Few lifters question the value of science-backed training methods, but is it possible the strength community has gone too far? At the end of a training cycle when all is said and done, what matters more: the science behind your training or the intensity with which you approached it? In today's Table Talk video, Dave responds to a question about the prevalence of science in training today:
"Is there too much science involved in training methods in this era of lifting, meaning we are relying on it more so than the hard work, balls-to-the-walls training of our past?"
Dave's first reaction is to challenge the assumption of the question, that science wasn't relevant in the past. Does everyone assume there was no science in training until the last decade? What a discredit to all of the researchers of 40 years ago. Have we decided to say fuck the Soviet Union?
This stuff has been studied forever, Dave says, and that's a good thing. The trick is knowing how to use it to improve your self. If you want to utilize science for your training, you have to approach it with the right mindset. There are two main types of people when it comes to science-backed training:
1. People who only look at research to validate their own beliefs.
This is easy to do. If, like Dave, your preferred method is conjugate or Westside training, it's very easy while reading scientific reviews to find the studies that validate your beliefs and then quote the research to make yourself look like a genius. This is what a lot of people do, spending their time trying to find resources and references that make them look good for what they're already doing.
2. People who look at studies that disagree with their beliefs.
This is who you want to be. If you really want to become better—if you're really striving for excellence—you want to find the information that disproves your beliefs. This opens your frame of reference to pull in new ideas and then implement them to make your training program better. The value lies in what you don't know, not in what you already do know.
So the problem with science in training isn't that there's too much of it. In fact, Dave says, if anything, people don't use science enough. The real problem is that people use science to validate their beliefs instead of trying to learn from it.
WATCH: Table Talk — Method Muppets
