I just finished reading From Scrawny to Brawny, and I was wondering what you guys thought about corrective training phases. I went through the tests in the book, which suggest that I do have a few imbalances. Would it benefit me to work through a 3-4 week phase?
Also, would a person lose a lot of muscle while doing this type of training? Opinions about the workouts in the book?
I did the corrective training phase for a week…got bored with it and went straight to phase II. I’ve gained about 6lbs. in 3 weeks. I can’t wait to get into phase III and IV.
Did you have imbalances after working through the tests in the book or any nagging aches and pains? My lower back usually feels tight when I squat. The problems is probably lack of strength and flexibility in certain muscles.
Also, my 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae have fused together do to years of butting helmets, not on purpose, during my football days. I wonder if something like this will help balance me out a little? My back has always been weak.
I had very few imbalances so I didn’t feel it would be a big deal to skip to phase II. I also don’t the issue you have with fused vertebrae. With the vertebrae issue in mind, you might want to go through the corrective training phase to identify weaknesses (in your back) that might cause problems once you start adding weights to the mix. I’m definitely no expert though.
The corrective training phase is in the book for a reason; whether you have pain or not is irrelevant. The corrective training phase cleans you up so you don’t have pain in the future!
Better to work on PREhab now than REhab later.
Stay strong
MR