Squat, bench press, deadlift: the holy triumvirate of Purposefully Primitive progressive resistanceis it enough?
27 September 2005If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Fewer things done better. Make do with less. Develop sophistication within a limited menu. Purposefully Primitive fitness adherents think like the Taoist martial arts master did who once quipped; better to know one fighting tactic truly and completely than simply be acquainted with hundreds. Lets get really good at a few key core progressive resistance exercises rather than attempt to become familiar with the whole catalog. This concept of performing a narrow and limited number of exercises works only when intensity is present. In progressive resistance training we ask how long, how often and how hard. Our philosophy is not too much, not too long BUT when we work we work very, very hard - hard as in off the charts. Purposeful Primitive progressive resistance adherents work in short sessions done infrequently but with a degree of intensity that must be experienced to be understood. Intensity is the force-multiplier that allows the trainee to get by with less in terms of frequency and duration. Intensity is what triggers hypertrophy the human body does not reconfigure itself in response to sameness, ease and comfort the human body will only grow muscle and give up its precious reserve of body fat when subjected to exercise stress outside the current comfort zone.
Nutrition is another area where Purposeful Primitives stay true to their philosophic credo of fewer things done better. Rather than rely on supplements, pills, potions, powders and drinks assigned magical properties by the fitness hucksters that sell them, we Primitives state unequivocally that nutritional transformation can be achieved with nothing more than food from the grocery store. Regular food and a ton of discipline and restraint, politically incorrect attributes in our modern victim society. I will train a half dozen untrained folks exclusively in the three key core lifts for sixty days and well see exactly what happens. Working three times weekly will allow for twenty sessions. Do anything this often under expert supervision and the user will improve regardless if the activity is bowling, swimming, golf or baseball. Twenty sessions in 60-days under an expert is a boot camp. Although the Purposeful Primitive works the participant very hard, we never ever place them in harms way or hurt them we are too attuned to their capacity. Rather than mash a rotund client into a square training hole (as 99% of personal trainers do) we establish initial performance baselines then seek to systematically improve baseline performance as we move through the designated timeframe. This concept is called creeping incrementalism and requires we find a comfortable starting point, wherever and whatever that might be, then gradually, almost imperceptibly, over time, expand the limit envelope a little in each subsequent session.
We create momentum out of thin air and string together tiny improvements to create an awesome cumulative effect. We squat, we bench press, we deadlift. Thats enoughat least initially. Especially for those totally new to weight training. One beauty of this small selection approach is it limits the variables. Done correctly these exercises stimulate all the muscles of the body to a greater or lesser degree. Could we add a few select isolation exercises to round out this menu? Sure could and down the road this will no doubt occur but lets first graduate kindergarten boot camp. Being as how fitness is a lifelong commitment, weve got plenty of time to learn about incline preacher bench curls, standing leg curls, chins, rows, pressdowns and all the rest of it. By immersing the newbies in the three core lifts, well construct a progressive resistance foundation that will serve them well the rest of their livesDitto for cardio: there are a million different cardio modes but by teaching participants how to make the most basic of all cardio activities (walking) productive and efficient, we build a cardio foundation that will last them the rest of their livesby teaching them that nutritional supplements are meant to supplement, not replace regular foods, we build a nutritional foundation that will deliver results for the rest of their livesDown the road, after the fitness kindergarteners understand how to construct proper performance eating meals using regular food, the judicious use of nutritional supplements (that actually work) will provide embellishment to their already solid eating foundation.
Industry fitness experts Ive shared my uber-basic show concept with are intrigued and dubious What about ab work? What about calves and forearms? What about cardio machines in bad weather? What about allowing some supplements? What about? I have total and complete faith in the holy triumvirate of free weights: the squat, bench press and deadlift. Three sessions weekly (though the sessions might only last 30-minutes) done under the watchful eye of Karwoski or me will produce vast improvement in any beginner using any benchmark. More muscle, stronger, more powerful how could it not come to pass? If they do what we ask, the human body has no choice other than adapt and grow. We will present their physiques with a biological imperative that it cannot ignore. As Karwoski said recently when a critic asked if the three lifts alone were enough, Well why dont you drop by Martys garage, let me put you through the three lifts, one after another non-stop, then youll see firsthand just how stupid that question is. Touch shaved gorilla.
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