Compression Garments for Weight Training...BULLSHIT!

OK , my Body Building needs are simple, power rack, bench and a chin bar..that's all I really need, hell its all most people really need (thanks Damon!). In its simplest terms training can be represented as inputs (food, training) process (response to training) outputs (health & physique). The subtlety (or the devil) is always in the detail. However more knowledge is not always good, so once we get a decent routine based around constant progression that appears to work, what do we do? We fuck with it! We get distracted, we seek quicker results and we spend and inordinate amount of time on factors that contribute less than 5% towards our results (like supplements). Worse still we do things that contribute nothing to our results, which brings me to the point of today's blog...compression garments.

Let me preface my discussion by saying that I am speaking in the context of efficacy for weight training and body building. Now if I see one more guy in my gym wearing compression clothing and then telling his mates about how good they are I am gonna freak! So why use them? Well the brochures wax lyrical about the "high performance" edge but fundamentally the alleged benefits can be summarized as: during performance (reduction in lactic acid, reduced muscle vibration for more support) and post performance (improved blood circulation and reduced muscle soreness).

So lets review these benefits in the context of bodybuilding.  Firstly studies regarding their use relate primarily to performance and recovery for endurance athletes not lifters. Ok what about lactic acid buffering you say? Well the compression garment is not going to make a difference to your 3rd set of squats and besides most of you are taking a buffering product like beta-alanine (aren't you?). What about improved blood flow... no chance and if it was an issue you could do a lighter flushing set of an antagonistic muscle. Reduced muscle soreness...I challenge anyone to reliably measure if they make a difference before and after a set of heavy squats or dead lifts.

What it comes down to is image. Be honest you love the way you look in the garment and the way it feels hugging those muscles tightly. If that feeling translates to extra reps the I am all for the placebo effect but just don't bullshit me that its for the intrinsic qualities of the garment though I question whether the price tag is worth it.

That aside what really peeves me is when the guy wearing the gear is about 15 kgs overweight...pulleeez!! Its bad enough that the local coffee shop is inundated with tribes of lycra clad cyclists staggering around post ride but now I have to put up with a similar sight in the gym.....oh my freakin eyes!!!

Bottom line, focus less about what you wear and more about what you squat!

Dumb Shit I Seen in the GYM - Part 1

Can I commence by asking: why do we workout in the gym? We go to change our bodies to conform the twisted tangle of our physiques into the image in our minds eye, we do it to vent and refresh our soul and damn we do it so we look good and feel even better. Does that sound reasonable?

Why then dear reader is my gym filled with so many misguided poorly informed muppets who continue to perpetuate stupid myths and engage in acts of random stupidity. The dinosaurs didn't die out they are at my gym with their bloated bodies and small brains.

Now lets be clear I love lifting heavy weights and working out; there is no better tonic then pitting yourself against the iron and watching positive changes in your physique and health. However where did it say you have to act like a tool in the pursuit of your goals. To give you a sense of what I am alluding to let me detail the most recent top 5 idiotic behaviours I have observed:

Number 1: He who makes the most noise is the fittest! Why oh why do lunk heads grunt and groan in a ratio that is disproportionate to the amount they are lifting. Shut up and just do it!

Number 2: Working the jaw instead of the muscle group in question. You don't go to a bar or club to train so don't come to the gym to talk and socialise.

Number 3: Not working legs. Listen you have muscles below the waist line so perhaps worth training them particularly as you can gain a great training effect from working the biggest muscles in the body.

Number 4: Being on the gear and not working out hard. I don't give a shit if your on the gear (as long as you have trained hard for 10 years and got to your genetic potential without them) but I dont like you coming in with your fat fuck physique doing stuff all and then preening like some water laden wanna be coz all ur really did was stick a needle in your ass.

Number 5: Not planning workouts. I see the same knuckleheads come in week after week and do the same rubbish. They never track their progress therefore they never progress. My coach taught me that training is simply blue collar work, do the numbers that are forecast and then get out of the gym. You must always review your progress and keep pushing yourself through the numbers to better performances otherwise you look like the same loser as last year.

Now as an average athlete I can appreciate the difficulties in making constant progress but come on its hard enough without begin a twat once you get into the gym!!! Remember guys I'm watching you.