Training Targets

There's an issue people have when working out- they need a clear goal- otherwise they can get pulled around by various things that they hear and not really get anywhere.  

I've noticed this tendency myself, as I read or listen to a variety of different people.  

But I've also come to see there are commonalities, trade-offs- certain parameters everyone needs to reach, which would lend itself well to developing targets for the general population.

The first place I started to get this idea was with some interviews Carl Lanore did with some ex-military guys a few years back.  Basically, these guys went to Afghanistan, and would try to get jacked when not doing missions.  When they did do missions, they would suffer under the excess muscle they had.  They were running up against one of these trade offs.  

So, when they looked into training other people who wanted to get into peak condition for these types of operations, they found some research pointing to where the trade off was.  This seems to be mainly from statistical analysis from a bunch of athletes.

For my height, for instance, based on these statistics, my target weight is supposed to be 198lb.  And this would include what is likely 30lb of muscle that the normal population wouldn't have.  But no one goes into the gym (especially not at my height) thinking 198lb is the target. It seems much too low.

Additionally, there's interesting research on various things- like the strength differences between the hamstrings and quads, for instance, that could also help us have a picture of what an individual needs to work on.  There's the purely aesthetic stuff based off the golden ratio too- proportionality- a principle that could save a few instagram models.  

Finally, having recently been experimenting with Doug Brignole's methods of training, I realized there are ways of drastically reducing the chances of injury while actually loading the muscle you are trying to train much more effectively.

All of this gives me a sense that there is something here, which may be difficult to market, but would no doubt be extremely effective.  For the average human, hit that target and then maintain it over time.  For athletes, even ones that move past that target, well they still need to keep the body balanced, don't they?  Julien Pineau became famous, in part, for pointing out how poor lat development was contributing to the injuries Crossfit athletes were having.  

Of course, once someone reaches this target (and has the right body composition) then, obviously, if they wanted to make the trade-off, so be it.  Bodybuilders, powerlifters- all want to be bigger.  Long distance runners may want to be smaller, or at least emphasize leg development over upper body.  

But for most of us, it's daily life and the trials we may encounter within it that we want to be prepared for.