Hey guys. I just want to preface this post and say that I am speaking in broad terms when i refer to YOU. Its not geared towards any specific individual, or forum, or blog. Its not meant to offend anyone, but to foster some thought, and hopefully make YOU re analye and rethink what it is you have been, or currently are, doing. I have been busy perusing the various forums and training based blogs that are out there, and came to a realization. Actually a few of them. Some of you guys are VERY into improving your performance and bodies. This I find impressive. While the government and the media is seemingly always talking about the ballooning (pun intended) obesity rates, both here and abroad, you are always trying to get bigger, faster, stronger, and leaner.. However, there is something that I am seeing that kind of causes me concern. You guys are all over the place, with every aspect of seemingly everything related to training. From the actual programs, to supplements, cardio, etc you guys are all over. here I’m going to go over just some of the basics that hopefully help you out. If you guys want me to, I will definitely go into further detail about some of these topics in the future, as I could vastly expand on the thoughts I’ve presented here.
Programs
Here is what it seems that a lot of you guys are doing. It seemingly basically boils down to 2 different themes. You are either jumping from program to program every month, or you are taking parts of different programs and concepts you like, or feel you need, and throwing them together. let me ask you a question. How do you expect to ever see any gains if you are spending a month with Wendlers 5/3/1, and then going to DC training for a month, and then off to Westside, and so on and so forth? i will say that I understand, if you are looking to test things out before you use them on clients, as I do this. I’m actually doing it right now. That being said, you really need to give a program a MINIMUM of 8 weeks, and preferably 12, before you decide if it’s worth it, or casting it aside. I can also say this. If you’re using more advanced training concepts, like conjugate periodization, or the Block Periodization Concept as i am right now, there is literally no way you will know enough about the systems, and the aspects involved in 4, 8, or even 12 weeks. You might grasp the concepts, but application is where you want to excel, and you won’t without a good amount of dedication of your time and effort.
The second aspect of this, that I actually touched on earlier, is taking bits and pieces from programs you like, and smashing them together with aspect from other programs that you like. This is seemingly VERY common, and, in my opinion, VERY wrong. A lot of people seemingly forget that these programs are written for specific reasons, with specific protocols, theories, and concepts in mind when they’re designed. Now, you can alter variables within the programs, such as rep tempos, loading, rest periods, etc. but you can’t just throw parts and pieces you like together. You will end up spinning your wheels, and, perhaps, slide backwards. Sliding backwards is obviously, not optimal by any means. I know that sometimes, it IS unavoidable, but you should do everything in your power to avoid it, and absolutely NOTHING that enourages it!
Hopefully this gives you guys some ideas to consider when you are trying to decide on a specific training theory or to revamp your current one. Check out this post for a bit more info on optimal programming
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