“Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless“. This famous quote by Bruce Lee can be used in life and our fitness programs. Bruce Lee influenced many of the top level athletes and bodybuilders including Kareem Abdul- Jabaar and Dorian Yates. Bruce Lee was constantly experimenting with his body and his workouts.
Many years ago as a young trainer, I was constantly picking the brain of a highly respected strength coach named Brian Bailey. Brian was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge. He was constantly challenging science and had many unorthodox training methods that many strength coaches questioned. Brian helped so many top level athletes from a variety sports, and he was a problem solver when it came to developing rehabilitation programs and getting athletes to perform at their best.
Brian was unique because he would never give me the full answer. He made me think for myself. I would ask him the question,”Do you think the total body resistance program combined with HIT training is best fat burning program?” His reply was “What do you think?” It drove me crazy! He basically explained the answer like this. ” Imagine you are a mechanic with a bunch of tools. You know which tools you like the best and some that work okay. As a strength coach the same methods apply. Experiment with programs and keep the ones that work and reject the ones that don’t.” I respect him so much for making me think for myself. The fitness world confuses so many people because of all the contradictive theories!
When designing a fitness programs for your goals, keep in mind two major factors. 1. More is not always best and 2. Intensity over volume. Intensity is the key to reaching your goals over volume of sets and reps. In my powerlifting days I would spend 2-3 hours in the gym training, and embarrassingly enough, that would be on 2 lifts! The squats and one accessory lift!
If this article is making you think differently about your program, then I recommend that you look and reevaluate your current program. Try to become more efficient with your time. Can you combine exercises, reduce the amount of sets by increasing the intensity, combine weight training and cardiovascular into one session, or do mini high intensity workouts? When was the last time you really honestly pushed yourself out of your comfort level? Be honest with yourself..are you in a rut with your fitness program? Are you excited for your workout hour or do your dread it? Try to focus more on your nutrition and fill in the gaps with a well thought out workout plan.
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