You Can't Worship at Two Altars

 YOU CAN'T WORSHIP AT TWO ALTARS

You have all the bases covered. Your program has a little of everything. It has some corrective exercises for those nasty little imbalances that sneak up on everyone who has been sitting behind a desk for years. You do pre-workout mobility exercises for half an hour to get the kinks out so you don’t strain anything. You sprint a couple of times a week. You train for strength three times a week followed by thirty minutes of cardio. And you’re trying to lose a little weight so those abs you work on five days a week will show this summer.

Trying to get results in everything will get you results in nothing.

Let’s look at a couple of examples;

Big Frank

Big frank weighs in at around 260-275 pounds. He holds multiple wins at various bench press competitions. Every day he’s in the “advanced” section of the gym. He starts warming up with more than my lifetime maximum and works his way up to 500 pounds plus for multiple reps. Then works his way back down.

Now, Frank does some other movements; tricep, anterior deltoids, dumbbell flyes. Mostly movements that support his bench press. He also does a few heavy curls. If you can bench 500+ for reps you’re smart enough not to allow imbalances to cause you problems.  

Beach worthy abs-Nope. He’s not fat but he’s not ripped either.

POWER LIFTER

Jay

Jay is 67 years old. He’s had a heart attack and a mild stroke. He works with a trainer 3 days a week on endurance and cardio. He also works out with a friend several days a week on strength. He’s dropped over 35 pounds through diet and exercise. But Jay gets upset because he can’t bench press more than 185 pounds.

WEIGHT LOSS

Terrill

Terrill is 21 years old and plays wide receiver for a local college. He works mostly on endurance and plyometrics. He’s fast and has a 5+ foot vertical jump from a standing start. He lifts but only high rep, high velocity movements. And yes, he has abs you could bounce a medicine ball off of but he’s not particularly strong. he has to stay lean to maintain his speed.

WIDE RECEIVER

Proper training requires trade offs. If you are trying to add muscle mass you can be sure your mobility will decrease. If you are training for strength your cardio /respiratory fitness will go down. If you’re trying to become more mobile you’ll drop some size and strength.

Professional body builders are bigger than professional power lifters but power lifters are stronger. Wide receivers are faster and can jump higher but they are smaller and weaker. All three have better genetics than you or I. If the professionals could excel in all areas of fitness you can bet they would.

PROFESSIONAL BODY BUILDER

Choose one goal and attack it.