It’s Funny Because It’s True!

I found this link today on EliteFTS and this was my favorite part, because you can replace “strength and conditioning” and “personal training” with almost anything and it’s still true:

The problem I have lies in the lack of respect for the strength and conditioning industry and its pioneers. Everyone wants a quick fix—a special program, but that just doesn’t exist. So, once they determine that there are too many people who know more, and too many resources to read, they must find something new to latch on to. Insert the latest and greatest workout—we must reinvent the wheel if we can’t quite understand the wheel. In my opinion, it’s all just marketing to a generation who needs to be told what is good, bad, cool, popular, healthy, etc. Invent a new program, link with Reebok or Nike, pay some celebs to endorse it, air it on TV, kinesieo tape your face, and Boom! There it is. Because the general public knows so little, it’s quite easy to impress them. They hear so much bullshit on TV, radio, Facebook, and from personal trainers that they will believe anything you say as long as you 1) Say it with authority, 2) Have some stupid letters by your name, and 3) Use words they are unfamiliar with. The best part is NOBODY EVER ASKS WHY. Whenever I have a client do something, I tell them why. However, if I didn’t, they wouldn’t ask. I could tell someone to take his shirt off and scream when doing bench because it increases neural drive by 15 percent, and before you know it, his shirt would be off and he’d be yelling like Christen Bale’s rant on the set of Terminator Salvation.

 

Friday Bench Training

regular grip bench: 45 x 3, 95 x 3, 135 x 3, 185 x 1, 225 x 1, 245 x 1, 275 x 1, 295 x 1, 315 x 1, 325 x 3, 335 x 3, 345 x 3 This isn’t a PR but it’s the easiest this top set/reps has ever been and with the best form. I might have been able to get one more but I wasn’t feeling very confident and I feel like it’s better to reach solid goals than to miss a rep in the gym. This is, after all, only my second week back training after a meet.

reverse band bench, regular grip, elitefts black bands: 335 x 2 x 10, 335 x 11 or 12, maybe more I can’t remember. I’m really liking reverse band reps as a second exercise.

pullups (BW around 260): bw x 13, bw x 2 x 10

machine row facepull: 115 x 2 x 15

random pec stuff: rigged up different flye/press combos and wound up throwing on some bands. Severe pec pumps were had. I may snap a picture of this setup if I think of it next time. I just flexed my pec as I was typing this and it nearly cramped…

prestretcher abs: bw x 5, 115# x 10

 

 

Jim Wendler’s 531

First, go buy Jim’s book, because Jim and Elite have been nothing but the best in every dealing I’ve ever had with them.

Second, go read this article about 5/3/1. The program is unimportant but the concepts he lays out are critical. If you took the lessons he lays out there and applied them to any program, you’d make progress. Not that 5/3/1 isn’t a good program…

Third, really, go buy the Ebook.