Catabolism is Bullshit

Bodybuilders fascinate me. They work very hard, grow freakishly big, and can do some pretty damn cool things with muscle. While I don’t have any aspirations to be a bodybuilder, I do enjoy learning about the science behind how they pack on muscle and strip off fat.

Most people have similar goals, albeit not to such extremes. They want to lose fat, build muscle, and feel great. They end up doing what body builders do, following the logic that if they follow the same workouts and take the same supplements, they’ll look the same as their favorite IFBB pro. This is what typically happens:

Most people follow programs that were became popular in the 80’s and 90’s, when body building was the end-all and be-all of fitness. It was the size boom in pro body building, when lifters kept getting bigger and bigger, thanks to genetics, hard work and dedication, and certain ‘supplements’. Magazines got hold of these athletes, found out how they trained, changed the workouts so that mere mortals could follow them, and published them.

If you’re currently following that ol’ body part split at the gym, it’s likely a watered down version of something a pro used 20 years ago. Still can’t figure out why it doesn’t work for you? The program doesn’t suck, and you don’t suck, but the program sucks for you. Instead of understanding that they’re using a sub-optimal program, the concern becomes catabolism, and protecting the relatively low amount of hypertrophy that occurs.

Two of the most common fears that those new to lifting have are about not building enough muscle in the first place, or about getting fat. Each of those problems are relatively easy to fix, with muscle gain being mostly affected by what you do at the gym, and fat loss or minimizing fat gain dependent on what you’re eating outside of the gym. Together, they’ll help you build a muscular, lean body.

Most dedicated trainees are more concerned with becoming lean, or remaining lean, then they are with putting on muscle mass or getting stronger. I routinely deal with folks who check out their abs in the mirror, or pinch their sides, or complain about body fat, and who don’t focus on getting stronger with the big lifts. They’re concerned that they’re not growing.

We’re the product of millions of years of evolution; You might just be better suited to adaptation than any other creature, ever. Do you really mean to tell me that your body doesn’t have a way of building muscle without putting on fat? It absolutely does; you’re just not doing the right thing.

I Pick Things Up and Put Them Down

The biggest mistake that is made in the gym is with exercise selection. It’s not about sets and reps, or tempo, or a specific variation that gets just a little bit of bicep and a lot of brachialis. It’s about picking the good stuff. If you’re lifting 3-4 times per week like you should, then each of your workouts should begin with and focus on big compound exercises that allow you to move the most muscle possible. Here’s a basic list of what to focus on:

Squats
Deadlifts
Chin-Ups
Overhead Press
Inverted Rows
Bench Press
Push-Ups
Split Squats
Dumbbell Rows
Farmer’s Walk
Face Pulls
Ab Roll Outs

That list could continue to thousands of variations of each of the above exercises. It isn’t about variations though, it’s about utilizing specific variations of the above exercises to create a stimulus. The benefits you reap from doing chin-ups and squats is bigger than the one you get from isolation curls and calve raises. Cut that shit out unless you’re training your big movements.

Once you’re focusing on those big movements, and you’re eating enough protein, healthy fats, and the necessary carbohydrates to support your efforts, you’ll be far less concerned with catabolism, which wasn’t really your problem in the first place. In reality, you’re just not creating a large enough training stimulus when you’re at the gym.

Get out of the “back & bi’s, shoulders & abs” mentality; it’s probably not working very well for you. Instead, focus on including at least three of those exercises listed above in every single one of your workouts. If you need help with planning your workout schedule, check out this post I wrote about Planning To Sweat Every Day. If you have any questions about exercise selection, let me know in the comments below.

I’ll leave you with a video of Ronnie Coleman squatting. Remember that time he said, “Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but don’t nobody wanna lift no heavy ass weight.” It makes some sense:

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2 responses to “Catabolism is Bullshit”

Tara

September 5, 2012 at 3:39 pm

Not all bodybuilders are bad 😉 I did the body part split thing for a long time but in the past six months or so I’ve been training more for strength by structuring my training sessions around 2-3 main lifts for low reps. I still keep each day focused on 1-2 body parts by incorporating accessory movements, but I believe I’m training in a smarter way now. I loooove Ron Coleman and I could watch him squat all day!

Top Good Reads of the Week: Edition 14 | LaVack Fitness

September 12, 2012 at 8:35 pm

[…] 5 Variations on the Hip Long Axis Distraction – The Manual Therapist Discharge Considerations – The Manual Therapist Facebook Narcissism – Jonathan Goodman Do Young Athletes Need “Power/Speed” Training? – Tony Gentilcore Hold On For a Bigger Deadlift – Tony Gentilcore Serge Nubret Pump Training – Bradley Joe Kelly Diagonal Side Sit (Turbo Style) – Perry Nickelston Locking in the Ankle – Perry Nickelston Brutal Complexes – Wil Fleming Snatch Up these Grip Tips – Wil Fleming 4 Reasons You’re Not Gaining Muscle – Brad Schoenfled Interview with Alan Aragon – Brad Schoenfled Advice from Dad – Amy Wattles Eff-It Part 1 – Molly Galbraith Eff-It Part 2 – Molly Galbraith The Toe Waving Exercise, Part 1 – The Gait Guys The Toe Waving Exercise, Part 2 – The Gait Guys Torsions – The Gait Guys Mental Aspect of Olympic Weightlifting – Jordan Houghton A Case for Wide Squats – Brad Longazel| 7 Exercises for Rehabbing Your Ankle Sprain – Danavir Sarria Pre-Training Motivation Movie Speeches – Matt Siniscalchi Taking Baby Steps in the Athlete’s Nutrition – Matt Siniscalchi Great Story About Dealing with Injury – Ben Bruno Landmine Sliding Single Leg RDL – Ben Bruno What’s Your Excuse? – Ben Bruno Why You Have It All Wrong About Abs – Kellie Davis Train muscles not movements – Nick Tumminello Improve a Lift, By Doing the Lift – Greg Robins Feel and Move Better Installment 17 – Greg Robins Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes…and Pelvic Floor – Julie Wiebe The Benefits of Middle-Age FItness – Gretchen Reynolds I am Scared to Death, I am Confident – Smitty How to Squat More Weight with the Hip Hinge – Smitty Bigger Arms and Barefoot Training – Smitty The One Thing We Need to Do with Everyone – Mike Reinold The Right Way to Use a Kettlebell – David Whitley 7 Reasons You’re Not Getting Stronger – Dan Trink When Coaching Cues Attack! “Packing the Shoulder” – Bret Contreras Never Forget the Plain Old Vanilla – Robert Panariello How to Reduce Muscle Soreness – Chad Waterbury Better Shoulder Ext = Better Bench + Dips – Kelly Starrett Quick Test: Is It Your Shoulders? – Kelly Starrett Avoiding Common Str Program Mistakes – Rick Kaselj Designing the Best Program Possible – Dean Somerset How to Prevent Working Out from Becoming a Chore – Nia Shanks Is Scapular Stability a Myth? – Mike Robertson Our Brains Make Men and Women See Things Differently – Sarah Glynn Why the Music Sucks in Your Gym – Charlie Reid Should You Bulk or Cut? – Anthony Mychal Facing Your Fears – Roger Lawson A Single Bout of Exercise Improves Motor Memory – PLOSone Know Before You Go: Fitness Boot Camps – Sophia Breene Miscellaneous Musings of the Month: August 2012 – Sohee Lee Carbs: Fueling for Performance – Evolution Nutrition How Serious Strength Can Build a Sexy Physique – Neghar Fonooni Obesity Assoicated w/ Impaired Brain Function in Adolescents – Science Daily Young Gunz – John Romaniello 5 Moves to Get Ready in a Hurry – Chad Rogers The Talent Revelation? – Martin Rooney Heavy Sled Sprints: Effective or Counter-Productive to Speed? – Joe DeFranco Catabolism is BS – Harold Gibbons […]

Tara

September 5, 2012 at 3:39 pm

Not all bodybuilders are bad 😉 I did the body part split thing for a long time but in the past six months or so I’ve been training more for strength by structuring my training sessions around 2-3 main lifts for low reps. I still keep each day focused on 1-2 body parts by incorporating accessory movements, but I believe I’m training in a smarter way now. I loooove Ron Coleman and I could watch him squat all day!

Top Good Reads of the Week: Edition 14 | LaVack Fitness

September 12, 2012 at 8:35 pm

[…] 5 Variations on the Hip Long Axis Distraction – The Manual Therapist Discharge Considerations – The Manual Therapist Facebook Narcissism – Jonathan Goodman Do Young Athletes Need “Power/Speed” Training? – Tony Gentilcore Hold On For a Bigger Deadlift – Tony Gentilcore Serge Nubret Pump Training – Bradley Joe Kelly Diagonal Side Sit (Turbo Style) – Perry Nickelston Locking in the Ankle – Perry Nickelston Brutal Complexes – Wil Fleming Snatch Up these Grip Tips – Wil Fleming 4 Reasons You’re Not Gaining Muscle – Brad Schoenfled Interview with Alan Aragon – Brad Schoenfled Advice from Dad – Amy Wattles Eff-It Part 1 – Molly Galbraith Eff-It Part 2 – Molly Galbraith The Toe Waving Exercise, Part 1 – The Gait Guys The Toe Waving Exercise, Part 2 – The Gait Guys Torsions – The Gait Guys Mental Aspect of Olympic Weightlifting – Jordan Houghton A Case for Wide Squats – Brad Longazel| 7 Exercises for Rehabbing Your Ankle Sprain – Danavir Sarria Pre-Training Motivation Movie Speeches – Matt Siniscalchi Taking Baby Steps in the Athlete’s Nutrition – Matt Siniscalchi Great Story About Dealing with Injury – Ben Bruno Landmine Sliding Single Leg RDL – Ben Bruno What’s Your Excuse? – Ben Bruno Why You Have It All Wrong About Abs – Kellie Davis Train muscles not movements – Nick Tumminello Improve a Lift, By Doing the Lift – Greg Robins Feel and Move Better Installment 17 – Greg Robins Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes…and Pelvic Floor – Julie Wiebe The Benefits of Middle-Age FItness – Gretchen Reynolds I am Scared to Death, I am Confident – Smitty How to Squat More Weight with the Hip Hinge – Smitty Bigger Arms and Barefoot Training – Smitty The One Thing We Need to Do with Everyone – Mike Reinold The Right Way to Use a Kettlebell – David Whitley 7 Reasons You’re Not Getting Stronger – Dan Trink When Coaching Cues Attack! “Packing the Shoulder” – Bret Contreras Never Forget the Plain Old Vanilla – Robert Panariello How to Reduce Muscle Soreness – Chad Waterbury Better Shoulder Ext = Better Bench + Dips – Kelly Starrett Quick Test: Is It Your Shoulders? – Kelly Starrett Avoiding Common Str Program Mistakes – Rick Kaselj Designing the Best Program Possible – Dean Somerset How to Prevent Working Out from Becoming a Chore – Nia Shanks Is Scapular Stability a Myth? – Mike Robertson Our Brains Make Men and Women See Things Differently – Sarah Glynn Why the Music Sucks in Your Gym – Charlie Reid Should You Bulk or Cut? – Anthony Mychal Facing Your Fears – Roger Lawson A Single Bout of Exercise Improves Motor Memory – PLOSone Know Before You Go: Fitness Boot Camps – Sophia Breene Miscellaneous Musings of the Month: August 2012 – Sohee Lee Carbs: Fueling for Performance – Evolution Nutrition How Serious Strength Can Build a Sexy Physique – Neghar Fonooni Obesity Assoicated w/ Impaired Brain Function in Adolescents – Science Daily Young Gunz – John Romaniello 5 Moves to Get Ready in a Hurry – Chad Rogers The Talent Revelation? – Martin Rooney Heavy Sled Sprints: Effective or Counter-Productive to Speed? – Joe DeFranco Catabolism is BS – Harold Gibbons […]