Want to be Successfull With Training & Diet?

[quote]MikeKubo wrote:

Bro, you had me on SOME of what you were3 saying until this point.

And I’m not trying to flame/shit on you, but you’re saying you’d rather be a twerpy scientist type regarding training with no results but who ‘knows it all’ rather than a guy who finds what works for him and is respected because he GOT UNDER THE BAR AND ACTUALLY DID IT?!?!

And what REALLY blows me away is you just sat there and said, “When it comes to training, we really don’t know anything…No one can say squats are really better than leg extensions”, etc.

Those two things 1,000% COMPLETELY contradict each other.

How many people you got in that head of yours? lol. Just seriously wondering if maybe I’m taking what you said wrong, cuz those two paragraphs were in direct opposition to each other, and now I feel like I just tried to read a book while spinning in a circle and jerking off- I’m completely dumbfounded.

KUBO

[/quote]

I see what you are saying, and to my defense, this IS an internet forum and I dont always thing through what im typing.

FOR ME, if I had the choice of being huge and muscular but not being educated on the science of things, or being a skinny “twerp” but being well educated on it, i would choose the latter. I understand why some might want the former, but for me, the knowledge is what is going to get me a good job in the upcoming years. I still train hard, and am trying to get bigger and stronger, but understanding the science of things is VERY important to me. I understand why people dont want to be bothered with the science of things, but they dont have to read between the lines.

And I still hold that we dont really know that much. There are theories and some evidence to certain things, but not many hard facts. And having an understanding of anatomy, physiology, physics etc. is a step in the right direction, but it not the end all be all to knowledge in this field. I have learned a ton of information through my studies in school, and I have learned just as much from various sites like this one. I also think that for many people keeping it simple is the way to go, but for me, the more I understand the better.

But like I was saying, you cant with 100% certainty tell me that for everyone out there squats will build bigger legs than leg extensions. You cant even say that sets of 8 will build more muscle than sets of 50+ with 100% certainty. Almost everything we “know” about lifting and bodybuilding is just speculation and is based on generalities. Generally, compound lifts in the 8-12 range are better for building muscle, but not always. And this is where that understanding of things is important. To know when leg extensions might be better, or when sets of 50+ might be a good idea. In a world where everything is a best guess, more knowledge will lead to better best guesses.

There are very few things that are absolute that I can think of. The biggest one I can think of based on my own experience and what I have learned is this:

In order to gain weight (get bigger) you MUST take in more calories than you expend. There is no way around this, but I think this is one of the big areas that hold people up. I was guilty of this for a long time. I wasn’t building muscle, and tried everything under the sun to change things. I tried lifting heavier, lifting with more volume, higher protein, etc. But the only thing that is going to work is to simply eat more. Another funny thing is when someone sees an ad or program that is claiming amazing gains like 20lbs in 6 weeks. Everyone is like, oh I need to start this program. But anyone that understands anything will know that this +20 lbs was from massive eating and may or may not have much to do with the actual training.

Another thing to think about is the fact that building muscle and building strength is very similar regardless of the sport. Sure there are small differences, but IN GENERAL training someone for bodybuilding is very similar to training someone for football. And in the real world, a strength coach is going to be judged on the results he/she gets the athletes (and his/her credentials) not based on how much he can bench, or how big he is. Just because a coach hasn’t played soccer, doesn’t mean he isn’t able to train soccer players successfully. And the same goes for bodybuilding. People often say “xxxxx” trainer isn’t suited to give advice for those interested in bodybuilders, because he doesn’t train bodybuilders. I wasn’t aware that bodybuilders had muscles that were so different than athletes.

I myself train, because I enjoy it. I have goals and am training for them as well. I also am getting my educaton to hopefully get a good job in the industry. Im counting on the fact that i’ll get a job based on my knowledge and skills and not based on how I look or arbitrary lifts that I have. This may be foolish, but if there is a job I can get by simply looking big and benching 400, i dont want that job.

Hope this was a better explanation of my thought process.

***As a side note, if they are re-doing this site, and possibly making better forum subcategories, dont you guys think it would be good to have some stickies as well?