3 Things I’ve Changed My Mind About – Training Edition

My gym background is steeped in heavy strength training. After a few months of stumbling around the weight room, I was exposed to powerlifting and fell in love with the sport. For years, I chased personal records in “the big three” lifts – the back squat, bench press, and deadlift. I loved heavy barbell training and was singularly focused on getting strong. I encouraged my partner to get involved and we trained for our first meet together. In short, I became an unapologetic meathead.

When I started working with clients, I wrote programs and coached through this powerlifting lens. I wanted everyone else to get strong and lift heavy weights. Even more so, I wanted them to feel the same way about this style of training as I did.

However, I quickly learned powerlifting wasn’t a good fit for everyone. Some people couldn’t master the form on “the big three” lifts no matter what we tried. Others didn’t seem as excited about heavy squatting, benching, and deadlifting as they did about other gym activities.

After thousands of hours working with many different types of clients, my training philosophy has grown and evolved. There are many ideas I felt strongly about in the past that I’ve partially or completely changed my mind about now. These days, although I’m still always learning, I take a more nuanced and open-minded approach.

This article is the first in a two-part series about things I’ve changed my mind about since I started my training career. In this first part, I take a look at my training style and philosophy. Next week, I will examine how I’ve changed my approach to nutrition.

Everyone should work toward barbell back squatting, benching, and deadlifting.

It’s easy to understand why I loved the back squat, bench press, and deadlift as a competitive powerlifter. I personally saw the most gains from these exercises and (thankfully) didn’t have any injuries or restrictions which prevented me from performing them safely.

These days, it’s rare I meet with a new client who is totally free from pain or injures. Many clients aren’t moving well when they come to me due to many hours of sitting each day and bad habits in their current exercise routine (sometimes even from forcing themselves to complete barbell lifts).

The reality is not everyone is cut out to train with a barbell. Barbells lock us into a single path, which doesn’t work for all bodies. It requires a great deal of mobility to safely perform the standard barbell lifts. People with cranky shoulders may not be able to comfortably hold a barbell on their backs to squat or complete a full bench press; people with bad backs and poor hip mobility will likely struggle to deadlift a loaded barbell from the floor.

I help my clients find exercises and implements that fit with their individual bodies. We then work to master those choices so we can eventually load them up with heavier weights. For example, one of my clients has a history of severe back problems. We will likely never be able to do any squatting with a bar, but have had success doing heavy squats loaded in the goblet and double front rack positions. I’ve had many clients complain that barbell benching bothers their shoulders, but they don’t experience any discomfort benching with dumbbells and a neutral grip.

I still think the barbell is a fantastic tool and one of the best, most efficient ways to move tons of weight. You just may need to use it more sparingly. Maybe you can bench with a barbell but need to use a trap bar to deadlift and kettlebells to squat. Maybe you can’t do any of “the big three” with a barbell, but you can perform heavy barbell hip thrusts, glute bridges, single-leg exercises, or Romanian deadlifts.

Takeaway: Get creative and find alternative ways to load the major movement patterns that feel more comfortable. You don’t need to use a barbell to build a strong and resilient body.

Isolation training is a waste of time.

I used to think people who performed curls, lateral raises, and the like were silly. Why would you waste your precious time with these exercises when squatting, pressing, rowing, and deadlifting gave you a much better training effect? Once again, I was viewing training though my meathead lens. I failed to understand people had goals in the weight room beyond getting strong, and that only training compound movements wasn’t necessarily the best way to achieve those goals.

I changed my tune on this topic when my own personal goals changed. I’ve previously written about my experience working with a trainer to build a leaner, more muscular physique. One of the lessons I mentioned in this post was that I didn’t see the changes I wanted in my arms and shoulders until I started training them more regularly. In the past, I had done a few cursory sets of arms and shoulders when the mood struck me. When I worked with my coach Bryan, I trained arms and shoulders multiple times per week. This big increase in volume allowed me to finally see noticeable, lasting changes.

Some lucky people can build awesome-looking arms, shoulders, legs, and butts from heavy compound training alone. Most of us, however, will need to add in extra work at some point if we want to see those muscles grow.

These days, I program some isolation training for a majority of my clients. I’m working with normal people and not pro athletes, and almost everyone who comes to me wants to look better and feel more confident in their skin. Most of our training time focuses on bigger, compound movements, but I add in curls, pressdowns, calf raises, shoulder raises, and similar exercises.

Takeaway: If your goal is to look jacked/ripped/toned/etc., you’ll likely need to do some isolation exercises. As long as these don’t make up the majority of your training time, you’ll get good results.

Machines are bad.

When I first started lifting, I had no idea what I was doing. A lot of the exercises I performed used machines because I was certain I could perform those correctly. Eventually, when I discovered free weights and powerlifting, my thoughts on machines swung to the totally opposite side. I hated machines and thought they were always a bad choice for everyone.

As with much of my approach to training, I now take a more middle-of-the-road approach. I believe machines can play a role in a well-rounded program for many people.

There are a few situations when someone may benefit from using a machine over a free-weight exercise. If someone is new to exercise and just making their way into the weight room, machines can be a good way to learn about the various muscles and use a challenging load without huge demands on their balance or posture. If new clients have a hard time getting up and down from a floor or bench, machines provide greater exercise variety.

People whose primary goal is to build muscle will likely use machines in their training. Machines can provide unique training angles or allow you to overload certain muscles more than you could with free weights. Machines also allow more advanced trainees to safely and easily use intensity techniques like drop sets, partial reps, and forced reps.

Finally, lots of my clients travel for work and frequently find themselves training in hotel gyms. Many times machines are the only weights available in these settings.

Takeaway: I still recommend everyone engage in plenty of free-weight training focused on the major movement patterns. But don’t be afraid to incorporate weight machines into your training when appropriate.

Always Be Open

Depending on your background, some of you may believe the same training dogmas I once did. Perhaps you have a few different ones of your own. I encourage you to think deeply about these ideas and question your assumptions. You will likely become a better coach to yourself in the process.

Check back next week to learn how I’ve changed my mind about the way I eat and the way I help clients manage their nutrition.

If you like what you’ve read and want to receive more exclusive tips, tools, and strategies to help you make fitness a part of your busy life, please subscribe to my newsletter here.