These Things We Hold to be Indisputable: Meat Head 101
Welcome to the Meat Head Files! Jersey resident and S&C success story Joe De Franco refers to athletes past their competitive days (but who still train hard) as “washed up meat heads”. Rather than this being a pejorative, it is seen as an affectionate description. Being a meat head is generally not a bad thing.
A meat head is typically someone of an athletic background who has spent a lot of time in the gym. Maybe they gravitated more towards gym activity than the sport they came up in or maybe the gym was a gateway to other sports. Regardless, they have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of the weight training world and we can learn something from them. Simply put: they know stuff.
Let’s find out what:
Meat heads may not have the most recent studies at their fingertips, but they do have a little something called “bro science”. Now, I’m not saying you should accord “bro science” the same weight as actual science; that would be silly. But what can we learn from “bro science”? “Bro science”, for example, suggests that 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight are a good daily mark to shoot for if you want size and strength increases. For a 200lb athlete, this is about 300-400 grams of protein. Most normal nutritionists and doctors would cringe at the thought. So why do so many athletes, strength and otherwise, subscribe to this notion?
While the “bro science” of protein looks excessive, it actually does a number of things:
* Puts the body in positive nitrogen balance – provides the building blocks of muscle
* Sways the caloric macronutrient ratios away from carbohydrates – promoting leaner body composition
* Satisfies the appetite in a way carbs never can
* Promotes steady levels of insulin important for health and macronutrient partitioning.
* Moving away from “bro science”, what can we learn from the humble meat head to keep us safe in the gym? Here are a few things a meat head knows without being told:
* You can ask for a spot at the gym. You don’t need to know the person, or have a special bond. You DO need to make sure they know what you want them to do. Don’t blame your spotter for not reading your mind – communicate beforehand.
* You can NEVER turn anyone down for a spot at the gym, which obviously goes with the above. Safety is vital: exercises performed in a power rack might not need a spot, but it doesn’t hurt, plus you get an extra set of eyes on your form.
* To go heavy, start light! Pyramid your weights up! You cannot start at your top weight! That is both a recipe for injury and a total lack of results. First set, go light (nothing wrong with the empty bar as a starting point), and add weight to the second set, and so on in suitable increments until you get to your work set and weight. Weight jumps can be as light as 5-10lbs for upper body work, or unilateral work, but you can jump 20lbs or more between sets of deadlift and squat.
* The great form you use when lifting a weight should also be used when returning weights to the rack, or generally moving stuff around! It is crazy to see people pull perfect deadlifts, and then go all “old lady back” the minute they let go of the bar! Maintain good posture all the time!
* Lift on a clean platform! Don’t get up on the platform with your training journal, water, protein drink, extra plates, collars and so on, surrounding you. One false step and you are cartwheeling with a loaded barbell at arm’s length – don’t let this be you.
* Don’t get in someone’s eye line when they are on the platform trying to lift. Don’t stand right in front of them and start busting out your warm ups, suddenly run past them, or shout their name – these things will all mess with their concentration.
* Don’t try to have a meaningful conversation with anyone who is in the middle of a heavy set. Encouragement and coaching is best for before and after the set.
* No need to reinvent the wheel. Hard work using principles that have been tested by generations of meat heads before you will take you far. Question, but don’t over-analyze.
Now, our clients at Bang Fitness are not “meat heads”, but hopefully there is something in this simple group of common-sense points that will help the eclectic group of professionals and combat athletes that call our gym home.
Next time we will talk about progressive resistance and the “science” of auto-regulation! And no, that is not what David Carradine died of.
Ron Dykstra is a strength and conditioning coach at Bang Fitness and was awarded an honorary PhD in bro-science in 2007. He is, most likely, bigger and stronger than you.
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25.09.2010, 8:57 am