Between Facebook, Instagram, and every terrible/legitimate website dedicated to getting stronger, faster, jacked, yoked, shredded, explosive, aesthetic, hyooge, etc. there is a plethora of individuals and sources to follow on your path to greatness. The vast amount of resources and information at our fingertips is great but, at the same time, it’s easy to get caught up following people and programs that may not be right for your goals. For the seasoned iron pumper this is probably not an issue but for the pencil neck n00b (or the vast majority of people), this can be a real issue. Before you follow some random program because the dude who wrote it is really vascular or has a monster squat, it’s important to know your goal then figure out what you need to do to get there. I think a flow chart might be nice for this but given that my technology skills are on par with an ornery old person, I’ll stick with this.
Are you an athlete? Then don’t follow a bodybuilding program. Don’t follow a powerlifting program. Yes, powerlifting will make you strong but powerlifting is a sport. As a soccer, volleyball, football, lacrosse, etc player you need to be strong but your goal isn’t (and shouldn’t be) to have a bar bending bench. You shouldn’t even be hitting heavy singles on your lifts. Because that’s not the point of your weight room training. Likewise, you shouldn’t do crossfit. Crossfit is a sport. It’s not programmed to make you better at your sport.
Do you want to get strong? You probably shouldn't be following a cutting bodybuilding program. Doing volume based and isolation work will not be the most beneficial when it comes to improving your patterns and overall strength. Furthermore, for the most part, it’s good to be a little chubs for powerlifting. Good for your joints and good for bouncing your stomach off your thighs when you squat. Granted, there are a lot of great, super cut powerliters. But, the point of the sport is not to be vascular and have the biggest bicep peak. Some powerlifters do great with high volume training but don’t get caught up in trying to do too much with the wrong program or your strength will suffer.
Before I started powerlifting, I did random bodybuilding stuff that I found on the internet. I wanted to be strong but didn’t have a concrete goal or any concept of training for said goals. Needless to say, I didn’t make very good progress for a number of years until I dialed into my goal and figured out the training that was most effective to get there. Make sure you have a concrete goal and are following a program that’s in line with those goals or else you’ll be spinning your wheels wondering why you’re not making progress.
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