Words of Wisdom from Coach Boyle…

Strength Coach Mike Boyle sent out his newlsetter today, and this is what he had to say…

“No one has ever gotten better lifting light weights.

Light weight is an oxymoron. A weight should be appropriate to the
goal but, rarely, if ever, intentionally light. The load should be
based on the strength level of the person. The reality is if you
are lifting a weight ten times, numbers nine and ten should be
difficult. If you can lift a weight 20 times but choose to do only
ten, you are wasting your time. Period.

The essence of effective strength training is a concept called
progressive resistance exercise. This means that that even if
the resistance may be light to begin with, it should not stay
that way.

I go crazy when someone tells me about the routine they’ve been
doing with their eight-lb hand weights. (P.S. Call them dumbbells.
Calling them hand weights is a dead giveaway that you are clueless.)
My first question is this. How long have you been doing this?

Often, people respond with something like, “I’ve done this three
times a week for three months.” The doctrine of progressive
resistance says that the first two weeks were beneficial and
th at 10 weeks were wasted. It’s no wonder people stop working out.

Once you have passed the first three weeks of training, you
should lift a weight that is heavy but allows perfect form.

Be wary, however, of another all-too-common mistake. When we
say the load should be heavy, people begin to cheat. We are
not encouraging cheating. Strive for perfect technique in all
exercises AND progressively increase the resistance. SportBlocks,
from PowerBlock, are perfect for this as are the Bowflex Dumbbells.
SportBlocks are a small version of the popular PowerBlock dumbbells
that increase in three-pound increments. If you don’t want to buy
SportBlocks, get a good selection of dumbbells. Beginners will
need 2.5-, 5-, 7.5-,10- and 12-lb dumbbells in order to progress.

Point 4 – Work on basic strength in basic exercises. If your trainer
has you practicing your golf swing with a dumbbell in your hands,
get a new trainer. Do not wave dumbbells around and call it strength
training. Learn to bodyweight squat, learn to do a push-up. Good
basic training should strongly remind you of the calisthenics you
used to do in high school.

Here’s the truth. The secret is, there is no secret. If you want
to hit a golf ball further, you need to get stronger. You will not
get strong lifting a five-pound dumbbell.”

Well said, Mike!

Even though some of your sets might be light relative to your 1-RM (Rep Max), do not purposely lift a “light” weight that doesn’t challenge you.  That is dumb.  Don’t be dumb.  Ok, so Coach Boyle’s words were more eloquent than mine, but you get the point.

Have a great week!