Month: March 2016

Continuing from my discussion of the trite idea of that you should train like an athlete to look like an athlete, I want to look at one of the continually recurring ideas in the field.  Specifically this asinine idea that the specific physiques of either sprinters or marathoners/endurance athletes are indicative of the effects their training has.

Summarizing Train Like an Athlete to Look Like an Athlete

My point from last time was this:

1. There is no singular athletic body type in the first place
2. The idea that the training per se is what generates the physiques seen in a given sport.  At most the training emphasizes the ideal physique that sports select for in the first place.

I finished by pointing out that usually when you see people argue to “Train like an athlete to look like an athlete” the body type they hold up is that of a track/100m sprinter. … Keep Reading

The fitness industry is filled with a lot of dumb, trite phrases that gets thrown around.  I addressed one already, the idea that “Success Leaves Clues” although I did it in an admittedly  tongue in cheek way (get it?).  But that was an April Fool’s article and this one is actually serious.  Specifically the phrase I want to look at is the one that makes up the title of this piece: Train like an athlete to look like an athlete.

Train Like an Athlete to Look Like an Athlete

This particular trite suggestion shows up once or twice a year, usually on bodybuilding oriented sites by someone looking to challenge the status quo.  If you simply Google “Train like an athlete to look like an athlete” you’ll find all kinds of silliness about what exercises or training you should do to “look athletic”.  There are entire training philosophies and apparently one brain surgeon argues that “sport training will give you the build of that sport” or something equally asinine.… Keep Reading

In general, I try not to be that guy who just craps over other articles.  I mean, yeah, I could spend my career just taking apart other people’s work.  But I find it generally more productive to produce what I think is good content.  That said, a recent article entitled “Drugs only help a little.”  has led me to make an exception.  It’s a commonly held idea, usually by drug users who want to downplay their role.

You Don’t Know My Work Ethic, Bro

They want it to be about their intense work ethic and such (and make no mistake, I am NOT saying that drug using athletes don’t train their nuts off) but to dismiss the enormous potential role performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) play in results is just rationalizing nonsense so far as I’m concerned.  Non-using athletes train just as hard if not harder and don’t get the same result. … Keep Reading

When I went to college to study exercise physiology, I was taught the rather standard idea that 8-12 repetitions at 75-85% of maximum was the hypertrophy zone.  Essentially this was the training range that would maximize muscle growth.  As you might expect, I took this at face value for quite some time.   And all of that would start to change at some point in the 1990’s.

Olympic Lifting Certification

At some point in the mid 1990’s, I would go to take the USWF Olympic Lifting Level 1 Certification.  Two oddities stand out from that. First was that the guy teaching it told me that his son had studied piano with my mother; and here I was, the son of two musicians taking a training certification.  I have no idea what that means but it must mean something.

The second point, that is actually relevant was that Wes Barnett (then one of the US’s top lifters and hopefuls) was there to demonstrate.… Keep Reading