Thread: 8 Reasons your weight training results suck

it was a very cute read and good reminder ..... esp the split and rest parts
I KNOW this but can sucked in to overtraining bc I love it so much

Good stuff. But I'm not sure I can agree with this statement though. For a natural, such as myself, 2-3 days rest isn't enough for me to recover a given bodypart, especially legs.

So then, what are the best workout schedules for us natural, genetically average people? In most cases, it's either a full body or upper/lower split. For beginners (less than 6 consistent months), there is no question that a full body routine done 3 days per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for example) is by far and away the most recommended weight training split. An upper/lower split (upper body on Monday and Thursday, lower body on Tuesday and Friday) is perfect after that. I made the switch from a typical body part split to an upper/lower split years ago and won't be switching back any time soon.

yeah some of them hits home, I agree with most of them

Good read. Definitely some good things to keep in mind!

haha i love the wording!

yes..they are so true... I would say that diet is the number 1 culprit why gym rats fail to improve followed by intense training.

This is humorous, but doesn't apply to me.

The body part split is true In my opinion. I don't think I could go without hitting each muscle twice a week. You body gets used to it if you say your still sore. I was doing bill stars 5x5 and was sore as shit for two weeks from squatting three times a week and was good after two. The only way I could say that one body part once a week is if your hitting each muscle balls to wall. Like full intensity tearing it up for two hours. But over training is overrated in my opinion (yes even if natty). I once read an article that said would you rather hit one body part 52 times a year or 104.

Reason #1: Moar Gearz

Ok, so first of all, I have way too much time on my hands today and realize this is totally lame, but I just had to create an account here so I could reply to this article. A friend of mine showed it to me a while back, and parts of it really didn't sit well with me, so here you go:

Regarding "Progression"

I agree that doing the same exercises with the same amount of weight time and time again is not effective. HOWEVER, I disagree with the examples the author gave on how you should progress by simply increasing weight and altering the number of reps. Every day is different, and just because you could do X number of reps on Tuesday with Y amount of weight does not mean you can or should do the same (or more, as the author suggests) on Friday (or the next time you do the same exercise). Maybe you didn't eat as much protein on Friday as you did on Tuesday and your body doesn't have the necessary fuel for the exercise. Maybe you had to do some heavy lifting at work or for a home improvement project on Thursday that tired out that muscle before you made it back into the gym on Friday. Even if your gym schedule is very balanced, outside variables can affect how well you are able to perform.

Little Pink Dumbbells can be DECEIVING

As a woman and a group fitness instructor, I really resented this part of the article. I teach body sculpting classes, and I do some shoulder exercises that are KILLER with 3 pound weights. In just about every class, at least one "hot shot" won't listen to me when I say, "Light weights for this one," and they try to do it with 5 pound or 8 pound weights and can't make it through even the first set without either resorting to poor form or making the switch to the lighter weights. Just sayin'.

Women "CAN'T get big and bulky like a guy"

What one considers "big and bulky" is really a matter of preference. I personally think a lot of famous female trainers, such as Jillian Michaels, are too "big and bulky." Granted, they are still smaller than most men, but I personally prefer a long, lean, still somewhat curvy look with definition as opposed to muscles and veins popping out everywhere. I'm not "hating" on Jillian or other female trainers/body builders. I'm just saying I personally would not want to be THAT muscular, and the saying, "big and bulky like a guy" means different things to different people.

That's basically all I wanted to say, except for maybe the fact that FORM should have been NUMBER ONE on the list...

Originally Posted by x~factor

Good stuff. But I'm not sure I can agree with this statement though. For a natural, such as myself, 2-3 days rest isn't enough for me to recover a given bodypart, especially legs.

That should be more than enough rest. The problem is that natural lifters execute too many sets and reps (for legs for example) all in one session. They come in on "leg" day and do 6 sets of squats followed by 6 sets of deadlifts followed by 4 sets of extensions. Certainly after such an attempted ambush no one will recover in 2 days. And the biggest problem with that is that only the first 4 or 5 sets for legs are productive and the latter start being non productive due to exhaustion. So ideally it's best to load the legs more frequently a week with fewer sets on each ambush.

Great article

Originally Posted by CaptainNapalm

That should be more than enough rest. The problem is that natural lifters execute too many sets and reps (for legs for example) all in one session. They come in on "leg" day and do 6 sets of squats followed by 6 sets of deadlifts followed by 4 sets of extensions. Certainly after such an attempted ambush no one will recover in 2 days. And the biggest problem with that is that only the first 4 or 5 sets for legs are productive and the latter start being non productive due to exhaustion. So ideally it's best to load the legs more frequently a week with fewer sets on each ambush.

Hmmm... interesting. I'd like to read more about this reasoning. Got a source or article for this?

Originally Posted by x~factor

Hmmm... interesting. I'd like to read more about this reasoning. Got a source or article for this?

yea, check out my sig.

Im shocked how many people are arguing with points in this article. Ive been training for 16 yrs & personal training for 4 and i agree with 100% of it. People hate to hear that what theyve been doing is wrong