Hi, I was listening to Mike Mahler’s podcast with Ian recently and what he had to say was very eye opening and went against some, actually most of my perceived training wisdom I have garnered over the years from the internet and other sources that Ian would probably find appalling. The more I listened and read up on Ian’s concepts the more I realised maybe I have been doing everything wrong.

I had walking lunges in my warmups, I didn’t stretch until the end of a training session. Anyway I could gone on forever in that vein, I would say I am general population, no athlete. I know Ian doesn’t coach general population. Hence I am writing this.

I am over 40 male carrying a bit to much weight. I tried to get strong over the years, but I say I did more damage than good. Never had great flexibility and probably have enough imbalances to write a book on. I injured my knee (mild cartilage damage), but recovering well with physio exercises. So range of motion has returned and I am pain free with just some minor stiffness.

Finding bodyweight and 16kg kettlebells good in my rehab and might continue in that vein for a time.

So I guess it comes down what product of Ian’s would be good for a 40 plus male (general population) looking to train and enhance his strength, flexibility, iron out imbalances and give longevity to his training life. If Ian doesn’t have a product that’ suit me, that’s fine. I would assume his business is mainly built around elite athletes.

Any help with this inquiry would be greatly appreciated. Yours Sincerely, –xxxx

P.S. Apologies for the long winded email, but I just can’t afford to many more mistakes with my training.

So I wrote back:

xxxx– great to hear you received value from the Mike Mahler podcast! I like the way you say ‘perceived’ training wisdom. Because at the end of the day, that is all it is when we take on others thoughts. When they are truly our own, based on our own experience and analysed as objectively as we can, then they can be more than this.

Most people I talk to are little more than a collection of other peoples thoughts, and the threads are so clear to me I can typically trace their influences.

I like the way you are willing to review your current training habits. I share my conclusions to help people just like yourself, not to be right. So it’s rewarding to hear you have at least paused to reflect on your choices.

I am also impressed with your realization and conclusion about your pursuit of strength that ‘I did more damage than good.’ This rings a bell of familiarity in my writings!

I have formed the opinion that most strength training programs do more damage than good. However it takes many years for the average person to realize this, if ever. The short-term results cause pleasure, but the long-term results inevitably pain. King, I., 2004, Get Buffed!™ III, p. 8-9

…in my opinion most people do more damage to their bodies and long term health than good, through their training. Amazing when you consider the aim of training generally is to improve your body. King, I., 2007, Email to clients – KSI pre-production offer, 6 June 2007

So to answer your question – which of my products would serve? I would recommend the education in the Get Buffed! book combined with the info in the GB II book. I am not suggesting that all the programs in the book are right for you right now, but they are only generic programs and I have always recommended you individualize your training. And the content in the book will help you do that.

Whilst our main focus has been elite athletes, the GB range (an extensive range of products for people just like you) is a by-product of the conclusions I reached during my many decades of training a high volume of elite athletes. The content and methods published in these books have been very well received, changing the way the world trains arguably more than any other single source. And amongst the most plagiarized books as well, so it’s great if you can get the original intent from the source.

In conclusion, I like your PS – you can’t afford to make many more mistakes in your training. I agree, which was my motive for publishing as extensively as I have during the last 20 years – if I can prevent as few as one person from damaging their quality of life, it’s worth my effort. So I look forward to what you can change for the better in your training with my published training information! –Ian King

Helping as few as one person avoid damaging their body through the training is worth the effort!