“Hey Jay does your training system focus more on sarcoplasmic hypertropy or myofibrillar? Do you believe in hyperplasia? What fibers do you focus on hypertrophying? Type IIA, IIB, IIDD, type 36-26-36? How do you vary rep speed within a set to take advantage of the dynamic effort motor unit induced reverse dialysis of the brachialis which has been shown to cause paralysis of the urine analysis consumed post workout in the hopes of inoculating thermogenesis of the breastesses?”
HUH?!
These are the kinds of training questions I am asked on a daily basis. The one asking the questions is usually a 149 pound guy with one year of training experience and approximately 7,839,402 posts on his favorite online training forum where he has spent an equal amount of hours. He is an expert because although he hasn’t trained anyone and has barely found time to train himself he can quote SuperTraining inside and out.
Newsflash, people: It aint that complicated!
In the last few days I have discussed this with some of the brightest minds in the business. First, I spent last week with one of the smartest guys in all of strength and conditioning, Alwyn Cosgrove. We discussed training and agreed that only 1% of the time will anyone ever need a super complicated, overly technical and” scientifically advanced” program.
Alwyn has the best fat loss program I have ever seen and it is very straightforward and easy to follow and understand. There is no crazy nonsense that he added just to impress the reader. That kind of shit drives me insane and I find it nearly impossible and completely mind numbing to read. AND I’M IN THIS INDUSTRY! I can’t imagine how people who are not must feel. I did all that when I was coming up in the business, please don’t make me do it again with long scientific diatribes that no one wants to read.
Afterburn is a scientifically sound program that delivers kick ass results, which I have seen first hand.
When I visited his gym last week I was blown away by the transformations his clients had made.
While I was out in Cali I also had the pleasure of meeting the great strength and conditioning coach, Robert Dos Remedios. Dos was discussing his new book with me and telling me how he has included a lot of unique stuff in there but for the most part it was all about the basics that everyone seems to forget about, or even sadder, not know about. No one wants to do what works anymore, they all seem to want the most complicated thing they can find. Dos and I were discussing some of these space aged methods and after commenting on one, both simultaneously said, “I don’t even understand that shit.” That’s coming from a guy who has delivered incredible results with thousands of athletes for 20 years. Do you really think you need something more advanced than what he uses?
Absolutely not.
On the plane ride home I was discussing this same thing with my brother Jared who is around 240 pounds and deadlifts 600. I have trained with him or designed his programs for years. For a while he got caught up in the hype and wanted to do more “scientifically advanced” and overly complicated programs. That was when his progress came to a halt. When he returned to basics, his results skyrocketed again. He has never done anything else, since.
When I got home, I called my good friend Jim Wendler to see what he’s been up to. We got to talking about training and sure enough the subject turned to the keyboard warriors who have the insatiable desire for the most advanced program on earth even though they only squat 185 and have 13 inch biceps and a bad case of carpal tunnel. For those that don’t know, Jim has squatted 1003 pounds in competition! En route to that incredible feat he used about a dozen different exercises at the most and about…oh I’d say, zero space aged training methods.
After hanging up with Jim I received a call from another good friend and one of the top strength coaches in Minneapolis, Rob Duggan. I was telling him of the discussions I had with Dos and he was laughing hysterically. “Dude, I can’t even bring myself to look at that shit anymore,” he said, in reference to the over complicated training info we were discussing. “It just makes me sick.”
I have seen Rob train tons of clients and I have trained with him. During one such workout he kicked my ass on the bench, repping out 365 like it was a joke. This is a guy who knows a thing or two about getting strong.
Last night I walked into the gym and saw my good buddy, John Alvino. John is one of the brightest guys in the field and has competed on the same stage as Jay Cutler, the current Mr. Olympia. He was already halfway through his workout. He wasn’t counting some exotic tempo or using some kind of isoballistic miometric paused static dynamic reverse press squat jump. Nope, he was pulling and pushing heavy weights just like he did 12 or 13 years ago when he competed on stage with Cutler. When I tell him to check out some crazy science stuff just for a laugh his reply is always the same; “Bro, I just don’t even have the heart to do it.”
I have seen pro and world class athletes who have not needed an incredibly advanced program. Unless you are among the top 1% in the world, you probably will not need anything incredibly fancy to help you achieve your goals.
Lift heavy, lift fast, get a lot of rest and eat appropriately. If you are an athlete, combine that with some speed and agility work, being sure not to overtrain, and you will be way ahead of the pack.
It aint rocket science.
For a back to basics approach that delivers results every time and takes all the confusing science and guesswork out of the equation, check out How to Get Jacked: The Hardgainers Guide To Mind Blowing Muscle Gains by clicking HERE now.
