Too Many Books, Supplements and Programs
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Too Many Books, Supplements and Programs - 8/15/2004 9:31:57 PM
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Marc David
Posts: 9128
Joined: 4/6/2003
From: Bay Area -CA
Status: offline
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After working on a short autoresponder series about 17 Burning Questions About Training and Nutrition, I started to wonder if there is just too much information on the subject of fitness or not enough? And then I started thinking in more general terms of literature itself.
If I read 1 good valid murder mystery book, would I really want that to be the ONLY book on the subject? If my 8th grade history book was considered to be accurate by the majority would I really want to be limited to only knowing one author's thoughts on the subject? Or how about browsers and music players? Do I just want to use IE? It gets the job done well enough.
So what's the difference between those analogies and fitness ebook, supplements and programs? Really there's no difference to me.
Let me explain as I know there's a million web sites, book, supplements, and training programs. And for a beginner it's like:
Where do I start?! 
When I first started off, there were a few major books on the subject (Arnold Encyclopedia) and of course the main muscle magazines. That is where I learned my information from. And locker room chat and so called friends. I was on the quest in the 10th grade to put on weight. A guy who was bigger then me gave me some golden advice. He said "Just eat everything man. Candy bars whatever." With that, I agreed that in order to get bigger and more muscular, I needed to eat. So at break, I ate an Snickers bar every day. Needless to say, I didn't get any bigger, I probably put on a tiny bit of fat and the dentist was happier. But when you don't have a lot of resources, it's pretty hard to judge.
I look back on that memory fondly. With the power of the Internet and the people coming out of the woodwork as experts, now there's so much information, sometimes it's the same situation, only there's many voices.
But I still like the fact that I have many choices.
If a person was ONLY to read the Max-OT guide, would they be alright? I'd say they would be better off then nothing but, they wouldn't be a good, well-rounded fitness type. And I'm not making any negative judgments about Max-OT. I love that program!
But think of the person who:
Reads this message board for as much information as they can (conflicting or not)
Buys eBooks and reads thru them to understand many perspectives
Understand nutrition on a basic level as well as more advanced
Knows of many training programs (can workout in a full gym or at home with nothing)
Visits other sites to see videos of proper techniques
Listens to advice in the gym but has a foundation to tell if the advice is accurate or base-less and knows of research outlets if it warrants further debate
The person in the first example only reads 1 eBook. It's a great eBook and it's free. But it cannot possibly cover everything. While this person will do well, they won't be as versatile as the person who's read thru many books, posts and forums to really understand how the body works, nutrition and more importantly, how it will affect them and their goals.
I remember asking people what they thought of this whole sport.
The majority were disenchanted by the slew of supplements, the million training programs, the 500 ebooks on bodybuilding and the paper classics. It's like they wanted to know out of the 1 million resources, which ones were the ones they should read. And it better not be too many.
But the problem with having somebody else choose for you obvious. And the problem with too few choices is obvious as well.
Having so many choices is actually quite good. Many DB members who have read over the posts, visited the sites linked to and talked about and purchased the eBooks that get talked about often have a very well rounded knowledge base. They also start to see a lot of repetition. 6 meals a day is the way to go if you are on a weight gain or weight loss program. It just depends on what you eat for those 6 meals that determines the outcome.
I look at my bookshelf and I see many fiction works and I see many books on supplements and vitamins. I look in my computer folders and I see well over 30 ebooks on fitness subjects. And I look in my supplement closet and see various programs and such. And I'm not confused. I like choices. I like different protein powders. Some shakes I love. Others give me an upset stomach. So having choices is good. And thru experience and time, I can pick and choose the best ones to suit my needs because after all the reading, the posting the debating with members, and just reading what people post, I get better and better at being able to pick out what will best work for me.
Do not get discouraged when you walk into a supplement store and see 30 different types of bars. Nor should you get angry or upset when you go to various places and see yet another book on fitness. Having choices benefits you. And thru reading and learning and talking, you will figure out what is hype and what is real. One man's bullshit is another man's placebo to a 400 lb bench press.
Keep learning and don't look for the ONE program or the ONE supplement or the ONE book that will tell you the golden truth. Fact is, if you only had 1 of everything, you'd be very limited in knowledge.
Keep reading! 
_____________________________
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RE: Too Many Books, Supplements and Programs - 8/16/2004 7:32:41 AM
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Weapon X
Posts: 986
Joined: 6/16/2004
Status: offline
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WOW!!! That was great!!! I have always thought the same way, but could never word it as well as you just did. I have a ton of books and videos as well... and am always looking to get more. I think that the last book that I bought was a Mike Mentzner Book about High Intensity Training... I knew getting the book that I had no intention on following a routine that he recomended (Working out once a week or something like he suggests), but I was able to learn from his views on things and add them in little peices to my own training. I honestly never even heard of Max OT training until I found this site, and am looking forward to reading the guide for it. Your right, many choices is good!!
(in reply to Marc David)
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RE: Too Many Books, Supplements and Programs - 8/16/2004 3:16:59 PM
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WDNinABQ
Posts: 752
Joined: 8/10/2003
Status: offline
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Too many words...
Heh. I had to read that like four times... I'm just really gassed from doing an ugly set of sprints this morning (20 x 15 second sprints + 30 seconds rest -- I must have been mad at myself or something; now my quads feel like they're ready to fall off the bone), plus I just sat through an hour long talk on adaptive chosen ciphertext attack security and that'll dull anyone's senses...
But speaking of cryptography, in a lot of ways, bodybuilding is a lot like crypto -- there is just so frigging much information out there that it can make your head spin. And within that mass of info you have your snake oil, your well thought out but not rigorously proven protocols, you different ideas about what is "good juju", you have your revolutionary ideas, you have your evolutionary ideas, you have your "someone else did this exact same thing two years ago, but I hope no one will notice" ideas. The hard part is figuring out what fraction of that information to ingest and what to ignore.
The big difference is that so much of bodybuilding is profit driven, while 95% of cryptographers are happy just to have the ability to do what they do for a living -- the profit/ego motive just isn't in most of these people (not all of them though -- every cryptographer knows who I'm talking about here, and most of them just barely tolerate these people...). Also, while the mathematical principles underlying cryptologic theory are (essentially) universal, people, and the way individuals respond to different stimuli aren't. And it is the combination of these two that make "bodybuilding pearls" so hard to identify.
I'd guess that the overwhelming majority of cryptographers, if asked to come up with a list of "must read" information for people interested in crypto, would compile very similar lists. Bruce Schneier's Applied Cryptography would probably be an almost universal choice for introductory text (despite Bruce's reputation); the Handbook of Applied Cryptography (aka The Green Book) would probably be on everyone's list as the top reference book; Oded Goldreich's "Foundations" series would be on it for more advanced concepts, etc. (similar lists could be compiled for an awful lot of fields -- for example, if you're interested in functional programming, you may as well read Felleisen & Freidman's "(Y Y) Works" and Huet's paper on Zippers right away, because you know you're going to read them eventually), but I'm not sure such lists exist for bodybuilding. For every person that tells you Max-OT is what you need to be doing, there is one telling you to forget Max-OT, because HST is the way to go, and one to tell you the German volume training is what it's all about -- and things are even worse when supplements and nutrition come into play...
Where am I going with all this? I don't know -- like I said, I'm very tired and in a post CCA2 stupor. But I think I was headed towards some concept of a peer reviewed Journal of Bodybuilding or something, out of which such pearls could crystalize, but I got off-track (and now that the attendees of some youth leadership conference [or whatever it is] are howling along to Nelly outside my window I'll never get back on-- maybe it'll all come back to me in a dream).
Meh. You figure it out...
_____________________________
-30-
In six months, what will your t-shirt say?
My training journal: Sweating with the toadies
My scattered thoughts: The Bramble
(in reply to Weapon X)
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RE: Too Many Books, Supplements and Programs - 8/16/2004 9:17:51 PM
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Marc David
Posts: 9128
Joined: 4/6/2003
From: Bay Area -CA
Status: offline
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quote:
But I think I was headed towards some concept of a peer reviewed Journal of Bodybuilding or something, out of which such pearls could crystalize
That sort of what this forum is about. I mean, you are the undisputed search King. As time goes on, all kinds of books and supplement knowledge and training advice and such will be here. Talked about by peers. So in essence, a nicely moderated forum is a peer reviewed bodybuilding guide. Some of us bought eBooks and talked in great detail about them. There's a supplement review forum that is growing slowly.
The problem with absolutes as I'm sure you will agree is that whatever works for you and your recommendations might be entirely the opposite of what I wanted to do.
A message forum is the best peer review method out there right now. It has the potential of talking about anything in this sport and the opportunity for anybody to chime in.
Cryptography is a science. And it's based on facts and universal laws. And while there are many books on it (I've read the Bruce Schneier book) there's not a lot of room for opinion when it comes to math.
Bodybuilding is motivated by science, physiology and as you state, $$$. So there's room for all sorts of stuff. We can talk about the basics of proteins but one protein that works and I would recommend to everybody, is an allergen to somebody else or it gives them an upset stomach.
We can clearly debate the science and lack of evidence for substances. But it's harder to do so when it comes to books or training routines.
Bottom line, DB is a peer reviewed journal of bodybuilding in real time. And by using the search feature, you can find a whole lot of stuff.
If it wasn't for the fact that I did a lot of research on programs and such, I never would have found BFFM or the A to Z Guide. Those two books were great additions to my collection. Had I just stuck with Max-OT, I would be fine but never as well rounded.
quote:
The hard part is figuring out what fraction of that information to ingest and what to ignore.
Exactly! Education, reading, debating, and testing various things on yourself is the only way to go.
Let's say there was a program that would work for everybody equally. But it required a set amount of dedication and nutritional principals. Just like a math formula. Very precise.
Many would still fail. Because human factors come into play.
Take for example the TP-PT program that many followed. Here's a well laid out program that incorporates all kinds of exercises, the basics, heavy, reps, and exhaustion. What body wouldn't respond to that? And I saw the pictures. And I read the posts. But the one thing that cannot be factored into such a program is the amount of dedication you need in order to follow it to the letter.
quote:
Also, while the mathematical principles underlying cryptologic theory are (essentially) universal, people, and the way individuals respond to different stimuli aren't. And it is the combination of these two that make "bodybuilding pearls" so hard to identify.
Which is what you said.
So really, the overwhelming amount of information is actually your best alternative to the above factors. By reading and ingesting a lot of information, you find yourself learning more about your options and how your own human factors play into the various pieces of information.
The only way to combat the above, is to read as much as possible and apply it to your own life.
So while it seems like information overload, the more you read, the more you question and the more you learn about yourself, those "bodybuilding pearls" start to become more clear.
_____________________________
(in reply to WDNinABQ)
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