A new week…a new day…a new training session to be rocked!
Which leads me to the whole premise behind the title: Keep it simple stupid!
Whether you are just starting out or have been training for years, if there is one thing you should do above all else…yup, K.I.S.S!
We are bombarded with training information. Everywhere you look, every fitness magazine, t.v show, and on the internet, there is tons of information to be found…enough to spin your head around exorcism style! Add to this the conflicting amounts of information presented and you are left feeling defeated before you even get started. Information overload has been one of my biggest frustrations in my attempt to reach my ideal physique and still creates a bit of frustration today. Fortunately, over the years, I have become wiser and learned that keeping it simple really makes things a whole lot easier and less stressful. Besides, I’m sure you have better use of your time than to keep searching through all the various information and trying every different workout you hear about. So, if I can help save you some valuable time and make things a little less confusing…we are all winners.
Without getting too technical or turning this into a snooze read, here is a sample of what you may or may not have heard about:
Supersets, Compound sets, strip sets, pyramid sets
Volume training, Olympic weight-training, body-weight training
5×5, 5/3/1, Westside, HIT, HIIT, circuit training, Tabata intervals
Upper/Lower split training, etc, etc.
Some of these are solid and others can be left alone, but it’s just an example of some of the training methods we are overwhelmed with everyday. And that’s just the start of it, some of the “basics”…it only gets more confusing and misleading the more you uncover. Unless you are a professional Olympic weight lifter, professional athlete or MMA fighter then K.I.S.S. Even these athletes keep things a lot more simple than you’d think (give or take some specialization movements/development etc).
With that said, how do you keep it simple?
There are exercises that have stood the test of time, the tried and true, the old school, the bread and butter exercises and there is a reason for that. If they worked back then, why wouldn’t’ they work today? You can’t tell me that the old school dudes like Frank Zane, Arnold, Franco, Bill Pearl, etc didn’t have great physiques?! Yet surprisingly, I see more and more people wasting their time on the latest fad and pointless exercises (i.e concentration curl, leg extensions) when, if they simply stuck to the basic, compound body lifts, the gains would be much more attainable. Compound exercises move the body through more than one joint and work more than one muscle group, whereas isolation movements primarily focus on one joint movement and one muscle at a time (ex. bicep curl).
The classic lifts that you should be doing, if you aren’t already, are:
Squat (and not on any type of machine!)
Military press (standing, you’re wasting your time sitting)
Deadlift (Along with Squats, probably one of THE best exercise to be doing)
Bench (some caution to be had here though so as to prevent screwing up your shoulders)
Pull-ups/Chin-ups
Those are definitely the top 5 lifts. However, there are stud exercises like hang cleans and power cleans, snatches, parallel bar dips and a few others that deserve honorable mention. But for all intensive purposes, those top 5 should be implemented into your program…YESTERDAY!
Keep checking back here for some simple straight up strength and conditioning training methods and start to feel less confused and more focused on reaching your ideal body. I will provide more specific examples of how to implement the above exercises with respect to sets and reps etc. But for now, keep it simple (insert your name here), focus on the above exercises, avoid the ‘fluff’ and begin to find clarity.
You just know that this post would not be complete without some KISS: (makes a solid training song too)
Rock on and get Straight Up Strong!
Matthew B
Very cool info. Excited to read the next installment. You’redead on, it’s tough to get motivated when you don’t know where to start because of information overload !!!!