As a trainer being ultra-conservative is wise! I’d feel horrible if I injured a client prescribing unsafe movements when there are plenty of safer alternatives.

However, my EMG research has shown me that exercises hit the muscles differently. Plenty of bodybuilders have found that they can hone in on certain areas of muscles with certain exercises. Most people train for physique-related purposes. Some of the articles I write are geared toward these folks. I can’t stand when some jackass posts a comment on the article discussion page saying something like, “horrible advice, lateral raises are very dangerous! you’re a horrible trainer.”

I could one up those folks and pick apart any exercise they recommend as all exercises can be dangerous to various joints! People like to learn different movements and they like variety. It’s one of the reasons why the muscle mags have been popular for so long. Many people just don’t understand bodybuilding yet they profess to be fitness experts even though they’re missing the boat with the reason why most people work out in the first place!

I am a lifter first and foremost. I always try to remember the bodybuilders out there because we can get caught up in our sport-specific, corrective exercise, functional training, and joint-friendly training worlds to the point where we forget our roots! Bodybuilding!

Bret

Personally, I don’t like body fat testing that much. I have Harpenden calipers and NIR testing machine (that I rarely use due to lack of recent evidence), but in the end I think these are only tools to guide you and possibly not even necessary tools in every case. I do use them, but they rarely dictate my program design. I think that if you’re relatively lean and active (with a small waist circumference) that it is unlikely that your visceral fat is incredibly high.

While it might give you a more accurate measure of this, I’d rather take the few thousand dollars and keep it in my pocket. And don’t get me wrong, I think Charles is a brilliant guy. I just don’t think a machine like this offers much advantage over a quick waist measurement in most people.

Please tell us how you really feel.
I agree that it is up to each person to assess their own risk. Some people like to throw the dice a little and others, not so much. I guess some might call me overly conservative, but there really are only a few exercises that are totally contraindicated (to my clients at least). As you mentioned, it all comes down to the individual.

I have been benching with a wide grip, elbows flared, bar high up on the chest for many years (not quite guillotine press but somewhat close) and I rarly ever have any shoulder pain. I’ve also been doing behind the neck presses, fly’s, upright rows, lateral raises, pullovers, weighted dips, and wide grip pullups for around seventeen years….and my shoulders are much healthier than nearly any lifter I know. I rarely ever get any shoulder pain and I’ve never had any shoulder injuries.

That said, there are individuals who would injure their shoulders if they simply watched someone do a guillotine press or upright row. It all has to do with one’s anatomy, strength balances, mobility, and stability.

I believe that I dont’ get hurt because I have excellent strength balances, I know when to end the set, I don’t let my form break down much, and I rotate lifts and have a lot of variety.

My pecs have always been my best bodypart due to the way I bench. I have much bigger pecs than most folks who can bench 100 lbs more than me. I feel very little pec stimulation when I bench “powerlifting style” despite being able to handle heavier weights.

Basically, exercise safety is highly dependent on the individual. Not everyone hurts themselves with various lifts. It’s always best to play it safe, and if you’re training others you obviously want to err on the side of safety, but people have a right to train the way they want.

If I cut out all the “unsafe” lifts I wouldn’t have nearly as much fun going to the gym or working out in my garage. I also do good mornings, bent over rows, back squats, straight leg sit ups, hanging leg raises, and side bends, which have all been deemed dangerous by many gurus…yet I rarely hurt my low back and have never hurt my knees.

Now, one could say that down the road I’ll be a beat-up bodybuilder but I also do mobility drills, stretches, and foam rolling.

I feel that many of the “unsafe” exercises I do are beneficial to me since they give me strength in stretched-positions. I’d actually worry if I quit doing them.

I have no problem with those who play it safe and avoid certain exercises. I know that I could probably keep my same physique by switching to only variations of push ups, dips, chins, inverted rows, lunges, and single leg hip thrusts (all bodyweight exercises) but this wouldn’t be fun for me. I like lifting heavy weights!

Although I have no problem with the folks who err on the side of safety, they often have a problem with me. They think I’m an idiot for performing certain exercises. This close-mindedness pisses me off royally! The gym is my sports arena and I am willing to assume more risk…which is what all athletes, powerlifters, strongmen, weightlifters, mma fighters, sprinters, bodybuilders, etc. do every day.

So to those who judge others for performing certain exercises, screw off! They’re being just like overzealous religious or political fanatics yet they’ve sunken so far down the hole they don’t even know it.

We need more trainers like Mark Young who understand sport-specific training and corrective exercise yet also have an appreciation for bodybuilding.

Rant over!

You’re a guy who blends the scientific evidence with the practical. I ways looking at Charles Staley’s website the other day and came across the following tool for body composition testing

http://staleytraining.com/store/training-equipment/bodymetrix.htm

http://intelametrix.com/Technology/Index.htm

The company website seems to indicate that the device can be used to assess the level of visceral versus subcutaneous fat to provide clients with an accurate picture of what is going on in terms of relative health risk. While body fat testing with calipers + waist circumference can offer a rough idea, if this device worked as advertised, it would seem to allow for an accurate idea even in skinnier clients who might have fairly high levels of visceral fat relative to their overall level of bodyfat.

It also seems like it might be useful if testing sizable groups, as with group fitness settings.

Just curious if you can offer your general thoughts on this if you have time to check it out and give it a once over.

While the device isn’t necessary, it seems like something that would produce consistent measurements whenever you test and even be the type of thing that could be leveraged into paying for itself in no time and even turning a bit of a profit. Some might say it is gimmicky, but the fact Coach Staley was willing to offer it on his site means there must be more than meets the eye, since he is a coach of the highest integrity, and I’ve never known him to be one to pitch something he didn’t have full faith in.

In any event, I thought this may be of some interest.