Make Room for Growth
Do you need to keep track of everything perfectly? You need to for progressive overload depending on the exercise. If I'm a runner I want that run to be tracked for data. But my heavy lifts I want to be more on feel than 3x10. I can still see if the weight is going up or if the current weight is easier, but less strict on 3 sets of 10 reps. If an exercise is going well, do a 4th set, or a few more reps. Why limit yourself to this bodybuilder mindset of hypertrophy through basic math. Some experts say 50 sets a week, some say 20 a workout. Some experts say 2 all out sets. Who is correct? Why does it matter? They may all be correct. It will fully depend on the individual and the circumstances they are training for. I have had numerous clients and very few people understand what they even want beyond losing fat and gaining muscle. In fact I’d say, most people will never know what it’s like to train for something. These normal members of society want aesthetics and to be lighter and feel better. Admirable goals and wonderful to achieve, but it lacks real depth in the “why” we do things. The why has to be stronger than any other question you ask yourself. If that is strong enough with losing fat and gaining muscle then great. I unfortunately don’t see enough in that. When you look in the mirror and hate what you see and nothing is going to stop you from loving what you see, that is why it is strong enough.
That being said, I'm not the one to tell you why you are strong enough or not. It's just been my experience on my own and with the clients I have seen. If your why is strong enough you’ll see it. You’ll continue to go to the gym, avoid terrible food and act accordingly. It’s like a vision you see for yourself that gets weaker when you don’t do things in accordance with that goal.
Everybody hates kettlebell swings but this is just another exercise in the arsenal. Dr. Mike likes to hate, but the only thing to hate is for pure hypertrophy under the science of time under tension and stable muscle growth in relation to injury and isolation being better for muscle growth. Well no arguments here, but is pure hypertrophy what you want? Are you a bodybuilder about to step on stage? Are you a muscle beacher or someone who cares about that style so much you will forgo movement in place of a bigger chest and quads? I won’t. I like having full function and an aesthetic body. The weight those guys move around isn't even real for the world. They can barely carry anything real. But that's enough hating on the hate.
At FST we don’t take anything from the bodybuilding world besides the basics. Movement in its truest form is what matters. Every single adult I have ever seen has been unable to squat, run, jump or sustain zone 2. It seems impossible to get through to them.
