Push, pull, legs? Or do you prefer working out one major muscle group at a time? Or perhaps, sitting on a couch, eating chips, and watching Netflix is the best workout there is. Well, he might not be an expert on fitness like he is on MMA, but UFC commentator Joe Rogan has an opinion.
A fitness fanatic to boot – training multiple combat sports and martial arts, as well as partaking in a vast array of strength and conditioning, Rogan claims that the method of training that most people use is rather restrictive and not as beneficial as practitioners might think.
The UFC commentator has long been an advocate of putting some physical work, introducing some weight training, and a bit of cardio to an otherwise sedentary lifestyle that most people follow.
On his podcast this week, Rogan shed light on a new Men’s Health article, advocating for lifting to failure or atrophy for specific muscle groups may be more beneficial than multiple sets during a workout session. While he didn’t necessarily want to comment on the validity of the research, Rogan cited his own example to provide an alternative option.
“I do a lot of exercises in one,” Rogan said. “And I do full-body workouts almost entirely. One day a week, I do heavy leg stuff where it’s just legs, you know, because (with) the leg, there are so many muscles,” he noted.
“I just – it takes too much time. ‘Cause I’m doing leg curls and leg presses and lunges“, the UFC commentator added.
Rogan is not alone in this belief. Many old-school lifters are known to work out every muscle group every day, and for one very simple reason- people use every single muscle group in their day-to-day lives.
It should be noted, however, that there is no right or wrong way to train. There’s just what’s the most optimal and what is the best workout for you as an individual.
If you are a beginner in the art of lifting, doing full-body workouts for multiple sets for as many reps as possible helps build a better muscle-mind connection.
But if time is a constraint, by all means, targeting specific groups always works. For instance, keeping a day just for working out your arms might not be the most optimal since triceps are made up of smaller muscles than biceps and will need longer recovery.
Shoulders, for instance, also get worked out during chest days, so it just makes more sense to pair them up. However, some lifters are happy to dedicate an entire day to shoulder workouts, simply because there are so many.
Similarly, back exercises also exert a lot of pressure on the biceps, so pairing them up makes the workout more time-efficient. However, time is not an issue, the UFC commentator has to deal with.
However, he does believe that despite what your day might look like, people need to work out. That is not a Netflix intro to be skipped.
Rogan claims people who don’t work out are ‘lazy’
Given his time around combat sports, both competitively and watching from the outside in, Rogan knows exactly what it takes to keep and get a body to an optimal performance level.
Not necessarily asking citizens to look like pro bodybuilders and power lifters, Rogan claimed, it is “silly” for the average Joe to not do any workout of any kind.
“You should keep your body moving,” he explained. “It’s just a laziness thing, it’s a discipline thing, and yeah, like this idea there’s some sort of nobility and humility, and not caring about your body, it’s silly“, the JRE host rightfully points out.
But let’s not get it twisted, while his sermon on fitness is warranted, Rogan’s current physique is not natural
Once he turned 40, Rogan (57), admitted he had started TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) in a bid to keep his body in the best of nick possible.
