FORGET "BODYPART" TRAINING

FORGET "BODYPART" TRAINING

by Bob Whelan

Most guys who train "bodyparts" (not the whole body) confuse “training” with “going to the gym.” They somehow believe that by going into a building called “the gym” they will get bigger and stronger. They rarely talk about intensity or how hard they work, but about being in a building. They brag about how long they are “in the gym” and how often they “go to the gym.” They believe that by training “bodyparts” they are then able to spend more time “in the gym” and therefore will get better results. They are usually unsophisticated beginners but somehow feel more advanced just because they train in a body part format. They don’t realize that bodypart training has been around for decades and is nothing new.

Guys who “go to the gym” usually spend more time talking (about sports, politics, etc.) and socializing at the water fountain than they do training. That’s why they are there for three hours! They take a ten-minute rest between sets and usually bench press with about 9 other guys. Their bench press alone takes 45 minutes! These guys rarely even break a sweat! Their main motivation to go to the gym is to stare at the women, not to train. They LOVE mirrors mainly because mirrors  enable them to do this without being slapped or accused of harassment. Many guys don’t get it. If you want to stare at women, go to a strip bar AFTFR THE WORKOUT. You cannot mix this with training as it totally ruins your focus.
It is almost impossible to train bodyparts without (“muscle overlap”) overtraining. You cannot put the major compound “multi-joint” exercises into nice neat separate categories. Bench press is not just “chest” but front delts and triceps. What category do you put it in? The truth is that if you train “bodyparts” five to six days per week, then you are either on drugs or not working hard. Period. You take long rests between sets and your workout is filled with easy exercises such as tricep kickbacks, cable crossovers, lateral raises, flies, leg extensions, etc. You don’t do squats, deadlifts, chins, rowing, military presses, the sandbag carry, etc. If you train HARD and are natural, YOU CANNOT TRAIN BODYPARTS five to six days per week. If you train hard, whole body, you will BE PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO TRAIN MORE THAN TWICE PER WEEK. Anyone who does not believe this can come by for a free workout. It would be my pleasure to “convince” you.

Dr. Ken and others have written articles about “the look of power.” You don’t get the look of power unless you do the heavy compound exercises which require extra recovery for natural guys. Dr. Ken described this well when he stated that guys who do bodypart training look like they are just a “collection of bodyparts” that don’t seem to fit together. When you have the “look of power” you are thick and look strong from ANY ANGLE. Even if you have a raincoat on, you STILL look thick and strong. The look of power is thickness in the back, traps, glutes, legs, neck and whole body, not just arms and chest. If people only know that you “lift weights” when you have a tank top on, then you don’t have the look of power. The look of power cannot be hidden. It has nothing to do with cuts or definition. It consists of size and thickness. If you have the look of power, then no matter what oversized baggy sweatshirt you have on, you still look powerful.

It is no accident that bodypart training and drug use sort of grew together and are from the same roots. Most people get innocently sucked into bodypart training without realizing this. The truth is that “bodypart” routines are usually “drug routines” (or wimp routines) and are not effective for the average drug-free trainee. I love to get “bodypart types” to train with me, especially if they have a cocky attitude. If they say things like, “Are you sure that twice a week will be enough?” I go out of my way to change their thinking.

I’ll spend the first workout doing heavy high rep leg work for 20 minutes and they usually don’t last even that long. If they do, we just keep going with little rest, doing nothing but the hard stuff, to failure, finishing with the sandbag carry (if they last that long). This is an attitude adjustment workout and is only used for “special” cases. If someone comes in with a good attitude and listens, then I start them slower. The smart ass types usually last only about 20 minutes and are laying on the floor. They are always amazed at how soaked in sweat and tired they are. I love to say to them, “Do you think we hit your bi’s and lats hard enough? Why don’t you come back tomorrow?” They never do and are usually too sore and tired to even think about training for at least three or four days, the way it should be.