For the last year or so, one of the best things about my life has been my morning routines (on mornings I’m not headed straight to the gym) has been to sit and look over a few websites for articles on training and nutrition. As of late, I like to read T Nation (a bit douchey, but enjoyable nonetheless) and Elite FTS (I don’t necessarily consider myself a powerlifter but I love the nature and discipline they put into training).
Exploring Training Articles
These articles are filled to the brim with different training modalities, nuances in periodization, miles of advice on mindset, the whole nine yards (and how to train both sprinting speed and strength endurance over those nine yards). It’s great to read how certain minds work in the spectrum of training.
The greatest takeaway, though, is good God almighty can we overthink anything.
I read these articles, some of which I’m familiar with, others I’m swimming for my life with and I try to think how I would apply them to myself or to the athletes I train.
The Athletes I Train
Let me take a moment to explain my athletes: a good chunk of them are computer programmers, a few of them are lawyers or some form of sedentary office jobs, one or two are entrepreneurs – you get the picture. None of them are elite-level athletes competing for money. Nevertheless, they’re still athletes when they step through the door, but that’s not what this is about.
Case Study: Reginald Van Buren
Let’s dig a bit deeper. I’ll use one of my guys as an example, but for privacy, I’ll change his name: Reginald Van Buren. Now, Reggie is one of my computer programming guys. He sits a solid 8 hours out of the day. Has a host of hobbies outside of the gym. Happily married. Another incomplete sentence. He came to me because he was having pain from the big compound lifts. I remember asking why he chose powerlifting as a sport. He said he liked feeling strong and knew it would help build muscle and strengthen his core (something to counterbalance the sitting).
GREAT! Lifting is awesome for everyone.
Now, if Reginald and I are training in the gym, does he really give a crap about training density? Should I program a block of EMOMs slowly lowering the amount of rest time he has between sets as a way to improve his recovery? Thousands of recently graduated Sport Science guys scream “yes!”
Questioning Complexity
My reply would be: why? What’s the end goal here for Reg? Feeling strong and build muscle. Will this intricate program do that? Sure. Will it do it as directly as a more simple plan would? Maybe, who knows? What would happen is that Reginald would ask me why aren’t we going up in weight? I’d explain the reasoning is that we’re lowering the rest periods in a way to improve his recovery. Okay. Why?
The Cynical Approach
…because, cool science stuff?
I sound sarcastic and cynical as hell, and I know that. I don’t mean it 100% that way. There’s a time and place for everything. If Reg V.B. was training for a contact sport (even as a hobby) it might be of interest to him, but there’s no reason to focus so intently on the things that don’t pay the largest dividends.
The Point of It All
Now for my point: of all the articles and advice we can give on the internet, why are we overcomplicating everything for the average gym person? It’s like when I used to read Flex Magazine as a teenager. All the focus was on the silliest isolation movements in just the right split. Be sure to have 32.5 grams of protein within 27 and a half minutes of your last rep, too.
Paralysis by (other people’s) Analysis.
Focus on the big rocks and stop majoring in the minors.
The Simple Success Formula
Lift 3 or 4 times a week. Eat 3 to 5 meals a day with a lot of protein and vegetables/fruit. Sleep 7 to 9 hours. Reduce stress.
That’s your success in the gym.