Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Too Many Progressions?

When i show guys on the outside how to train calves with bodyweight, many of 'em ask: Why do i need a lotta slightly different calf exercises? Why don't i just jump to the hardest one?

This is the wrong attitude. It's a big mistake to rush to the hardest exercises you can handle. Your goal is not to finish with an exercise as fast as you can -- just the opposite. Your goal should be to stay with an exercise for as long as you can possibly get conditioning gains from it... If you are going to be training...alone...for three years, why would you want to skip to the hardest exercise there is? There's nowhere to go from there.

This is not just a bodyweight-style training approach, either. Virtually all champion bodybuilders train this way. They don't train with limit weights from workout to workout. They train hard, but they use a "working weight" lighter than their max, and find ways to make that weight seem heavier. They milk each weight increase for all it's worth. You should do the same.

A...athlete is not a gymnast or dancer. You don't get judged on the difficulty of your movements -- just your results. In old school calisthenics, difficult movements aren't the goal. They are just tools to help you achieve your goals (strength and muscle). You are using these exercises to develop solid muscle and tendon, to put strength in the bank. This takes time. Please don't rush ahead of your body's own ability to adapt. RememberL you are using these exercises to build strength -- not to demonstrate it.

Paul Coach Wade
Convict Conditioning 2

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