Resistance Training and the “More Is Better” Fallacy
Last modified 2 weeks, 2 days ago.
High-quality principles are necessary to generate high-quality resistance-training programs. I will not say that trial and error has no place in the gym. But your time is valuable--you can’t waste your time chasing every whim or unfounded idea.
One idea that is commonly attempted, commonly unevaluated, and also--unfortunately, a common cause of failure, is the idea that “more is better.”
In order to maximize your time, energy, and money, it is worth reflecting on this.
Think about what “more is better” means. It means exactly that--that the more exercise you do, the better your results will be.
It is a doomed philosophy.
As Mike Mentzer, the former Mr. Universe, stated:
“If that was the one true, guiding principle, everybody in bodybuilding fitness would succeed, because there is a built-in guarantee… You literally can’t fail. If two hours of training is good, i.e. yields satisfactory results, then four hours is going to yield that much better results. As everyone in the fitness and bodybuilding field knows, on some level of awareness, that simply does not work.”
Whether it was over-doing aerobic exercise, or over-restricting calories to lose weight, there is no need to despair if you have fallen into this trap in the past. These hurdles and setbacks can be overcome.
A Common Pitfall–Even Amongst the Educated Crowd
Another variation of this fallacy is that volume drives hypertrophy. People with graduate-level educations will say this without realizing that it has little meaning. It is similar to saying, “exercise is necessary for hypertrophy (muscle growth).” Yes, volume is necessary, but the wisdom is in knowing how much. And once again, more is not better–precise is better.
Give High Intensity Training (HIT) a Try
A great solution need not be complicated. 20 minutes a week, a few times a week can produce much of the results your body is capable of producing from resistance training.
Heck, you might even be able to get away with once a week. But… there’s a catch.
High Intensity Training (HIT) is a form of resistance training that is brief and infrequent--which is nice. I bet you are already imagining all the things you could do with the time you’ve regained.
However, HIT sessions are intense. 15 or 20 minutes of resistance training can’t do much if it is not taxing. But worry not, the discomfort passes quickly once the exercise is complete. Yes, there will be a learning curve. It will also take sacrifice--but just enough to get the job done.
You have to be willing to train hard enough to make HIT work--a point that can be difficult to understand.
For example, I once did an introductory consultation and training session with a couple from France. Nice people.
But they didn’t get what HIT was about.
Over a vacation, they had done a HIT session in Louisiana. I realized afterward that something had gotten lost in translation there. Yes, they were taken through a “HIT” or “SuperSlow” session (another form of HIT). However, the “intensity” part was left out. It was a leisurely session meant simply to introduce the exercises.
I believe the little detail about intensity was left out during this session in order to get them to sign-up before they knew what they were getting into.
Ultimately, the misses was not willing to understand or investigate how to properly exercise. Without changing, she will have to make due with whatever health her low-intensity, aerobic-based exercise program (and vegan diet) can maintain in the coming years. But if you make the effort to understand and apply HIT properly (read: understand exercise), you can avoid hitting this wall of diminished vitality and slow decay.
HIT can maximize the return on the energy you invest into resistance training, as well as your financial investment. Paying a coach for 3 or more hours of training each week can get expensive in a hurry. Compare that to paying for about 45 minutes of HIT training each week.
Now that you’ve been introduced to HIT, feel free to dive deeper. Body by Science by Doug McGuff, MD, and John Little, and High Intensity Training: The Mike Mentzer Way by Mike Mentzer and John Little are terrific reads.