A "Both/And" Approach to Training We often live in a world of dichotomies, juxtapositions, and sometimes the downright oxymoronic. Despite the obviousness, however, of the “yin/yang” of our world, we, as people, tend to take an “either/or” approach to life. This is especially so in the worlds of bodybuilding, strength training, and, really, just general fitness and health. It’s either high-volume with a lot of sets and reps or “high-intensity” with brief, incredibly hard workouts. Or it’s Carnivore and other high-fat, animal-forward diets versus vegan and high-carb, incredibly low-fat diets. To paraphrase Kipling, East is East and West is West, and never shall the ‘twain meet. But the problem is that’s simply not the way of things . Good religions, philosophies, and theologies always take a “both/and” approach to things. I once asked a priest what he thought defined a “heresy” as opposed to just some muddled, wrong—but not necessarily heretical—thinking. H
Essays on Old-School Strength Training, Classic Bodybuilding, Traditional Martial Arts, and Budo Philosophy