Saturday, April 14, 2012

Of barbells, dumbbells, and bodyweight

So I finally joined Jason Ferruggia's Inner Circle. Best to take advantage of the favourable exhange rate while it lasts, right? As I expected, it is a treasure trove of knowledge. There are articles, other written resources, the forum (though so far I have not benefited from it much).

I scoured through all of Jay's programmes and I noticed a recurring pattern: the barbell exercises are kept at a minimum (at most 2 barbell exercises per session) and the reps are between the 4 - 8 range. 8 is a rarity actually.

The rest are dumbbell and bodyweight stuff.

Don't get me wrong. The programmes are all tough. But it isn't killer tough that it fries your CNS and takes ages for you to recover. I think Jay has found the balance that gives the trainee the optimal combination of strength, power and athleticism.

Reminds me that I still have a long way to go before I can write an effective programme for myself. Let alone for others.

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