Theory VS Practical

[Jonathan]

I'm not really sure where to put this, so I'll just put it here in the meantime. An opinion, or a rant, lol.

There always seems to be some, largely unnecessary, conflict between theory and practical. On one hand you have someone suffering from verbal diahorrea who spews out every single article or training tip on a certain subject at every given opportunity. On the other hand, you have someone who lifts a certain amount of weight, thinks he knows it all and proceeds to put others down. "Me just lift, no need think". Unfortunately both sides just give a bad name to both theory and practical and make them seem like oil and water. Nothing could be further from the truth, theory and practical are both sides of the same coin, there is no versus.

I can tell you right now why trainers seem to have so much tips and advice for what seems to be simple lifts. Trainers are taught to spot mistakes, and these mistakes may occur at different points during the lift. So the trainer gives the appropiate advice for the appropiate mistake. Like using the correct tool from the toolbox. There are plenty of tools in the box, but only the right ones will fix the problem. With the internet, suddenly everyone has a toolbox, but that doesn't mean you know how to fix the problem. You just throw out all the tools and try to make yourself look great. Instead you make things complicated for nothing. That's when people get disgusted with too much theory. Too bad, this is the internet, all too easy to be a wiseass. Lifting is relatively simple, but people make different mistakes, hence trainers have to know and correct them all. They don't have to look or lift like Ronnie Coleman. We're all recreational lifters pal.

And I can also tell you whoever says they lift heavy without knowing or thinking so much is a complete hypocrite as well. Sometime somewhere someone has already taught the basics, and they're doing well, and they just feel the need rag on others just because they don't lift as heavy. I don't know what the problem is, but pretending not to do theory doesn't cut it ok. Since when has anyone lifted heavy perfectly without coaching? In fact, I'm pretty sure the heavier the lift, the MORE theory is required, because that is when every little thing starts to count. Simmons and Cressey have much to say about lifting and program design, and they can lift real shit I can tell you. Any Simmons or Cresseys here who can dl 300kg plus without thinking or knowing anything? I didn't think so.

Last but not least, read this article.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_art ... e_elements
Basically it says you have to find out what sort of a person you are and use programs most appropiate to you. I think I'm fire because my 5RMs and 3RMs and 1RMs have big differences in between, and I suck at high reps. Too bad I didn't read this before and had to bumble my way from one program to the next in my early days. If I had expanded my knowledge and took in more theory, perhaps I would be better informed to make better choices.

So that's the gist of this whole incoherent rant. Theory and practical go hand in hand. Find out as much as you can before doing something. When doing, learn as much as you can then apply what is necessary. Fill up your toolbox but don't go throwing out all the tools if you want to help someone. If you're wondering about whether to read something, better to have that toolbox filled than to find you don't know shit when you have to know shit. Oh, and review your toolbox every now and then. Sometimes tools get outdated or there's a better one, don't hesitate to do a little cleaning up. And most importantly, whatever you do, make sure you enjoy it. We're all recreational lifters, we lift to feel good. Do you feel good lifting that lift and using that program? If not, better change, it's your body pal.

[Ryan.carpediem]

Good article, man.

I personlly think it's hard to strike a balance between "thinking too much" and the "just do it" blindly without thinking at all.

There's a fine line between both.

Anyway, hope to read more of your articles.

[Weib]

Keep simple things simple, and complex things doable.

Understanding of complex matter is another thing altogether.

[AhBen]

Beginners should just grasp the basics and not think too much.In fact,sometimes I feel that they shouldn't read too many T-nation articles coz they will get confused and start to overanalyze...

[galapogos]

Different people from different backgrounds will have different definitions of what "the basics" mean.

[Weib]

The confusion only starts if the person cannot make a stand for themselves and wants the ultimate cookie cutter program and those who know better do not wish to help them understand the matter.

Saying that there can be too much education only means that one is hiding behind their lack of understanding, inability to teach and little progression wit their state of mind on the matter.

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

[Sufian]

John, I salute you. When u come up to speak at times like this, its always gold.

[AhBen]

Different people from different backgrounds will have different definitions of what "the basics" mean.

I think for beginners,stronglifts.com is enough. If they start reading T-Nation,they will get utterly confused...and think of implementing some fanciful programs with lots of numbers...

If a beginner starts counting the exact tempo for his lifting-he's overanalyzing things.

A beginner has no business doing fanciful stuff which sounds "pro and hardcore" on paper like EDT,conjugate periodization,doing assistance exercises such as pull throughs,he's overanalyzing things.

[galapogos]

Different people from different backgrounds will have different definitions of what "the basics" mean.

I think for beginners,stronglifts.com is enough. If they start reading T-Nation,they will get utterly confused...and think of implementing some fanciful programs with lots of numbers...

If a beginner starts counting the exact tempo for his lifting-he's overanalyzing things.

A beginner has no business doing fanciful stuff which sounds "pro and hardcore" on paper like EDT,conjugate periodization,doing assistance exercises such as pull throughs, he's overanalyzing things.

I agree with your last 2 paragraphs. And for a relatively healthy individual, stronglifts or starting strength would be great too. However, how many relatively healthy individuals do you know, who can get the major lifts right? I've tried to coach enough of my friends/colleagues to know that most sedentary people just don't have the ability to do those movements.

So basics in my opinion is even more basic than stronglifts.com. It involves re-learning those basic movements. I think most of us here are privileged to be able to perform those movements in half decent form without some sort of formal coaching(I know at least I never got any formal coaching). Maybe that's because we are active, or were active, or were athletes before, but many people aren't like that. I can't throw my manager into stronglifts.com and expect him not to injure himself or give up trying simply coz he can't even do an asian squat.

[Jonathan]

Fortunately or unfortunately this is the information age and it's simply not possible to stop someone from "over-learning". It may be tiresome to keep telling newbies not to busy themselves with more complex programs and methods, but it is a necessary hassle nonetheless. Don't forget learning is not a perfect process. In my opinion, it is actually good to see people who read too much into everything, because that shows they have an open and inquisitive mind. Sooner or later they will find out for themselves that only a small portion need apply to them, or someone more experienced will tell them. The alternative would be facing people who can't be bothered with anything other than just lifting the weight, unwilling to try new things or uninterested in improving their technique to better themselves. I confess I used to be from the latter; why bother with rolling, stretching, mobilising, activating, etc when you can just lift the bloody weight? Even in lifting the weight there are important things to observe depending on the lift. In recreational lifting you either find out sooner or later it takes more than "just lifting the weight", or you get hurt eventually. Lifting is simple, but not that simple.

[Weib]

i agree, nothing wrong.. its a journey not a race..
Everyone has their own path they lay before themselves.

They do funky things, if it doesn't work naturally they'll try out something else and learn from experience that a certain way doesn't work for them.
Mistakes are learning point is everyone's life, there is no cookie cutter program even trainers/coach have to trial and error sometimes to get the best results but they limit the guess work with experience but still room for some possibilities.

Why deny someone a learning opportunity? Guide, learn from their mistakes and grow with them..
There is no perfect program for anyone, there will be no perfect program.

I've learnt alot from my mistakes, and i know exactly why. If i didn't do it, i'll never learn because i'll never experience it the failure and never would have understood the problems..