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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 08:10:42 AM

Title: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 08:10:42 AM
Someone started one about kymou, I was just curious about others (this thread could get quite controversial).
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: QuakerOats on August 26, 2008, 08:12:57 AM
one set to failure followed by a post workout large Pizza Hut deep dish.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Stavios on August 26, 2008, 08:13:11 AM
I started some DC training about 6 weeks ago, I like it a lot.

I am not a strong guy so it's a good way to increase the poundage  on basic exercises for me
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Method101 on August 26, 2008, 08:14:28 AM
Once you can do 10 reps of an exercise up the weight.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 08:15:56 AM
I started some DC training about 6 weeks ago, I like it a lot.

I am not a strong guy so it's a good way to increase the poundage  on basic exercises for me

I'm looking for peoples training philosophies, what do YOU believe not someone elses workout or what THEY believe.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Stavios on August 26, 2008, 08:17:01 AM
I'm looking for peoples training philosophies, what do YOU believe not someone elses workout or what THEY believe.

oh.. I'll let the experts speak then

I don't have any philosophies, I think most methods are good
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Deicide on August 26, 2008, 08:19:07 AM
Someone started one about kymou, I was just curious about others (this thread could get quite controversial).

Jebus

Jebus

Jebus

and more

Jebus
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Overload on August 26, 2008, 08:20:41 AM
Train with intensity
When gains stop, change routine
Eat
Sleep


8)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: _bruce_ on August 26, 2008, 08:21:09 AM
No philosophy here.
Trying 5x5... so a more minimalistic/strength-oriented direction.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: JasonH on August 26, 2008, 08:28:45 AM
Train with intensity
When gains stop, change routine
Eat
Sleep


8)

Pretty much the same as my philosophy.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Dragon on August 26, 2008, 08:29:34 AM
train  weak bodyparts on cheat day   :)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Rudee on August 26, 2008, 09:39:58 AM
squatting 3x a week will turn weak legs into strong legs
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: BlueDevil on August 26, 2008, 09:42:19 AM

Component #1 – Rationale

Rationale is the basis for your program design. Quite simply, how bulletproof do you believe your programming to be?

Think about it like this; let’s say you’ve written a program for yourself, and I sit down right next to you to look things over. Could you tell me exactly why you chose:

- A specific exercise?
- A specific set/rep scheme?
- A specific time under tension?
- A specific rest period?

To take it a step further, in what instances would you choose a front squat over a back squat? In what cases would 5x5 be superior to 3x8 or 3x10? For which athletes would a 5-10 minute rest between sets be necessary? The point I’m getting at is we need to understand all the variables associated with creating a program, and then understand how manipulating any (or all of) those variables can either improve upon or detract from the quality of the program.

In the case of a powerlifter, a 5x5 program may be ideal to help them build their squat. But if you put them on a 60 or 90 second rest period, you’re going to kill them.

3x8 or 3x10 set/rep schemes may work perfectly in a fat loss setting, but if you allow them 3-5 minutes rest between sets you lose a lot of the training effect.

As you can see from the above examples, you have to think big picture – how all the variables involved influence each other.

As well, far too often we put unnecessary or unneeded “filler” exercises into our programming. Nothing that we do should be arbitrary. If you can’t explain why you do something, why are you doing it?

Component #2 – Progression

Good programming is imperative to long-term success. Progression is one component of good programming.

When starting with a new client or athlete, the first thing we do is assess them. Whether it’s taking their body fat, doing a 1-RM squat, or just watching them play their sport, we have to know where they are starting from first and foremost. As they saying goes, “If you’re not assessing, you’re guessing.”

The assessment is absolutely critical with regards to progression – if you don’t assess them, how do you know where to start? If everyone starts on the same program, it will be just right for some. However, for the vast majority that same programming could be either too easy or too damn hard.

But more importantly, once we know where to start from, the real key is knowing how to get them from where they’re at to where they want to go. Again, whether their goal is to get from 20% body fat to 15% body fat, or to take them from a 275# bench press to 300#, the key is in progression. We all know that what helps you lose the first 20 lbs. won’t help you lose the last 20. Thus, progression is critical.

With that being said, however, I don’t want to imply that the only way to incorporate progression into a training program is to add weight to the bar. Even though I haven’t competed in a while I still have a powerlifters mentality; in more cases than not, more weight on the bar is a good thing. However, they are tons of different variables that we can “progress” upon throughout a training program. Here are a few examples:

- Stability Demands
Beginners generally have poor stability in single-leg stance. We can give them more stability up front (via a split squat) and then progress them into exercises with greater stability demands (reverse lunges, forward lunges, and even walking lunges).

- Exercise Difficulty/Complexity
With the Olympic lifts, it’s much easier to teach the lifts in small chunks or phases versus having someone clean from the floor on their first session. Start with basics like the hang pull or power clean, and then progress in difficulty from there. If even the basic Olympic moves are too difficult, you can regress back to a med ball throw or KB swing to begin the progression.Another example would be to start clients out using a box to learn how to squat; once they’re comfortable with the torso position and “sitting back,” you can progress them to a traditional back squat from there.

- Decreased rest periods
If someone is doing metabolic based resistance training, a “progression” would be to decrease the rest periods between sets.

- Increased repetitions per set
Again, using a metabolic based resistance training program you may keep the weight on the bar the same, but add repetitions to the set.

- Increasing the time under tension (TUT)
A set of squats performed at a 2-0-1 tempo is much different than that same set of squats performed at a 4-0-1 tempo.
- Increasing the density/pressure of a soft-tissue implement
By moving from a white foam roller to a black one, or from a tennis ball to a lacrosse ball, you increase the intensity of the soft-tissue work.

As you can see, there are various methods of progressing or increasing the intensity of a training program without manipulating the weight on the bar. Adding load isn’t a bad thing whatsoever, but I want you start thinking about how you can apply the concept of progression throughout all the components of your workouts.

Component #3 – Efficiency

Efficiency isn’t a word that we use a lot in this industry, and I hope it will change in the future. Quite simply, if we can complete the same athletic task using, A) more energy, or B) less energy, which sounds better to you?

When it comes to efficiency with regards to training/competing, I phrase it like this:

- The right muscle(s)
- Working at the right time
- With an appropriate level of strength

When we have all these things working together, we not only improve our performance but decrease the likelihood of injury. As Bill Hartman has noted numerous time, we shouldn’t look at these as separate and individual outcomes – rather, they should be looked at as one and the same.

Efficiency, however, is one elusive property to get your hands on. In our “Building the Efficient Athlete” DVD Series, Eric often talks about the difference between inefficiencies and pathologies. Inefficiencies are those minor “hiccups” when it comes to our performance. However, enough of these “hiccups” eventually lead to injury, or at the very least sub-maximal performance.

This is where people need to understand the roles of both activation/motor control work and strength work. Intelligent program design will incorporate activation/motor control to get those little muscle groups firing (i.e. low traps, serratus, gluteals, psoas, etc.). However, once you’ve learned how to utilize them, the key is to get them stronger and working within normal movement patterns.

One thing that pisses me off is when people try and say I do “too much” activation work. Look, you can call it activation, motor control, facilitation, whatever. The bottom line is this: If someone can’t recruit a muscle group in isolation, then how in the hell are they going to recruit it in a multi-joint movement pattern?

Answer: It doesn’t happen.

So if your glutes don’t fire in a bridge, you can do pause squats in the hole until your fucking blue in the face and they aren’t going to turn on, either. Sorry.

This is the whole premise behind isolation to integration. Teach them to use the glutes in an isolated setting. Once they’re working, then take them to a “bridge the gap” type exercise like a mini-band resisted squat or RNT based lunge. I discussed these previously in my Hardcore Lunge article. Once you’ve learned to activate the muscle group within an exercise like this, it’s time to re-learn the exercise in its original fashion.

The bottom line is this: I’m all for optimizing training. It may take three sets or none when it comes to activation drills, and the truth it I don’t care. The only thing I’m focused on is the end-result or outcome. Efficiency is a moving target, just like the goals of your clients and athletes. The sooner you release yourself from training dogma and black and white thinking, the better off you’ll be.

Component #4 – Symmetry

The final component of my training philosophy is striving to achieve symmetry. The more symmetrical we are, in my opinion, the less likely we are to get injured.

But “symmetry” is very vague; what exactly are we looking for symmetry in? And no, I’m not talking about balancing your inner thigh “sweep” to your outer thigh bulk, or developing your inner vs. outer pecs.

Instead, I’m looking for symmetry in three regards:

- Mobility/Movement Capacity
- Motor Control
- Strength

Let’s look at each individual factor a little bit more in depth.

We know that mobility is important, but what about symmetry of movement between sides? Doesn’t it make sense that we should have the same amount of ankle mobility from side-to-side if we want a symmetrical squat? What about hip mobility? Or thoracic spine mobility? The things we do in the weight room are generally symmetrical in nature – so why wouldn’t we want symmetry with regards to our mobility and movement capacity?

Next, we have motor control. Quite often, we’ll see asymmetries with regards to someone’s ability to recruit their serratus, low traps, gluteals, etc. Again, knowing that what we do in the gym is inherently bilateral in nature, it only makes sense to have those “right” muscles working for us.

Finally, we come to strength. Guys like Eric Cressey, Michael Boyle and myself have been talking about the need for single-leg work for years. But it goes beyond just single leg work – what about single arm upper extremity work as well? Or core development? Just some things to start thinking about.

One thing I’d like to mention here is this: Sports are inherently asymmetrical. What makes a pitcher really good at throwing, or what makes a basketball player really good at jumping off one leg leads them to built-in asymmetries. If you’re a strength coach or personal trainer, your goal in the weight room (or on the field) is to keep them healthy and at the top of their sport. Rather than subscribing to the dogma that “every athlete must squat” or “every athlete will bench 300 pounds,” do your best to keep their asymmetries under control, while not taking away the natural skills or traits that make them a great athlete. This article is geared more towards the weight-room enthusiast, however, so I’ll step off my soap box now.

Being as “symmetrical” as possible may not take us very far with regards to immediate gratification and adding weight to the bar. It will, however, keep us healthy over the long haul. After all, you can’t push the limits if you’re always injured. By working on asymmetries you allow yourself the possibility of getting stronger, over a longer period of time, than you ever dreamed.

And that, my friends, is pretty darn cool.

Summary

Developing your own philosophy is one of the most important things you can do as a trainer, therapist and coach. Do your best to define not just what you believe in, but why as well. And finally, realize that this is an ongoing process.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Option D on August 26, 2008, 09:43:43 AM
I do straight sets on everything except for bb bench and squats

4x8-10 on everything
bench 4 sets pyramid
squats 5sets pyramid
oh yeah and 4 for deads

i go with 4 exercises for each body part and 1-2 bodyparts per day
i split legs up though between quads and hams because i dont like my whole leg sore, only one half...i dont do traps nor forearms, or abs
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TrueGrit on August 26, 2008, 09:49:43 AM
Don't do the same thing forever.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Cap on August 26, 2008, 09:50:59 AM
Train for specific goals
Train intensely
Listen to your body (nutrition, rest, changes in training)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Option D on August 26, 2008, 09:51:45 AM
Train for specific goals
Train intensely
Listen to your body (nutrition, rest, changes in training)


yeah i forgot about that...i do all that too
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: powerpack on August 26, 2008, 09:52:38 AM
Train with intensity
When gains stop, change routine
Eat
Sleep


8)

Yup
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chainsaw on August 26, 2008, 09:52:51 AM
Component #1 – Rationale

Rationale is the basis for your program design. Quite simply, how bulletproof do you believe your programming to be?

Think about it like this; let’s say you’ve written a program for yourself, and I sit down right next to you to look things over. Could you tell me exactly why you chose:

- A specific exercise?
- A specific set/rep scheme?
- A specific time under tension?
- A specific rest period?

To take it a step further, in what instances would you choose a front squat over a back squat? In what cases would 5x5 be superior to 3x8 or 3x10? For which athletes would a 5-10 minute rest between sets be necessary? The point I’m getting at is we need to understand all the variables associated with creating a program, and then understand how manipulating any (or all of) those variables can either improve upon or detract from the quality of the program.

In the case of a powerlifter, a 5x5 program may be ideal to help them build their squat. But if you put them on a 60 or 90 second rest period, you’re going to kill them.

3x8 or 3x10 set/rep schemes may work perfectly in a fat loss setting, but if you allow them 3-5 minutes rest between sets you lose a lot of the training effect.

As you can see from the above examples, you have to think big picture – how all the variables involved influence each other.

As well, far too often we put unnecessary or unneeded “filler” exercises into our programming. Nothing that we do should be arbitrary. If you can’t explain why you do something, why are you doing it?

Component #2 – Progression

Good programming is imperative to long-term success. Progression is one component of good programming.

When starting with a new client or athlete, the first thing we do is assess them. Whether it’s taking their body fat, doing a 1-RM squat, or just watching them play their sport, we have to know where they are starting from first and foremost. As they saying goes, “If you’re not assessing, you’re guessing.”

The assessment is absolutely critical with regards to progression – if you don’t assess them, how do you know where to start? If everyone starts on the same program, it will be just right for some. However, for the vast majority that same programming could be either too easy or too damn hard.

But more importantly, once we know where to start from, the real key is knowing how to get them from where they’re at to where they want to go. Again, whether their goal is to get from 20% body fat to 15% body fat, or to take them from a 275# bench press to 300#, the key is in progression. We all know that what helps you lose the first 20 lbs. won’t help you lose the last 20. Thus, progression is critical.

With that being said, however, I don’t want to imply that the only way to incorporate progression into a training program is to add weight to the bar. Even though I haven’t competed in a while I still have a powerlifters mentality; in more cases than not, more weight on the bar is a good thing. However, they are tons of different variables that we can “progress” upon throughout a training program. Here are a few examples:

- Stability Demands
Beginners generally have poor stability in single-leg stance. We can give them more stability up front (via a split squat) and then progress them into exercises with greater stability demands (reverse lunges, forward lunges, and even walking lunges).

- Exercise Difficulty/Complexity
With the Olympic lifts, it’s much easier to teach the lifts in small chunks or phases versus having someone clean from the floor on their first session. Start with basics like the hang pull or power clean, and then progress in difficulty from there. If even the basic Olympic moves are too difficult, you can regress back to a med ball throw or KB swing to begin the progression.Another example would be to start clients out using a box to learn how to squat; once they’re comfortable with the torso position and “sitting back,” you can progress them to a traditional back squat from there.

- Decreased rest periods
If someone is doing metabolic based resistance training, a “progression” would be to decrease the rest periods between sets.

- Increased repetitions per set
Again, using a metabolic based resistance training program you may keep the weight on the bar the same, but add repetitions to the set.

- Increasing the time under tension (TUT)
A set of squats performed at a 2-0-1 tempo is much different than that same set of squats performed at a 4-0-1 tempo.
- Increasing the density/pressure of a soft-tissue implement
By moving from a white foam roller to a black one, or from a tennis ball to a lacrosse ball, you increase the intensity of the soft-tissue work.

As you can see, there are various methods of progressing or increasing the intensity of a training program without manipulating the weight on the bar. Adding load isn’t a bad thing whatsoever, but I want you start thinking about how you can apply the concept of progression throughout all the components of your workouts.

Component #3 – Efficiency

Efficiency isn’t a word that we use a lot in this industry, and I hope it will change in the future. Quite simply, if we can complete the same athletic task using, A) more energy, or B) less energy, which sounds better to you?

When it comes to efficiency with regards to training/competing, I phrase it like this:

- The right muscle(s)
- Working at the right time
- With an appropriate level of strength

When we have all these things working together, we not only improve our performance but decrease the likelihood of injury. As Bill Hartman has noted numerous time, we shouldn’t look at these as separate and individual outcomes – rather, they should be looked at as one and the same.

Efficiency, however, is one elusive property to get your hands on. In our “Building the Efficient Athlete” DVD Series, Eric often talks about the difference between inefficiencies and pathologies. Inefficiencies are those minor “hiccups” when it comes to our performance. However, enough of these “hiccups” eventually lead to injury, or at the very least sub-maximal performance.

This is where people need to understand the roles of both activation/motor control work and strength work. Intelligent program design will incorporate activation/motor control to get those little muscle groups firing (i.e. low traps, serratus, gluteals, psoas, etc.). However, once you’ve learned how to utilize them, the key is to get them stronger and working within normal movement patterns.

One thing that pisses me off is when people try and say I do “too much” activation work. Look, you can call it activation, motor control, facilitation, whatever. The bottom line is this: If someone can’t recruit a muscle group in isolation, then how in the hell are they going to recruit it in a multi-joint movement pattern?

Answer: It doesn’t happen.

So if your glutes don’t fire in a bridge, you can do pause squats in the hole until your fucking blue in the face and they aren’t going to turn on, either. Sorry.

This is the whole premise behind isolation to integration. Teach them to use the glutes in an isolated setting. Once they’re working, then take them to a “bridge the gap” type exercise like a mini-band resisted squat or RNT based lunge. I discussed these previously in my Hardcore Lunge article. Once you’ve learned to activate the muscle group within an exercise like this, it’s time to re-learn the exercise in its original fashion.

The bottom line is this: I’m all for optimizing training. It may take three sets or none when it comes to activation drills, and the truth it I don’t care. The only thing I’m focused on is the end-result or outcome. Efficiency is a moving target, just like the goals of your clients and athletes. The sooner you release yourself from training dogma and black and white thinking, the better off you’ll be.

Component #4 – Symmetry

The final component of my training philosophy is striving to achieve symmetry. The more symmetrical we are, in my opinion, the less likely we are to get injured.

But “symmetry” is very vague; what exactly are we looking for symmetry in? And no, I’m not talking about balancing your inner thigh “sweep” to your outer thigh bulk, or developing your inner vs. outer pecs.

Instead, I’m looking for symmetry in three regards:

- Mobility/Movement Capacity
- Motor Control
- Strength

Let’s look at each individual factor a little bit more in depth.

We know that mobility is important, but what about symmetry of movement between sides? Doesn’t it make sense that we should have the same amount of ankle mobility from side-to-side if we want a symmetrical squat? What about hip mobility? Or thoracic spine mobility? The things we do in the weight room are generally symmetrical in nature – so why wouldn’t we want symmetry with regards to our mobility and movement capacity?

Next, we have motor control. Quite often, we’ll see asymmetries with regards to someone’s ability to recruit their serratus, low traps, gluteals, etc. Again, knowing that what we do in the gym is inherently bilateral in nature, it only makes sense to have those “right” muscles working for us.

Finally, we come to strength. Guys like Eric Cressey, Michael Boyle and myself have been talking about the need for single-leg work for years. But it goes beyond just single leg work – what about single arm upper extremity work as well? Or core development? Just some things to start thinking about.

One thing I’d like to mention here is this: Sports are inherently asymmetrical. What makes a pitcher really good at throwing, or what makes a basketball player really good at jumping off one leg leads them to built-in asymmetries. If you’re a strength coach or personal trainer, your goal in the weight room (or on the field) is to keep them healthy and at the top of their sport. Rather than subscribing to the dogma that “every athlete must squat” or “every athlete will bench 300 pounds,” do your best to keep their asymmetries under control, while not taking away the natural skills or traits that make them a great athlete. This article is geared more towards the weight-room enthusiast, however, so I’ll step off my soap box now.

Being as “symmetrical” as possible may not take us very far with regards to immediate gratification and adding weight to the bar. It will, however, keep us healthy over the long haul. After all, you can’t push the limits if you’re always injured. By working on asymmetries you allow yourself the possibility of getting stronger, over a longer period of time, than you ever dreamed.

And that, my friends, is pretty darn cool.

Summary

Developing your own philosophy is one of the most important things you can do as a trainer, therapist and coach. Do your best to define not just what you believe in, but why as well. And finally, realize that this is an ongoing process.

great post.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: musclecenter on August 26, 2008, 09:54:04 AM
http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=117526.msg3249719#new (http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=117526.msg3249719#new)
 ;)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 10:50:14 AM
Component #1 – Rationale

Rationale is the basis for your program design. Quite simply, how bulletproof do you believe your programming to be?

Think about it like this; let’s say you’ve written a program for yourself, and I sit down right next to you to look things over. Could you tell me exactly why you chose:

- A specific exercise?
- A specific set/rep scheme?
- A specific time under tension?
- A specific rest period?

To take it a step further, in what instances would you choose a front squat over a back squat? In what cases would 5x5 be superior to 3x8 or 3x10? For which athletes would a 5-10 minute rest between sets be necessary? The point I’m getting at is we need to understand all the variables associated with creating a program, and then understand how manipulating any (or all of) those variables can either improve upon or detract from the quality of the program.

In the case of a powerlifter, a 5x5 program may be ideal to help them build their squat. But if you put them on a 60 or 90 second rest period, you’re going to kill them.

3x8 or 3x10 set/rep schemes may work perfectly in a fat loss setting, but if you allow them 3-5 minutes rest between sets you lose a lot of the training effect.

As you can see from the above examples, you have to think big picture – how all the variables involved influence each other.

As well, far too often we put unnecessary or unneeded “filler” exercises into our programming. Nothing that we do should be arbitrary. If you can’t explain why you do something, why are you doing it?

Component #2 – Progression

Good programming is imperative to long-term success. Progression is one component of good programming.

When starting with a new client or athlete, the first thing we do is assess them. Whether it’s taking their body fat, doing a 1-RM squat, or just watching them play their sport, we have to know where they are starting from first and foremost. As they saying goes, “If you’re not assessing, you’re guessing.”

The assessment is absolutely critical with regards to progression – if you don’t assess them, how do you know where to start? If everyone starts on the same program, it will be just right for some. However, for the vast majority that same programming could be either too easy or too damn hard.

But more importantly, once we know where to start from, the real key is knowing how to get them from where they’re at to where they want to go. Again, whether their goal is to get from 20% body fat to 15% body fat, or to take them from a 275# bench press to 300#, the key is in progression. We all know that what helps you lose the first 20 lbs. won’t help you lose the last 20. Thus, progression is critical.

With that being said, however, I don’t want to imply that the only way to incorporate progression into a training program is to add weight to the bar. Even though I haven’t competed in a while I still have a powerlifters mentality; in more cases than not, more weight on the bar is a good thing. However, they are tons of different variables that we can “progress” upon throughout a training program. Here are a few examples:

- Stability Demands
Beginners generally have poor stability in single-leg stance. We can give them more stability up front (via a split squat) and then progress them into exercises with greater stability demands (reverse lunges, forward lunges, and even walking lunges).

- Exercise Difficulty/Complexity
With the Olympic lifts, it’s much easier to teach the lifts in small chunks or phases versus having someone clean from the floor on their first session. Start with basics like the hang pull or power clean, and then progress in difficulty from there. If even the basic Olympic moves are too difficult, you can regress back to a med ball throw or KB swing to begin the progression.Another example would be to start clients out using a box to learn how to squat; once they’re comfortable with the torso position and “sitting back,” you can progress them to a traditional back squat from there.

- Decreased rest periods
If someone is doing metabolic based resistance training, a “progression” would be to decrease the rest periods between sets.

- Increased repetitions per set
Again, using a metabolic based resistance training program you may keep the weight on the bar the same, but add repetitions to the set.

- Increasing the time under tension (TUT)
A set of squats performed at a 2-0-1 tempo is much different than that same set of squats performed at a 4-0-1 tempo.
- Increasing the density/pressure of a soft-tissue implement
By moving from a white foam roller to a black one, or from a tennis ball to a lacrosse ball, you increase the intensity of the soft-tissue work.

As you can see, there are various methods of progressing or increasing the intensity of a training program without manipulating the weight on the bar. Adding load isn’t a bad thing whatsoever, but I want you start thinking about how you can apply the concept of progression throughout all the components of your workouts.

Component #3 – Efficiency

Efficiency isn’t a word that we use a lot in this industry, and I hope it will change in the future. Quite simply, if we can complete the same athletic task using, A) more energy, or B) less energy, which sounds better to you?

When it comes to efficiency with regards to training/competing, I phrase it like this:

- The right muscle(s)
- Working at the right time
- With an appropriate level of strength

When we have all these things working together, we not only improve our performance but decrease the likelihood of injury. As Bill Hartman has noted numerous time, we shouldn’t look at these as separate and individual outcomes – rather, they should be looked at as one and the same.

Efficiency, however, is one elusive property to get your hands on. In our “Building the Efficient Athlete” DVD Series, Eric often talks about the difference between inefficiencies and pathologies. Inefficiencies are those minor “hiccups” when it comes to our performance. However, enough of these “hiccups” eventually lead to injury, or at the very least sub-maximal performance.

This is where people need to understand the roles of both activation/motor control work and strength work. Intelligent program design will incorporate activation/motor control to get those little muscle groups firing (i.e. low traps, serratus, gluteals, psoas, etc.). However, once you’ve learned how to utilize them, the key is to get them stronger and working within normal movement patterns.

One thing that pisses me off is when people try and say I do “too much” activation work. Look, you can call it activation, motor control, facilitation, whatever. The bottom line is this: If someone can’t recruit a muscle group in isolation, then how in the hell are they going to recruit it in a multi-joint movement pattern?

Answer: It doesn’t happen.

So if your glutes don’t fire in a bridge, you can do pause squats in the hole until your fucking blue in the face and they aren’t going to turn on, either. Sorry.

This is the whole premise behind isolation to integration. Teach them to use the glutes in an isolated setting. Once they’re working, then take them to a “bridge the gap” type exercise like a mini-band resisted squat or RNT based lunge. I discussed these previously in my Hardcore Lunge article. Once you’ve learned to activate the muscle group within an exercise like this, it’s time to re-learn the exercise in its original fashion.

The bottom line is this: I’m all for optimizing training. It may take three sets or none when it comes to activation drills, and the truth it I don’t care. The only thing I’m focused on is the end-result or outcome. Efficiency is a moving target, just like the goals of your clients and athletes. The sooner you release yourself from training dogma and black and white thinking, the better off you’ll be.

Component #4 – Symmetry

The final component of my training philosophy is striving to achieve symmetry. The more symmetrical we are, in my opinion, the less likely we are to get injured.

But “symmetry” is very vague; what exactly are we looking for symmetry in? And no, I’m not talking about balancing your inner thigh “sweep” to your outer thigh bulk, or developing your inner vs. outer pecs.

Instead, I’m looking for symmetry in three regards:

- Mobility/Movement Capacity
- Motor Control
- Strength

Let’s look at each individual factor a little bit more in depth.

We know that mobility is important, but what about symmetry of movement between sides? Doesn’t it make sense that we should have the same amount of ankle mobility from side-to-side if we want a symmetrical squat? What about hip mobility? Or thoracic spine mobility? The things we do in the weight room are generally symmetrical in nature – so why wouldn’t we want symmetry with regards to our mobility and movement capacity?

Next, we have motor control. Quite often, we’ll see asymmetries with regards to someone’s ability to recruit their serratus, low traps, gluteals, etc. Again, knowing that what we do in the gym is inherently bilateral in nature, it only makes sense to have those “right” muscles working for us.

Finally, we come to strength. Guys like Eric Cressey, Michael Boyle and myself have been talking about the need for single-leg work for years. But it goes beyond just single leg work – what about single arm upper extremity work as well? Or core development? Just some things to start thinking about.

One thing I’d like to mention here is this: Sports are inherently asymmetrical. What makes a pitcher really good at throwing, or what makes a basketball player really good at jumping off one leg leads them to built-in asymmetries. If you’re a strength coach or personal trainer, your goal in the weight room (or on the field) is to keep them healthy and at the top of their sport. Rather than subscribing to the dogma that “every athlete must squat” or “every athlete will bench 300 pounds,” do your best to keep their asymmetries under control, while not taking away the natural skills or traits that make them a great athlete. This article is geared more towards the weight-room enthusiast, however, so I’ll step off my soap box now.

Being as “symmetrical” as possible may not take us very far with regards to immediate gratification and adding weight to the bar. It will, however, keep us healthy over the long haul. After all, you can’t push the limits if you’re always injured. By working on asymmetries you allow yourself the possibility of getting stronger, over a longer period of time, than you ever dreamed.

And that, my friends, is pretty darn cool.

Summary

Developing your own philosophy is one of the most important things you can do as a trainer, therapist and coach. Do your best to define not just what you believe in, but why as well. And finally, realize that this is an ongoing process.


Excellent post. This is why I include mine on the home page of my site............



Our “Raise Your Game” philosophy is more than just the latest research and training principles. We dedicate ourselves to motivating your athletes to not only excel as athletes, but to realize their personal potential and develop the skills they'll need to succeed in life; skills such as discipline, confidence, preparation, self-motivation and leadership.

The Role of a Strength and Conditioning Coach
The Strength and Conditioning Coach is responsible for improving an athlete's performance and preventing common sports related injuries. By determining the strengths and weaknesses of an athlete, a training program is devised to enhance performance and correct imbalances and deficiencies which may lead to injury.

Technical Skill v/s Athletic Skill
Participation in sports requires a blend of technical skills and athletic skills. The exact amount of each is dependent on the sport and level of competition. Technical skills, such as throwing for the baseball player or shooting for the lacrosse player, are required explicitly by each sport. Between tournaments, leagues, games and practices, technical skills are, at times, practiced 5-6 days per week for the greater part of the calendar year. Athletic skills such as power, strength, flexibility, balance, speed and agility are required by all sports but their role and level of importance in each sport will vary. Athletic skills training will enhance the execution of technical skills, increase performance and prevent injury.

Athletic Skills Development
MPF Training Systems focus on the long-term development of each athlete through an emphasis on stability training before power and strength training. Athletes must demonstrate the ability to execute movements that require body weight control, balance and core stability before strength and power training exercises are progressed. Traditional training models used for high school athletes require maximum or near maximum strength and power movements in the early stages of training putting athletes at risk for the development of permanent muscular imbalances, decrease sport performance and potential injury.



Performance Enhancement Programs – The Athlete
MPF provides performance enhancement programs to athletes of all sports, skill levels and age groups.  integrated training model focuses on the long term development of each athlete emphasizing:
---- • Speed Development
---- • Multi-Directional Agility
---- • Injury Prevention
---- • Nutritional Planning
---- • Flexibility
---- • Balance
---- • Core Strength
---- • Power
---- • Muscular Strength
---- • Cardiovascular Endurance

Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: 4thAD on August 26, 2008, 10:55:57 AM
I train with a fierce intensity, keep rep range low between 4-6. Cant get 4 reps weight is too heavy over 6 reps and weight is too light. I get as much quality sleep as I can, and eat lots of clean food, and drink approximately 11/2 gallons of water ed.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dantelis on August 26, 2008, 10:56:11 AM
Change things up.  Try high volume, HIT, DC, Xreps and other training styles in 10 or 12 week cycles to force your muscles to adapt to change.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: BlueDevil on August 26, 2008, 10:57:28 AM
Excellent post. This is why I include mine on the home page of my site............



just my contribution for seriousness in 2008

back to being retarded now  :D
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dr.chimps on August 26, 2008, 10:57:53 AM
one set to failure followed by a post workout large Pizza Hut deep dish.
LOL. I've taken a large Pizza Hut deep dish to failure many times.  :)

/and some accompanying pitchers of draft
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chainsaw on August 26, 2008, 11:16:18 AM
I believe that you're body is like a car engine.
If you don't use it, and let it be in the ellements,
it will rust and fall apart.  If you overwork it, it will break down as well.

When you/I do cardio, we filter more pollutants from our blood via
our liver kidneys ect.  the more passes, the more pure.

You sweat, and realease toxins, and also you're cells get more O2.

You cleanse you're arteries, and they become bigger to handle all the extra blood flow.

You're bones joints get stronger, and I'm not stong to begin with, so I could easily turn into
a wimp

Everything in life becomes easier.  You move with more grace
You dont tire as easily. 

Fat people that have never really been in (decent) shape have no fucking idea
of what they are missing.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: wavelength on August 26, 2008, 01:54:51 PM
I lift teh weight
I lower teh weight
I repeat
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Ursus on August 26, 2008, 03:07:41 PM
Gradual though definate rep or weight progression.

Not to failure

Big basic exercises

Always recycle weights
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: 240 is Back on August 26, 2008, 03:22:23 PM
Lift 5 days a week.

Eat McD for breakfast (2 sausage egg mcmuffins with sweet tea)
Eat beef stroganoff, steak, chik and rice, prot bars and whey all day long.
blueberries or apples with every single meal.

intense cardio 3-4 times a week for 45 minutes.

Lift shit heavy, sleep 1 hour daily.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 03:30:15 PM
I purposely started this thread what the reaction would be to the way people train, lets just say I'm seeing a trend within this thread that more than likely reflects the vast majority of this board.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: QuakerOats on August 26, 2008, 03:48:33 PM
3 words................... post workout Oreo's.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dr.chimps on August 26, 2008, 03:50:40 PM
3 words................... post workout Oreo's.
Don't miss that 20 minute anabolic window, bro.  :o
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: alejandro_torres on August 26, 2008, 03:53:22 PM
3 words................... post workout Oreo's.

hahahaha

yeah baby!

my philosophy

eat train sleep and fuck my girl...  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: bodybuilder1234 on August 26, 2008, 03:54:31 PM
3-4 days a week max
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dantelis on August 26, 2008, 04:15:08 PM
hahahaha

yeah baby!

my philosophy

eat train sleep and fuck my girl...  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Wouldn't sleep come after the last one?   ;D
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: MAXX on August 26, 2008, 04:25:45 PM
heavy weights 4-8 reps. but strict and nice form.

at the end of the workout a coupple of light exercises to really 'kill' the muscle.

around 20 sets totally each bodypart.

a little less for arms and calves. probalby 15 or so.

thats how i like to train and how i get the best results anyway...
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: El_Pajero on August 26, 2008, 04:32:20 PM
Synthol.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Moosejay on August 26, 2008, 04:34:31 PM
Go with your bodily flow.

Be who you can be.

I have never, ever read one magazine training article.

NOTHING is more boring.

I will not listen to pateint's training routines.

I may have done lee labrada's ab routine.

My own diets.

Even as a little kid, I smelled bs in the mags.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: ManBearPig... on August 26, 2008, 04:44:18 PM
i don't work out.

i'm trying to get advice from here.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Hypertrophy on August 26, 2008, 04:53:05 PM
Gradual though definate rep or weight progression.

Not to failure

Big basic exercises

Always recycle weights

Goudy - that's pretty much what I've ended up doing over the years. If you don't beat yourself up too much working out, you can make pretty consistent gains over a period of years, with few, if any, injuries or sickness. Lee Haney always said "stimulate, don't annihilate"
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 05:15:36 PM
heavy weights 4-8 reps. but strict and nice form.

at the end of the workout a coupple of light exercises to really 'kill' the muscle.

around 20 sets totally each bodypart.

a little less for arms and calves. probalby 15 or so.

thats how i like to train and how i get the best results anyway...

Ok.....so what would be your philosophy behind doing that?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Ursus on August 26, 2008, 05:51:55 PM
Goudy - that's pretty much what I've ended up doing over the years. If you don't beat yourself up too much working out, you can make pretty consistent gains over a period of years, with few, if any, injuries or sickness. Lee Haney always said "stimulate, don't annihilate"

Correct. I could train all out for 2 weeks and then be fucked for months after. Run myself down, caused problems lost gains etc.

One thing i am learning is to quit while you are ahead. E,g dont milk a trianing cycle dry for all you can. Sure get gains form it though dont sacrafice your body for that extra lb or 2 of weight you know you can get. No need to prove it.

Its also ok to leave the gym wthout having a massive pump or feeling exhausted. Leaving th egym feeling big and strong is a great feeling.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: JasonBourne22 on August 26, 2008, 06:08:02 PM
Change things up.  Try high volume, HIT, DC, Xreps and other training styles in 10 or 12 week cycles to force your muscles to adapt to change.
Exactly, I change things up all the time. I never repeat the same routine twice and that has been working for me. One week I'll do sets of 25 or even 50 if I'm feeling good. And other weeks I'll do sets of 8-12 and go heavier.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 06:11:29 PM
I think alot of you are missing the premis of the thread. I see alot of what you guys do (and I'm not saying it's bad or good) I just want to know WHY it's being done that way.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Ursus on August 26, 2008, 06:13:08 PM
Train light gradullay getting heavier towards end of cycle.

Think of it like a long jump

Stand at the line and jump. get so far....take a run up get much much furthur
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TacoBell on August 26, 2008, 06:26:48 PM
My training philosophy..............

1. Wear an ipod
2. Mean mug everyone in the gym, so they all know you're baddest motherfucka.
3. Grunt very loudly
4. Use the phrase "not now bro, I'm in the fuckin zone" if anyone tries to talk to you.  (this wont be necessary if #2 has been done right)
5. Walk around with my arms flared out so everyone knows I'm freakin swole.

Oh and once a week take 10 minutes to listen to Coach/random old guy tell me how big and strong he used to be.  :P
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: triple_pickle on August 26, 2008, 06:56:55 PM
1. be consistent
2. lift hard
3. eat well
4. rest well
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: James Phoenix on August 26, 2008, 07:17:23 PM
I created a little acronym that helps me stay motivated:

S.U.C.K.

Simplicity

*Don't do 10 different exercises for bodyparts, when it only takes 1 exercise to target each muscle part.
You run the risk of over-training, or worse making yourself sick of working out.
As you get to the final exercise for a particular bodypart, you won't perform it as well.

Understanding

*Figure out how much frequency your body needs for gains.
*Educate yourself about nutrition, but don't overcomplicate anything;
you can grow on virtually anything to some degree.

Consistency

*I read an article by Serge Nubret a long time ago, discussing natural training.
He said consistency keeps natural hormone levels high, generating a sort of endogenous steroid effect.
*Routine makes things easier to do.

Killer Instinct

*Exhaust each muscle; work with a killer determination!
*Keep it simple, but with the exercises you do perform, work hard.
*Alternate with slow and fast reps for different exercises; feel the burn of each contraction.

*As long as you follow the simple principles of S.U.C.K. philosophy, you definitely won't suck.

Stay fierce!






Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Devon97 on August 26, 2008, 07:27:14 PM
Ok.....so what would be your philosophy behind doing that?

Coach,

It is very evident from reading the responses on this thread that 99% of the people on GB dont have much of any idea on what they are doing in the gym let alone have any sort of strategy.

To ask them what methodology they follow is like asking a 5 year old his take on the election. They dont understand the question and even then they dont have one.

The methodology I use :

The Russian Conjugate Method  with some undulating periodization.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TacoBell on August 26, 2008, 07:29:52 PM
Coach,

It is very evident from reading the responses on this thread that 99% of the people on GB dont have much of any idea on what they are doing in the gym let alone have any sort of strategy.

To ask them what methodology they follow is like asking a 5 year old his take on the election. They dont understand the question and even then they dont have one.

The methodology I use :

The Russian Conjugate Method  with some undulating periodization.


Someone takes things way to seriously
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Stockist on August 26, 2008, 07:33:06 PM
My training philosophy..............

1. Wear an ipod
2. Mean mug everyone in the gym, so they all know you're baddest motherfucka.
3. Grunt very loudly
4. Use the phrase "not now bro, I'm in the fuckin zone" if anyone tries to talk to you.  (this wont be necessary if #2 has been done right)
5. Walk around with my arms flared out so everyone knows I'm freakin swole.

Oh and once a week take 10 minutes to listen to Coach/random old guy tell me how big and strong he used to be.  :P

I just spat out a mouthful of lunch on my keyboard - that's simply gold!
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: OTHstrong on August 26, 2008, 07:41:48 PM
This approach can't work with everyone but prepare hours in advance for your mental zone regardless of a set time, this would be different times on different days that way you go when you will do the most damage not when its 7 o'clock because thats your scheduled time.

Don't let the novalty of your standards ware down, if the workout ain't 100% don't bother that way you make sure you bring your A game for next time.

Remember the battle is not won on the field in war its won by your preperation leading up to the battle, so in gym words what you do before you step up to gym is where your cashing in.


ONETIMEHARD 8)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Alex23 on August 26, 2008, 07:42:58 PM
Don't do the same thing forever.

High Five.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: James Phoenix on August 26, 2008, 07:43:42 PM

Remember the battle is not won on the field in war its won by your preperation leading up to the battle, so in gym words what you do before you step up to gym is where your cashing in.

ONETIMEHARD 8)

Wow! Sun Tzu? Hardcore advice man.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TacoBell on August 26, 2008, 07:44:32 PM
This approach can't work with everyone but prepare hours in advance for your mental zone regardless of a set time, this would be different times on different days that way you go when you will do the most damage not when its 7 o'clock because thats your scheduled time.

Don't let the novalty of your standards ware down, if the workout ain't 100% don't bother that way you make sure you bring your A game for next time.

Remember the battle is not won on the field in war its won by your preperation leading up to the battle, so in gym words what you do before you step up to gym is where your cashing in.


ONETIMEHARD 8)

I agree.
I like to get a blowjob from my wife before I go to the gym and save the sex for after, it saves energy that way I can still train with full intensity  ::)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: tonymctones on August 26, 2008, 08:19:41 PM
"if your not even a little bit afraid of the weight your about to move, your probably not lifting enough weight"
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dr.chimps on August 26, 2008, 08:25:47 PM
I think alot of you are missing the premis of the thread. I see alot of what you guys do (and I'm not saying it's bad or good) I just want to know WHY it's being done that way.
Oh nonsense. We know the premise of the thread...we also know you, and that you are soliciting our training philosophy with the same enthusiasm as you would our political orientation. Hence the sarcasm.  :-X
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The ChemistV2 on August 26, 2008, 09:06:00 PM
Being in my my mid 40's and on no anabolics, I have come up with a system that gives enough intensity to progress but avoids the overproduction of cortisol which I've found lowers my testosterone levels. I train in 3 week cycles. Week 1 is heavy, high intensity about 3 sets per exercise and 3 to 4 exercises per bodypart. Week 2 is the most intense of the cycle and borders on overtraining: 4 sets heavy per exercise with some drop sets and other intensity amplifying techniques..around 16 sets per bodypart. Week 3 brings down the intensity level but ups the rep range to 15 to 20, maintaining the muscle but not overly stressing the adrenals. I've found after several high intensity weeks in a row, my libido starts to decline signifying a drop in test levels. By only doing 2 weeks consecutive high intensity followed by a 3rd week of lighter training, my test levels stay high. After 3 or 4 months of this I take a full week off. This keeps my joints from being overly inflamed as well. Seems to be working well.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: marcus on August 26, 2008, 09:08:27 PM
Volume training with lots of steroids.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 26, 2008, 09:09:55 PM
If you cant answer the question just say so. And no, very few and that includes you, knows what I'm referring to. The only one that came close was "Bluedevil" (or whatever) and Devon 97. Again, I'm seeing a trend on this board reguarding training philosophies.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TacoBell on August 26, 2008, 09:14:56 PM
If you cant answer the question just say so. And no, very few and that includes you, knows what I'm referring to. The only one that came close was "Bluedevil" (or whatever) and Devon 97. Again, I'm seeing a trend on this board reguarding training philosophies.

I hear ya on the trends....
I'm seeing one regarding spelling.
 ;)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chaos on August 26, 2008, 09:16:57 PM
Lift heavy shit, eat lots of food.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TacoBell on August 26, 2008, 09:17:37 PM
Lift heavy shit, eat lots of food.

R u suggesting this shiz isnt rocket science?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chaos on August 26, 2008, 09:20:50 PM
R u suggesting this shiz isnt rocket science?
It can be if you make it..........but why?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The ChemistV2 on August 26, 2008, 09:21:19 PM
I thought I expressed my philosophy pretty well in my post, but to reiterate. Traing while "on" something and being clean require different methods especially if you're in you're 40's. If you're natural  you need to stimulate the muscle intensely enough to cause  a breakdown/repair cycle to occur. The same training that causes this can eventually overtax the adrenal leading to excessive cortisol production which lowers anabolic hormones in the body. High rep, lower intensity training can maintain the muscle size without causing a lot of cortisol production..thus my system consists of 2 weeks high intensity heavy traing with 1 week of high rep, lower intensity training. If one is on steroids, obviously overtraining isn't as much of a concern.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TacoBell on August 26, 2008, 09:23:57 PM
It can be if you make it..........but why?

Because then u can show people how smart you are..... so what if ur still scrawny, you made it complicated!
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Brixtonbulldog on August 26, 2008, 09:24:23 PM
1.  Understand the body works best as a whole and not "isolated."
2.  Recovery, recovery, recovery.
3.  Destroy your comfort level in at least half your workouts.
4.  Do the exercises right and take your ego out of the equation while still striving for new personal bests.
5.  No shame in having an exaggerated body part.. Tom Platz is my hero.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: musclecenter on August 26, 2008, 09:31:29 PM
"High-Intensity"-the name of the game !!
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Alex23 on August 26, 2008, 09:48:18 PM
5.  No shame in having an exaggerated body part..

That's what she said.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Brixtonbulldog on August 26, 2008, 09:53:04 PM
That's what she said.

well put sir
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: gettingbetter on August 27, 2008, 04:24:32 AM
zen:

when I'm in the gym I am in the gym, when I eat, I eat, when I sleep, I sleep.

Never been happier, never been bigger, never been more passionate!
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Moosejay on August 27, 2008, 04:29:35 AM
I know a kid who works on a farm. Never touched a weight nor seen a gym...no training philosophy.

Looks like he lifts.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Wizard on August 27, 2008, 05:24:56 AM
Whole upper body worked hard and fast over 50mins. 6-8 sets (over 2 exercises per bodypart supersetting opposite muscle groups - Chest/Back) for all major muscles and just 3 sets for Tri's and 3 sets for Bi's. Heavy as I can go for 12-15 reps (to failure), then rest for 3-4 days and repeat. I run every 2-3 days (5 miles) and as my legs are by far my easiest bodypart to grow, they don't need ANYTHING else  ;D

Diet = low carbs all week (with small portion at evening meal) then eat whatever the hell I like at weekends.

RESULT after 25 yrs? I'm 212 pounds at 6 foot even and lean enough (whole body vascularity and serratus cut). 48 inch chest, 17.5 inch arms, 30 inch waist and 26inch thighs ....

Why do any more???
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: alejandro_torres on August 27, 2008, 05:38:25 AM
serious question here...

is it good to train different each time around???

i mean

never do the same exercises, just do the ones you feel like during a work out...
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: mossel on August 27, 2008, 05:40:18 AM
1000 mg of test, loads of hgh and burger king...
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: gettingbetter on August 27, 2008, 06:03:19 AM
serious question here...

is it good to train different each time around???

i mean

never do the same exercises, just do the ones you feel like during a work out...


Dan Duchaine used to advocate training like that e.g. 10 different exercises for the same muscle group, his explanation being that they are two ways to get stronger: hypertrophy and neuro muscular adaptation. By doing different exercises each time hypertrophy is maximise and adaptation doesn't occur.

Try it.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: triple_pickle on August 27, 2008, 06:11:48 AM
serious question here...

is it good to train different each time around???

i mean

never do the same exercises, just do the ones you feel like during a work out...
i mostly stick to the same exercises as it gives me an idea of how i am doing relative to last time, last month, last year....  but it really depends on your goals.  i train for strength and speed, if you train for mass you probably want to change your routine more frequently, let's say every three months or so.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Wizard on August 27, 2008, 06:17:21 AM
i mostly stick to the same exercises as it gives me an idea of how i am doing relative to last time, last month, last year....  but it really depends on your goals.  i train for strength and speed, if you train for mass you probably want to change your routine more frequently, let's say every three months or so.

Stick to the same then if you stop getting sore, take a 2 week lay off and start again. I have a 10-14 days off every 3 months or so and never fail to get sore and grow once back again.

Bodybuilding has got far too complicated - Why train more than you have to - stimulate, don't annialate - get in, get it done, then go and eat
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 27, 2008, 07:43:20 AM
Hypertrophy does not always = strength. The 10 exercises (or even 20-40 as Milos does) is a rediculous assumption, but like I have said, anything will work when a person is on gear.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: alejandro_torres on August 27, 2008, 07:44:36 AM
Hypertrophy does not always = strength. The 10 exercises (or even 20-40 as Milos does) is a rediculous assumption, but like I have said, anything will work when a person is on gear.

even pink weights?'
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 27, 2008, 07:49:31 AM
But it is THEIR philosophy and they are entitled too it. But I have seen and read these "scientific" studies by people like Poliquin and other so called gurus who claim this and that, but the real test is can you get someone to perform in the same way without gear....again, anything will work when on gear.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: alejandro_torres on August 27, 2008, 07:52:11 AM
But it is THEIR philosophy and they are entitled too it. But I have seen and read these "scientific" studies by people like Poliquin and other so called gurus who claim this and that, but the real test is can you get someone to perform in the same way without gear....again, anything will work when on gear.

ahh

so i can just get some dbol test deca and grow like a beast while training with pink weights???? :)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: gettingbetter on August 27, 2008, 07:56:38 AM
Hypertrophy does not always = strength. The 10 exercises (or even 20-40 as Milos does) is a rediculous assumption, but like I have said, anything will work when a person is on gear.

ever heard of leverage???

 if evern the non functionnal part of the muscle (sarcoplasmic liquid) gets bigger, even because of adipose deposit, you will have more leverage thus be stronger, hence the huge difference in absolute strenght in athletes of different weight class.

Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 08:44:56 AM
heres fatpandas philosophy:

frequency: train each bodypart every 72 hours (due to studies that show equal hypertrophy but greater strength gains over working bodypart every 48 hour - optimising protein synthesis and cns regeneration)

sets/reps: 3 sets total for each bodypart - 1 set 20 rm(as fast as possible, to stimulate fast twitch fibres and also acts as warmup), 1 set 10 rm, 1 set 5 rm (increasing the weight on each set)

split:
mon: chest/tri/front delts/side delts
tue: legs/back/bi's/rear delts
wed: off
thur: repeat mon with different excercise.
fri: repeat tue with different excericise.
sat: off,
sun: chest/ etc etc

excercises: all taken from the book target bodybuilding, that show what excercises stimulate most muscle fibres, i.e.decline/flat/incline bench or db for chest. bb rows/db rows for lats etc.

i only do 1 excercise per bodypart per workout.

nutrition: pre/post : chocolate milk (low fat) although i am thinking of trying the full fat kind after the recent studies that show full fat milk stimulates more muscle than fat free milk.

after trying the low carb for 6 months or so my strength went to shit, and fat loss stalled on as little as 2000 cals, but when i added 50-70g carbs my strength improved immediately ,so i'm thinking of going back to a low fat, moderate carbs, high protein.

 8)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Wizard on August 27, 2008, 08:46:34 AM
heres fatpandas philosophy:

frequency: train each bodypart every 72 hours (due to studies that show equal hypertrophy but greater strength gains over working bodypart every 48 hour - optimising protein synthesis and cns regeneration)

sets/reps: 3 sets total for each bodypart - 1 set 20 rm(as fast as possible, to stimulate fast twitch fibres and also acts as warmup), 1 set 10 rm, 1 set 5 rm

split:
mon: chest/tri/front delts/side delts
tue: legs/back/bi's/rear delts
wed: off
thur: repeat mon with different excercise.
fri: repeat tue with different excericise.
sat: off,
sun: chest/ etc etc

excercises: all taken from the book target bodybuilding, that show what excercises stimulate most muscle fibres, i.e.decline/flat/incline bench or db for chest. bb rows/db rows for lats etc.

i only do 1 excercise per bodypart per workout.

nutrition: pre/post : chocolate milk (low fat) although i am thinking of trying the full fat kind after the recent studies that show full fat milk stimulates more muscle than fat free milk.

after trying the low carb for 6 months or so my strength went to shit, and fat loss stalled on as little as 2000 cals, but when i added 50-70g carbs my strength improved immediately ,so i'm thinking of going back to a low fat, moderate carbs, high protein.

 8)

a 165 pound yates fan!
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 08:48:26 AM
try 258lbs as of monday morning big stuff  :-*
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Wizard on August 27, 2008, 08:49:47 AM
try 258lbs as of monday morning big stuff  :-*

Dorian is that you? Welcome to getbig
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 08:54:52 AM
i also tried the 4-6 max-ot for a while after reading the studies that show that rep range better for strength but equal for muscle gains than higher rep ranges, and to be honest i liked the strength and muscle gains it gave me, so i might go back to that at some point. i only stopped because i partially tore both rotators  :'( (didn't warm up correctly)

jrods progress with it is impressive

also the condition of jrod, alex a, skip la cour, jef willet with the low fat diet has also influenced my decision to change from high fat to low fat.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: alejandro_torres on August 27, 2008, 08:56:23 AM
heres fatpandas philosophy:

frequency: train each bodypart every 72 hours (due to studies that show equal hypertrophy but greater strength gains over working bodypart every 48 hour - optimising protein synthesis and cns regeneration)

sets/reps: 3 sets total for each bodypart - 1 set 20 rm(as fast as possible, to stimulate fast twitch fibres and also acts as warmup), 1 set 10 rm, 1 set 5 rm (increasing the weight on each set)

split:
mon: chest/tri/front delts/side delts
tue: legs/back/bi's/rear delts
wed: off
thur: repeat mon with different excercise.
fri: repeat tue with different excericise.
sat: off,
sun: chest/ etc etc

excercises: all taken from the book target bodybuilding, that show what excercises stimulate most muscle fibres, i.e.decline/flat/incline bench or db for chest. bb rows/db rows for lats etc.

i only do 1 excercise per bodypart per workout.

nutrition: pre/post : chocolate milk (low fat) although i am thinking of trying the full fat kind after the recent studies that show full fat milk stimulates more muscle than fat free milk.

after trying the low carb for 6 months or so my strength went to shit, and fat loss stalled on as little as 2000 cals, but when i added 50-70g carbs my strength improved immediately ,so i'm thinking of going back to a low fat, moderate carbs, high protein.

 8)


yeah.. that shit... seems intelligent since its more that 4 sentences... so im gonna go for it...  :)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 08:58:51 AM
Dorian is that you? Welcome to getbig

cheers, but tell me who are you? ;)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: SweetMuscles on August 27, 2008, 09:23:32 AM
try 258lbs as of monday morning big stuff  :-*


you sound like an absolute beast 'fat'panda
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 10:19:53 AM
your quite the beast yourself stud  ;)
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: mazrim on August 27, 2008, 11:32:41 AM
i also tried the 4-6 max-ot for a while after reading the studies that show that rep range better for strength but equal for muscle gains than higher rep ranges, and to be honest i liked the strength and muscle gains it gave me, so i might go back to that at some point. i only stopped because i partially tore both rotators  :'( (didn't warm up correctly)

jrods progress with it is impressive

also the condition of jrod, alex a, skip la cour, jef willet with the low fat diet has also influenced my decision to change from high fat to low fat.
Same here. Max-OT with a lighter "pump" workout to a lagging bodypart later in the week. Love it and each time I go away from it it's been to my detriment (so far).

Don't understand the excessive amount of protein most of those guys all intake though.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dantelis on August 27, 2008, 12:14:20 PM
Go with your bodily flow.

Be who you can be.

I have never, ever read one magazine training article.

NOTHING is more boring.

I will not listen to pateint's training routines.

I may have done lee labrada's ab routine.

My own diets.

Even as a little kid, I smelled bs in the mags.

So what did you do when you first started working out and what do you do now?  Did you just do trial and error starting out or have a mentor?  How often do you workout and what do you do?  "Go with your bodily flow" (whatever that means) is a little vague.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dantelis on August 27, 2008, 12:15:30 PM
I think alot of you are missing the premis of the thread. I see alot of what you guys do (and I'm not saying it's bad or good) I just want to know WHY it's being done that way.

Because we see results.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: CalvinH on August 27, 2008, 12:17:52 PM
Work out hard,check out the hot chicks in the gym,go home.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 12:22:13 PM
Same here. Max-OT with a lighter "pump" workout to a lagging bodypart later in the week. Love it and each time I go away from it it's been to my detriment (so far).

Don't understand the excessive amount of protein most of those guys all intake though.

yes but their natural claims are highly suspect  >:(
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: bigkid on August 27, 2008, 12:22:46 PM
Low volume, high intensity, hit every muscle every 4 days.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dantelis on August 27, 2008, 12:24:10 PM
This approach can't work with everyone but prepare hours in advance for your mental zone regardless of a set time, this would be different times on different days that way you go when you will do the most damage not when its 7 o'clock because thats your scheduled time.

Don't let the novalty of your standards ware down, if the workout ain't 100% don't bother that way you make sure you bring your A game for next time.

Remember the battle is not won on the field in war its won by your preperation leading up to the battle, so in gym words what you do before you step up to gym is where your cashing in.


ONETIMEHARD 8)

Is this Frank Zane speaking?  Zane was always big on meditation and focus.  

Though I think it is important to get focused and concentrate on what you are going to do in the gym, preparing hours in advance seems a bit extreme.  It is more important to focus on what you are doing once you are in the gym to make sure you get the most out of your workout.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 12:34:09 PM
coach, lets hear yours.

also can someone find Gary glitter Vince Basile and try to get him to state his beliefs in a sentence.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 27, 2008, 12:42:55 PM
coach, lets hear yours.



This is a repost, but here it is again.


This is why I include mine on the home page of my site............



Our “Raise Your Game” philosophy is more than just the latest research and training principles. We dedicate ourselves to motivating your athletes to not only excel as athletes, but to realize their personal potential and develop the skills they'll need to succeed in life; skills such as discipline, confidence, preparation, self-motivation and leadership.

The Role of a Strength and Conditioning Coach
The Strength and Conditioning Coach is responsible for improving an athlete's performance and preventing common sports related injuries. By determining the strengths and weaknesses of an athlete, a training program is devised to enhance performance and correct imbalances and deficiencies which may lead to injury.

Technical Skill v/s Athletic Skill
Participation in sports requires a blend of technical skills and athletic skills. The exact amount of each is dependent on the sport and level of competition. Technical skills, such as throwing for the baseball player or shooting for the lacrosse player, are required explicitly by each sport. Between tournaments, leagues, games and practices, technical skills are, at times, practiced 5-6 days per week for the greater part of the calendar year. Athletic skills such as power, strength, flexibility, balance, speed and agility are required by all sports but their role and level of importance in each sport will vary. Athletic skills training will enhance the execution of technical skills, increase performance and prevent injury.

Athletic Skills Development
MPF Training Systems focus on the long-term development of each athlete through an emphasis on stability training before power and strength training. Athletes must demonstrate the ability to execute movements that require body weight control, balance and core stability before strength and power training exercises are progressed. Traditional training models used for high school athletes require maximum or near maximum strength and power movements in the early stages of training putting athletes at risk for the development of permanent muscular imbalances, decrease sport performance and potential injury.



Performance Enhancement Programs – The Athlete
MPF provides performance enhancement programs to athletes of all sports, skill levels and age groups.  integrated training model focuses on the long term development of each athlete emphasizing:
---- • Speed Development
---- • Multi-Directional Agility
---- • Injury Prevention
---- • Nutritional Planning
---- • Flexibility
---- • Balance
---- • Core Strength
---- • Power
---- • Muscular Strength
---- • Cardiovascular Endurance
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chester_bbb on August 27, 2008, 12:45:47 PM
But it is THEIR philosophy and they are entitled too it. But I have seen and read these "scientific" studies by people like Poliquin and other so called gurus who claim this and that, but the real test is can you get someone to perform in the same way without gear....again, anything will work when on gear.

If anything will work on gear why don't you look half as good as Milos?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 27, 2008, 12:47:10 PM
If anything will work on gear why don't you look half as good as Milos?

.......but look a 1000x better than you? I'm not talking about looks, I'm talking about strength retard.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chester_bbb on August 27, 2008, 12:58:29 PM
.......but look a 1000x better than you? I'm not talking about looks, I'm talking about strength retard.

Hey saggy you're always bashing his training sytem. And I'm sure he's much stronger than you dirty wetback. :-*
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 27, 2008, 01:29:30 PM
Hey saggy you're always bashing his training sytem. And I'm sure he's much stronger than you dirty wetback. :-*

You sound like one of the leaches who's lips are attached to Milos' bean bag that trains at his gym.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chester_bbb on August 27, 2008, 01:56:10 PM
You sound like one of the leaches who's lips are attached to Milos' bean bag that trains at his gym.

Listen roach Milos is bigger, stronger and more successful than you. Live with it. ;D
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: QuakerOats on August 27, 2008, 01:58:17 PM
i'm sure both Coach and Milos are great trainers, there's more than one way to skin a cat, both are very successful and both guys look great.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Siphon77 on August 27, 2008, 02:01:21 PM
High Volume Low frequency.  Muscle group targetted directly once a week and as a supporting muscle later on in the week.  Meaning Chest would be targeted with 15-20 sets on monday then on friday when I would do tris I would incorp something like close grip bench or dips.  I believe as unprofessionals who do not get paid to rest train and grow we are subject to a million reasons a day as to why all out intensity could suffer.  With this in mind I like high volume because it just napalms the whole area.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Ursus on August 27, 2008, 02:17:40 PM
Using different exercises all the time is spasticated.

Do the big main exerises. get good at them.

Boom
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 03:03:24 PM
This is a repost, but here it is again.


This is why I include mine on the home page of my site............



Our “Raise Your Game” philosophy is more than just the latest research and training principles. We dedicate ourselves to motivating your athletes to not only excel as athletes, but to realize their personal potential and develop the skills they'll need to succeed in life; skills such as discipline, confidence, preparation, self-motivation and leadership.

The Role of a Strength and Conditioning Coach
The Strength and Conditioning Coach is responsible for improving an athlete's performance and preventing common sports related injuries. By determining the strengths and weaknesses of an athlete, a training program is devised to enhance performance and correct imbalances and deficiencies which may lead to injury.

Technical Skill v/s Athletic Skill
Participation in sports requires a blend of technical skills and athletic skills. The exact amount of each is dependent on the sport and level of competition. Technical skills, such as throwing for the baseball player or shooting for the lacrosse player, are required explicitly by each sport. Between tournaments, leagues, games and practices, technical skills are, at times, practiced 5-6 days per week for the greater part of the calendar year. Athletic skills such as power, strength, flexibility, balance, speed and agility are required by all sports but their role and level of importance in each sport will vary. Athletic skills training will enhance the execution of technical skills, increase performance and prevent injury.

Athletic Skills Development
MPF Training Systems focus on the long-term development of each athlete through an emphasis on stability training before power and strength training. Athletes must demonstrate the ability to execute movements that require body weight control, balance and core stability before strength and power training exercises are progressed. Traditional training models used for high school athletes require maximum or near maximum strength and power movements in the early stages of training putting athletes at risk for the development of permanent muscular imbalances, decrease sport performance and potential injury.



Performance Enhancement Programs – The Athlete
MPF provides performance enhancement programs to athletes of all sports, skill levels and age groups.  integrated training model focuses on the long term development of each athlete emphasizing:
---- • Speed Development
---- • Multi-Directional Agility
---- • Injury Prevention
---- • Nutritional Planning
---- • Flexibility
---- • Balance
---- • Core Strength
---- • Power
---- • Muscular Strength
---- • Cardiovascular Endurance


yes, thats nice and all, but what about your bodybuilding philosophy? how would you go about putting on the most amount of mass as quickly as possible?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: dantelis on August 27, 2008, 03:13:37 PM
yes, thats nice and all, but what about your bodybuilding philosophy? how would you go about putting on the most amount of mass as quickly as possible?

Eat at McDonald's every meal?  Oh, you mean lean mass.  ;D

Sounds like Coach is more interested in strength than mass.  His is a powerlifting/strength philosophy, not a bodybuilding philosophy.  Quote from Coach:  "I'm not talking about looks, I'm talking about strength retard." 
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 27, 2008, 03:27:59 PM
Eat at McDonald's every meal?  Oh, you mean lean mass.  ;D

Sounds like Coach is more interested in strength than mass.  His is a powerlifting/strength philosophy, not a bodybuilding philosophy.  Quote from Coach:  "I'm not talking about looks, I'm talking about strength retard." 


yes, it seems so, but why?

why isn't he on a powerlifting board for strength ?  or a golf site ? is it perhaps because he would be ripped a new asshole by real athletes that know exactly how to build real strength, and play golf.  ???

www.powerliftinggolfers. com perhaps??? for birdies on the plate and on the green !

coach why are you on getbig?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Devon97 on August 27, 2008, 03:41:49 PM
Eat at McDonald's every meal?  Oh, you mean lean mass.  ;D

Sounds like Coach is more interested in strength than mass.  His is a powerlifting/strength philosophy, not a bodybuilding philosophy.  Quote from Coach:  "I'm not talking about looks, I'm talking about strength retard." 


Thats because he trains athletes. There isnt much of a "bodybuilding market" out there. However sports performance training is a raging market & getting bigger.

In fact  4.1 billion is spent annually on private coaching and sport instruction in this country.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Devon97 on August 27, 2008, 03:42:55 PM
Coach,

I never knew what DC training was ( thank goodness) until I came to GB.

What is your take on it?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 27, 2008, 05:14:44 PM
yes, it seems so, but why?

why isn't he on a powerlifting board for strength ?  or a golf site ? is it perhaps because he would be ripped a new asshole by real athletes that know exactly how to build real strength, and play golf.  ???

www.powerliftinggolfers. com perhaps??? for birdies on the plate and on the green !

coach why are you on getbig?

Fatpanda, I do post on strength and conditioning with REAL athletes, if you would like to pay the subscription to see my postings go to www.strengthcoach.com and www.undergroundstrengthc oach.com and quite a few others. I'm on getbig mostly for entertainment value because when I post something that isn't bodybuilding related like a protocol for training athletes, hardly anyone but Devon97 and few others know the f**k I'm talking about because bodybuilding protocol's haven't changed in almost 50 + years. But with training athletes there are new protocols and proven methods that have been actually published, With bodybuilding there is little of that because the protocol is mostly hit and miss. I also come on this board (and  VanBilderass said it perfectly) because I will always be a bodybuilder no matter what. No matter how hard I try and diss myself from it, it will always be apart of me, I grew up with it.

That being said here's is my philosophy on BODYBUILDING......I wrote this for a bodybuilding site Rob and I created for me a few years ago.


My philosophy is quite simple. Train heavy, train smart with volume, have a plan and train with common sense.  When you walk into the gym you’re there to train and nothing else. No bulls**t, no distractions, no nothing. Put your head down put your earphones in and train hard and most of all train with intensity and by intensity I mean no longer than 1-3 mins between sets, just long enough to recover for the next set and the next and the next. Get in train and get the hell out, it doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as you get it done!

If you want to know what intensity is watch guys like Platz  or just about anyone during that era who took their training seriously. I swear when I go into the gym and see some of these pro’s train and do their 6-8 sets per body part and 2 exercises at 4-6 reps I just think to myself if these guy’s had to do any type of volume training they would die!

After 30+ years of training I’ve had only one serious injury and that happened after 29 years of training. The “HIT” training system is a crock of shit unless you’re a powerlifter or just flat out lazy and like to rest 5 minutes between sets. You’re bodybuilders not powerlifters so train like a bodybuilder. I believe that each individual bodypart should be trained and getting fat in order to obtain size is just stupidity, why gain 40-50lbs in the off season to only gain a few pounds of muscle?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: TacoBell on August 27, 2008, 05:57:33 PM
To be fair Coach, since you were nit picking on other peoples philosophies, yours were about as not specific as possible.
Be they bodybuilding or athletic...... and yes I'm very familiar with the athletic training programs you're likely referencing, but even they are subject to interpretation and can be rendered obsolete.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: BlueDevil on August 28, 2008, 04:03:47 AM

mine was the best

i win
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: mazrim on August 28, 2008, 06:27:49 AM

If you want to know what intensity is watch guys like Platz  or just about anyone during that era who took their training seriously. I swear when I go into the gym and see some of these pro’s train and do their 6-8 sets per body part and 2 exercises at 4-6 reps I just think to myself if these guy’s had to do any type of volume training they would die!
[/b][/i]

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but most of the naturals guys that I know of all had/have one thing in common for how they got most of their gains and that was lifting in the 4-8 rep range with low to moderate volume. Or are you just exclusively talking about enhanced bodybuilders ("pro's") here?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 28, 2008, 07:07:51 AM
Fatpanda, I do post on strength and conditioning with REAL athletes, if you would like to pay the subscription to see my postings go to www.strengthcoach.com and www.undergroundstrengthc oach.com and quite a few others. I'm on getbig mostly for entertainment value because when I post something that isn't bodybuilding related like a protocol for training athletes, hardly anyone but Devon97 and few others know the f**k I'm talking about because bodybuilding protocol's haven't changed in almost 50 + years. But with training athletes there are new protocols and proven methods that have been actually published, With bodybuilding there is little of that because the protocol is mostly hit and miss. I also come on this board (and  VanBilderass said it perfectly) because I will always be a bodybuilder no matter what. No matter how hard I try and diss myself from it, it will always be apart of me, I grew up with it.

That being said here's is my philosophy on BODYBUILDING......I wrote this for a bodybuilding site Rob and I created for me a few years ago.


My philosophy is quite simple. Train heavy, train smart with volume, have a plan and train with common sense.  When you walk into the gym you’re there to train and nothing else. No bulls**t, no distractions, no nothing. Put your head down put your earphones in and train hard and most of all train with intensity and by intensity I mean no longer than 1-3 mins between sets, just long enough to recover for the next set and the next and the next. Get in train and get the hell out, it doesn’t matter how long it takes as long as you get it done!

If you want to know what intensity is watch guys like Platz  or just about anyone during that era who took their training seriously. I swear when I go into the gym and see some of these pro’s train and do their 6-8 sets per body part and 2 exercises at 4-6 reps I just think to myself if these guy’s had to do any type of volume training they would die!

After 30+ years of training I’ve had only one serious injury and that happened after 29 years of training. The “HIT” training system is a crock of shit unless you’re a powerlifter or just flat out lazy and like to rest 5 minutes between sets. You’re bodybuilders not powerlifters so train like a bodybuilder. I believe that each individual bodypart should be trained and getting fat in order to obtain size is just stupidity, why gain 40-50lbs in the off season to only gain a few pounds of muscle?


i think you would be surprised how many getbiggers would know exactly what you are talking about when you talk about your strength and conditioning protocols. however as for your heavy weight/ high volume approach, can you be more specific?

how about set rep protocols? excercises used? nutritional strategies? split? frequency? you asked for these earlier, so it would only be fair to state the same things yourself.

also have you ever trained bodybuilders ? if so what results did you get with them?

how about yourself? what was your best ever condition?

do you have pics if you competed? and can you also post what steroids you were on throughout this time as clearly this can have a major effect on results.

Also high volume heavy weights have been known to burn out and overtrain many bodybuilders, perhaps one of the reasons as mazrim states most successful natural guys lift in the 4-8 rep range with moderate/low volume. how can you explain this? or is your philosophy exclusive to steroid users? if so what would be your natural training philosophy?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 28, 2008, 08:38:49 AM
i think you would be surprised how many getbiggers would know exactly what you are talking about when you talk about your strength and conditioning protocols. however as for your heavy weight/ high volume approach, can you be more specific?

No, I don't think alot do when it comes to athlete protocol, putting together periodizations for the year and into a season, designing programs for some position players, various strength programs (energy system, conjugate, etc,etc,etc) then plyo programs, agility, speed and conditioning, combine programs, etc.



how about set rep protocols? excercises used? nutritional strategies? split? frequency? you asked for these earlier, so it would only be fair to state the same things yourself.

I don't remember asking anyone for these, just wanted peoples philosophies on there training and why they do it that way. Do you realize the length of the answer your asking?

also have you ever trained bodybuilders ? if so what results did you get with them?

Yes, lots. Some for Nationals and state level, local levels, womens bodybuilding (national and pro) none that have placed out the top 5. Stopped training bodybuilders in about 92-93, that s when I started training athletes. I swore I would never train another bodybuilder until the last LA Championships, I trained a kid for his first show in the novice class and he won.

how about yourself? what was your best ever condition?

My best condition was when I was younger, in my early to late 20's, stopped competing at 29, did my first show coming back since last December. If

do you have pics if you competed? and can you also post what steroids you were on throughout this time as clearly this can have a major effect on results.

Yes, I have a ton of pics as many on here will attest to ;D

Also high volume heavy weights have been known to burn out and overtrain many bodybuilders, perhaps one of the reasons as mazrim states most successful natural guys lift in the 4-8 rep range with moderate/low volume. how can you explain this? or is your philosophy exclusive to steroid users? if so what would be your natural training philosophy?

My philosophy remains the same, volume training builds muscle, low volume/heavier weights builds strength. Just a fact thats all.


What you're asking here requires a long answer. I shorted them up.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 28, 2008, 01:17:14 PM
interesting, when you have the time coach i would like to hear more.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: flexingtonsteele on August 28, 2008, 02:10:59 PM
I honestly dont think it matters what u do in the gym. As long as over time you PROGRESS!

Progression is the key, if your lifts are constantly improving, it really doesnt matter what you do, HIT, OVT, Max OT whatever, it doesnt matter.

If someone is squating 225 for 10 reps right now and in six months is squatting 315 for 10 reps, i guarantee his legs will be bigger!

I think people make this shit too complicated, when its really not. Train hard, improving every training session ( when possible ), eat good clean foods 90% of the time,and dont become obsessive with it ( bodybuilding ) because it will ruin you and your social life.

Just my $.02
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Fatpanda on August 28, 2008, 02:28:58 PM
i disagree, there improving and theres optimally improving. 8)

for example, nutrient timing has shown that despite intake of similar calories, the person that imploys proper timing will get stronger and build more muscle than a person who doesn't.

in fact theres an effect called the nadir effect which states that any increase in protein sysnthesis through the day will be negated by an equal amount of protein breakdown during the night. proper training and diet can alter/negate this effect.

Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: kwri298 on August 28, 2008, 02:48:21 PM
Training and diet go hand in hand.  People alter both of these to acheve the desired result.  No method of the training is the best.  Low volume (Yates Style) normally builds alot of strength in addition to size if the calories are high enough.  Higher Volume (12 Sets for small bodyparts, 16 to 25 for large) training builds more size but the calorie intake has to be higher than the a person on a low volume schedule.  Cardio is also adjustable depending on goals, to burn body fat and not lose muscle, low intensity cardio is normally used.  To increase cardio output (V02 Max) high intensity cardio would be the best option.

Offseason Bodybuilder -
High Volume - High Clean Calories
Low Volume - Slightly less calories with some additional slow cardio

Boxer training for a fight-
High Volume - Very High Calories
Very High intensity cardio
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: chris2489 on August 28, 2008, 04:09:08 PM
I follow the philosophy of instinctive training.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 28, 2008, 05:18:33 PM
i disagree, there improving and theres optimally improving. 8)for example, nutrient timing has shown that despite intake of similar calories, the person that imploys proper timing will get stronger and build more muscle than a person who doesn't.

in fact theres an effect called the nadir effect which states that any increase in protein sysnthesis through the day will be negated by an equal amount of protein breakdown during the night. proper training and diet can alter/negate this effect.



I agree with this 100%. One thing that I have learned is that if you want to improve, you MUST have a plan and stick to it. I'm also a firm believer that before any training is done (and this does pertain to bodybuilding as well) you should warm for at least 10-15mins not just on a bike or treadmill but a real mobility warmup (dynamic).

For the past few years, even when I was training for my show last year it went like this and in this order; Foam roller (cervicle, thorasic and lumbar then IT bands, then glutes, hams and quads), dynamic warm up 15min, muscle activation (mostly glute/hip and psoas) then start the workout what ALWAYS begins with power, usually my medicine ball complex that I still do now or 1 arm snatches, all this to excite the CNS to help keep from injury, then follow with the bodybuilding protocol.
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: knny187 on August 29, 2008, 03:29:03 PM
My training theory is not to have one.

hows that?
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: The Coach on August 29, 2008, 03:33:18 PM
My training theory is not to have one.

hows that?


So there...neener neener neener neener :P
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: knny187 on August 29, 2008, 04:01:34 PM
you're welcome
Title: Re: I Want To Hear Everyones Training Philosophy.......
Post by: Ursus on August 29, 2008, 05:01:31 PM
Coach waht you think of my philsophy