Basic Principles of Training – The Definitive Guide

This is a very good guide for everyone who's interested in weight training. It clears out a lot of the myths.

So, we never quite managed to find out what sort of guy you like. Do you prefer the really pumped up type? Well defined/tone type? Or isn't there any preferences?

Let us know...and we (single, straight, male RFDers) will start working out with an aim.

#4 is fishy...

there's a lot of evidence that strength training boosts the levels of androgens in your body, and hence accelerates the closing of the plates. Hard training also limits the availability of fuel for height growth as alot of it is moved towards building/maintaining muscles.

Really? I would love to see the researches if you don't mind finding for me I always like to look into the scientific studies. As for the hard training robbing the body the fuel to support growth, I think that soley depends upon how well the trainee's diet is. If one doesn't have a good diet during puberty, one could very likely to hinder the growth process, and that's even with any training. Provided there's enough nutrients and calories to maintain a positive nitrogen retention environment, the body can do its job very efficiently. But yes, I seriously would like to look more into the adrogen-related issue on stunting growth, so if you could name a few sources that I could look into, I would really appreciate it

Well chatty remember that satisfaction is an art not an appearance,so you might get the chicas with a hot body but if you cant handle the ride word will get around soon enough and all that work will be for nothing.
Bruce lee was a great specimen just so you know.
good to see you trying to assist/market a "healthier" lifestyle to these ladies mary.

Originally Posted by chatbox

So, we never quite managed to find out what sort of guy you like. Do you prefer the really pumped up type? Well defined/tone type? Or isn't there any preferences?

Let us know...and we (single, straight, male RFDers) will start working out with an aim.

I personally am not too into the really big guys (200 lbs+); just athletic and toned would be good.

Thanks..that was a nice lengthy read...I guess I have to go do more free weights...hmm...i didn't know that about muscle shaping...i guess i should hit the bike more to see more definition...

Getting definition is to master the combination of the followings:

*Proper weight and cardio training
*Good diet
*Adequate amount of "quality" sleep (not just sleep, so sleep in not overrated)

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you can probably achieve better results if having a toned body is your goal, by concentrating more on your diet than anything else. I for one am not a fan of cardio training for fat burning purposes. I would rather spend my training time doing High Intensity Interval Training then cardio to burn fat. A few years ago, when I was really really into weight training, I read everytihng I could get my hands on from scientific journals even to muscle rags. If I have time, I'll try to do a search on some articles I have read that give a really good case for HIIT where the research wasn't sponsored by a supplements company . Even without the scientific data, one merely has to observe two of the more prominent athletes in modern sports doing the same thing but using different training methods - the sprinter and the long distance runner.

Originally Posted by bigredlemon

#4 is fishy...

there's a lot of evidence that strength training boosts the levels of androgens in your body, and hence accelerates the closing of the plates. Hard training also limits the availability of fuel for height growth as alot of it is moved towards building/maintaining muscles.

Here are a couple of reasonably reputable sources that disagree.

Excess androgens can both accelerate bone growth (taller earlier) and cause premature epiphyseal plate closure (shorter final height). On the balance, excess androgens may result in short stature. However, weightlifting has not been shown increase androgen levels to the point where this would happen. If weightlifting could increase androgens to such a significant degree, there wouldn't be such a market for anabolic steroids among weightlifters.

Ditto Mary's comments about "availability of fuel".

Thanks bdckr, for taking the time to find the source

I read this the other day on the site in your sig, Mary...there's a TON of useful info on there. The only problem is, every so called "guide" I read recommends different things...

Overall, I guess it's a function of trial + error.

Originally Posted by ptxpress

I read this the other day on the site in your sig, Mary...there's a TON of useful info on there. The only problem is, every so called "guide" I read recommends different things...

Overall, I guess it's a function of trial + error.

Yeah, there are a lot of different people saying different things.

You can avoid problems, though by arming yourself with some really basic, well-established knowledge -- when we're talking about working out, (surface) anatomy and physiology are the most important.

Then read as much as you can. Always keep in mind how reputable a source is. Make sure that it jives with the information that you already know to be true. Judge it by how consistent and reasonable it sounds. And be prepared to re-evaluate what you already "know" to be true in light of newer information that not only (1) explains something to be right, but also (2) explains why what you thought was right might be wrong.

That way, when you come upon new information, you already have a context for understanding it based on what you already know. Take it with a grain of salt if someone is trying to sell you something or has a vested interest. Does it make sense? See if it fits in with what you already know. If it doesn't, decide what makes more sense and fits in with everything else that you've learned in your reading or experience.

And above all, try to go as far back as you can to the original source of information. You'll find that people's reading comprehension skills aren't always the greatest or that people are willing to skew their interpretation of a study to fit their own agenda.

If you do this, you'll find that most reputable sources actually agree on a lot of things.

In some cases though, information is actually new, and as it develops, everyone learns. But a lot of it is old and has just been misinterpreted and perpetuated like a bad "broken telephone" game.




Edit: An example of this would be weightlifting causing increased androgens which in turn caused premature closure of the growth plates of bones, most importantly the long bones of the body, resulting in stunted growth.

On the face of it, that makes some sense since we know that significant amounts of androgen can cause an accelerated growth rate initially but a decreased final height in children.

However, most concerns in related to growth and weightlifting had more to do with actual physical trauma/damage to the epiphyseal/growth plates than hormonal effects.

And if you think even more carefully, if weightlifting can cause such a big surge in androgens in children, why would bodybuilders take steroid supplements? Shouldn't they have a huge amount of androgens in their body anyways? So something doesn't make sense.

So a quick google, carefully refining your terms of reference, will give you two reputable sources, "The Physician and Sports Medicine" and "The American College of Sports Medicine" that both agree on what was apparently a controversial topic. Now these may be "sound-alike" organizations trying to make you believe they're something that they're not, but neither is trying to sell you anything, and neither seems to have a particular reason to recommend weightlifting over any other exercise. And they address the historical concerns about weightlifting and trauma to growth plates.

Very well said, bdckr.

Originally Posted by bdckr

Here are a couple of reasonably reputable sources that disagree.

Excess androgens can both accelerate bone growth (taller earlier) and cause premature epiphyseal plate closure (shorter final height). On the balance, excess androgens may result in short stature. However, weightlifting has not been shown increase androgen levels to the point where this would happen. If weightlifting could increase androgens to such a significant degree, there wouldn't be such a market for anabolic steroids among weightlifters.

Ditto Mary's comments about "availability of fuel".

the problem being all those tests were done on people with high calorie diets in which lack of nutrition is not a problem. According to the sources you posted, groups with high metabolism or reasonable caloric intake are correlated with decreased height. So weightlifting would reduce the final height depending on the person.

(none of the links you posted even say high isn't negatively effected... they only say weightlifting does not appear to cause injury, and it's only when the person is following a "safe" workout program with adequate nutrition... something I doubt many non-serious lifters meet. The stress of a rigourous lifting program and poor dieting has been shown to reduce height growth--teens that are pulled away from such a condition usually experience a growth spurt of several inches within a few months of the change, proof that being in that biologically stressful sittuation was inhibiting growth.)