Category: Training

I want to continue talking about the idea of training like an athlete to look like an athlete and the fact that when people say that they mean train to look like a sprinter.  The logic here is that the the sprinter’s body type, especially compared to the endurance athlete is due to the sprint training.

And hopefully I’ve divested you of that stupid idea.  The initial body type is genetic, racial and the fact that sports select for certain body types.  Most of what happens physique wise is related to whether or not the athlete lifts weights or not rather than the sprint training per se.

Shall We Play a Game?

But let’s play a game today.  Let’s ASSume that the body types of sprinters is built by their sprint work (I still see this floating around, the idea that you should run sprints to be built like a sprinter even if it’s total nonsense). … Keep Reading

So I know I was originally supposed to finish off the sprinter versus marathoner series today but then it dawned on me that it’s been one year since I wrote perhaps my most inspired training article where I gave away the Ultimate Training Secret of the Illuminatty (for which I am now in constant danger of repercussions).  And that means that I need to do a followup (inasmuch as I can ever follow that bit of brilliance).  So today I present you with some less well known Weider Principles.

Who is Joe Weider?

For some history, Joe Weider is usually considered to be the father of modern bodybuilding.  Through his magazines (such as Flex and Muscle and Fitness) and Arnold, he truly brought bodybuilding into the mainstream in a way that it simply hadn’t been up to that point.

Previously seen as a niche activity for narcissistic idiots (who’s sexuality was questioned in that they liked to primp around in tights covered in baby oil), bodybuilding became mainstream and fairly well accepted.… Keep Reading

Continuing from my discussion of the trite idea of that you should train like an athlete to look like an athlete, I want to look at one of the continually recurring ideas in the field.  Specifically this asinine idea that the specific physiques of either sprinters or marathoners/endurance athletes are indicative of the effects their training has.

Summarizing Train Like an Athlete to Look Like an Athlete

My point from last time was this:

1. There is no singular athletic body type in the first place
2. The idea that the training per se is what generates the physiques seen in a given sport.  At most the training emphasizes the ideal physique that sports select for in the first place.

I finished by pointing out that usually when you see people argue to “Train like an athlete to look like an athlete” the body type they hold up is that of a track/100m sprinter. … Keep Reading

The fitness industry is filled with a lot of dumb, trite phrases that gets thrown around.  I addressed one already, the idea that “Success Leaves Clues” although I did it in an admittedly  tongue in cheek way (get it?).  But that was an April Fool’s article and this one is actually serious.  Specifically the phrase I want to look at is the one that makes up the title of this piece: Train like an athlete to look like an athlete.

Train Like an Athlete to Look Like an Athlete

This particular trite suggestion shows up once or twice a year, usually on bodybuilding oriented sites by someone looking to challenge the status quo.  If you simply Google “Train like an athlete to look like an athlete” you’ll find all kinds of silliness about what exercises or training you should do to “look athletic”.  There are entire training philosophies and apparently one brain surgeon argues that “sport training will give you the build of that sport” or something equally asinine.… Keep Reading

In general, I try not to be that guy who just craps over other articles.  I mean, yeah, I could spend my career just taking apart other people’s work.  But I find it generally more productive to produce what I think is good content.  That said, a recent article entitled “Drugs only help a little.”  has led me to make an exception.  It’s a commonly held idea, usually by drug users who want to downplay their role.

You Don’t Know My Work Ethic, Bro

They want it to be about their intense work ethic and such (and make no mistake, I am NOT saying that drug using athletes don’t train their nuts off) but to dismiss the enormous potential role performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) play in results is just rationalizing nonsense so far as I’m concerned.  Non-using athletes train just as hard if not harder and don’t get the same result. … Keep Reading