Why Not Both?
In co-hosting The Fitcast the past two weeks, there was one conversation in particular that really struck a chord with me. At one point, the gang happened to get on the topic of “what’s your training philosophy,” or “what does your training look like?” To be honest I don’t really remember the exact question because I was too busy looking at pictures of Megan Fox and wondering why I can’t be her best friend or something. We could totally sit up all night talking about things, ya know? Things like how sad she must be that she did the hibbidy-jibbidy with a tool like Brian Austin Green (yes, David from 90210). Or how she’s a woman with feelings, who needs to be respected and nurtured and HOLY SWEET TAP DANCING MOSES!!! Look at that um, finished hardwood flooring. That’s just gorgeous. Ooooo, is that a copy of Grapes of Wrath in the background?”
Anyways, to get back on topic, my good friend Jimmy Smith (the goofy bodybuilder that he is…wink wink) had mentioned that he (along with a fellow gym goer at the gym where he trains) are really only concerned with looking like they can lift heavy stuff. Neither could really care less about how much weight they put up. Now I know Jimmy is a strong guy and I know what he was alluding to (ie: I get it). I want to preface all this by making it clear that there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to look a certain way regardless of how one trains.
However, why not have both? Why not look like you can lift heavy things while actually being able to lift heavy things?
The above video was taken this past Saturday of me performing cambered bar goodmornings for 375 lbs x3. High five!
So by now, you may be asking yourself, “Tony, what is your training philosophy?” It’s rather simple: lift enough weight that makes people want to destroy the back of their pants while having abs that can totally win a fight against a mack truck. Or a tank. Doesn’t really matter. Both are equally bad-ass.
I honesty and truly feel that if more people trained to get strong(er), that everything else will fall into place (aesthetics included). I remember reading something by Alwyn Cosgrove where he stated that he often finds it perplexing when people say that they want to train for more speed endurance, strength endurance, agility, power (among other things), yet they never train to get stronger. Without that solid base of strength, what will you have to endure?!
That is why I always tend to gravitate towards programs like Maximum Strength, because I know that not only will it get people stronger, it will also take their physique to places it has never been before; assuming of course, they’re not eating like a nimrod.
As stated above, this is my philosophy, and you may or may not agree with it (you totally should by the way). Above all, I just feel that people lack purpose in their training. Aside from all the nonsense of whether or not you want to look a certain way or whether or not you want to lift “x” amount of weight, most trainees have no clue what they want, nor do they have any semblance of goals to stride for. This is a huge mistake.
What are YOUR goals? What is YOUR training philosophy? I’d like to hear what you all have to say. And just because I’m a nice guy, here’s a great read by another good friend of mine, Mike Robertson titled My Training Philosophy. If you’re one of those people that has no idea what your philosophy is, I would highly recommend you read the article. Might be just what you need to point you in the right direction.
