I beg to differ on some things...
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...
