It’s becoming more clear that training efficiency that avoids damaging your joints and muscles is best for the fastest mass gains as well as for your future health.
Here’s a quote from high-intensity advocate and former pro bodybuilder Mike Mentzer on that subject (Wayne Gallasch photo).
Overtraining is more than wasted effort; it’s counterproductive. In fact, it is life-threatening. It stands to reason that chronic gross overtraining may very well have long-range medical implications. The well-respected Dr. [Kenneth] Cooper states that he has the evidence. He and his research colleagues have grown alarmed by the increasing incidence of serious diseases, including heart problems and cancer, among long-term bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts. And they ascribe it most directly to overtraining. I have no doubt that overtraining is the single most serious problem in the field of athletic training, and no one else seems to notice or care.
Keep your workouts fairly short, efficient, and safe while avoiding excess damage—joint and muscle. That’s important for building more mass as well as for protecting your health.
It’s ironic that Mentzer pounded his body with heavy weights and all-out intensity including training every set to failure and beyond with forced reps and negatives for more than 10 years before retiring. He made the above quote much later, then…
He passed away of heart disease at the age of 49. And yes, he used steroids—and yes, there was heart disease in his family.
Did his balls-to-the-wall overly intense workouts have a hand in his death? No way to tell…
Still, it hammers home the fact that you should do the least amount required to achieve your fitness and mass-building goals, not as much as you think you can tolerate. That goes for volume, intensity, and frequency…
Otherwise, you could be doing damage in a number of areas, including your immune system. Older bodybuilders be especially aware.
More on training to failure on Wednesday.
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Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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Will You Be Ready When the Sh*t Comes Down?
Mike Westerdal is a renowned personal trainer and national best-selling physical preparedness author, but he’s also a father and a husband… who would do anything to protect his family.
He used to get pushed around when younger and spent years building up his body and becoming stronger, getting mentally and physically tough the hard way. As he got bigger, he learned to handle himself, and working in security, he learned first-hand how violence really plays out.
Some of the other guys online who show off their self-defense videos and books need to get a grip. The level of skill needed to pull off their basic moves is CRAZY for most ordinary people.
If a defense system requires more than a few hours to master, it’s not a program.
The only techniques you will ever use are the simple ones.
They need to work for an ordinary person without prior training, technique, or ability.
So even if you think you don’t have time to learn how to defend yourself…
You don’t need to spend years training to be a martial artist.