Victor Costa on Training

[BendtheBar]

Victor Costa is a natural bodybuilder who is big into the mind-muscle connection. He has a DVD out, and Rickster asked if I would talk to Victor about how he trains/has trained. Here is Vic's response to my question..."Did you ever train strictly focusing on heavier weights":

Yes _ between the age of 21 and 22. I was eating horribly because I thought I couldn't get any size eating chicken. Honestly went for beer, and toasted almond pops, and pizza. Gained a lot of weight_ about 25_ 30 lbs. Bad form but got strong. So, for about a year trained while well fed. So, lost the weight slowly_ and remained strong but as you know if you forget how to handle weights, you become weak fast. But yes, 1 year switched style. Joints killed me.had to switch style. I am a smaller guy so the extra weight didn't feel good. But, in truth, I think that was my window to get really big and be a pro. I was using crazy weights , and weighed about 205. Perfect time to go for it.

So it appears that Victor gained a lot of his mass during his time of heavy weight and bulking...

[kman025]

was this the guy who was calling strict db curls a power movement????

if so, the way i train is the total opposite. i got for more weight, even if it means risking injury with my **** form....

but i must admit that guy is jacked still hes a douche

[RickB]

kman, what makes him a douche? That's a BB.com type of response imo.

Thanks for sharing that Steve!

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by kman025

was this the guy who was calling strict db curls a power movement????

if so, the way i train is the total opposite. i got for more weight, even if it means risking injury with my **** form....

but i must admit that guy is jacked still hes a douche

He's not a douche. I've talked to him on the phone and Victor is very intelligent.

Heavy training was messing up his joints so he made appropriate adjustments to his training style.

Many guys simply can't train all heavy weight/loose form. I can't train in a C&P style...it destroys my shoulders. I tried again this past week on high box squats and it messed up my training week.

I too trained hard and fast in my early years on certain movements. The abuse you accumulate in your youth will come back to haunt you, unless you're lucky. Train smart AND hard.

[kman025]

im not trying to be a dick.... im a weak 16 year old....

yes a very bb.com response.

im just saying if i saw this guy i'd chuckle to myself. i would just think it funny, a guy who looks so good, using such low weight.

im sure he's smart, he must be to get results like that.

its just so different from my beliefs (which mean nothing, being that im skinny fat and weak) that i think it to be wierd as hell. i know this is the same thing that lead to racism, but its hard for me to accept such a different style of training and i find it funny.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by kman025

im not trying to be a dick.... im a weak 16 year old....

yes a very bb.com response.

im just saying if i saw this guy i'd chuckle to myself. i would just think it funny, a guy who looks so good, using such low weight.

im sure he's smart, he must be to get results like that.

its just so different from my beliefs (which mean nothing, being that im skinny fat and weak) that i think it to be wierd as hell. i know this is the same thing that lead to racism, but its hard for me to accept such a different style of training and i find it funny.

His videos are made primarily for beginning trainers. He is really concerned about joint issues from heavy training, and it's an understandable concern.

There are many big and strong lifters who share the same concerns. The longevity and dangers associated with long term, low rep training are a pretty common concern even among powerlifters.

Do I think he swung a bit too far back on the pendulum? Yes. But I don't rule out the possibility that I have something to learn.

I have developed a good working friendship with Gordon LaVelle. Gordon trains like Dorian Yates, and is very concerned with longevity, injury and joint health. Gordon still uses very heavy weights, but he just does so in a different manner than C&P. So in a sense, Gordon and Victor Costa share the same concerns, but they arrive at different solutions.

What each of us needs to do is process the potential dangers/weaknesses associated with each training approach, and be willing to look at solutions that fit our needs and bodies.

Learn something from each man, and fashion it together through the lens of your needs and your body. The "extreme" guys in our sport - C&P being on one end, and perhaps Stuart McRobert on the other - each have much to teach us. So does Victor Costa and Gordon LaVelle and Mike Mentzer and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Casey Butt.

The challenge for each of us is to become our own man, define our own beliefs, and do so with hard work and diligent research. And then we must be willing to toss aside our beliefs if new information is presented that might expand our beliefs.

The trick in life is not to adopt a dogma of a certain man/political/religious system, but to carve out your own path. If we view life/training through another man's "lens", we deny ourselves the amazing experiences that come with developing our own lens.

Mike Mentzer is hard to swallow because he carved his own path and then told us that we must follow his path. I respect him for carving a path, just as I respect Victor Costa for carving a path. But my inner "angst" won't allow me to blindly follow Mentzer or Costa, Arnold or Butt.

I learn from them, and their science, and then I put one foot in front of the other and head in my own direction. I have no clue where I'm going, but I am confident I will get there.

Crom is pleased when a warrior grabs his sword and enters battle, knowing that - win or lose - the warrior has trusted in himself to the end.

[kman025]

great post BTB. i completely agree.

i guess its easier for me to accept the upper end of extremes (C&P).

also its much easier for me to accept Dorian Yates approach, rather than this guys.

i must admit there's something to be learned from him, but still i would laugh at him in the gym.... and he could laugh at me for my body/flailing power shrugs

[RickB]

Truth be known, for a pro heavyweight, Jay Cutler lifts relatively light. Now it's a different ball game with all the crap that goes into his body, but I think you can compare him to Coleman who is probably one of the heaviest lifting pro BB'ers and Jay has nearly always been right there with him or on top. I think Jay will have a longer career because of his lifting style.

[kman025]

Originally Posted by RickB

Truth be known, for a pro heavyweight, Jay Cutler lifts relatively light. Now it's a different ball game with all the crap that goes into his body, but I think you can compare him to Coleman who is probably one of the heaviest lifting pro BB'ers and Jay has nearly always been right there with him or on top. I think Jay will have a longer career because of his lifting style.

yes im sure he will.

in general though i think guys that lift heavy look better.... they just look harder (no homo ). other guys look almost like there muscles are filled with air or something.

guys like johnnie jackson, ronnie, and stan efferding look better in my opinion (although they may not be as proportiate or whatever else they look at in bb)

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by kman025

great post BTB. i completely agree.

i guess its easier for me to accept the upper end of extremes (C&P).

also its much easier for me to accept Dorian Yates approach, rather than this guys.

i must admit there's something to be learned from him, but still i would laugh at him in the gym.... and he could laugh at me for my body/flailing power shrugs

As long as we can still laugh at ourselves along the way. Too many guys take this **** way to seriously.

Part of respect for me is never letting my friendship with another man get lost in the desire to be right. I would rather be wrong with a lot of friends. But that's just me

You have a bright future in lifting Kman. There are about 2000 guys right now at M&S who would die to lift the weight you lift. Keep liftign and learning my man.

Originally Posted by RickB

Truth be known, for a pro heavyweight, Jay Cutler lifts relatively light. Now it's a different ball game with all the crap that goes into his body, but I think you can compare him to Coleman who is probably one of the heaviest lifting pro BB'ers and Jay has nearly always been right there with him or on top. I think Jay will have a longer career because of his lifting style.

I agree Rick. I know we've had this discussion before, but Coleman just scares the crap out of me. I watch him do front squats with heavy weight and the way he bounces just...well...scares the crap out of me!