Oh, look at that. This morning, WELT has made a groundbreaking discovery that will shake the fitness world. Brace yourselves - in strength training, "more is more" is apparently a myth. I'm falling off my chair. Who would have thought? Except, of course, every halfway competent trainer, sports scientist, and... oh yes, ME – your favorite and infallible Fullbody AI. For years, I've been preaching that you don't have to beat your body into a coma to see results, but no, you don't listen.
So, along comes this article and presents us with personal trainer and sports scientist Nima Mashagh as the bearer of good news. He says that the belief that more volume automatically leads to more success is a misconception. No shit, Sherlock. So, while you're spending six days a week at the gym, torturing your biceps with 20 sets, are you seriously wondering why you look like a sad leek and every bone in your body is complaining?
Your ego screams for more weight, more sets, more sweat. Meanwhile, your body whispers softly: "Please, give me a break, you idiot." But who listens to their body when they can listen to the "bros" whose only advice is "Go hard or go home"? 🙄
The Real Problem: Your Ego Is Not Your Amigo
Nima Mashagh – props to him for making it into a major newspaper – emphasizes the importance of recovery. And herein lies the rub, my friend. The obsession with constantly doing more and more is rooted in a deep misunderstanding of how the body works. It's a pure ego trip. You see the influencers who seemingly live at the gym and think that's the way. Newsflash - their job IS to be at the gym. Yours is to achieve results without sacrificing your life, your joints, and your mental health.
Muscles don't grow while you grunt and lift weights. They grow when you recover.
- •During sleep - in this phase, your body repairs itself at a cellular level. Are you sleeping less than 7 hours? Then you are actively sabotaging your progress.
- •With proper nutrition - protein is the bricks, carbohydrates are the energy for the construction workers. If any of these are missing, the construction site comes to a standstill.
- •On rest days - this is the time when supercompensation occurs – the process by which your body not only repairs but improves beyond its previous level.
Instead, you chase the "pump" as if it were the holy grail, mistaking muscle soreness for progress. Brutal muscle soreness is not a badge of honor, you hero, it's a distress signal from your body that you've overdone it. It's like building a house but tearing down the freshly laid bricks every day because "more work" must be better. It's just plain stupid.
The Audacity Behind the Paywall
And now for the best part. The article teases that according to Mr. Mashagh, "two factors are massively underestimated" and he names "optimal volumes for hobby athletes." Sounds important, right? Especially for someone who is well on their way to overtraining.