I like to write these every once in a while just to alienate my readerbase, make them feel weird, and have them try to rationalize why they read what I write. Enjoy!
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| I am too good at this... |
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* I believe in somatotypes. I don’t care who that offends or what the science says. I acknowledge that the origin of somatotypes is goofy, and attempting to employ them to explain criminal activity is goofy, but I also “know” that I’ve known dudes that were beanpoles that lived on fast food and cinnamon rolls and I’ve known dudes that just seemed to put on muscle no matter what they ate or trained and I’ve known dudes that, when they get fat, they get humpty dumpty looking. I know I’m part of the latter group. I also know that there seems to be instances wherein those in the endomorph group always seem to respond better to low carbs for some reason, and those in the ecto and thrive on carbs.
* On the above there, I believe in fast metabolisms. I’m not too sure if I believe in slow ones, which is a funny contrast, but often I find people complaining about slow metabolisms are just eating garbage THINKING it’s healthy and moving very little. But I know there are some cats out there that are just pounding the food and NOT seeing the scale move. I don’t think it’s an excuse, because we all have to play the hand we’re dealt, but I still think it’s real.
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| "It's a glandular issue!" |
* Training a muscle once a week is fine. It’s more than fine. It worked for decades. It still works today. I’d even be willing to say that the people who aren’t at peace with this have never done an actual hard training session before. I can train my legs to the point that once a week is ALL they are good for.
* I take apple cider vinegar about 3-4x a day, before meals. Does it do anything for insulin sensitivity? Who knows, but it’s so cheap I may as well.
* The mind-muscle connection is VERY important when one’s goal is to actually GROW the targeted muscle. There’s been a trend of folks expressing the idea that “if you are moving the weight through the full ROM, you are training the muscle”, and I’ve seen enough cats with big arms and no back doing rows and chins to know that it’s just not true. I WAS that guy. I had to learn to actually FEEL my lats in pulling to be able to actually GROW the lats. I could do a practically all bicep chin up. I know how to bench using almost entirely delts and triceps. All of that can be cool if your goal is to move max weight, but if your goal is to build specific muscles, you need to have that MMC. Like Dave Tate said: “if you can’t flex it, don’t isolate it.”
* There had to be at least ONE natural Mr Olympia in the steroid era, World’s Strongest Man winner, and world record holding powerlifter. I hate the idea of natural limits so much, because on one hand we all acknowledge that there’s going to be a “one in a million” athlete and then we turn right around and the instant one of those shows up, we just say they’re on drugs. At one point, SOMEONE has to walk the earth that was just so goddamn gifted they never needed them.
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| Let's not forget this fine specimen |
* Counting calories is STILL goofy to me. If you wanna get bodybuilder stage ready peeled, it’s absolutely necessary (although there are STILL some bodybuilders that never count calories), but for the everyday person it’s just insanity to me. I have gotten stupid lean never counting calories and also got VERY strong the same way. In that regard, food QUALITY is SO important and so overlooked, and I feel like calorie counting contributes to that. And here’s a sneaky little thing about that: sometimes, switching to a better quality food source results in calorie reduction. I went from grainfed grocery store beef to grassfed piedmontese beef and, in doing so, equal cuts of beef were lower calorie because they had less fat and more protein.
* Let’s tackle the above with a little more: clean food DOES exist. What’s the simplest way to define it? I think Justin Harris put it well “don’t eat it unless you can hunt it or grow it”. What’s another definition? Single ingredient food. Or how about with Dan John’s “eat like an adult” meaning to avoid “cardboard carbs and Frankenstein fats”. And clean foods SHOULD make up the majority of a diet. “Will it get me more jacked than a IIFYM approach?” Ya know what, I’m just gonna say yes. Yes it will. Calorie for calorie, clean food is better. Go ahead and prove me wrong.
* Stretching isn’t important. Neither is mobility work. Both can be addressed with conditioning work and GPP. Guess which of those things people will do and which ones they won’t.
* Bill Kazmaier was the most impressive and captivating World’s Strongest Man of all time, making him the best. Pudzianowski is second. Shaw and Big Z are boring.
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| Shaw would spontaneously combust if he tried this |
* Sumo deadlifts…oh boy. If you wanna make powerlifting watchable, get rid of the squat and make it a push/pull meet with conventional only.
* I think protein supplements are not at all required to get big and strong…yet I STILL have a protein shake post workout. Used to be water and 2 scoops of whey, because milk slowed down absorption of course. Then it became skim milk and 2 scoops of whey, because skim milk had no fat and it was fine, plus more protein. Now it’s drinkable egg whites and 1 scoop of whey…and it’s honestly because protein powder is SO tasty these days compared to when I started that I feel ripped off and it’s my chance to have a treat post workout. And sometimes that whey gets switched out with a protein blend.
* Pre-workout supplements are still gimmicks.
* I WANT to believe the Mark Rippetoe story that you can take a beginner lifter, give them 15 reps of squats a workout, a gallon of milk a day, and they will put on 40lbs of muscle in 3 months. Same way I walk into a supplement store and WANT to believe the lies. The world is so mundane without it.
* Most people don’t need a cheat meal, let alone a cheat day.
* The trap bar pull does NOT replace a conventional deadlift. They train the same muscles: they aren’t replacements.
* Pressing is better than benching. If you have to ask what a press is, start over.
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| Why no, it's NOT called the "clean and overhead press" you idiot... |
* There is no point in knowing your bodyfat%. You look how you look irrespective of that number. You mean to tell me that you’ll give yourself the greenlight to bulk even if you look like a melted candle because some machine spat out a 12, but if you are diced to the gills but the machine says 15 it’s time to cut? And no: no one can tell you a number from a photo. You have fat between your organs that contributes to bodyfat %, and no one is seeing that without x-ray vision.
* Beginner lifters shouldn’t even be beginner lifters. If they’re starting out with NO athletic foundation, they need to play a sport FIRST and get used to moving their body through space. After that, they start with bodyweight exercises, sled dragging, and high rep (12+) machine and dumbbell work. They won’t touch a bar for a while. They need to get STRONG enough TO train.
* Social media is for entertainment: not education. If your “education” comes from internet stars, you haven’t learned. Yes, this includes blogs. Yes, this includes this one. Please go read from an established author/coach with real bona fides that was able to take the time to compose their thoughts and put them down on paper.
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