Disturbance in the force
The goal of training is to cause disruption, a disturbance to homeostasis, whether that's to muscles or entire systems.
You can't do that with a feather duster.
Your body is great at detecting disruption, and when it does it starts the machinery that repairs and rebuilds following a stressful event.
So you have to do the work, you have to hit a minimum level of effort to force that response.
That's why easy reps don't count, otherwise we'd all build slabs of muscle on our weekly trip to the supermarket.
I've never seen anyone accidently build too much muscle.
Just like I wont accidently end up on the pga tour if I go to the driving range, or haphazardly find myself wondering to the top of Everest on a Sunday stroll.
It takes very regular, very consistent, targeted effort in a similar direction over a very long Time to make an impact.
So if you do want to start the machinery that lays down some new muscle, you must disturb the force, and you must do it repeatedly.
There is a process to this, and we must 1st earn the right to work hard, to "disturb the force".
Before you go and sling all the weights on, first you must learn how to create tension, teach your body to produce force.
start with movements. begin with a load you can comfortably perform each rep well.
Then Learn to move very well. craft your technique further.
Once you're moving well you can start to create a larger stimulus because now you can create tension, you can handle heavier loads without collapsing and you can move said load through space with skill.
If a movement is a balancing act, tension is low, and if there is no tension there is no signal for adaptation and growth.
That's why you hit a plateau on the bench before the squat, it's more stable, less to manage.
Once you're moving well, you can get to work.
I'm always asking people to score there sets out of 10 (aka RPE) or "How many reps could you have got" (RIR), doesn't matter how.
I want that score to reach the minimum stimulus threshold.
If you're too far from failure, if its too easy, you might as well go shopping because then at least you'll be going home with something.
I want you to find it hard, to be able to see the cliff edge of rep failure, because that's gonna switch your machinery on, that level of work is causing a disturbance that needs remodeling, it's gonna force adaptation.
I'm not bought into fluffy methods.
Don't get me wrong I like the mind muscle connection, but I'm not concerned if you can't "feel" the muscle when doing an RDL, if the movement is skilled and the work is done, it has no choice.
I'm a stickler for biomechanics but don't get that twisted, good movement and a brutal work ethic beats a perfect angle over time.
Get skilled
Do work
Eat
Repeat
Use the force.
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