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Originally Posted by ICreate
TLK, I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon here. Though I find the article very interesting, I think the logic is wrong. I could give you a long paragraph on my gym/workout experience and qualifications, but I'm not. Just trust me when I say, I'm qualified.
So, what do I think is wrong with that article's logic or idealology?
You have to look at what a work out or work out program is on a very basic level. A work out involves working your muscles, tendons, and lungs in order to acheive a physical benefit or result. With being said, GO WORK OUT. Especially if you are out of shape, then it's easy because anything you do is going to be benefical. But with people that are already in good shape and are used to a work out routine, you need something more advanced. So, you turn to the "180 principle"and you develop or assume terms for gyms like "Noah's Ark". STOP THIS!!!!! All machines and routines have a purpose. Other people are doing it means nothing. Use the machines and exercises for what they are for. Who cares if other people do it or not. Develop a routine for yourself, get one from a trainer, find one online, or just go and wing it. Counting out certian exercies and machines because other people are doing it at commercial gyms is silly. There is nothing new when it comes to fitness. GO WORK OUT AND DEDICATE YOUSELF TO IT. Too many people are looking for some easy fix or some magical workout routine that will give them results beyond their imagination. What people aren't doing today in gyms is staying dedicated. Taking sets off, or cutting back on reps. It's lack of motivation. The 180 principle holds no water what so ever.
Don't take any of what I've said as disrespect. I'm only calling it as I see it.
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I agree with you up to a certain point. Beginners need to start somewhere and anything they do is better then nothing. However I still stand by what I said body part training is a complete waste of time. The foundation of body-part training is shaky because of one simple and often ignored scientific fact. You can't isolate muscles. Whether you're doing a bench press for your chest or an arm curl for your biceps, there are always other muscles at work. These muscles either assist the "target" muscle or contract to stabilize your joints as you perform the exercise.
So when you prepare to lift a weight, your brain sends a nerve impulse to all the muscles needed to initiate the movement, causing them to fire as a single unit. The bottom line is your brain recognizes movement patterns, not individual muscles, so that's the way you should organize your training sessions. Yet few lifters or trainers think in those terms, and that's a problem, because most body-part routines don't allow for balanced workouts, ideal recovery, or efficient training.
For example, here's a common workout plan: chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, shoulders on Thursday, and arms on Friday. Now here's why it's flawed.
The muscles of the lower body, the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves, are worked on the same day, yet the chest, back, shoulders, and arms are trained separately. There's nothing wrong with training your legs once a week, but devoting an additional four days to your upper body is poor logic.
Having a dedicated "arm" day is overkill. When you train your chest, back, and shoulders, the smaller assisting muscles the triceps and biceps fatigue faster than the larger target muscles. So by doing compound moves, such as bench presses, shoulder presses, chinups, and rows, you're working your arm muscles maximally, even if you never do a biceps curl or a triceps extension.
The arm workout is performed the day after the shoulder workout, even though shoulder presses engage the triceps fully. This results in inadequate recovery time for growth. Since you're only working one body part per workout, you have to perform straight sets, resting between each. That means there's limited opportunity to speed your workout with supersets or alternating sets.
I also disagree with you on your philosophy about machines. I would say only about 25% of the machines that you find in your local gym actually have a purpose.
You can’t expect anyone to come up with a routine on their own when they have no clue how the human body works. They need to have some sort of understanding about anatomy. You can’t just expect to go to the gym and just wing as you would say. That is why a majority of the people who work out on a regular basis end up quitting after 12 weeks because they didn’t get the results that they were hoping for. You want to know why? I will tell you why because they spent the entire 12 weeks doing steady state cardio which is a complete waste of time along with spending countless hours doing isolation exercises on the useless machines.
I also disagree with you when you say there is nothing new when it comes to training. You couldn’t be more wrong. Think about it everything else has evolved and improved in the last 20 years so shouldn't your workout? The fact is there's a faster, more effective way to build muscle than traditional body-part training. Body part training is dead.
The following isolation exercises are a complete waste of time. Instead substitute the isolation exercises with the compound exercises I listed below. Why would I do isolation exercises when I can do a compound exercise instead and hit many different muscle groups with just one movement?
Leg Extensions – Replace with squats.
Leg Curls – Replace with dead lifts.
Biceps Curls – Replace with close grip chin-ups.
Triceps Extensions – Replace with dips.
Front and Side Lateral Raises – Replace with shoulder press.
Chest Fly’s – Replace with incline bench press.
Reverse Fly’s – Replace with seated rows.
High-intensity interval training causes a great deal of metabolic disturbance much more so than a single bout of aerobic exercise performed at sub maximal intensity. As for exercise choices, you need to concentrate on the basics. There are no shortcuts but a consistent effort will bring you results. Don't think that "cutting exercises" such as pec deck, biceps curls, and leg extensions should be the focus of your weight training. Exercises that require a lot of muscle mass (presses, rows, squats, and dead lifts) expend the most energy and signal the body for growth and repair.