I was not arguing for studying theory over practical experience- but to argue that he is far from an expert at either approach.
It’s true that most effective fitness techniques lack any solid theoretical basis and were discovered by self experimentation. However, his knowledge level of these practical fitness techniques is shallow.
For example his workouts were copied nearly verbatim from the book “Body by Science” but are missing important advice from that book on how to perform them safely and effectively. He also seems unaware of the methods developed by self-experimentation/bodybuilding pioneer Vince Gironda, which are generally more effective than the methods he talks about in 4HB.
Another example- The low rep/low duration/infrequent lifting methods in 4HB don’t work without EXTREMELY high effort/intensity levels. He does mention this in his book (I think he says lift like you have a gun to your head), but the vast majority of people can’t do this without specific mental techniques that increase intensity. By leaving “intensity mental hacks” out of his book, the workouts will do nothing for most people.
I’m glad that he’s popularizing alternative fitness and nutrition ideas, but at the same time I’m frustrated that he didn’t take the time to do a better job of researching and understanding what’s out there first.
I was not arguing for studying theory over practical experience- but to argue that he is far from an expert at either approach.
It’s true that most effective fitness techniques lack any solid theoretical basis and were discovered by self experimentation. However, his knowledge level of these practical fitness techniques is shallow.
For example his workouts were copied nearly verbatim from the book “Body by Science” but are missing important advice from that book on how to perform them safely and effectively. He also seems unaware of the methods developed by self-experimentation/bodybuilding pioneer Vince Gironda, which are generally more effective than the methods he talks about in 4HB.
Another example- The low rep/low duration/infrequent lifting methods in 4HB don’t work without EXTREMELY high effort/intensity levels. He does mention this in his book (I think he says lift like you have a gun to your head), but the vast majority of people can’t do this without specific mental techniques that increase intensity. By leaving “intensity mental hacks” out of his book, the workouts will do nothing for most people.
I’m glad that he’s popularizing alternative fitness and nutrition ideas, but at the same time I’m frustrated that he didn’t take the time to do a better job of researching and understanding what’s out there first.