We've all heard of the workout ADD guys, right? Most of us have been there done that and hopefully moved on.

Right now we're seeing a trend where everyone wants to be fast, big, lean and "functionally strong" as well.

Since we're so good at throwing around labels, to put it simply, the trend has shifted to becoming the jack of all trades and the master of none where strength coaches want their trainees to train for explosiveness, maximal strength, endurance and olympic lifts. Basically, the hope is to create a Bodybuilder-come-Powerlifter-come-Strongman-come-Olympic-Lifter.

I've been a long time subscribee of Mike Tuscherer and this week his newsletter had an article on "Focus". Instead of Workout ADD we now have "Goal ADD" wherein trainees want everything.

Before I list my views on the article, I figured y'all should have a chance to read it for yourselves.

The article: Focus by Mike Tuscherer

I think you already know I would agree with this article wholeheartedly. As soon as he started talking about the kid who would be ninja-cowboy-astronaut-baseball player I was like "yep, I know where he is going". I don't know much about reactive training systems, per se. I always say that good strength training is always somewhat reactive, but there must be a balance that cultivates 'focus'. I absolutely am on board with the points in the article.

Beyond that, however, when we talk about strength coaches and their "athletes" we have to always remember one of the most important questions we can ask about any of this strength training stuff, especially in regards to athletes. That question is "So What?"

I ask that question all the time and people think I am being a smart ass or being dismissive. Instead, I am asking a serious question. So, what, Mike Boyle, if your "athletes" are doing one legged deadlifts that look like a funny and awkward pistol squat. What does that have to do with ME and my goals. If your athletes goals are to play better at their sport and my goal is to lift a big ass heavy weight from the floor to my waist…or even from the floor to my shoulders or over my head, then what do your athletes have to do with me.

If some strength coach came on here with lots of ideas about building a better athlete and we said, hey, good for you but you are going a bit beyond our goals here, we'd probably be greeted with "meathead" and such. That is the culture these days. It's almost as if having a very specific goal makes you an idiot. When, in reality, it is idiotic to try to master everything only to achieve very little in any one area. As in the article:

Your training goals are like buying these toys. You can spend your 100 tickets on 20 different things, but you’re going to end up with 20 erasers. Woopie.

I think that Mike Tuscherer, in this article, is also making a subtle point about not only having focused goals rather than Goal-ADD, as he so aptly put it, but also saying, that hey, it is OKAY to have very specific and personal goals. It is amazing that people should have to get "permission" to have goals.

I especially like the effective use of analogy in Mike's article. After my own heart.

I think you already know I would agree with this article wholeheartedly.

:-) I knew you would

I don't know much about reactive training systems, per se. I always say that good strength training is always somewhat reactive, but there must be a balance that cultivates 'focus'.

I do have the RTS Book (got it a loooooooong time ago when Mike Ruggeira's forum was still alive) and RTS is similar to what we do. It's got more Bloc Periodization in it but it is similar to how we train.

If some strength coach came on here with lots of ideas about building a better athlete and we said, hey, good for you but you are going a bit beyond our goals here, we'd probably be greeted with "meathead" and such. That is the culture these days. It's almost as if having a very specific goal makes you an idiot.

Very very true.

hey, it is OKAY to have very specific and personal goals. It is amazing that people should have to get "permission" to have goals.

Yes. And this is why you have all these "Powerlifters" starting Olympic lifts and then throwing in Crossfit retardation and what not.

I also like the fact that you try to excel at ONE thing and you become the best at it. It gives you a big edge versus going for everything and being mediocre at it all.

I think that Mike Tuscherer, in this article, is also making a subtle point about not only having focused goals rather than Goal-ADD, as he so aptly put it, but also saying, that hey, it is OKAY to have very specific and personal goals. It is amazing that people should have to get "permission" to have goals.

I think this is the result of many Sites & coaches these days trying to advise people on a subject that is not their specialty (of course, we have to question whether their GOOD at their specialty to begin with). These days its not uncommon for a powerlifter to advise a bodybuilder or even a sprinter what he should be doing. Of course, this kind of stuff is not restricted to powerlifters, a lot of coaches & athletes do this kind of overreaching.
I guess the root of all this is the mythic "magic bullet syndrome". That on thing (workout program, supplement, etc) that will set it all right, make you strong, explosive, lean, big, superman, etc.

I also like the fact that you try to excel at ONE thing and you become the best at it. It gives you a big edge versus going for everything and being mediocre at it all.

Actually I like Tusherers point on this one: the guy would be lucky if he even manged to get mediocre on so many things.

Actually I like Tusherers point on this one: the guy would be lucky if he even manged to get mediocre on so many things.

We know a lot of people who are like this…. try for everything, spread themselves too thin and then boom…not going anywhere.

It is amazing that people should have to get "permission" to have goals.

More then permission I feel People find it difficult to convince them self about following a single goal, they are actually more worried with what others are training n how to be in par with them. damn ego .

More then permission I feel People find it difficult to convince them self about following a single goal, they are actually more worried with what others are training n how to be in par with them. damn ego

Thats a really good point, Harish. I see this happening a lot. There are trainees who want a big Deadlift but because all the strong people are doing Squats and saying that a big Squat equals a big Deadlift but not the other way around (example: Bhargab used to think like this) these trainees get roped into changing their goals to suit what others are doing. Yes, ego.

I think this is the result of many Sites & coaches these days trying to advise people on a subject that is not their specialty (of course, we have to question whether their GOOD at their specialty to begin with). These days its not uncommon for a powerlifter to advise a bodybuilder or even a sprinter what he should be doing. Of course, this kind of stuff is not restricted to powerlifters, a lot of coaches & athletes do this kind of overreaching.

That's for sure. Just because you read some nutrition book does not make you a nutrition expert. Reading "Omnivorse's Dilemma" CERTAINLY does not make you a nutrition expert.

Browsing Mercola's web site does not make you are doctor, lol. The opposite of a doctor maybe.

Reading an article by a fat loss expert does not make you are fat loss expert.

Maybe this comes from never having a "real" jobs. There is something inside many people in the fitness industry these days that tells them they can walk in to someone else's job and perform it with no real prior experience or exposure. It boggles the mind.

Hype created by mass marketing strategies making everyone feel that either they are doing P90, Zumba or Crossfit or they are nuts, makes everyone desire those workouts and trainers.

But if we look at their goals and aspirations, maybe this is what the masses want and thats what makes them happy. To us it may sound stupid and meaningless running around like a headless chicken.

Just the other day I spoke with one of my good friends. He was fixated with P90, even if I would tell him there was a better way, he would simply do P90 just because millions of others have benefited.

The positioning of those workouts are like 'get strong, get big, loose fat'. For an average human, that is like the best thing that can ever happen.

Hype created by mass marketing strategies

The problem with hype in general these days is that it "tries" to tell the consumer what they "should" aspire to, thus creating a feedback loop that is VERY BENEFICIAL to the creator of the hype. We have entered the age of telling people about what they should do, forget about it making sense or not, as long as it sells a product(supplement, routine, etc) or a service(speciality coaching, etc). This is obviously abuse of trust, but most don't care as long as they have the "illusion" that they will get ALL things that they want.

But if we look at their goals and aspirations, maybe this is what the masses want and thats what makes them happy.

The masses goals always end up getting "tweaked" depending on which expert they subscribe to.