Here is an addendum to yesterday’s email about why most amateur sportsmen just need to get strong(er) in the basic barbell lifts:
Bluntly, I struggle to see the point in playing with balance balls, kettlebells, and suchlike if you can’t deadlift 1.5x bodyweight for a confident set of 8, for example.
Why?
Not being able to do so is suggestive (but not diagnostic) of weak muscles, joints, ligaments plus poor stability, mobility, balance, and coordination.
All things you cannot meaningfully improve with Byzantine exercises favoured by the “sports specific” and “functional” training lobbies unless you already possess a meaty foundation of strength and muscle.
I understand the desire to perform such exercises.
Squatting, deadlifting, pressing, and rowing week in, week out for many months (and, potentially, years) occasionally adding a small amount of weight in an incremental fashion is Very Boring Indeed.
Add to that the copious videos of professional athletes engaging in these weird and wonderful methods and the paucity of videos of professional athletes engaging in basic strength training.
But what is missed is that these professional athletes are already Very Strong.
Not powerlifter, strongman, or even, in certain cases, bodybuilder strong.
Yet still far stronger than 99% of people you will encounter in a typical gym.
Hence, they have already reached the limit of what basic barbell training will offer them. Moreover, the pursuit of further strength gains will skew the risk : reward ratio in favour of the former, so more complex methods targeting specific movement patterns become necessary.
Bottom Line:
If you are a typical amateur sportsman who does some gym training on top of your sporting commitments, it is highly likely that you will get better carryover to your sport of choice by focusing on the barbell basics than from aping the routines of elite professionals.
The exception to this are those who can already squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, and row considerable weight with confidence and excellent technique.
You will know if that is you.
And if you are bold enough to admit that it is not you, I recommend you work with me for three months on my “Silver Era Secrets” programme.
I think it is excellent, but I am biased.
All the more reason to read the below details carefully before making a decision either way:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/programme/
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman