T2B
TWIG TO BIG
Stimulate Vs Annihilate
Make sure you are hitting your muscles— not your ego— in the gym.
By Vince Del Monte
Some of the biggest BS advice in fitness, the kind of stuff that I hate the most, is anything associated with the theme of“ destroy it” or“ beast mode” or“ leave it all on the gym floor.” In my mind, all of these saying promote just one thing: exhaustion.
The entire industry is obsessed with seeking exhaustion! From 15 years of experience in the industry, I can tell you straight up that this“ seeking exhaustion” mindset is killing your gains. Achieving a lean, strong, and muscular body is not about chasing exhaustion, it’ s about managing exhaustion.
Your workouts are meant to leave you invigorated, not destroyed. You should always be leaving the gym with a few more reps left in the tank. You do not need to leave it all in a sweaty puddle on the gym floor.
Let’ s talk about the iconic eight-time Mr. Olympia champion Lee Haney for a moment. Haney retired at 31 years old. He achieved a feat that puts him in the legendary class of bodybuilders, surpassing even Arnold himself. Most impressively, Lee is in his mid-50s now and has no injuries, not even any nagging aches. This may be common for average guys, but at the pro level this is very rare.
Go on Facebook today and you’ ll find guys in their 20s and 30s with a laundry list of injuries that include arthritis in both shoulders, loss of cartilage, full tears in the biceps, lower back surgeries, partial pec tears, calf strains, hamstring pulls, and the list goes on.
Why do some guys( who don’ t even do this for a living) get more banged up than a guy like Lee Haney and other great bodybuilders like Rich Gaspari, Lee Labrada, Mike Christian, Gary Strydom, Shawn Ray, and Vince Taylor, who have very few lingering injuries or pain?
Less Is More The answer lies in Haney’ s famous quote:“ Stimulate, don’ t annihilate.”
Haney trained hard, but more importantly, he trained smart. He never used as much weight in training as he could have because he always understood the risk-to-benefits ratio.
Lee learned how to build his body without relying on too much weight. While he could squat 400 to 500 pounds or more, he stuck with 315 pounds so that he could save his spine from the pressure.
Meanwhile, you have the other eight-time Mr. Olympian, Ronnie Coleman, who was known for squatting up to 800 pounds and
14 JUNE 2017 | ironmanmagazine. com
FROM 15 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY, I CAN TELL YOU STRAIGHT UP THAT THIS“ SEEKING EXHAUSTION” MINDSET IS KILLING YOUR GAINS.
leg pressing more than a ton. Do you think it’ s a coincidence that Ronnie has had five back surgeries over the past several years on top of having both hips replaced?
I feel bad for all the young kids who follow their YouTube idols( cashing in now by chasing heavier weights for more views) loading up their workouts and trying to go as heavy as possible. They are being led straight for a miserable time in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and they don’ t even know it.
I did some research on Haney’ s delt training because he has amazing shoulders. Guess how heavy he went on shoulder presses? Sixty-pound dumbbells, and on rare occasions he might have gone as heavy as 70.
How many times have you tried to use weights that you could hardly manage, even with a spotter? Let me tell you: The heavier you train now, the more dire you’ ll pay the price later.
Choose your weights wisely. Use just enough weight to get the job done— and no more. Heavy weights are a tool, but they are not the entire tool box. They play a role but only to a certain degree. How do you expect to avoid injuries if you’ re putting equal stress on your joints and connective tissues as your muscles? Eventually you’ ll find yourself limping, immobile, and ultimately injured. Some of these injuries can heal, but some of them will never go away, which means you’ ll always be limited by what you do in the gym. Is it worth it?
We live in an industry that preaches“ more is better,” but this is a lie. More is not better. Better is better! It’ s critical we all find out where our threshold is and then discipline ourselves to stay underneath it.
From now on, every time you’ re about to select a weight, I want you to ask yourself:“ Will this stimulate or annihilate?” IM
PHOTO: BINAIS BEGOVIC, MODEL: DANNY HESTER