[John Peterson]

Hello Friends,

I received an e-mail from a guy voicing confusion because he reads too much and asks everyone else's opinion about what HE is doing.

Please take what I am writing seriously, as you train you will develop a capacity to handle more intensity and it really is not that difficult to make minor adjustments to intensity/volume or both that will yield excellent results. What everyone needs to do is to monitor their own progress realistically. This is best done by keeping a daily record in which you document Sets, Volume, Intensity & Tempo as well as document the food you consume. When you feel as though you have reached a plateau you can then mix up the variables.

You can also experiment by intensifying the effort for your standard daily exercises.

When I was a kid my Grandfather had me start with the Charles Atlas System beginning at the very end with the eight exercises of the Atlas Perpetual Lesson. This he had me do for the first month. Grandfather's purpose was to develop my body synergistically. At the end of the first month he had me continue all 8 Perpetual Exercises (As I Have all My Life) plus add the 6 other exercises of course #1) For the Chest that included #1) Maximum Amplitude Arm Circles (forward and reverse), 2) The Rope Pull Down 3) Rope Pull Reverse, 4) Cross-Body-Press Down 5) Pectoral Press & Extend 6) Pectoral Flexing. This I did for two months while re-reading courses One & Two each day. I went through the entire Atlas Course performing the perpetual Lesson as my Foundation and then spending a month on each of the other courses. Naturally, when I reached the Ab-Course of Lesson 4, I was already doing the Full Range Sit-Up and Full Range Leg Raise and so I added the other exercises until I got to the end of that and then added Lesson 5 and so on. I spent a full month on each lesson before dropping it and adding the next lesson. My results were stellar because I believed in what I was doing. I was encouraged to make my own adjustments and to always make the exercises harder and not easier. The ONLY THING that I wish I had back then was a weight vest. I could have had better results performing higher intensity and less volume. But hey we live and learn.

Now back to you. The first person you need to ask advice from is yourself. YOU are the only person that knows how your exercises feel and what they have accomplished for you. There isn't anyone outside of yourself that could possibly know that so instead of asking advice make adjustments and ask yourself if it's working for you.

---John Peterson

[ware]

I don't get why people get all caught up in training and confusion about what to do.

Pick something
Do it
Observe
Evaluate
Change/Keep
Do it
Observe
Evaluate
Change/Keep

Over and over and over. Its not hard. Can you imagine Steve Justa emailing someone for training advice? NO, he got his ass doing something and then applied the methodology I put forth above.

On the other hand, if I see you, John, writing something like... "a man emailed me. He wrote, I'm the high plains heavy metal ironmaster, boy..." Then I might reconsider what I said about Steve Justa never emailing for advice.

[John Peterson]

Hello Ware,

You made me laugh with that one. A couple of years ago someone sent me a clip of Steve Justa being interviewed by Bud Jeffries about Isometrics and I think Justa was doing a few things just for the shock value that they might generate.

At one point he was taking puffs from a cigarette and he was showing Isometrics on a table of sorts that he created. Truth to tell I didn't know what to think or what the point was but it was very interesting because it was Steve Justa. In one of his books, he said that got up past 400 pounds but had some serious health conditions as a result which he was able to resolve in large part due to his commitment to Isometrics.

I mention this because I think there really are wonderful health benefits from applying Isometrics on a daily basis.


One last thing, I seriously doubt that Stave Justa ever asks anyone about anything. I have a feeling that if he has a question that he applies himself to discover the answer on his own. I have great respect for the man.

---John Peterson

[ware]

Originally Posted by John Peterson

One last thing, I seriously doubt that Stave Justa ever asks anyone about anything. I have a feeling that if he has a question that he applies himself to discover the answer on his own. I have great respect for the man.

---John Peterson

John, That's exactly what I was getting at. Steve thinks for himself and I admire him for that. Sure, I read what others say, but I give it the litmus test - does it work for me.

Steve is somewhat unique in that he has the will power to stick out a particular type of training long enough to see if it benefits him or not. I think many of us, myself included at times, writes something off too early because we don't stay with it long enough.