00:00hey everyone my name is Alan thrall and
00:01in this video I want to talk about some
00:03things that I've learned in these past
00:05five months of bodybuilding I realize
00:07how silly that sounds five months you
00:09kidding me I got a tub of protein powder
00:12with more experience than you kid I'm
00:14not here to preach as if I were an
00:15expert on bodybuilding I'm just excited
00:17to document these things that I'm
00:21I've learned a lot about new exercises
00:23exercise selection program structure
00:25progression and bodybuilding like
00:28evolving rep ranges double progression
00:30rep goal system I've learned all this
00:32stuff from other bodybuilding YouTube
00:33channels I'm not going to talk about
00:35that stuff I'm not going to talk
00:36specifically about one plus one equals
00:38two just going to mention some thoughts
00:40that have been brewing inside of my head
00:43now I'm going to make some comparisons
00:44between bodybuilding and power lifting
00:46or strength training which have become
00:48sort of synonymous with each other
00:50power lifting and strength training that
00:52is but before I do I want to make this
00:54clear up front I am not trying to argue
00:57that bodybuilding is better than
00:58powerlifting of course we would ask
01:01better for what I'm not trying to
01:03degrade strength training or power
01:05lifting in any way a lot of what I'm
01:07going to say is anecdotal it's just my
01:09experience you might feel the same way
01:11that I do you might not I could sit here
01:14and make a video about why bodybuilding
01:16is better than power lifting which is a
01:18misleading title and I wouldn't make a
01:20video like that and on the same day I
01:22can make another video about why power
01:24lifting is better than bodybuilding I'm
01:26not trying to do this I'm making this
01:28video because maybe something that I say
01:30strikes a chord inside of you you might
01:32be stuck in your training and wondering
01:34where to go from here you might be
01:36lacking motivation direction or purpose
01:38in your training and something that I
01:40say flicks on a light bulb in your head
01:41that's all this is it's quite literally
01:44my video log my vlog
01:47Point number one since I started
01:49bodybuilding training
01:51I have had no bad days that's right I
01:54don't have bad days not one session has
01:57felt like a waste of time like I failed
01:59the objective sure I've had some days
02:02where I'm a little bit less motivated
02:03than others days when I'm a little more
02:05tired days when I've got a lot on my
02:07plate and my training session is not the
02:09top priority but I have never left a
02:11training session feeling like I'm
02:13regressing feeling like it was a waste
02:14of time feeling like I failed in the
02:17past when the goal of my workouts when
02:20the goal of all of my workouts was
02:21Performance Based meaning wait on the
02:23bar was the primary focus I most
02:26definitely labeled each day as a good
02:28day a mediocre day or a bad day now
02:31using rpe helped mitigate these bad days
02:33but it most certainly did not completely
02:36prevent them from happening
02:38if my workout called for deadlift
02:40working up to one rep at rp8 and I
02:43really wanted to hit 525 pounds
02:46sometimes I'd fall a bit short and call
02:48my one at eight at 505 pounds not a big
02:51deal that's what rpe is for still a good
02:53productive day even though I didn't hit
02:55the exact number that I wanted
02:57but there were days when I was warming
03:00up and 405 pounds was slower than tacky
03:05on a cold morning that means pretty slow
03:08that warm-up rep where you have to pause
03:11once it's done and say to yourself well
03:13it ain't happening today what now
03:16I wanted to hit the bullseye today but
03:18it looks like I'm not even going to hit
03:20the target now I could just call 405 My
03:23One and eight move on hit some back
03:25offsets in the 300 pound range but
03:28that's easier said than done I would be
03:30so emotionally attached to these numbers
03:32that I felt like I failed today it was a
03:37or what I might have done in this
03:39situation if I didn't want to accept
03:40that 405 is going to be my top single
03:43I would force more weight on the bar
03:45using some psychological ace cards I'd
03:48slap myself in the face I'd find a good
03:50song I'd get really angry I try to get
03:52my heart rate up deep breathing I'd
03:55start grunting and growling and then
03:56grind out an even slower 455 pound
04:00which is way more stimulating than my
04:03top single was supposed to be for that
04:08I often see on Instagram
04:10my deadlift has been in the trash lately
04:12bench press feels like squat hurts
04:16that's a third or more of your training
04:18that has become a black cloud looming
04:20overhead because it sucks the numbers
04:21aren't moving the numbers are worse than
04:23they have been in the past this hurts
04:27sessions start being labeled as good and
04:30bad you anticipate poor performance
04:32because it's deadlift day and your
04:33deadlift is in the trash
04:35what a bad relationship to have with
04:38lifting weights something that is
04:40supposed to be fun healthy puts you in a
04:42good mood make you feel good physically
04:44and mentally is being called trash
04:46garbage in the toilet sucks bad
04:50with bodybuilding I haven't experienced
04:52this having goal rep ranges and goal
04:56total reps has allowed for small
04:58fluctuations in performance from day to
05:00day while still feeling like I'm working
05:02towards the overall goal since I'm
05:04focused on stimulating a certain muscle
05:06group not just a specific movement
05:09pattern I have a broad range a broad
05:11range of exercises tempos and Reps to
05:17it's not like I'm changing exercises
05:19every workout or I'm not counting reps
05:21I'm not worrying about intensity I'm
05:22just kind of floating around the gym it
05:24would be easy to say yeah I wouldn't
05:26have bad days either if I just did
05:27whatever I want every day I do follow a
05:30program I log my training I do have I do
05:33have an objective each session and I
05:36push myself hard and that's important to
05:38mention here because I've heard people
05:40say stuff like start super light and
05:42then you don't have to worry about
05:44having a bad day and I don't necessarily
05:46agree with this because way too light
05:48isn't doing a whole lot that would kind
05:51of be a waste of time I want to push
05:54there's something refreshing about
05:56bodybuilding that lets me push myself
05:57and at the same time step back and focus
06:01on the big picture rather than getting
06:03sucked into the specific numbers of
06:08this flows right into Point number two I
06:12I know I'm still in my honeymoon phase
06:14with bodybuilding but so far I've not
06:17needed a week off or a deload week or
06:20there's a reason why most strength
06:22programs or power lifting programs are
06:24six weeks long eight weeks long people
06:26get burnt out the longest time that most
06:29strawman competitors will start prepping
06:31for a show is 12 weeks and it always
06:34starts very light and then slowly
06:35progresses to maybe the last four weeks
06:39by the time power lifters and strongman
06:41competitors are on competition week man
06:42they cannot wait to be done with
06:45training they can't wait for that week
06:47non-competitors people aren't who aren't
06:50worried about strongman and parallel
06:51thing just non-competitors who go to the
06:52gym and strength train
06:54people who are chasing strength numbers
06:56and running themselves into the ground
06:59adding five pounds every session
07:00probably need a few weeks off now there
07:03are strong men and power lifters who do
07:05really well following competition prep
07:07training programs but there are a lot of
07:09general population who like to follow
07:11these comp prep programs and really burn
07:14themselves out and I'm mainly talking
07:18personally the problem that I've had
07:19after every competition was going
07:22through a huge drop in performance
07:24immediately following that competition
07:26I would have to ease back into training
07:29before deciding what to do next so I
07:32would go through this cycle of train
07:35recover slowly build back up train
07:39really hard Peak recover slowly build
07:42back up and so on almost like I was just
07:45adding the same 50 pounds to my Maxes
07:48year after year lose 50 pounds gain 50
07:52I would peek show that I'm strong
07:55lose all that strength take some time
07:57off build back up and then peek back
08:00right back to where I was
08:02I know that I'm cherry picking my own
08:04experiences and I know that I'm making
08:06this straw man argument against strength
08:08focused training and I know in hindsight
08:11that there are some things I could do
08:12differently I'm just saying me
08:15I don't feel this with bodybuilding
08:17training and I like it I feel like each
08:19and every session each and every week
08:21just builds upon the last imagine what
08:24this could do for someone's confidence
08:25and mental health building yourself up
08:28every session rather than smashing your
08:30face into the same brick wall of
08:31plateaus by always forcing more weight
08:33on the bar drilling SPD until you hate
08:36it competing in competitions when you
08:38really don't want to
08:42Point number three uh this one shifts to
08:46I don't have assistance exercises
08:48nothing I do is accessory nothing is
08:52every bicep curl I do is as important as
08:55every shoulder press is as important as
08:56every squat the shift in mindset has
08:59really given purpose to each training
09:01day and each exercise that I do
09:03in the past all of my focus would be on
09:05Squad bench deadlift or tested strongman
09:09assistance lifts which were intended to
09:11assist those big movements would always
09:13be last in my workout when my energy and
09:15time was running thin
09:17since they're just assistance lifts you
09:20know I only need to give like a fraction
09:22of the focus and intensity that I give
09:23the main movements this is wrong I
09:26should have given them the same focus
09:28and intensity as the big movements
09:30maybe less overall volume
09:32but my thinking was you know since their
09:34assistance lifts they just aren't that
09:38sometimes towards the end of my workout
09:41or I had something better to do I would
09:43tell myself you know let's just skip the
09:46that'll actually help with recovery for
09:48the big lifts later on in the week
09:50they were treated like vegetables in
09:51your bulking diet you know you need them
09:53but you always had a reason to skip them
09:56I see plenty of other people doing the
09:58same thing I did Max hype blaring music
10:01intense focus on their Max ever bench
10:04followed by some swinging curls with 15
10:07pound dumbbells until it you know kind
10:09of burns or some seated shoulder press
10:11machine with like 10 percent of their
10:13bench press Max at that point just go
10:15home dude you're wasting your time and I
10:18understand the bench might be way more
10:19important to you than those other lifts
10:21that's all fine and well but my shift
10:24personally is that I don't treat
10:25anything as an assistance exercise it's
10:28equally as important and so I'll say
10:30again in bodybuilding everything is
10:32equally important everything seems to be
10:35my focus and intensity on preacher curls
10:37matches my focus and intensity on squats
10:40now that doesn't mean that just because
10:41I take preacher curls to failure I need
10:44to take squats to failure but the
10:45relative intensity to each other matters
10:48I actually have to be honest with my
10:50assessment I actually have to try hard
10:52now at a more advanced level
10:54bodybuilders can focus on bringing up
10:56certain muscle groups and just
10:57maintaining others meaning oh my arms
11:01are lagging my legs are big enough but
11:03it doesn't mean that anything is less
11:04important per se you might just change
11:06programming variables to meet a goal
11:09physique but for the majority of us this
11:11isn't the case we just want to build
11:14arm day is not an easy day it's just as
11:17important as leg day or any upper body
11:19day and in fact my arm day workouts
11:22sometimes take longer than my lower body
11:24workouts there's more volume and I need
11:26a bit longer rest for smaller muscle
11:29for me personally those small muscle
11:30groups are under trained too
11:36Point number four bodybuilding lets me
11:38do so much more than a strength specific
11:41it used to take me 90 minutes or more to
11:44work up to a squat single than a few
11:48two hours if I wanted to do squats and
11:50bench in the same session
11:51if I was going to do squats bench and
11:53deadlifts in the same session cancel my
11:55entire schedule for the rest of the day
11:57because I'm going to be here for a while
11:59chances are when I'm done with this
12:01session I'm not gonna have the energy
12:02for anything else sorry kids dad's got
12:05to sit on the Park Bench like a zombie
12:06for the rest of the day
12:09with bodybuilding I'm able to do six
12:11exercises supersetting each exercise
12:13exercise one and two and then three and
12:16four and then finally five and six three
12:18to four working sets on each movement
12:20that's 18 to 24 total working sets of
12:23exercises all performed at a high level
12:25all productive sets and Reps No Junk
12:29we talk about how functional strength
12:32training and powerlifting is which I
12:34agree with by the way
12:36and then how non-functional bodybuilding
12:38training is you know we just pump up our
12:40muscles like balloons and have zero real
12:43world strength to show for it
12:45I don't know about you but I don't think
12:47that taking an hour to warm up into a
12:50heavy double on squats is more
12:51functional than getting 10 times the
12:54work in the same amount of time
12:56now like I've said numerous times
12:57already I'm not teasing powerlifting
12:59because maximum strength output is
13:01awesome and power lifters should do
13:03whatever they want in the gym or
13:05whatever they need to do in the gym but
13:07let's not say that bodybuilding is a
13:08waste of time or it's non-functional in
13:11my short experience it is more time
13:13efficient I get way more done now than
13:15when I followed minimal strength
13:17specific programs as a dad this means a
13:22if the squad bench and deadlift are
13:24getting stale for you there is 1 000
13:27other exercises you can do to get the
13:30same or even better results
13:32if the thought of slow grindy heavy
13:35singles and sets of five make you want
13:37to vomit your pre-workout glass of milk
13:40there are a lot of set and rep ranges to
13:42work in you don't have to add five
13:44pounds every session or every week
13:46there are more sustainable more
13:48productive forms of progression I'm
13:50excited to continue learning about all
13:53and point number five bodybuilding is
13:56not easy I used to believe the strength
13:58training was Superior because you are
14:00doing the hard stuff barbell squat bench
14:03deadlift overhead press it's all
14:06hardcore I was a serious lifter
14:09you won't catch me doing any of that
14:10fluff and puff BS bodybuilding is boring
14:13it's not challenging enough 30 pound
14:16dumbbells aren't going to get you
14:17results like a 300 pound barbell will
14:19don't take the easy way out challenge
14:22yourself with some heavy iron
14:24the truth is bodybuilding and strength
14:25training have a lot of overlap I do
14:27still incorporate squats bench deadlift
14:30overhead press into my routine I do
14:32still lift heavy I do still perform
14:34explosive movements I also do reps in
14:38in some ways I push myself harder now
14:41than I ever have before
14:42in the past I rarely ever went to
14:44complete failure in training now I
14:47regularly go to failure on isolation
14:48movements and some compound exercises
14:50like shoulder presses
14:52rows pull-ups push-ups and dips you're
14:55going to failure on any movement is
14:57challenging which I really like I still
15:00so don't think you should do
15:01bodybuilding because you want to take it
15:03easy bodybuilding is tough and that's
15:07psychologically it can be easier than
15:09power lifting sometimes
15:11I don't have to worry about these
15:12psychological and mental arousal
15:14required to hit a bunch of Max singles
15:16and triples on squats and deadlifts
15:18today I don't have to height myself up
15:20to jump into the freezing cold water
15:23that wall that I have to sometimes jump
15:26over to start my training sessions is a
15:28much lower wall for bodybuilding
15:31bodybuilding is not easy it sounds a bit
15:33contrary to my first two points that I
15:35don't have bad days and I don't need to
15:36take breaks but hear me out
15:39I like lifting weights because I like
15:41the way it makes me feel I like making
15:43my muscles tired I like the pump I like
15:46progressing and seeing my strength and
15:48body change my workouts are my me time
15:50it's a time to channel emotions lifting
15:53weights allows me to expel any negative
15:56emotions I feel in the moment without
15:59distraction it's meditation for me
16:01I like feeling like I accomplished
16:03something I like routine and structure
16:06in my life I like having the discipline
16:08required to stick to a workout routine
16:11I'm in a better mood when I get my
16:15thanks for watching and always remember
