Thread: Overanalyzing Training

Was reading through some posts by DC (doggcrapp) and this made me chuckle, but I thought it was a really good point about overanaylzing machines vs freeweights.



"I trained in a powerlifting gym for a long time in the early 90's (Kazmiers old haunt)--where there was just heavy slag iron and nothing much in the way of machines........all i did was heavy free weight movements.

When I finally got to the point I was so sick of it.....I switched over to a major gym chain and used predominantly machines for the next few years with a few free weight exercises spattered in there. For example for chest for a number of consecutive years I used only various hammer strength, incline smythe, and different chest press machines.

Then on one plateau I switched back to dumbell presses......do you think they were falling all over the place out of balance like I had palsy? No absolutely normal, like a walk in the park......do people in this sport overanalyze and create problems out of thin air or what?

If you ran a backhoe for years and it broke down are you going to completely forget how to use a shovel?

"Sorry about that Fred, Ill pay for that window, I havent used a shovel for a number of years and lost control of it"

Do you guys who injure your back and have to take a month or two off......and leg press for awhile ........come back to squatting freebar and faceplant on your first rep?"






Now, dont take this the wrong way. I use freeweights whenever possible, and agree that they are the best overall way to train the body. However, that being said, incorporating machines into workouts isnt going to cause you to fall apart and lose gobs of muscle mass. I see so many trainees sweating over fear of losing muscle do to loss of "stabilizers" (people who know me know how I feel about that argument).

Bottom line is if your progressively lifting heavier weight over time and eating the proper diet for your goals, you will get bigger and stronger.

Originally Posted by XFatMan

People have put bodybuilding onto the wrong path a long time ago. It has become so scientific and technical that you cannot even post a normal question or logical answer here or anywhere else without someone demanding, “Where is the scientific background?”, or “Can you prove it?” The funny thing is that I find that a lot of the so-called science is plain nonsense. Just look at people like Steve Reeves. They sculpted their bodies with nothing more than three full-body workouts a week and three comparatively normal meals a day. Today, people even worry about what kind of carbohydrates they are eating. The true sense of bodybuilding is to sculpt the body and not to deform it with overly huge muscles. Just look at Ronnie Coleman. Do you really find this beautiful? Now, whether you use free weights or machines does not matter much if you know what you want and how to achieve it. The only trouble is that people are so worried about all the science behind bodybuilding that they miss the point and because of this, they will never get even close to that bodybuilder look.

I would never, EVER want to look like Ronnie Coleman. I respect what he has done and accomplished, but I just don't like it.

My goal is eventually to look like Mathius Kraus actually. YouTube him - he has an incredible physique and is pound for pound the image of what I'm working towards eventually.