way, he looks like he can. I look like I can’t. I look I like I can’t with a forklift, but that’s another story.
If you (or he) can do 40 reps, its not superheavy…for you (or him).
Why doesn’t the author just say “40 reps or high reps?” Because, for ego’s sake, the it sounds a lot better – with “ridiculously heavy weight.”
Again, if you can 40 reps, it ain’t heavy, ridiculous or not.
Which brings me to the bottom line.
Both of these articles are misleading and dangerous for the beginner, for the ordinary, for the youngster, and you get my point. Both articles set up the young lifter with great potential for injury. “Pain is a phantom of the mind” is nice cliche for a TV show but there’s nothing phantomy about a ruptured muscle or a torn tendon.
A teenager thinking he needs to 30 reps with 50lb dumbbell when he can only do 8 reps on 40 pounders is disaster waiting to happen.
In the end, it’s all about taking everything with a grain of salt and using commonsense in applying any advice.
It would be nice if some folks wrote or gave advice that didn’t require a 5 ton pillar of salt.
But that’s just me…
