I do DVDs so I don't need to strength train
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stroutman81
Posts: 2,474 Member
I'm involved in an email exchange right now and while rambling off a response, I thought it might actually initiate some interesting conversation here on the forum. I modified it slightly. Here goes...
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The bottom line about changing our bodies is there are 2 factors that are in our control. We can lose fat and we can gain muscle. We can't get longer as our muscle are attached to our skeletons. We can't tone specific areas of our bodies as a muscle either grows or it doesn't and subcutaneous fat rests on top of our muscles.
In order for most people to achieve the body they desire, they need to accomplish both... meaning they need to maximize fat loss and muscle gain or maintenance.
Cardio, conditioning, energy system training, circuit training, most exercise DVDs, etc... these things are all good for helping fat loss. They're high volume and thus energy expensive... they'll help you get into that energy deficit that's required for tissue loss. Keep in mind though that simply because you're doing resistance exercises such as squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, or whatever... it doesn't necessarily mean you're forcing your body to maximize muscle mass. The exercise is pretty irrelevant actually... your body doesn't know you're doing a squat. It simply knows it needs to "turn certain muscles on" in a coordinated fashion to move a certain way. And that if that movement is done under a significant enough of a load, it should probably do some "remodeling" so that it can better handle that load in the future.
You can do squats with your body weight or while holding pink dumbbells until you're ready to pass out, but unless you're brand spanking new to this stuff, that's probably not going to overload your muscles and cause them to maintain while dieting or to grow.
Building or even maintaining muscle seems to be the elusive variable for most people. They're too busy worrying about whether they're smaller or lighter and wind up forgetting that looking great nekkid is about much more than size and weight. To optimize muscle, you need to move heavy stuff... picking it up and putting it back down. Period.
That's not to say avoiding strength training will lead to zero progress. Anyone can lose weight as long as they're in a calorie deficit. I can assure you though that leaving this variable out of the equation will lead to suboptimal body composition. If you're genetically blessed... this might not be a big issue. By and large though... it's going to be significant for most people.
***************
The bottom line about changing our bodies is there are 2 factors that are in our control. We can lose fat and we can gain muscle. We can't get longer as our muscle are attached to our skeletons. We can't tone specific areas of our bodies as a muscle either grows or it doesn't and subcutaneous fat rests on top of our muscles.
In order for most people to achieve the body they desire, they need to accomplish both... meaning they need to maximize fat loss and muscle gain or maintenance.
Cardio, conditioning, energy system training, circuit training, most exercise DVDs, etc... these things are all good for helping fat loss. They're high volume and thus energy expensive... they'll help you get into that energy deficit that's required for tissue loss. Keep in mind though that simply because you're doing resistance exercises such as squats, deadlifts, presses, rows, or whatever... it doesn't necessarily mean you're forcing your body to maximize muscle mass. The exercise is pretty irrelevant actually... your body doesn't know you're doing a squat. It simply knows it needs to "turn certain muscles on" in a coordinated fashion to move a certain way. And that if that movement is done under a significant enough of a load, it should probably do some "remodeling" so that it can better handle that load in the future.
You can do squats with your body weight or while holding pink dumbbells until you're ready to pass out, but unless you're brand spanking new to this stuff, that's probably not going to overload your muscles and cause them to maintain while dieting or to grow.
Building or even maintaining muscle seems to be the elusive variable for most people. They're too busy worrying about whether they're smaller or lighter and wind up forgetting that looking great nekkid is about much more than size and weight. To optimize muscle, you need to move heavy stuff... picking it up and putting it back down. Period.
That's not to say avoiding strength training will lead to zero progress. Anyone can lose weight as long as they're in a calorie deficit. I can assure you though that leaving this variable out of the equation will lead to suboptimal body composition. If you're genetically blessed... this might not be a big issue. By and large though... it's going to be significant for most people.
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Replies
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"I lift things up and put them down."
Somebody had to say it. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FGZvFZdVbk 0 -
One word ............Cathe!0
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I always have difficulty knowing just how heavy my weights should be when I do strength training. Do I make them so heavy that I struggle to even lift?0
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I always have difficulty knowing just how heavy my weights should be when I do strength training. Do I make them so heavy that I struggle to even lift?
Your last few reps of the set should be a struggle, yes. When I lift, I do 4 sets of 12-15 reps and lift to failure. (I'm sure you were asking him, but thought I'd throw in my two cents. lol)0 -
Great post, nice to see someone else preaching it for a change.I always have difficulty knowing just how heavy my weights should be when I do strength training. Do I make them so heavy that I struggle to even lift?
You should pick a weight that you can lift between 1 and 5 (max of 8) times. Ideally this should be 75%+ of your one rep max. Lifting for 6-12 reps actually starts to get into building more size then strength. And higher is focused on muscular endurance.
I have an article here that i wrote on the subject. I am an advocate of low rep/high intensity training.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Grglandr/view/weight-training-guide-1165080 -
Agreed. So many people are concerned about the number that they forget about the look. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE LOOK! Nobody is happen being skinny fat so gain muscle, stop focusing on the number and start focusing on the reflection!
Weight lifting should be done so that you can do one or two sets with 8-12 reps (at least this is what my trainer and brother say). So pump it up and start loving what you see
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Always enjoy your posts, Steve! Once again, great info and so well written. Thanks for taking the time to put it in the forums.0
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I always have difficulty knowing just how heavy my weights should be when I do strength training. Do I make them so heavy that I struggle to even lift?
Strength training is tough. It's not supposed to feel light and easy. That light and easy feeling is reserved for metabolic conditioning such as cardio or circuit training. People often get tripped up gauging the efficacy of their exercise on how it feels. Unfortunately, very few of them understand how it's supposed to feel.
How heavy should you go though? That's a good question. Here's what we know...
We know that when we attempt to move a barbell, our nervous systems tell our muscles to generate force by shortening. It tells our muscles to get busy via electrical impulses that travel down from the brain, down the spinal cord and through the nerves that are connected to your muscles. A bunch of biochemistry happens at this point with the end product being muscular contraction. The greater the weight on the barbell, the greater the force that needs to be applied to it if it’s to move.
Just as with everything else, for adaptation/improvement to occur, you need to overload the system in question. In this case we’re talking about the neuromuscular system. Your nervous system and the muscles that it’s attached to all respond to progressive strength training as long as sufficient tension is generated.
Graphically it we can present this like:
http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t264/stroutman81/Training/?action=view¤t=Tension-TimeGraph.jpg
Did you actually check out the link? If not, be sure to do so so that you understand what I'm about to say. It's important.
Anything above the threshold line represents an overload. You can think of the area under the curves and above the threshold line as the magnitude of stress that represents overload. The higher the tension that’s required in a given effort, the shorter that effort will last, which should be obvious. If I asked you to bench press 250 lbs you might get 1 repetition that lasts 3-5 seconds (curve 1). If I asked you to bench 200 lbs you might get 8 repetitions that takes you 40-60 seconds (curve 2).
As you can see, you can have a tall and thin stimulus for improvement (curve 1) or a short and wide stimulus for improvement (curve 2). There are multiple ways of generating an overload, which is why a “magical” set and rep combination doesn’t exist.
We measure force in pounds and define it as intensity. Intensity is the proximity of the weight being lifted to your maximum ability. In the above example, 250 lbs would be your maximum effort or 100% intensity. 200 lbs is 80% of 250 so it is 80% intensity.
The threshold of intensity that’s required for adaptation to take place is roughly 65%-70% on average. Anything above that will “work.” It’s also important to note that as the lifter becomes more advanced, the higher this threshold will be. In other words, the threshold itself adapts to training.
As an example of how you can use this model to think about training, let’s look at circuit training. Circuit training typically involves using a high volume of exercise with little rest between movements and high reps. This can build muscular endurance, improve cardiovascular conditioning, and increase mental toughness. But feeling the burn is not a prerequisite for strength gain. In circuit training, due to the lack of rest between sets, fatigue interferes with the ability to lift weight. This in turn reduces the tension at the muscle level thus providing less of a signal for strength gain. In other words, if we were to draw a curve for circuit training on the above graph, even at its peak it would be below the threshold line.
And no, I don't recommend training to failure. Within the 12 to 15 rep range, failure is predominantly a neurological phenomenon and it's not doing much at the local, muscle level. The risk/reward to training to failure simply isn't there.
I'm sure some of you want more applicable information than the above... so here goes.
With my clients I simply set a target rep range and let them know how it should "feel." Generally speaking, reps dictate weight as higher rep ranges require the use of lighter weights and lower rep ranges allow for more weight to be used. Granted, I could set the rep range at 8-12 and you could select a weight that you could easily do 30+ reps with, but stop at 8-12, but that would disregard the whole "how it should feel" qualifier.
So how should it feel?
You want to be using loads that feel heavy, but not so heavy that you're having to "grind" the weight up. By grind, I mean the weight goes up at a snail's pace as you shake and struggle to move the bar or dumbbell each and every inch. If I subscribe 8 reps for instance, I expect my clients to use a weight that has them reaching 8 reps with 1.. maybe 2 reps left in the tank.
I also like to use RPE (rating of perceived exertion) which I feel helps solidify how a weight should feel and thus what weight you should use. I like Mike Tuchscherer's scale the best which looks something like:
• 7: Maximal, no reps left in the tank at end of set
• 6: Last rep is tough but still one rep left in the tank
• 5: Weight is too heavy to maintain fast bar speed but isn’t a struggle; 2–4 reps left
• 4: Weight moves quickly when maximal force is applied to the weight; “speed weight”
• 3: Light speed work; moves quickly with moderate force
• 2: Most warm-up weights
• 1: Recovery; usually 20 plus rep sets; not hard but intended to flush the muscle
Most work as far as strength training goes should fall somewhere around a 5-6. Hopefully this helps?
The deal is though, don't worry about picking the "perfect" weight originally. PIck logical rep ranges... I'd say anywhere from 4-12 per set... and start with weights that are extremely easy. This will allow for perfect form. Once you're more than comfortable with form, as this is a critical component of effective training, then start slowly adding weight to each movement over time. Remember, it's not just using a weight that's "heavy enough." It's staying ahead of your body's homeostasis threshold. If you're using weights that your body doesn't "see" as a challenge to it's current condition, it's not going to change. So I'd argue that it's the progression that's more important than the load you're using at this moment.
So start light (relative to the reps you're shooting for) and progress from there.0 -
Great post! There was one earlier about someone not wanting to bulk up so they didn't want to strength train. I can't wait to see more muscle definition on me!! Starting to now 0
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I always have difficulty knowing just how heavy my weights should be when I do strength training. Do I make them so heavy that I struggle to even lift?
Strength training is tough. It's not supposed to feel light and easy. That light and easy feeling is reserved for metabolic conditioning such as cardio or circuit training. People often get tripped up gauging the efficacy of their exercise on how it feels. Unfortunately, very few of them understand how it's supposed to feel.
How heavy should you go though? That's a good question. Here's what we know...
We know that when we attempt to move a barbell, our nervous systems tell our muscles to generate force by shortening. It tells our muscles to get busy via electrical impulses that travel down from the brain, down the spinal cord and through the nerves that are connected to your muscles. A bunch of biochemistry happens at this point with the end product being muscular contraction. The greater the weight on the barbell, the greater the force that needs to be applied to it if it’s to move.
Just as with everything else, for adaptation/improvement to occur, you need to overload the system in question. In this case we’re talking about the neuromuscular system. Your nervous system and the muscles that it’s attached to all respond to progressive strength training as long as sufficient tension is generated.
Graphically it we can present this like:
http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t264/stroutman81/Training/?action=view¤t=Tension-TimeGraph.jpg
Did you actually check out the link? If not, be sure to do so so that you understand what I'm about to say. It's important.
Anything above the threshold line represents an overload. You can think of the area under the curves and above the threshold line as the magnitude of stress that represents overload. The higher the tension that’s required in a given effort, the shorter that effort will last, which should be obvious. If I asked you to bench press 250 lbs you might get 1 repetition that lasts 3-5 seconds (curve 1). If I asked you to bench 200 lbs you might get 8 repetitions that takes you 40-60 seconds (curve 2).
As you can see, you can have a tall and thin stimulus for improvement (curve 1) or a short and wide stimulus for improvement (curve 2). There are multiple ways of generating an overload, which is why a “magical” set and rep combination doesn’t exist.
We measure force in pounds and define it as intensity. Intensity is the proximity of the weight being lifted to your maximum ability. In the above example, 250 lbs would be your maximum effort or 100% intensity. 200 lbs is 80% of 250 so it is 80% intensity.
The threshold of intensity that’s required for adaptation to take place is roughly 65%-70% on average. Anything above that will “work.” It’s also important to note that as the lifter becomes more advanced, the higher this threshold will be. In other words, the threshold itself adapts to training.
As an example of how you can use this model to think about training, let’s look at circuit training. Circuit training typically involves using a high volume of exercise with little rest between movements and high reps. This can build muscular endurance, improve cardiovascular conditioning, and increase mental toughness. But feeling the burn is not a prerequisite for strength gain. In circuit training, due to the lack of rest between sets, fatigue interferes with the ability to lift weight. This in turn reduces the tension at the muscle level thus providing less of a signal for strength gain. In other words, if we were to draw a curve for circuit training on the above graph, even at its peak it would be below the threshold line.
And no, I don't recommend training to failure. Within the 12 to 15 rep range, failure is predominantly a neurological phenomenon and it's not doing much at the local, muscle level. The risk/reward to training to failure simply isn't there.
I'm sure some of you want more applicable information than the above... so here goes.
With my clients I simply set a target rep range and let them know how it should "feel." Generally speaking, reps dictate weight as higher rep ranges require the use of lighter weights and lower rep ranges allow for more weight to be used. Granted, I could set the rep range at 8-12 and you could select a weight that you could easily do 30+ reps with, but stop at 8-12, but that would disregard the whole "how it should feel" qualifier.
So how should it feel?
You want to be using loads that feel heavy, but not so heavy that you're having to "grind" the weight up. By grind, I mean the weight goes up at a snail's pace as you shake and struggle to move the bar or dumbbell each and every inch. If I subscribe 8 reps for instance, I expect my clients to use a weight that has them reaching 8 reps with 1.. maybe 2 reps left in the tank.
I also like to use RPE (rating of perceived exertion) which I feel helps solidify how a weight should feel and thus what weight you should use. I like Mike Tuchscherer's scale the best which looks something like:
• 7: Maximal, no reps left in the tank at end of set
• 6: Last rep is tough but still one rep left in the tank
• 5: Weight is too heavy to maintain fast bar speed but isn’t a struggle; 2–4 reps left
• 4: Weight moves quickly when maximal force is applied to the weight; “speed weight”
• 3: Light speed work; moves quickly with moderate force
• 2: Most warm-up weights
• 1: Recovery; usually 20 plus rep sets; not hard but intended to flush the muscle
Most work as far as strength training goes should fall somewhere around a 5-6. Hopefully this helps?
The deal is though, don't worry about picking the "perfect" weight originally. PIck logical rep ranges... I'd say anywhere from 4-12 per set... and start with weights that are extremely easy. This will allow for perfect form. Once you're more than comfortable with form, as this is a critical component of effective training, then start slowly adding weight to each movement over time. Remember, it's not just using a weight that's "heavy enough." It's staying ahead of your body's homeostasis threshold. If you're using weights that your body doesn't "see" as a challenge to it's current condition, it's not going to change. So I'd argue that it's the progression that's more important than the load you're using at this moment.
So start light (relative to the reps you're shooting for) and progress from there.
Great answer, Steve! I love reading your posts, btw. Lots of great advice!0 -
Great post as usual Steve. Just one question regarding the Tuchscherer's scale. Of course what's been indoctrinated in me is that to maximize muscle building I should be aiming for the 7 on his scale. So why not the 7? Is it because you believe people are actually losing their form at that point? If what I consider a 7 is still in keeping good form, am I really cheating myself and potential growth?0
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Great post as usual Steve. Just one question regarding the Tuchscherer's scale. Of course what's been indoctrinated in me is that to maximize muscle building I should be aiming for the 7 on his scale. So why not the 7? Is it because you believe people are actually losing their form at that point? If what I consider a 7 is still in keeping good form, am I really cheating myself and potential growth?
Oh, sorry about that. Good catch. I had Mike's scale in there and then I deleted it and pasted my own scale. A 7 on my scale, the one used above, is a 10 on Mike's scale.0 -
But I guess my question still remains. Whether it's a 7 or a 10, why are we not encouraging the highest intensity possible at my 7th or 8th rep? Is it mostly cuz we're concerned that I'd be losing my form at that point?Great post as usual Steve. Just one question regarding the Tuchscherer's scale. Of course what's been indoctrinated in me is that to maximize muscle building I should be aiming for the 7 on his scale. So why not the 7? Is it because you believe people are actually losing their form at that point? If what I consider a 7 is still in keeping good form, am I really cheating myself and potential growth?
Oh, sorry about that. Good catch. I had Mike's scale in there and then I deleted it and pasted my own scale. A 7 on my scale, the one used above, is a 10 on Mike's scale.0 -
YES YES YES!! I never looked better until I started lifting heavy! Do it people - you won't be sorry!
p.s - I did Chalean Extreme, because I have no access to a gym, I loved it!!! All you need are some dumbbells. (for me that meant 5's, 8's, 10's, 15's, 20's.) I will probably need heavier for my lower body next time around, but you'll be surprised at how quickly those 3's and 5's feel like wimpy weights!0 -
But I guess my question still remains. Whether it's a 7 or a 10, why are we not encouraging the highest intensity possible at my 7th or 8th rep? Is it mostly cuz we're concerned that I'd be losing my form at that point?Great post as usual Steve. Just one question regarding the Tuchscherer's scale. Of course what's been indoctrinated in me is that to maximize muscle building I should be aiming for the 7 on his scale. So why not the 7? Is it because you believe people are actually losing their form at that point? If what I consider a 7 is still in keeping good form, am I really cheating myself and potential growth?
Oh, sorry about that. Good catch. I had Mike's scale in there and then I deleted it and pasted my own scale. A 7 on my scale, the one used above, is a 10 on Mike's scale.
There's a lot of ways to answer your question. Actually opens up a can of worms that I'm going to try and avoid.
For the most part though, you hit the nail on the head. I don't see a reason to venture so closely to failure when you can stimulate growth at lower intensities. Remember, you need to surpass the intensity threshold and then do enough work with it. For most people, that threshold isn't going to be at a point that leaves you grinding out reps. And if they tried, they'd like reach technical failure, which isn't true muscular failure... rather it's failure to maintain proper form. Why risk executing lifts incorrectly when it's not needed? That's my general take.
That said, there are very knowledgeable coaches and perfectly fine programs out there that have lifters training up to a maximum every single day of the week.
There are definitely many ways to skin a cat.
Just know that you don't need to be crushing yourself in order to stimulate hypertrophy. Granted, the last couple of reps on the last set or two might start feeling like a 7. And that's fine. Simply use this as your governor of progression. Typically in my own personal training journal I'll record my RPE score of each set. Suppose I'm shooting for 8 sets of 3. My journal might look something like this:
Squats:
Set 1: 375 x 3 @ 5 RPE
Set 2: 375 x 3 @ 5
Set 3: 375 x 3 @ 5
Set 4: 375 x 3 @ 5
Set 5: 375 x 3 @ 6
Set 6: 375 x 3 @6
Set 7: 375 x 3 @7
At that point, I might stop the exercise and not shoot for the 8th. There's a very wise movement in the strength training community to use what's known as cybernetic training or autoregulatory training, which is what Mike Tuchscherer's book is all about. You can read about autoregulatory training in my interview with Matt Perryman here:
http://body-improvements.com/articles/interviews/matt-perryman-interview/
Essentially, I'd autoregulate the exercise, which essentially means, "I'm going to stop here because the previous set was an RPE of 7 and today I don't have another full set in me. Yesterday I might have been fine. Tomorrow I might be fine. But today is not the day."
Or I could push out the 8th set and hope to get all 3 reps. It'll undoubtedly be at least another 7.
The point is though, I use the RPE readings to monitor when it's time to adjust the load. As my body adapts to the load, hopefully, in this example, 375 will feel lighter over time. Once 8 sets of 3 feels like an RPE of 5 or even 6 straight across, I'll likely increase the load.
If I start regressing, meaning earlier sets start feeling like a 7, I'll likely change other parameters in the programming. I might deload for a week or two. I might switch out exercises.
I'm rambling a bit but does this help you out at all?0 -
Yes it does. Thanks Steve.There's a lot of ways to answer your question. Actually opens up a can of worms that I'm going to try and avoid.
For the most part though, you hit the nail on the head. I don't see a reason to venture so closely to failure when you can stimulate growth at lower intensities. Remember, you need to surpass the intensity threshold and then do enough work with it. For most people, that threshold isn't going to be at a point that leaves you grinding out reps. And if they tried, they'd like reach technical failure, which isn't true muscular failure... rather it's failure to maintain proper form. Why risk executing lifts incorrectly when it's not needed? That's my general take.
That said, there are very knowledgeable coaches and perfectly fine programs out there that have lifters training up to a maximum every single day of the week.
There are definitely many ways to skin a cat.
Just know that you don't need to be crushing yourself in order to stimulate hypertrophy. Granted, the last couple of reps on the last set or two might start feeling like a 7. And that's fine. Simply use this as your governor of progression. Typically in my own personal training journal I'll record my RPE score of each set. Suppose I'm shooting for 8 sets of 3. My journal might look something like this:
Squats:
Set 1: 375 x 3 @ 5 RPE
Set 2: 375 x 3 @ 5
Set 3: 375 x 3 @ 5
Set 4: 375 x 3 @ 5
Set 5: 375 x 3 @ 6
Set 6: 375 x 3 @6
Set 7: 375 x 3 @7
At that point, I might stop the exercise and not shoot for the 8th. There's a very wise movement in the strength training community to use what's known as cybernetic training or autoregulatory training, which is what Mike Tuchscherer's book is all about. You can read about autoregulatory training in my interview with Matt Perryman here:
http://body-improvements.com/articles/interviews/matt-perryman-interview/
Essentially, I'd autoregulate the exercise, which essentially means, "I'm going to stop here because the previous set was an RPE of 7 and today I don't have another full set in me. Yesterday I might have been fine. Tomorrow I might be fine. But today is not the day."
Or I could push out the 8th set and hope to get all 3 reps. It'll undoubtedly be at least another 7.
The point is though, I use the RPE readings to monitor when it's time to adjust the load. As my body adapts to the load, hopefully, in this example, 375 will feel lighter over time. Once 8 sets of 3 feels like an RPE of 5 or even 6 straight across, I'll likely increase the load.
If I start regressing, meaning earlier sets start feeling like a 7, I'll likely change other parameters in the programming. I might deload for a week or two. I might switch out exercises.
I'm rambling a bit but does this help you out at all?0 -
Yes it does. Thanks Steve.
Missed this, but you're welcome. Anytime!0 -
"I lift things up and put them down." Somebody had to say it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FGZvFZdVbk
:laugh: MUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!
To the OP. Your words speak truth. Though I don't lift weights at the gym I got the bowflex adjustable weights and the ChaLean Extreme dvd series. I push myself to lift heavier loads because I need to build my muscles and shrink my fat. Its definitely working. I'm seeing a big difference. Once I finish with this I hope to move on to another strength training dvd series...P90X maybe.
Are there any downfalls to these programs that I should be aware of? If I need to alter something I definitely will for better results.0 -
To the OP. Your words speak truth. Though I don't lift weights at the gym I got the bowflex adjustable weights and the ChaLean Extreme dvd series.
I'm not familiar with the ChaLean DVD so I can't comment on that. But you certainly don't have to be in a gym to load your body with sufficient weight in order to drive growth and strength.I push myself to lift heavier loads because I need to build my muscles and shrink my fat. Its definitely working. I'm seeing a big difference.
That's great. Just make sure the loads are such that they limit you to sensible rep ranges. Anything between 4-15 reps is a good general rule. Beyond that and you're really missing the mark in terms of the adaptations we're striving for. And this doesn't mean that you lift a light weight that you could do 30 reps with and stop between 4-15... as that wouldn't get you anywhere.Once I finish with this I hope to move on to another strength training dvd series...P90X maybe.
Are there any downfalls to these programs that I should be aware of? If I need to alter something I definitely will for better results.
I don't know much about the DVDs. Someone was so interested in my opinoin about p90x that they mailed me their copy for review. The gist of my opinion was it's a lot less stupid then a lot of the stuff I see on the market. The guy is corny as heck. And they say things that aren't scientifically based. But the program makes some sense so it's not a waste of money if it's your cup of tea.
That said, I'm not really a fan of prepackaged programs. Custom tailored programming based on the individual's needs, setting, history, etc will blow the pants off of a prepackaged program any day of the week.0 -
To the OP. Your words speak truth. Though I don't lift weights at the gym I got the bowflex adjustable weights and the ChaLean Extreme dvd series.
I'm not familiar with the ChaLean DVD so I can't comment on that. But you certainly don't have to be in a gym to load your body with sufficient weight in order to drive growth and strength.I push myself to lift heavier loads because I need to build my muscles and shrink my fat. Its definitely working. I'm seeing a big difference.
That's great. Just make sure the loads are such that they limit you to sensible rep ranges. Anything between 4-15 reps is a good general rule. Beyond that and you're really missing the mark in terms of the adaptations we're striving for. And this doesn't mean that you lift a light weight that you could do 30 reps with and stop between 4-15... as that wouldn't get you anywhere.Once I finish with this I hope to move on to another strength training dvd series...P90X maybe.
Are there any downfalls to these programs that I should be aware of? If I need to alter something I definitely will for better results.
I don't know much about the DVDs. Someone was so interested in my opinoin about p90x that they mailed me their copy for review. The gist of my opinion was it's a lot less stupid then a lot of the stuff I see on the market. The guy is corny as heck. And they say things that aren't scientifically based. But the program makes some sense so it's not a waste of money if it's your cup of tea.
That said, I'm not really a fan of prepackaged programs. Custom tailored programming based on the individual's needs, setting, history, etc will blow the pants off of a prepackaged program any day of the week.
I understand about the prepackage programs. I haven't check out Tony but if he is anything like Shawn T then I will probably put him on mute lol. CJ is a excellent motivator in her DVD series surprisingly. In the ChaLean Extreme dvds she has us lifting 1 set maxing out between our 10th to 12th rep. If I make it to my 12 rep the next time I do my work out I up my weights to see if I can make it to10 with my form intact. Its a lot of compound movements....rows while lunging, etc.
I appreciate your info.0
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