5 Strength Training Myths

by Jim Wendler
1. "You must train with strong people to get strong!"
While this may be ideal, few people have this luxury, and I see it being used as
an excuse for weakness by those that train alone or with "regular" training par
tners. If you train alone, find a way to get it done. You're not trying to accom
plish astral plane projection - you're trying to lift a couple pounds more.
2. "Stretching makes you slow."
Maybe it's the application of stretching that makes a difference?
3. "Scientific studies prove me correct!"
There's a general rule in this industry that you should use whatever scientific
study supports your way of thinking and disregard any other study that proves th
e opposite, citing quackery.
Alwyn Cosgrove once said that if you took a lifter and had him perform a 1RM in
the bench press, and then later the same day had him perform a full bench press
workout complete with assistance lifts followed by having him test his 1RM again
, the said lifter would test lower. Thus, you've just proven that weight trainin
g makes you weaker. So take each study you read with a huge amount of skepticism
and understand that humans always have an agenda.
4. "You must squat to have big legs!"
This one is pretty much correct, unless you suck at squatting, at which point yo
u talk about the merits of not squatting.
5. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. Sure he's strong but he's a geneti
c freak!"
A friend of mine once used a half dozen lifters, all of elite caliber, to prove
his point about training. The response was, "You can't use them to prove your po
int - they're strong as hell!"
I'm confused. Was he supposed to use weak people to prove his point? When did pe
ople get lifting-cred based on crappy strength, crappy lifts, and crappy work et
hic?
It's an odd turn of events when people who are strong are automatically labeled
as "genetically gifted." I'm 100% sure this is the result of people unwilling to
come to terms that maybe, just maybe, the other person works harder and trains
smarter. Don't crap on someone else's efforts and accomplishments because you do
n't have what it takes.