"You really need to read, learn and listen from people who are educated (as in they have a degree) in this field. ." ^ In regards to that, yes and no. You know there are plenty of people in any subject that can talk the talk but not all of them can back it up with the results. I look at the results first, I mean if someone who is very strong and very lean is giving me basic advice, I will absolutely be more inclined to listen to him than the guy who is smaller than me with a degree giving me technical breakdowns of nutrients and advanced training programs. First off articles, videos and books only get you so far. You actually need to be in a gym while your doing all of the above, if anything get in the gym first and see whats working for you, not working for you. You can watch videos on how to bench for a month, having a bar in your hands however is completely different. Even if you suck at everything, your still gaining experience and you will only build on that experience in a positive way as long as you stick with it and correct your mistakes. Some guy in my gym asked a trainer "Whats the best exercise to improve your squat" His response "Um, Squat" Its actually true, if you want to be a better bencher or squatter or whatever you need to do that exercise a lot, get the form down, feel comfortable under the bar. Your bodies potential to move weight muscularly only gets you so far. Technique and form account for so much of your ability to lift weight. You can have two 180lb men with the exact same amount of muscle mass lifting two very different numbers, one lifting 150lbs and the other 275. Today, elite powerlifters are squatting over 1000 and benching 800... this is incredible weight, but the main reason why they can do that is because they are so used to doing particular movements and have perfected everything about them even down to precise breathing. Muscularly these guys may only be able to squat 600 or bench 500 but perfecting the movement adds the last bit of power, which is actually a huge variable. In terms of building strength these things are key. As for peoples with degrees etc. they are a great source of info, guys like John Berardi are awesome when it comes to nutrition and diet... I have read his book Precision Nutrtion and its great. ... but sometimes its very easy to get confused by technical articles and its better to follow a simple diet, simple training program that just works. A lot of people who work at gyms know tons about diet and exercise and can breakdown how and why muscles work and how to perform this and that... the problem is a lot of those people arent that big, lol and thats something to consider. People can tell you about diet and training in theory, just like many people can "correct paint" in theory whereas they know the products, speeds etc. yet cant put out the same level of work as the next guy, who may be far less technical or less knowledgeable about paint systems and digital readings but rather has tried and tested methods and works hard to yield great results. Heres one of the best videos on how to properly bench, common mistakes done by someone who has actually benched over 730lbs in competition. YouTube - Elitefts.com: 5 Biggest Bench Mistakes
Actually that's kind of false. I believe working out in general increases test levels, but I don't believe *specific* exercises do. Compound lifts generally put your body under greater stress and work more muscles than isolation exercises, which could likely be a reason you heard that squats are good for that, but I don't believe specific exercises to be anything but *marginally* better than others, and even that difference is negligible. The test increase from working out isn't going to make you jacked. It's the hard work that will do that. Also, people claim that squats trigger the release of HGH. While that has been proven to be true, the amount it releases is soooooo small, it's not even worth mentioning. That said, squats are among the best exercises, IMO. They work your legs (which many people neglect), but also strengthen your core and work your posterior chain. They are extremely hard (if done correctly, which most people don't do), and teach you a mental discipline like no other exercise. Also, I wouldn't say deadlifts or bench will make you more explosive. Definitely not bench. I guess I could see the argument for working your posterior chain in deads, but if you are going for explosiveness, try some power cleans. Those will help your explosiveness.
Bench can absolutely help you be explosive. Whenever I plateau on bench I switch my routine to incorporate more chains, chains especially help you will explosive power and pushing through your sticking point. 5 sets of 3 reps as fast as you can with chains on the bench is a great way to break through a plateau and get explosive power, which carries over into other things... hence why football players, especially lineman do tons of bench work with chains. You cant be explosive with deads, period. Squat, yes you can. Dynamic effort days with box squat, come down slow and just as your butt touches the box, explode up, ideally 3 reps works great. Also a great way to build explosive lower body power.
Ok yea I guess. I was just thinking of "explosive" as vertical jump, speed/agility, quick starts, etc. More full body/speed type things. Hence I said I could see why strengthening the posterior chain might help (vertical jump). But it wouldn't be an exercise I would recommend if your goal was explosiveness, cleans would be.
The results they get from their clients is more important than what the individual looks like. However, a trainer or strength coach who is in shape is definitely going to get more business and respect than one who is not. Everyday I see big guys who don't have a clue what they are doing. Also, lets not overlook the fact that the majority of these strong guys are taking serious supplements. Genetics also plays a huge role.
