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2003/02/06, 11:46 AM
From Men's Health Fitness Tips:
Q: I read a lot of fitness books and websites, and it seems that there are many different schools of thought on the best methods, depending on the source. In fact, they often contradict each other. What's the deal?
A: This is a fascinating question, and after 11 years in the business I still sometimes stumble when I try to figure out which side certain sources are on.
First off, I'm in the camp that you could link to the National Strength and Conditioning Association. I believe that, most of the time, guys who want the best results are best off with multiple sets of exercises, heavy-duty lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench presses, pullups, rows, cleans, etc.), heavy weights, and fairly low repetitions. This camp also believes in periodizing workouts. That's just a fancy way of saying that you work toward different goals throughout the year. So you aren't always using heavy weights with low repetitions. Sometimes you back off and work toward more general conditioning goals, and then you carefully build back up to the most aggressive routines.
Another camp comes out of the physical-therapy wing of exercise science. It's really a separate belief system. They bash bodybuilders and powerlifters, and promote limited-range-of-motion exercises. They start with the premise that everyone is injured or about to be injured, and believe in modifying useful exercises to the point where they aren't useful anymore (in my view).
A third religious denomination is the one-set/train-to-failure group, which is usually called HIT (high-intensity training), and includes the SuperSlow folks.
Then there are hybrid groups. For example, the Westside Barbell guys -- the super-strong powerlifters based in Columbus, Ohio -- are a radical offshoot of the NSCA camp. But many in the NSCA camp, which includes some serious powerlifters, are very skeptical about them and their methods.
Bodybuilders, I think, are another offshoot of the multi-set philosophy, but they share some beliefs with the one-set guys, since they advocate training to failure on each set with moderate to high reps.
I like to use the metaphor of religion and belief systems because you can't believe that everyone's right and no one's wrong. Even if you say, "sometimes this is the best way to do it, and sometimes that's the best way to do it," you're admitting that those systems aren't the right ones for all occasions.
I picked my team a few years ago, when I came across some articles by a trainer named Charles Poliquin. From him, I segued to Ian King, the Australian strength coach whose workouts seemed more useful for regular guys (much less volume, for one thing). And then I studied for and passed the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam, which put me firmly in the NSCA camp, probably for life.
I've had to reject a lot of ideas from the other camps -- especially the really nutty stuff like SuperSlow -- since you can't believe the strength-training research that backs up the NSCA philosophy and believe that the other systems are ideal to build strength and muscle mass and improve your body composition (your ratio of fat to muscle). I'm not saying you won't make any gains with the other systems, but I don't believe you'll make the best gains possible.
So, in a nutshell, that's my overview of the industry.
--Lou Schuler, C.S.C.S.
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"Don't follow leaders and watch your parking meters!"
-- Bob Dylan
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2003/02/06, 01:52 PM
The best workout is the one that fits your individual needs, whatever they may be. There is no one workout. Working out is not a team sport, it is very individualistic, and you need in the end to experiment, have a roadmap so to speak so you have a destination in mind, and do what it takes to get there.
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Failing to plan is like planning to fail!
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