Hail to the Dinosaurs!
One of the most telling things you see on internet discussion boards or on Facebook goes something like this:
1. Someone posts: “Has anyone tried A and also tried B? What were your experiences with the two? Which worked better for you?”
I actually saw this on Facebook yesterday with A being the Paleo Diet and B being a pure vegan diet – which are about as North and South as you can get.
2. Ten people will post: “A would never work. It is scientifically impossible. So and so (learned expert) says so.”
3. Ten other people will post: “B would never work. It is scientifically impossible. So and so (a different learned expert) says so.”
4. The flame war will begin, and all the people who think that A would never work say terrible things about the people who think that B would never work – and vice versa. It’s a real Pier 6 brawl.
5. ONE person will say, “I tried A, and this is what happened. I got the following results: list results. I also tried B, and this is what happened. I got the following results: list results.”
Now, of everyone who posted a response, only ONE person is qualified to answer the question – the one who actually tried both approaches, and can truly say, “One worked better for me.”
Everyone else is just making noise. They’re not answering the question, and they’re not helping the discussion.
You see this all the time in the “free weights” vs. machines stuff that’s all over the discussion boards and has been from day one. In my opinion, the only person who is truly qualified to address this issue is someone who has trained with both. THAT person has the benefit of experience – and can aid the discussion by sharing his or her experiences. Not his or her opinions. His or her experiences.
One of the really wonderful things about the early days of strength training was that it was all pretty new – so people tried all sorts of different things – and reported the results.
So the old-time magazines were filled with letters to the editor or short articles from readers that detailed their training experiments, and outlined what worked and what didn’t work.
That was how the breathing squat came into prominence back in the 30’s. It was the result of readers who gave it a try and then sent in a letter with their results.
Nowadays, the muscle media focuses on “how the champs” train – and so you get an endless series of look-alike, read-alike articles that never say anything new. It was infinitely better when the magazines printed reports and feedback from the average lifter training “out in the Iron Mines.”
In any event, when you read something about training, examine it carefully. Is it a mere opinion – or is it based on real world, hands on experience?
As always, thanks for reading, and have a great day. If you train today, make it a good one – and add to that store of real world, hands on experience that all true Dinos possess.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. It’s the Holiday Season, and orders are coming in fast and furious. It looks like everyone is doing their Holiday shopping here at Dino Central:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
