Tenets of Weight Training

By Tommy Leung on 12/06/2010 in Fitness

Much more qualified people have created weight lifting programs for beginners like the Starting Strength program by Mark Rippetoe. I have not read Starting Strength–it is on my wishlist–but, Rippetoe is amongst the many I’ve learned from through reading their theories and techniques from Men’s Health, T-Nation, and other publications.

What I want to provide here is not a training program but, tenets of training that I’ve come to believe over the years. I have never followed a training program to the letter. I’m that asshole who thinks he’s special or unique so I absorb as much of the ideas as I can and then make up my own program inspired by other programs. It is very likely that I would have saved myself a whole lot of time–and have no rhyme or reason for why any of it worked– if I just blindly followed the experts but, I’m just not wired that way. I’m wired to question authority and believe it when I see it. If you’re wired like that too, this is a beginner program for you.

The Basic Premise of Fitness

Agreeing or disagreeing with my basic premise of fitness is going to largely influence how you feel about my tenets of weight training. I have a very specific idea and vision of fitness that underlies all of my beliefs in weight training and exercise in general.

I saw images of bodybuilders, strong men, cover models, and even superheroes as a young boy–like many have since and before–and have wanted to be like them ever since. Maybe not exactly as grotesque as modern bodybuilders, brutish-looking as strong men, or disproportional as superheroes  but, they were an exaggeration of physical characteristics that most will innately agree to be that of a healthy male. Whether we like it, agree with it, or not, hundreds of thousands of years of human evolution did only one thing to the skinny and sickly, obese and slow: it killed them off.

The sculpted bodies of Greek and Roman heroes, Kings, and other mythological beings are amongst the best visual representation of what a man should look like. In the same light, sculptures of goddesses and heroines are also a great representation of what a woman should look like–I don’t discriminate. None of this is solely for the sake of vanity but, also the sake of survival. Some might argue that we do not need to be so physically capable in a world where we don’t have sword fights for the affection of women or fend off thugs in dark forests. That might be true although bar fights over women happen all the time as do muggings in dark city alleys. So, I don’t think we’ve come that far.

If there is only one popular modern example to point to, it would be the movie 300. The entire cast was well built, still looked human, and dripping with vitality.

What we know for sure–with the help of modern technology and scientific understanding–is that looking like a Twinkie will lead to an early death or a life of pain, agony, disability, and a ton of drugs.

That is my basic premise of fitness. Not skinny. Not fat. Not overly muscular–unless you thought Gerald Butler in 300 was too much in which case, we are not on the same page.

A Modern Application

While I think we should still strive for a level of fitness that will allow us to tango with the best of them from Ancient Greece, I am not an idiot. I know there are no time machines and we’ll probably never have to live in a time like that while we’re alive. So I have always–minus minor excursions–believed that the best form of training is one that is most efficient.

I am not a competitive athlete or bodybuilder. And neither are 99% of people. However, that hasn’t stopped many from training as if they were. Few go to the gym and train like Olympic athletes but, a lot train like bodybuilders.

Both ways of training have their place for the average person who just wants to look good naked but, it is logistically impossible for the average person to follow either program fully. For the most part, we don’t have the time or the dedication. We have other things to do–like a job.

What we want is something simple that produces results with a small amount of dedication–measured in hours per week at the gym. You’ll still need dedication but, not the kind that makes the gym your second home.

Foundational Exercises

I refrained from using core because that term has come to mean the midsection and odd-looking exercises designed to improve balance and flexibility. Both of which are important but, they are not a mystical quality that requires a colorful array of exercise accessories and the balls to look foolish in public.

There is room for unconventional exercises done with kettle bells, swiss balls, bands, or whatever fad strikes your fancy–maybe Shakeweight will be all the rage next year?–but, those should be employed as a complement and not a supplement to real exercises.

There are only three exercises that you absolutely need to do: squat, dead lift, and bench press. Coincidentally, the three main power lifting events are also squat, dead lift, and bench press. I wish I could say that I was smart and just stole this idea from power lifting but, I spent years lifting to finally come to the same conclusion thousands of people have long ago discovered.

These three exercises are gender neutral. Male or female: this applies. If it’s one thing that I see at the gym that I wish women would also see are the older women–no, I don’t have a thing for older women and this is not some sort of lesbian fetish. You will notice that it is a rarity for young women do any weight lifting. They are running on treadmills like hamsters or climbing a magical set of Harry Potter derived never ending stairs.

These older women lifting weights do know something the younger women do not. It might just be wisdom of age or their doctors have informed them that weight lifting helps maintain bone density–osteoporosis being a common ailment for women. Whatever the reason, they are out in the free weights section mixing it up with the men and reaping the rewards.

Secondary Foundational Exercises

While the core three should be in every exercise program, there is room for another set of exercises for fixing imbalances and ensuring equal muscular and strength development. These exercises are: barbell row, shoulder press, shrugs, push ups, pull ups, dips, their variants, et al.

This is where things get more complicated. There’s a lot of room here to move around depending on what you want to do. Most of us have some sort of muscular imbalance from poor training in the past or because we’re hunched over a desk 8 hours a day at work. Whatever the case may be, the core three won’t necessarily fix those issues for you.

What you will not see on this list are: bicep curls, triceps push downs/extensions, forearm curls, calf raises, or any other idiotic exercises that work tiny muscles that are already activated in all the other lifts you should be doing.

Which of these secondary foundational exercises to add to a training program will vary depending on your specific goals or problems. There is nothing concrete that I can offer here without knowing the details. Generally speaking, most people have weak backs so it would be smart to throw pull ups into the mix. Most body weight exercises are good. If you can’t move your own body weight easily, I would consider that a glaring weakness. And that’s fine, this race is won slow and steadily.

Form Over Weight Load

There’s generally two errors people make at the gym when it comes to weight load. Some never change their weight load and you’ll see them using the same weight year in and year out. Then there’s the opposite extreme who loads on weight way too fast at the detriment of proper form. The first error is just a huge waste of time but, is otherwise harmless. The second makes an individual more prone to injury which will waste time in the long run. Both errors are a losing endeavor.

If you are the type who hasn’t changed a weight load on an exercise for weeks or months, you need to add more weight or switch up the sets/reps scheme or otherwise do something that is going to jolt the muscles. Doing mindless work for the sake of giving yourself face time at the gym is no more productive than staying late at work with nothing to do other than to give the boss an illusion that you’re working hard.

Lifting too much weight with improper form and risking injury is way more detrimental than merely making no gains. I have not injured myself severely in my years of weight lifting and I am damn glad for it. I have been the fool who lifted more than he could and have sustained minor injuries that I’ve recovered from; random pains in my hips and lower back from poor squat form and shoulder pains from overexerting on the military presses. Luckily, I beat it into my own head to keep my ego in check and lift less weight with proper form.

You will eventually get to the weight load that you pretended you could move and you’ll be bigger, stronger, and injury free for it. Evaluate your form now and be honest with yourself. Go to YouTube and look up videos of proper squat, dead lift, and bench press form. Or go to Men’s Health and look at their videos. You are better off doing it right with less weight than doing it wrong with a heavy weight. This is not a competition with other people at the gym.

I’ve seen idiots trying to bench press 315lbs who don’t look any bigger than me–my incline bench is about 215lbs–while 3 guys are spotting him and effectively lifting the load for him. What is the point? To be able to say, “I bench 315″? It might sound impressive to someone who doesn’t know any better but, you won’t look the part and anyone who knows anything will be skeptical. Shelf the ego and lift a weight that you can actually lift.

Life Should Not be Spent at the Gym

I am an advocate of short gym sessions. On average, I am at the gym about 3 – 4 times a week with sessions that last between 40 – 60 minutes. For the cardio hound, this would be an absurd notion because how are they supposed to run 5 miles in 40 minutes? or burn 500 calories in 40 minutes? I’m just making these numbers up–they might be very possible but, I wouldn’t know either way because I don’t run aimlessly.

To be fair, there are also the weight lifters who would scoff at the idea of a 40 minute gym session. How are they supposed to fit 3 different exercises for each body part in 40 minutes? or how are they supposed to shoot the shit with their friends for several minutes at a time between lifts in 40 minutes?

It would be impossible to complete a gym session in 40 minutes if you are set on running away from invisible threats or talking about last night’s Dancing with the Stars in the middle of lifts.

It is my belief that the gym is not the bar or a coffee shop–shoot the shit there. It is also my belief that cardio are for prey. If you intend to be chased by a predator then it might be a good idea to practice running away. Otherwise, it is just a waste of time.

There is virtually never a need to be at the gym for more than 5 hours a week–with 3 to 4 hours being the average. You can split up the time however you want in a fashion that allows for adequate rest in between sessions.

Take the core three, add the necessary secondary fundamental exercises, and arrange them in a fashion that allows for a gym session to last 40 – 60 minutes 3 to 4 times a week and you are good to go.

Rest is Key

Some times we are too motivated. Usually the problem is one of too little motivation but, it would be remiss of me not to include this part. Rest time is as important as the workouts. Work hard, rest hard.

In this modern life, we are often not getting adequate sleep and generally not particularly relaxed throughout the day. It is of little benefit to pry ourselves from sleep in the wee hours of the morning just to get our planned workout in at the expense of adequate rest.

Elevated cortisol levels from stress due to a lack of rest does not do the body good. It might appear that getting the workout in is better than not but, that’s not always the case. You are better off sleeping in if you aren’t getting enough.

Very little happens in the way of changes to body composition during your workouts. It happens when you’re sitting on your ass or sound asleep. Missing a workout will not kill you; not sleeping will.

With that in mind, we need to be aware that we can’t go day after day without sleeping enough and use that as an excuse to put our gym membership on hold. You need to find the time to allocate enough sleep the day after a low sleep day so that you can get back to the gym the next day. Besides, there is no benefit to being constantly fatigued and lacking sleep because cortisol levels will still rise and you’ll still reap the negatives that comes with that.

Bottom line: sleep and get as much of it as you can.