Kai Greene- I'll Never be a weight lifter.

[magnus82]

I am sure many of you have seen this video, but its a nice reminder to keep the mind/muscle connection. Seems everytime I let my weights get out of hand, an injury is either created or resurfaces. As Phil has stated, there is much more to progress than just the weight lifted.

Kai Greene - I'll Never be A Weightlifter. - YouTube

 

[Gaintrain]

link did not work for me..

 

[magnus82]

Sorry Iron, not sure what the deal was. Seems like it's fixed now. The other videos in this series are very good as well.

 

[discohornet]

Kai Greene - I'll Never be A Weightlifter. - YouTube

I keep saying this over and over again, a bodybuilder is not a weightlifter. It's about manipulation of tissue, no different really than someone who wants to put stretching rings in their earlobes, but instead of plastic, you're forcing fluid into the muscle and stretching the fascia. It's also about the hormonal response to the muscle damage caused by the lifting of the weights, but the amount of weight you're lifting in the end is actually just a side effect of the work you are doing, and not the means to the end you are hoping to achieve.

I don't want to say much more about it though, because I am not an accomplished bodybuilder. I didn't join this forum because i have hopes of a pro card. I like to lift weights, and I like to look good naked. But I'm not trying to go from my current 6'2 230lb 10% bf, to 265lb 5%. So I can't stand up on a podium and profess to know the Truth with a capital T because I've been there, because I haven't.

But I do know that there is a huge difference between training hard and training smart.

You want to make lifting really hard? Fine. Next set of deadlifts you do, throw 225 on the bar and then pull it 10 times, BUT ..... Do it with a gag in your mouth. That's right. Don't breathe. Now THAT IS HARD.... If you can pull a 225 deadlift with no breathing then you have done something harder than any of us have ever done.

BUT will you then have become more muscular? You trained harder than anyone on this forum can ever claim, but did you get bigger?

 

[Queefer]

I was just thinking the other day, I am weaker then I was a year ago, but quite a bit bigger. Then I just continued to do my pump workout. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and I'm tapped out in the strength department.

 

[intenceman]

So you get bigger without getting stronger? Or even by getting weaker!? In 25 years of lifting I've yet to have that happen. It seems that I have to get stronger and not just by 10 lbs to make any appreciable gains. Lots of good food helps as do hormones of course.

 

[magnus82]

I was just thinking the other day, I am weaker then I was a year ago, but quite a bit bigger. Then I just continued to do my pump workout. Maybe it's because I'm getting older and I'm tapped out in the strength department.

Same here. It's no longer a matter of getting better at lifting weight, but rather getting better at causing muscle trauma. I can certainly tell when I loose focus and start going for poundages. It's at that time I feel the need for drop sets, since the pain and pump I am used to just isn't there.

 

[tkav1980]

the FASTEST way to ellicit a growth response is heavy weight. 3-5 sets and done. get out go eat and recover so you can retrain that muscle relatively soon, maybe 4 or 5 days later.

I'm NOT saying heavy, high intensity, high frequency is better but I do think its faster for adding mass. but thats just my opinion.

 

[thehazzle]

I don't think Theres any set rules. When I deadlift I always just do singles and even though singles aren't meant to do jack for size. My posterior chain and upper back grow

 

[magnus82]

the FASTEST way to ellicit a growth response is heavy weight. 3-5 sets and done. get out go eat and recover so you can retrain that muscle relatively soon, maybe 4 or 5 days later.

I'm NOT saying heavy, high intensity, high frequency is better but I do think its faster for adding mass. but thats just my opinion.

I still like going heavy. Only now I don't lift as much weight as I can , but as much as I can controlled.

 

[Dublin]

I really like what he says in the clip, focus on form rather than weight.

 

[tkav1980]

I still like going heavy. Only now I don't lift as much weight as I can , but as much as I can controlled.

There's the trick, turn into a forklift, and not a cannon. Heavy is going to be relative to the set/rep scheme used.

 

[magnus82]

Agreed. Just watch some of the pros and how they lift. There is a split second right at lockout where you can either lockout or squeeze like hell. There is a drastic difference in that split second. A good example is the recent video of Shelby squating.

 

[Queefer]

So you get bigger without getting stronger? Or even by getting weaker!? In 25 years of lifting I've yet to have that happen. It seems that I have to get stronger and not just by 10 lbs to make any appreciable gains. Lots of good food helps as do hormones of course.

Absolutely. For me it's about intensity and pumping the shit out of the muscle. I did back today and did about 30 sets in a 75min routine with lots of drop and supersets.

 

[slayer66]

that shit makes me laugh..yeah he got big lifting light,,BULLSHIT,,he hammered ridiculous weight for 14yrs before he backed down ..his frame cant handle much more muscle..if people think they can do high reps with light weight and get THICK i call bullshit,I see so many guys walking around at 180lbs and turn to the side and they look like a pancake no chest or back and they have perfect control because they dont push real weight.

 

[midwest11]

kai is a very interesting charater i feel he like to be differnt to seperate himself from the rest of bodybuilder gotta respect what he has done thus far

 

[sakguy]

I think sticking to only one mode of training or rep/set scheme is to the detriment of muscular growth and maturation. I really like JM's layred style of training where all energy systems, rep/set shcemes and training modalities are tapped into causing adaptations to muliple systems. Muscular Strength, hypertrophy, and endurance can very much so be dependent adaptaions, causing an adaptation in the end that is more desireable than if only one muscular characteristic is emphasized. Of course proper periodization of these modalities and adequeate rest for CNS and muscular recovery is needed. I love mountaindog training. My last workout had me taxing the 5 rep range with explosive movement, and then in the same workout I had a drop set that had me over 100 reps!

 

[petersouth]

That was a great video, it really helped a lot to see him struggle with that light weight.

I bet these guys finish the photo shoot and go lift their baby weights. He even suggested that.

 

[phani]

There's the trick, turn into a forklift, and not a cannon. Heavy is going to be relative to the set/rep scheme used.

it is so true. having control with the movement. totally agree with ya :headbang:

 

[Simpllyhuge]

I would like to see hime doing rear delts and up right rows as well as what he does for traps and legs.