Have you heard this before?

• if you don't lift heavy, your muscles won't grow
• if you do 45 minutes of regular cardio over HIIT, good luck with the fat loss
• if you do 15+ reps, it's for endurance and ballon like arms aren't in your future
• you must do at least 12 sets for chest, 12 sets for legs and 8 sets for arms
• if you train any body part more than once a week, you are overtraining
• if you don't drink a protein shake IMMEDIATELY after your workout, your body is just using it's own muscle for repair
• and the list goes on with the rules you must follow or else you are just blowing it every time you step food in the gym

Listen and listen closely.

Is the list, website, CD, book, tape or show that you want to walk away from.

Fundamental = Of or relating to the foundation or baseRule = A generalized statement that describes what is true in most or all casesFor example, a fundamental or rule is:

• eating 5-6 times a day enhances your metabolism and provides your body with a continual flow of nutrients that is essential to any performance program (weight loss or mass building)
• if you don't eat enough calories per day, you will find it impossible to put on weight
• if you don't get enough protein to support muscle growth, you will find it difficult to gain muscle mass and preserve the muscle you already have today
• improper form can lead to injury. You should know how to do an exercise before attempting to do itAs you can see, that generally applies to us all, no matter our goals or situations.

Worked for him. He's an exception to the rules but my point is...

Nobody is the same and nobody responds to the same stimuli the same way 100% of the time.

Here's a real shocker!

- Do you think Platz followed a set standard of RULES for his training? He followed general principles and fundamentals but he didn't always lift heavy and he didn't always do 12 sets for his chest.

Before I get ahead of myself, this isn't any bash on lifting heavy or any routines whatsoever.

One more example and I swear I'll lay off. :-)

- This program worked wonders for me! It was different than anything I'd ever done before. I've never used it again and I'm still making phenomenal gains and breaking personal bests.

Use ALL the principles you are leaving about (heavy weight, supersets, variable rest intervals, HIIT training, moderate cardio, free weights, machines, dummbells) to make the best gains.

If it works for you, great! Keep doing it. If not, throw the theory out and try something else. Just because Tom Platz can squat 225 lbs for 10 minutes doesn't really help me in my situation.

The next time somebody tells you "it's my way or the highway," tell them to take a hike.