Getbig Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Forums
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: cephissus on December 30, 2017, 12:04:01 AM
-
How could it be that the right number of reps to do is ever some square number, like 10 or "6-8".
I think people mostly count reps so that they can communicate their workout ideas. Studies also center on reps because it's easier to design tests around them.
I think any experienced "trainee" should probably just trust their instincts instead of doing another rep because they had planned to.
I always find myself thinking "okay I did eight reps, let's go for 10" for seemingly no other reason than "10 is a round number". This seems really absurd...
Thinking about numbers takes your focus away from the exercise, too.
-
I haven't counted my own reps for years. Training partners.. Usually a girl i used to train, then ended up dating for arm candy, would catch me after a set and ask "why'd you do 9 reps?" Or "why'd you only do 6?" While I'd have them do 10 or 12 or 15.
Reg clients too. "Why'd you have me go to 13 when you said 10?"
Answer? Experience.
-
Counting reps is counterproductive
-
I haven't counted my own reps for years. Training partners.. Usually a girl i used to train, then ended up dating for arm candy, would catch me after a set and ask "why'd you do 9 reps?" Or "why'd you only do 6?" While I'd have them do 10 or 12 or 15.
Reg clients too. "Why'd you have me go to 13 when you said 10?"
Answer? Experience.
Same, usually I'm so focused on my sets that I don't even know what number I'm on, I'd be like "5 6 7 11 12 13" then my girl would be like you did 10 lol
-
I'd have to concentrate more on not counting than on counting.
-
How could it be that the right number of reps to do is ever some square number, like 10 or "6-8".
I think people mostly count reps so that they can communicate their workout ideas. Studies also center on reps because it's easier to design tests around them.
I think any experienced "trainee" should probably just trust their instincts instead of doing another rep because they had planned to.
I always find myself thinking "okay I did eight reps, let's go for 10" for seemingly no other reason than "10 is a round number". This seems really absurd...
Thinking about numbers takes your focus away from the exercise, too.
You probably stopped making meaningful progress roughly 10-15 years ago, so you are disillusioned about all basic concepts that pertain to weight training. Seriously, you are making thread about "reps". You lost your mind years ago. Soon you will be Mike Mentzer, obsessing over the past until it kills you.
-
??? How else can you tell if you're improving or not?
If you did 10 reps squatting 315, then got 12 reps 2-3 weeks later, you've improved.
-
??? How else can you tell if you're improving or not?
If you did 10 reps squatting 315, then got 12 reps 2-3 weeks later, you've improved.
Beat me to it. If it's pointless to count reps, then by that same logic, isn't it also pointless to keep track of what weight you're using?
-
Go by feel.
Blasting away for that one extra rep when I'm already spent already cost me a bicep tear ans super ducked up vertebrae in my neck.
County reps and wait to gauge progress is okay and cool and all when you're starting out but I've been training since 1996, after a while learn what feels right and what feels necessary
-
you count the drinks you drink. :D
-
I just go as far as I can within reason.If curling I curl till I can’t curl anymore and sometimes it’s 100 reps and others it’s 15.I count to a point just to know I’m getting enough reps but I have no set rep scheme.
-
every so often i will count a random rep out loud
;D
-
Vince Gironda 8x8
-
??? How else can you tell if you're improving or not?
If you did 10 reps squatting 315, then got 12 reps 2-3 weeks later, you've improved.
Beat me to it. If it's pointless to count reps, then by that same logic, isn't it also pointless to keep track of what weight you're using?
What these guys said. Counting reps per se doesn't do squat to make your workout more intense, but it does help you track your progress.
-
I guess the stopwatches that elite distance runners use are a waste of time as well.
-
Counting reps is dumb unless you're going super heavy.
If you're on AAS and lifting hard who gives a fuck as long as you're working the muscle hard?
-
This thread is weird!!
Ever hear of "rep goals" ???
-
I like to have someone screaming "one more rep" and "beast mode" at me while training. Sometimes I have it recorded because I often get strange looks when I ask a woman at the gym to spot and yell at me.
A face slap is the best motivator after four scoops of pre workout.
-
I like to have someone screaming "one more rep" and "beast mode" at me while training. Sometimes I have it recorded because I often get strange looks when I ask a woman at the gym to spot and yell at me.
A face slap is the best motivator after four scoops of pre workout.
I`d slap you anytime big boy! LOL :D
NO HOMO
-
next you're going to say no of posts shouldnt be counted either ::)
-
??? How else can you tell if you're improving or not?
If you did 10 reps squatting 315, then got 12 reps 2-3 weeks later, you've improved.
Exactly. Progressive Overload. We use reps to calculate total volume. The easiest way to improve is to increase volume in a structured way over time. We obviously can't just increase the weight every workout. We can play with tempo and TUT stuff but it's much more difficult to measure as far as overall training volume than reps. If I just 'go by feel' I become a prisoner to comfort and end up doing the same thing and looking the same month after month. I end up relying too heavily on the drugs to see progress (which is usually just temporary increases in glycogen stores which will disappear once said drug is discontinued.)
-
You probably stopped making meaningful progress roughly 10-15 years ago, so you are disillusioned about all basic concepts that pertain to weight training. Seriously, you are making thread about "reps". You lost your mind years ago. Soon you will be Mike Mentzer, obsessing over the past until it kills you.
I make "progress" all the time, in that i learn how to warm up a little better, hurt myself a little less, waste a little less time, or sometimes even get a little stronger. I don't need numbers for these things, and the outside observer would probably just laugh at me and say "okay buddy..." -- you're right.
But does the story change if I start counting reps? You think I would suddenly be "adding five pounds to my bench" or consistently "adding one more rep per set", if only I started counting numbers. ???
Let's say you're right. How long can anyone keep "progressing" like this?
Like most people, I'm not going to follow some byzantine periodic scheme which maps out the next two years of my life. That leaves me to simple plans like, "well, I lifted four reps last workout and so I'm gonna try for five reps this week." Sure, this plan works great for a year or two, but then what? If we could all add any meaningful amount of anything every session, we'd be benching five thousand pounds ten years in.
Let's take a modest example. Say you do three sets of ten. When you can do all sets with good form, you add five pounds. Maybe you get something like 10, 9, 7 reps the next workout; 10,10,8 the next; and 10,10,10 again the third session. Is this too ambitious? After years of listening to and reading gym stories, I think most people call plans like this "reasonable". It works out to about 5 pounds a month.
The improvements each session are about as minuscule as anyone has the attention span for, I think, and this still works out to sixty pounds a year. So after five years, I've added 300 lbs to my bench?
lol... the reality is, do everything right and you can max out in a couple years, then goodbye "progress" in the sense of adding more weight or reps. So what do you do for the next ten, twenty, thirty years? Follow some increasingly arcane and "unfalsifiable" workout plan, claiming you're "making progress"?
-
This thread is weird!!
Ever hear of "rep goals" ???
You've looked exactly the same for decades, what have your "goals" done for you ???
-
but anyway, this is all aside from the point: if you're lifting hard, and you get to rep 6 and feel like the next rep is gonna snap your spine, why would you go for your planned ten reps? conversely, if you get to the end of your last set and feel like the muscle isn't very stimulated, why not do another set or two?
do plans like "three sets of ten" or "five sets of five" ever seem to magically be "just right"?
-
Counting reps makes perfect sense if you are a strength athlete and have a certain amount of reps at a certain percent that you don't won't to exceed for CNS reasons. If you are a bodybuilder - not having a reason to count reps is the least of your problems.............. jk ;D
-
I make "progress" all the time, in that i learn how to warm up a little better, hurt myself a little less, waste a little less time, or sometimes even get a little stronger. I don't need numbers for these things, and the outside observer would probably just laugh at me and say "okay
How do you gauge if you're getting stronger or wasting less time without keeping track of numbers? Maybe you're not counting reps, but if you are working out with the intent of making progress, you are keeping track some type of numbers.
if you're lifting hard, and you get to rep 6 and feel like the next rep is gonna snap your spine, why would you go for your planned ten reps? conversely, if you get to the end of your last set and feel like the muscle isn't very stimulated, why not do another set or two?
Who are these robots strictly following rep counts? Who are these people who don't do fewer reps when their body demands it and more reps/sets when their body is capable?
-
i count reps and i only stop when i reach the magical total no of 666
then i scream at the top of my lungs 666 THE NUMBER OF THE BEAAAAAAAAAST
and leave the gym
-
Too dam hard to count reps when you high as f*ck. :-\
-
Let's say last Tuesday you had a day full of meals got all your calories in all your carbohydrates and fats and proteins then Wednesday you had an awesome back workout. Now this Tuesday your calorie count was a little low because you had shit to do and you didn't get the carbohydrates in that you got last Tuesday or the fats or proteins or whatever let's say you got 50% in and the following day your back workout was subpar your energy stores were lower and while you got 315 for an easy 15 reps on the deadlift last Wednesday this Wednesday because your energy stores are lower your maximum effort was only 11 reps. Despite putting in 100% effort both days. Your body doesn't know that it's not going to grow if you don't hit some magical number. Your body doesn't know if it's lifting 315 lb or 405 lb it only knows resistance and effort. And my shit 23 years now of training experience tells me hitting 315 on and off day for 11 will get it the same results as hitting 3:15 4:15 on a great day.
(Those #'s I just made up. Substitute 225 lb if you like or 465 lb or 505 lb whatever)
-
Go by feel.
Blasting away for that one extra rep when I'm already spent already cost me a bicep tear ans super ducked up vertebrae in my neck.
County reps and wait to gauge progress is okay and cool and all when you're starting out but I've been training since 1996, after a while learn what feels right and what feels necessary
counting reps and using good judgment when lifting don't have to be mutually exclusive.
-
counting reps and using good judgment when lifting don't have to be mutually exclusive.
yes you should at least no what your best on your favorite compound movements is so you can attempt to progress other than that it doesn't matter
-
yes you should at least no what your best on your favorite compound movements is so you can attempt to progress other than that it doesn't matter
well that too but my point to the guy who said he got hurt going for one more rep even when he knew he was spent is this: whether you are counting reps or not you can still have the sense to stop short when you feel like you are about to blow something out. his injury had nothing to do with counting reps it was from being stupid.
-
well that too but my point to the guy who said he got hurt going for one more rep even when he knew he was spent is this: whether you are counting reps or not you can still have the sense to stop short when you feel like you are about to blow something out. his injury had nothing to do with counting reps it was from being stupid.
I don't count reps or I rarely count wraps however if somebody else is counting my reps or I videotape asset my reps are almost always in the 7 to 11 range, if not 7 to 9 4 sets number three or four of a given movement or 9 to 11 for assets number one or two. * edit correction the first set is usually 15 to 17 4 certain movements, especially isolation movements such as pushdowns or curls
-
I always did 9 1/2 reps for upper body and 15 1/4 for legs.
-
Let's say last Tuesday you had a day full of meals got all your calories in all your carbohydrates and fats and proteins then Wednesday you had an awesome back workout. Now this Tuesday your calorie count was a little low because you had shit to do and you didn't get the carbohydrates in that you got last Tuesday or the fats or proteins or whatever let's say you got 50% in and the following day your back workout was subpar your energy stores were lower and while you got 315 for an easy 15 reps on the deadlift last Wednesday this Wednesday because your energy stores are lower your maximum effort was only 11 reps. Despite putting in 100% effort both days. Your body doesn't know that it's not going to grow if you don't hit some magical number. Your body doesn't know if it's lifting 315 lb or 405 lb it only knows resistance and effort. And my shit 23 years now of training experience tells me hitting 315 on and off day for 11 will get it the same results as hitting 3:15 4:15 on a great day.
(Those #'s I just made up. Substitute 225 lb if you like or 465 lb or 505 lb whatever)
^ see even renowned trainers agree with me ;D
-
How do you gauge if you're getting stronger or wasting less time without keeping track of numbers? Maybe you're not counting reps, but if you are working out with the intent of making progress, you are keeping track some type of numbers.
i wouldn't be surprised if people trained and got big before numbers were even invented.
Who are these robots strictly following rep counts? Who are these people who don't do fewer reps when their body demands it and more reps/sets when their body is capable?
me, for one. but think of a less extreme case: imagine you actually couldn't count reps and sets. do you think you would lift in the same or even a similar fashion?
what your "body demands" isn't always so clear...
-
So if you needed to count reps for "progressive overload" in order to "bodybuild"..............
Someone who started doing dumbbell bicep curls 20 years ago should theoretically be able to do 100 reps at 200lbs a piece now?
As apparently counting reps was the only way they could accurately track progressive overload and thus get bigger/stronger?
-- What exactly is a "Rep"? How does your muscle/body/CNS even know you did a 1/4 rep, 1/2 rep or full rep?...
-
Counting reps makes perfect sense if you are a strength athlete and have a certain amount of reps at a certain percent that you don't won't to exceed for CNS reasons. If you are a bodybuilder - not having a reason to count reps is the least of your problems.............. jk ;D
This^^^
Regardless if it’s strength athletes or bodybuilding hypertrophy is usually in the 10-15 rep range anything above that falls into muscular endurance
-
So if you needed to count reps for "progressive overload" in order to "bodybuild"..............
Someone who started doing dumbbell bicep curls 20 years ago should theoretically be able to do 100 reps at 200lbs a piece now?
As apparently counting reps was the only way they could accurately track progressive overload and thus get bigger/stronger?
-- What exactly is a "Rep"? How does your muscle/body/CNS even know you did a 1/4 rep, 1/2 rep or full rep?...
I didn't see one person in this thread say that you CAN'T get bigger or stronger without counting reps. But the thread is titled "counting reps is weird", so most of the responses to the contrary have addressed why it isn't. If you don't want to count reps great, but there is no getting around the fact that keeping track of weights, sets, reps, time is the best way to keep track of your training progress in a goal-oriented routine.
i'm going to ignore your example because being able to curl 200 pounds is not the inevitable or logical result of training after 20 years, whether you count reps or not. A more reasonable question that would be relevant to the topic is this: If you have two people traing with the goal of being able to do 30 curls with a certain weight after 30 days, which one is more likely to reach that goal- the one counting reps and sets or the one going solely by feel. It's possible they could both reach the goal, but the one counting reps definitely has an advantage. As long as they both train consistently, they'll both get stronger and in better shape, but the one keeping track is making progress towards a clear goal.
I don't know who these people training like robots are, though. If you're thinking that you have to hit a certain number of reps even at the risk of serious injury, then counting reps definitely isn't for you. In fact, serious weight training probably isn't for you. Counting reps during an exercise shouldn't be an excuse not to exercise common sense.
-
I thought this was about a getbigger named countingreps
-
To drag this nonsense up again, I hit the giym this morning for the first time in about 2-3 weeks. I did cardio for about 42 minutes. I split my cardio into 7 minute segments. Anyway, I always try to ignore looking at my timer until it beeps, but occasionally I'll look and will be surprised that more time hasn't elapsed. Even if I'm not particularly tired, sometimes I'll wonder if I didn't actually hit the start button. That's the nature of human perception. We always assume we've worked longer hours, exerted more energy, eaten healthier, spent less, etc. if we're not accurately keeping track. So, on top of keeping track of your progress, counting sets and reps is just a much more efficient way of making sure you actually do the amount of work you intended to do.
If you were to hire someone, and you gave them the options of either A)staying until they completed a set amount of work B)staying until a certain amount of time had elapsed or C)staying until they felt they felt like leaving, most people would probably agree that C would result in the smallest amount of productivity.
-
I thought this was about a getbigger named countingreps
Hahaha
-
i always count reps . i never set a set amount ,i usually have a rough expected amount in my mind i'll likely reach for the weight/stage of workout. i generally work to a rep before failure. sometimes i meet/surpass the expected amount sometimes not. if nothing else counting reps helps focus the mind and concentrate on the movement being done.
-
To drag this nonsense up again, I hit the giym this morning for the first time in about 2-3 weeks. I did cardio for about 42 minutes. I split my cardio into 7 minute segments. Anyway, I always try to ignore looking at my timer until it beeps, but occasionally I'll look and will be surprised that more time hasn't elapsed. Even if I'm not particularly tired, sometimes I'll wonder if I didn't actually hit the start button. That's the nature of human perception. We always assume we've worked longer hours, exerted more energy, eaten healthier, spent less, etc. if we're not accurately keeping track. So, on top of keeping track of your progress, counting sets and reps is just a much more efficient way of making sure you actually do the amount of work you intended to do.
Try this experiment: don't work out for a week, take no stimulants. Now have a little caffeine, hop on the treadmill and don't look at your watch until the timer goes off.
Then imagine, if you had planned to run for 45 minutes and hadn't set a timer... do you think you would have stopped earlier or later?
What if you hadn't set a 45 minute limit at all?
If you were to hire someone, and you gave them the options of either A)staying until they completed a set amount of work B)staying until a certain amount of time had elapsed or C)staying until they felt they felt like leaving, most people would probably agree that C would result in the smallest amount of productivity.
So who benefits in this scenario? The employee or the employer? As long as we're imagining, let's say "most people dislike their job". So who are the numbers helping out, in this case?
Then ask yourself, is working out like a job? Is "progress" only possible if it's unpleasant?
-
And apart from all this, notice how many assumptions you make in the quoted paragraph. Assumptions and numbers go hand in hand... I've noticed I'm very quick to put faith in the equality of countable things: "well my workout felt horrible but I still did 225 for 8 reps". I went on for years like that, even being aware that I was no longer staking my values on things like "how I looked" or "how I felt" or even how strong I thought I was, but numbers and "progress".
If you think this is unusual, just look at how many people in the gym work out for years and never even learn to perform a basic movement correctly. How are they able to maintain their delusion so long -- maybe through faith in numbers?
-
Well, after training for 22?23? Yrs? I have a pretty good estimate of how many reps i'll get for pretty much every exercise with glycogen stores full, maybe 1/2, and fucken empty... In addition to how many ill get with 10hrs sleep, 8hrs, 4hrs, 2hrs... Etc... And these things are independent of each oth
-
Try this experiment: don't work out for a week, take no stimulants. Now have a little caffeine, hop on the treadmill and don't look at your watch until the timer goes off.
Then imagine, if you had planned to run for 45 minutes and hadn't set a timer... do you think you would have stopped earlier or later?
What if you hadn't set a 45 minute limit at all?
How does the experiment you describe differ from what I said I did this morning? Like I said above, I almost always over-estimate how much time I've spent on cardio, even if I am not particularly tired.
So who benefits in this scenario? The employee or the employer? As long as we're imagining, let's say "most people dislike their job". So who are the numbers helping out, in this case?
If the employee isn't maximally motivated, it prevents maximum productivity. More often than not, that will be the case. More often than not, those working out won't be maximally motivated.
Then ask yourself, is working out like a job? Is "progress" only possible if it's unpleasant?
Yes, working out is like a job. That's why it's called working out. For some it is pleasurable, but even for those of us who like it, the pleasure is in the hard work. It's effort exerted. It defies what our bodies naturally want to do, especially as we get older.
-
And apart from all this, notice how many assumptions you make in the quoted paragraph. Assumptions and numbers go hand in hand... I've noticed I'm very quick to put faith in the equality of countable things: "well my workout felt horrible but I still did 225 for 8 reps". I went on for years like that, even being aware that I was no longer staking my values on things like "how I looked" or "how I felt" or even how strong I thought I was, but numbers and "progress".
If you think this is unusual, just look at how many people in the gym work out for years and never even learn to perform a basic movement correctly. How are they able to maintain their delusion so long -- maybe through faith in numbers?
The assumptions are for the sake of brevity. To make a concise point quickly, without it depending on back and forth over several posts. If you disagree with the assumptions, feel free to say so and explain why you think my assumptions are wrong.
I have to say, your adherence to numbers sounds stranger the more you explain why they don't work. You're willing to follow a set/rep scheme to the point of injury and now you're saying that for years it was the most important aspect of your workout at the expense of everything else, including how you looked and felt? To me the concept of this thread is off because I consider a workout plan a guide. Follow it as closely as possible, alter it if you start looking worse or feeling worse or might injure yourself. From my perspective, there is a problem if you're not able to combine all of these aspects into some sort of gauge that most people would define as common sense.
-
How does the experiment you describe differ from what I said I did this morning? Like I said above, I almost always over-estimate how much time I've spent on cardio, even if I am not particularly tired.
Because I suggested resting for a week, first. Maybe you're always tired, even when you think you're "not particularly tired"?
If the employee isn't maximally motivated, it prevents maximum productivity. More often than not, that will be the case. More often than not, those working out won't be maximally motivated.
Yes, working out is like a job. That's why it's called working out. For some it is pleasurable, but even for those of us who like it, the pleasure is in the hard work. It's effort exerted. It defies what our bodies naturally want to do, especially as we get older.
So working N hours no matter what is the best way to maximally motivate an employee, and get out of him the most product?
-
I have to say, your adherence to numbers sounds stranger the more you explain why they don't work. You're willing to follow a set/rep scheme to the point of injury and now you're saying that for years it was the most important aspect of your workout at the expense of everything else, including how you looked and felt? To me the concept of this thread is off because I consider a workout plan a guide. Follow it as closely as possible, alter it if you start looking worse or feeling worse or might injure yourself. From my perspective, there is a problem if you're not able to combine all of these aspects into some sort of gauge that most people would define as common sense.
I didn't say "numbers don't work", just that our fixation with them is strange. You think it's weird that I would follow a workout plan to injury, but how could I do something so stupid? By following reasons not so different from your own: "left on my own, I won't work out hard enough". Hmm... maybe I just have an unusual lack common sense?
What dulls your senses more, though, than plans and numbers? Do you wonder how a lack of sense is so common in gyms? Could it be proportional to the craze for workout plans, programming principles, and rep schemes?
-
to keep track of your progress . . .
-
How could it be that the right number of reps to do is ever some square number, like 10 or "6-8".
I think people mostly count reps so that they can communicate their workout ideas. Studies also center on reps because it's easier to design tests around them.
I think any experienced "trainee" should probably just trust their instincts instead of doing another rep because they had planned to.
I always find myself thinking "okay I did eight reps, let's go for 10" for seemingly no other reason than "10 is a round number". This seems really absurd...
Thinking about numbers takes your focus away from the exercise, too.
I trained with Bertil Fox in 1990 for 1 afternoon at Better Bodies Gym in Manhattan. We trained only back together. Everything that Bertil did was 7 REPS only. Didnt matter if it was a light warmup or a super heavy set. Even if he could only eek out 5 reps...he would rest-pause it until he hit 7 reps. I never asked him why as I was just a young fan who had just met him that day in the gym and he asked me if I wanted to train with him. All I remeber him saying was " 7 reps for everything "
Maybe it was OCD ormaybe he just chose a random rep each workout.
-
How could it be that the right number of reps to do is ever some square number, like 10 or "6-8".
I think people mostly count reps so that they can communicate their workout ideas. Studies also center on reps because it's easier to design tests around them.
I think any experienced "trainee" should probably just trust their instincts instead of doing another rep because they had planned to.
I always find myself thinking "okay I did eight reps, let's go for 10" for seemingly no other reason than "10 is a round number". This seems really absurd...
Thinking about numbers takes your focus away from the exercise, too.
prilepin’s chart
-
My gains exploded with Fibonacci Supersets.
-
Because I suggested resting for a week, first. Maybe you're always tired, even when you think you're "not particularly tired"?
If you read the post more carefully, you'll see that I said I hadn't been in the gym for 2-3 weeks.
So working N hours no matter what is the best way to maximally motivate an employee, and get out of him the most product?
No. The entire point of that analogy is that it doesn't matter if the employee is motivated. In the first two scenarios, a consistent amount of work gets done regardless of how the employee feels. In the the third scenario, the amount of work getting done is fluctuates depending on how the employee feels.
What dulls your senses more, though, than plans and numbers? Do you wonder how a lack of sense is so common in gyms? Could it be proportional to the craze for workout plans, programming principles, and rep schemes?
That wouldn't be my conclusion. When I see goofs in the gym, I've never thought it would be helpful for them to have less guidance and instruction. The lack of common sense I most often see in the gym rarely has anything to with sets or reps and almost always has to do with not understanding the basic mechanics of an exercise.
-
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gujyZPrNL._SX317_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
-
My gains exploded with Fibonacci Supersets.
Joe Mullen of Nautilus fame believed in training with a repetition goal of 5, 8, 13 or 21. I'm serious.
-
Joe Mullen of Nautilus fame believed in training with a repetition goal of 5, 8, 13 or 21. I'm serious.
Makes you wonder if these kooks meant it or were just trying to make sales. The whole HIT contingent were suspect. "One set per month on our Magic Mystery Muscle Maker Machine."
-
My gains exploded with Fibonacci Supersets.
-
In the first two scenarios, a consistent amount of work gets done regardless of how the employee feels.
How often can you come close to "proving" this? It may be enough when we're talking about "burgers produced" because people don't care to look that closely at burgers... But what about when you move up the chain a little and you talk about "lines of code" or "papers published" and finally "all the way" up to "stock price"? At this point, even the most faithful manager must feel some nausea at having to daily handle such wild fictions as "hard data".
You can't really take refuge in "hours worked" or "items produced" any more than you can "reps counted". If these things contribute to your success, they do so in a tiny way. We attribute to them much more than we should. If someone is on the wrong course, the numbers rarely set him right.
-
Abstraction to the point of confusion. There's no insight into the world of industry and managerial theory to be gained from your gym reps.
Sometimes you need to be conscientious. Sometimes you just need to git 'er done. Pick a place on the continuum transfunctionally appropriate to the task.
-
I'm well aware of the science behind hypertrophy occurring in the 10 to 15 range however I have always made my best progress training in the 7 to 9 range once I start to go higher then some magic number of 10 or 11 it turns into some sort of cardiovascular workout... That's for me personally. I have clients that make progress in the 15 range and I have clients and make progress in the 8 to 10 range as well
-
Tonight I ran a 5 min mile, completely out of the blue. This was a lifetime goal I was never able to achieve, even with extensive training... 5:23 was the best I ever got.
A few weeks ago I learned how to perceived and stretch my psoas, purely by feel (and luck)... This simple discovery has improved my body a hundred times more than thousands of vain training sessions. I spent years deluding myself chasing pointless goals.
-
Tonight I ran a 5 min mile, completely out of the blue. This was a lifetime goal I was never able to achieve, even with extensive training... 5:23 was the best I ever got.
A few weeks ago I learned how to perceived and stretch my psoas, purely by feel (and luck)... This simple discovery has improved my body a hundred times more than thousands of vain training sessions. I spent years deluding myself chasing pointless goals.
Wow, mad prpos for that.
-
How often can you come close to "proving" this? It may be enough when we're talking about "burgers produced" because people don't care to look that closely at burgers... But what about when you move up the chain a little and you talk about "lines of code" or "papers published" and finally "all the way" up to "stock price"? At this point, even the most faithful manager must feel some nausea at having to daily handle such wild fictions as "hard data".
Burgers produced is the best example. It's simply about the amount of work you get done. I don't think the criteria you'd use to gauge quality of work in those other areas applies to working out. Not to me, not in an obvious way.
Tonight I ran a 5 min mile, completely out of the blue. This was a lifetime goal I was never able to achieve, even with extensive training... 5:23 was the best I ever got.
A few weeks ago I learned how to perceived and stretch my psoas, purely by feel (and luck)... This simple discovery has improved my body a hundred times more than thousands of vain training sessions. I spent years deluding myself chasing pointless goals.
You know, I am really not dogmatic at all when it comes to fitness. Whenever people who don't workout ask me what they should be doing for arms or chest or whatever, I just say the most important thing is to get on a fitness program and stick with it consistently. If you have found something that works for you, great. The problems you've had counting sets and reps just aren't problems I can relate to. I like gauging my progress accurately week over week. Counting reps enables me to focus on increasing my reps within a single workout. I don't sacrifice other aspects of progress to increase my reps. I like to keep my workouts as close to an hour as possible, so counting reps and sets allows me to get in all that I want to do while staying on that schedule. For me, no problems have arisen from counting. Everything has been advantageous.
-
Burgers produced is the best example. It's simply about the amount of work you get done. I don't think the criteria you'd use to gauge quality of work in those other areas applies to working out. Not to me, not in an obvious way.
You know, I am really not dogmatic at all when it comes to fitness. Whenever people who don't workout ask me what they should be doing for arms or chest or whatever, I just say the most important thing is to get on a fitness program and stick with it consistently. If you have found something that works for you, great. The problems you've had counting sets and reps just aren't problems I can relate to. I like gauging my progress accurately week over week. Counting reps enables me to focus on increasing my reps within a single workout. I don't sacrifice other aspects of progress to increase my reps. I like to keep my workouts as close to an hour as possible, so counting reps and sets allows me to get in all that I want to do while staying on that schedule. For me, no problems have arisen from counting. Everything has been advantageous.
[/b]
Who knows.. Had you not been counting, you may have an Olympia title by now.
-
Burgers produced is the best example. It's simply about the amount of work you get done. I don't think the criteria you'd use to gauge quality of work in those other areas applies to working out. Not to me, not in an obvious way.
You know, I am really not dogmatic at all when it comes to fitness. Whenever people who don't workout ask me what they should be doing for arms or chest or whatever, I just say the most important thing is to get on a fitness program and stick with it consistently. If you have found something that works for you, great. The problems you've had counting sets and reps just aren't problems I can relate to. I like gauging my progress accurately week over week. Counting reps enables me to focus on increasing my reps within a single workout. I don't sacrifice other aspects of progress to increase my reps. I like to keep my workouts as close to an hour as possible, so counting reps and sets allows me to get in all that I want to do while staying on that schedule. For me, no problems have arisen from counting. Everything has been advantageous.
as they say in the army (or somewhere) "hard work beats talent , if talent doesn't work hard"
-
[/b]
Who knows.. Had you not been counting, you may have an Olympia title by now.
hahaha ;D
-
Burgers produced is the best example. It's simply about the amount of work you get done. I don't think the criteria you'd use to gauge quality of work in those other areas applies to working out. Not to me, not in an obvious way.
I'm only pointing out that none of these things are equal. We think its silly to say we can't count burgers only because "nothing important" hinges on their "minute" differences. We're just as comfortable counting them as we are uncomfortable trying to count (e.g. for commoditization) academic papers, on account of how difficult it is to compare the latter.
If two burgers satisfy us the same, we say they're the same without too much scrutiny. Reps and sets are mostly the same way. But when you wake up thirty years later and decide to go to five guys instead of Burger King, or end up in the ER from a heart attack, you start to revalue all those bland whoppers you ate or low fat veggie burgers you skipped.
I look around and see (not only in the gym but everywhere) lots of people chasing after numbers, seemingly in a circle, all in the name of some abstract "progress" or "optimization" which only seems to exist in their imagination. From my perspective, they're only suffering myopia, with "nose to the grindstone" wearing themselves out. And I suffer this way myself, we all do, inasmuch as we think ourselves rooted in the right spot, ready to systematize and build on our foundation.
The way we obsess over workout schemes just seems a particularly notable example of this short sightedness, since no one ever makes progress for long, yet we carefully count the tiniest portions of each workout as if it's a serious matter.
You know, I am really not dogmatic at all when it comes to fitness. Whenever people who don't workout ask me what they should be doing for arms or chest or whatever, I just say the most important thing is to get on a fitness program and stick with it consistently. If you have found something that works for you, great. The problems you've had counting sets and reps just aren't problems I can relate to. I like gauging my progress accurately week over week. Counting reps enables me to focus on increasing my reps within a single workout. I don't sacrifice other aspects of progress to increase my reps. I like to keep my workouts as close to an hour as possible, so counting reps and sets allows me to get in all that I want to do while staying on that schedule. For me, no problems have arisen from counting. Everything has been advantageous.
That's good man, it seems our perspectives differ because I've been less successful and questioned our counting scheme a little more, consequently.
Back when I was gaining muscle and strength regularly, I didn't question the fundamentals (as much).
-
Wow, mad prpos for that.
Thanks man. Never thought I'd even try for it again. I just decided to do an interval workout, 6 laps at 6 min mile pace. Was feeling good so I decided to try the last lap at 5 min pace, just to see if I could... felt fine so I went for two... three... "well, I guess today's the day!" Felt like I could have gone another 2 laps after I finished, tbh.
-
I trained with Bertil Fox in 1990 for 1 afternoon at Better Bodies Gym in Manhattan. We trained only back together. Everything that Bertil did was 7 REPS only. Didnt matter if it was a light warmup or a super heavy set. Even if he could only eek out 5 reps...he would rest-pause it until he hit 7 reps. I never asked him why as I was just a young fan who had just met him that day in the gym and he asked me if I wanted to train with him. All I remeber him saying was " 7 reps for everything "
Maybe it was OCD ormaybe he just chose a random rep each workout.
That's as high as Bertil can count.
-
Tonight I ran a 5 min mile, completely out of the blue. This was a lifetime goal I was never able to achieve, even with extensive training... 5:23 was the best I ever got.
A few weeks ago I learned how to perceived and stretch my psoas, purely by feel (and luck)... This simple discovery has improved my body a hundred times more than thousands of vain training sessions. I spent years deluding myself chasing pointless goals.
timing your runs is weird :D
-
timing your runs is weird :D
True story, usually I go out in a run with only my keys and a few cards (credit, id, etc.), Only having decided on the first part of my route.
Actually a week ago I listened to one of these "guided runs" that Nike publishes. Completely weirded me out... My mental state during an ordinary run is so utterly alien to anything that would find solace in the insane babble I was hearing from Kevin Hart and his partner, the "coach."
To think that people find this incessant counting, talking, symbolizing every minuscule chunk of the training session into oblivion is somehow not only helpful, but even necessary...