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chris,
If you are like me you have made plenty
of mistakes in life and have had to learn
the hard way. Training has been do different.
My good buddy Craig Ballantyne asked me aboot
(Canadian for about) this recently.
Check it out...
CB: Jason, you've been studying training for
many years now. What valuable lessons have you
learned the hard way?
JF: Wow, great question Craig. I've learned more
lessons the hard way than I care to remember. I
don't even know where to begin but here are a few
off the top of my head:
Low carb diets suck for gaining muscle - No matter
what anyone may tell you, you need carbs to grow,
there is no way around it. I took some bad advice
years ago and tried desperately to gain size on a
no carb diet and I got nowhere. I had even tried
this approach with clients and they experienced
similar results. As soon as I brought the carbs
back, I started growing again as did all of my
clients. Sure there are different levels of
insulin sensitivity and some people tolerate carbs
better than others but the bottom line is you need
some carbs to grow.
This may only be 100 grams per day on non training
days and 250 grams on training days or it may be
300 grams on off days and 600 grams on training
days. That is highly individual and is something
you need to experiment with to find out what works
best for you. I will say this though, the fatter
you are the less carbs you can tolerate. If you are
above 15% bodyfat you need to be very careful with
carb consumption and need to limit the times you eat
carbs to post workout and breakfast.
Less is more - This is something else that I learned
the hard way. In my late teens and early twenties I
overtrained myself into the ground on a regular
basis. When in doubt, always do less. 10-16 sets,
three to four days per week is plenty for most
people to get great results. If you can't get results
with this amount of training you are either training
like a complete pansy or just not eating or sleeping
enough. But more training is not the answer.
You need some kind of energy system work ("cardio")
to get extremely lean - As my good friend Alwyn
Cosgrove has pointed out on more than one occasion;
there is often an overreaction to concepts or ideas
in our industry. Several years back the anti cardio
movement came to the forefront and told us all that
no one needed any energy system work whatsoever to
get lean. Diet and proper weight training would be
enough to get the job done. Being some one who hates
the word cardio and loves lifting heavy, this was
all I needed to hear. I jumped on the bandwagon like
so many others but later realized that it was simply
impossible to get really ripped without any engergy
system work whatsoever.
Cardio also has a host of health benefits which
should never be avoided by anyone concerned with
living past 40. On top of that doing some cardio
lets you eat more while still maintaining a
healthy bodyfat percentage.
You have to listen to your body - Sometimes when
you are scheduled for a heavy squat day and you
walk in feeling like you just got hit by a bus and
then had your girlfriend dump you while you were
peeling yourself off the pavement, you have to
back off. Either do something else that day, go
lighter or go home. Pushing yourself is a necessity
to achieve optimal results but sometimes you have
to know when to back off. This is not an excuse to
train like a p u s s y; I'm just saying that once in
a while (and this should not happen very often) you
need to listen when your body tells you to back off.
This is something else that I learned the hard way
and have some injuries to show for it.
If you are like me you have made plenty
of mistakes in life and have had to learn
the hard way. Training has been do different.
My good buddy Craig Ballantyne asked me aboot
(Canadian for about) this recently.
Check it out...
CB: Jason, you've been studying training for
many years now. What valuable lessons have you
learned the hard way?
JF: Wow, great question Craig. I've learned more
lessons the hard way than I care to remember. I
don't even know where to begin but here are a few
off the top of my head:
Low carb diets suck for gaining muscle - No matter
what anyone may tell you, you need carbs to grow,
there is no way around it. I took some bad advice
years ago and tried desperately to gain size on a
no carb diet and I got nowhere. I had even tried
this approach with clients and they experienced
similar results. As soon as I brought the carbs
back, I started growing again as did all of my
clients. Sure there are different levels of
insulin sensitivity and some people tolerate carbs
better than others but the bottom line is you need
some carbs to grow.
This may only be 100 grams per day on non training
days and 250 grams on training days or it may be
300 grams on off days and 600 grams on training
days. That is highly individual and is something
you need to experiment with to find out what works
best for you. I will say this though, the fatter
you are the less carbs you can tolerate. If you are
above 15% bodyfat you need to be very careful with
carb consumption and need to limit the times you eat
carbs to post workout and breakfast.
Less is more - This is something else that I learned
the hard way. In my late teens and early twenties I
overtrained myself into the ground on a regular
basis. When in doubt, always do less. 10-16 sets,
three to four days per week is plenty for most
people to get great results. If you can't get results
with this amount of training you are either training
like a complete pansy or just not eating or sleeping
enough. But more training is not the answer.
You need some kind of energy system work ("cardio")
to get extremely lean - As my good friend Alwyn
Cosgrove has pointed out on more than one occasion;
there is often an overreaction to concepts or ideas
in our industry. Several years back the anti cardio
movement came to the forefront and told us all that
no one needed any energy system work whatsoever to
get lean. Diet and proper weight training would be
enough to get the job done. Being some one who hates
the word cardio and loves lifting heavy, this was
all I needed to hear. I jumped on the bandwagon like
so many others but later realized that it was simply
impossible to get really ripped without any engergy
system work whatsoever.
Cardio also has a host of health benefits which
should never be avoided by anyone concerned with
living past 40. On top of that doing some cardio
lets you eat more while still maintaining a
healthy bodyfat percentage.
You have to listen to your body - Sometimes when
you are scheduled for a heavy squat day and you
walk in feeling like you just got hit by a bus and
then had your girlfriend dump you while you were
peeling yourself off the pavement, you have to
back off. Either do something else that day, go
lighter or go home. Pushing yourself is a necessity
to achieve optimal results but sometimes you have
to know when to back off. This is not an excuse to
train like a p u s s y; I'm just saying that once in
a while (and this should not happen very often) you
need to listen when your body tells you to back off.
This is something else that I learned the hard way
and have some injuries to show for it.
