Granted, some people shouldn't be left to their own devices
Alright, so that had nothing to do with lifting, so let me reign it back in. What I’m trying to get at here is that trainees are always looking for rules, boundaries and limits when it comes to training. They want to find the exact parameters of all things and then hold all things TO these parameters, to the point that they’ll engage in tremendous amounts of arguments with other trainees in some sort of pursuit to find out what is right. They determine what maximal volume is acceptable in training, what ideal frequency is to occur, the exact moment protein synthesis occurs at, what specific genome is best suited for lifting, etc etc. Why do they do this? Because they FEAR freedom.
It’s so terrifying when you are told that you have the freedom to do whatever you want. Don’t I HAVE to squat if I want to get strong? Don’t I HAVE to drink a protein shake immediately post training? Don’t I HAVE to have a strength foundation before doing a bodypart split? Hell no! YOU ARE FREE! You have the freedom to decide, to act, to plot and plan and scheme and execute and conquer and succeed! It’s a choice that gets made by YOU! …isn’t that horrible?
Sometimes it can be
It’s absolutely tyrannical because there are SEVERE consequences for exercising your freedom: specifically, the consequences of your own actions. If you decide to never squat, you suffer whatever consequences are inherent in those actions. The same is true of never doing mobility work, of benching 7 days a week, of running Smolov on top of Westside, or any other idea you come up with freely of your own volition. There are laws of the universe that you are beholden to as you exercise your freedom, but this ultimately means that YOU are your own dictator here. No one else gets to decide the results of your actions.
Why does this matter? Because people are so quick out there to tell you what you MUST do. And, in turn, people are equally in a rush to listen to these nutjobs, because people CRAVE a master. Having never tried otherwise, they’ll tell you that you HAVE to consume protein in the “anabolic window” or else the workout is wasted. And they’ll cite studies and references until they’re blue in the face, but never once was it a question of exercising their freedom and trying otherwise. They’d rather live like a prisoner. These are the same people who beg to have some sort of drill sergeant type trainer to keep them on task in their training and nutrition, because left to their own devices, they’d exercise their freedom to not get to their own goals. These people are so terrified of freedom that they’ve sold themselves to slavery for the sake of security.
Little known fact: Ben had an 800lb deadlift
But with as comfortable as a life of bondage may be, it is never a fully realized existence. It’s an existence within a bubble: confined, restrained, and ultimately unfulfilled. It is the allegory of the cave: a life that exists of observing shadows and imagining them to be real. To REALLY exist, to live authentically, to experience life, one must choose freedom. And it is a choice. And it is a terrifying choice, because within freedom there is uncertainty, and there is the potential to fail...but only with freedom is there also the potential to succeed. Only when one is free are they able to take the risks NECESSARY to achieve the reward. A slave’s only reward is to not die, but a freeman’s reward is to LIVE, and the two could not be further apart.
Be your own master and live under the harsh tyrannical rule of your own freedom. Take chances, make mistakes, stray from the beaten path and face all the consequences that are a result of your actions. And face them as a man who is free, with no one to blame but yourself, and, in turn, LEARN from these actions. Those that are constantly in a rush to find a way to blame anyone but themselves miss out on the best part of failure: learning. You will become much stronger, inside and out, when you are able to accept what you have done, why you have done it, and what you will do in the future to make it better.
People who get the best results always have an element of this ability to wing it sometimes, haha. To twang their lower back from cheat rows so that they have to go out and buy an ab wheel. To skip barbell lifting for 2 weeks and do conditioning only, just "meh because I wanna get fitter", or to do arm day every day for a month.
ReplyDeleteProgram says you must squat 125kg for 3x5 today, but you know fine well you'd end up dropping onto the safeties after you grind 5 reps on sets 1 and 2. 5x3, on the other hand, would have been doable. But the program doesn't say that so you can't do that. The internet will scream at you and take away all your gains.
Program says you must bench 95kg for 3x5. Two sets in, having almost thrown the bar through your spotter's face on numerous occasions, instead of loading up 100kg and powering out a couple of highly doable triples, you leave the experience of handling the new weight on the table (which is odd s the internet is in a hurry for gains). You do as the program says, and complain on the internet that you feel unfulfilled after your training session. But the internet lets you keep your gains.
How on earth can you make gains if you try new stuff? It's ludicrous heresy!
Your articles amuse me. I should have been having these conversations with myself a lot sooner!
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DeleteIts been my observation that good programs are good because they follow certain sound principles, not because they are this rigid set of rules. The rules are just the application. Follow the principles and you will get results.
DeleteEdit: typoes
Sorry it took so long to reply to this; schedule has been crazy. I appreciate the perspective you shared here. It's absolutely true. You have to be able to adapt and plan on the fly if you want to succeed.
DeleteThis is a great post, as always, and one I recently re-read after making some alertations to the beginner program you gave me years back.
ReplyDeleteI think, in retrospect, people fear freedom for the reasons you stated but also because responsibility means taking accountability for the main lifts and what accessories are needed, and some introspection on feedback on how they're all working together -- from placement of accessories in a session and also day to day. It's a lot easier to pretend that anyone who came up with a 5x5 must have gotten it correct and the feedback that you're getting as a beginner just reinforces that. It's also possible I'm just spinning my wheels also, at this point.
Although I'm not sure I'm sold on the idea of a beginner program or interiediate/advanced programs. I think it's more like a technology. A simple 5x5 program will get you to some point, say a total of x pounds, and other programs can get you further or less far -- if all effort is kept equal.
For what it's worth though, I have learned a lot by doing some things and seeing what works. Also, decoupling the idea that the only measure of strength is weight on the bar has helped. Thinking of strength as not just your weight on the bar, but also the number of reps or sets you can do in a session has helped me progress.
The other thing is, I have absolutely no idea what the hell I'm supposed to call what I'm doing now. It was easy to just say "pavel's 5x5" even though the names on these programs are interchangable, really. It's not really a powerlifting specific program I would argue even though the big 3 are the focus . Also I'm terrible with naming things.