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My Less-Than-Humble Opinion About Weight Training

By: Matt Furey
Best Selling Author of "Combat Conditioning"

Recently an angry reader of my daily Combat Conditioning tips sent an email, calling me every name in the book, accusing me of playing up the weight training injury scenario for 'marketing purposes' only and telling me that I was 'losing customers' by talking about the negatives of weights.

He also, interestingly enough, is upset because my tips aren't 'balanced' enough. By this he means I need to print more hate mail, like his, instead of only positive messages.

My response: Dude, there's an old saying that goes something like this: Truth is stranger (and usually better) than fiction.

When I speak about the injuries people get from doing the bench press, including blown rotator cuffs, or deadlifts or heavy barbell squats, I am not making something up simply to market my product.

It just so happens that the facts line up and write my marketing for me.

Fact, I hurt my shoulder doing bench press. Fact, I hurt my back doing deadlifts. Never hurt my knees doing barbell squats - but did hurt my back a time or two. Wish I had hurt me knee as it would give me more fodder to 'market' my product.

Now, lucky for me, none of my injuries were severe. This is not the case with some of my friends who do have MAJOR injuries from weight training, including blown rotator cuffs, totally shot knees, fused vertebrae, etc.

Yes, there are people who have trained with weights over a lifetime and they are not racked with pain. But in many cases, including that of Jack LaLanne, you will find that he spent and spends a great deal of his time doing bodyweight calisthenics. In fact, LaLanne became famous, not for weight training prowess, but for hand balancing, handstands, bodyweight exercises and swimming feats - not to mention the records he set for pushups, pullups and so on.

In my less-than-humble opinion, LaLanne prevented serious injury by incorporating bodyweight calisthenics into his weight training routine. I have no argument with this and have said so numerous times. I do, however, believe with 100% conviction that you get in shape faster and better with the bodyweight exercises taught in Combat Conditioning.

I make no bones about this.

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You may think I say what I do just for marketing purposes - (which is ironic then, that you'd simultaneously be warning me about losing customers) but marketing built on a flimsy foundation doesn't carry weight.

And besides, whose kidding whom? Most people, worldwide, have been sold the 'weights only' hype for so long I probably have no chance of ever convincing them that my way is right. Compared to all the information already in circulation, I'm like a lone voice crying out in the dark of the night. The fact that anyone is listening is amazing. If I wanted to make some REAL money, I'd be selling weight training. But I sell what I believe in. Period. And I totally believe in what I teach.

Funny, isn't it? I write a book that goes 100% contrary to conventional wisdom - and upsets an entire herd of people who believe the opposite of what I teach, and you're worried about 'little ole me.' It should be the other way around. I should be worried about you.

If what I say upsets you and 'the others' who think like you - and you choose to keep pumping your iron, you'll hear no argument from me. It's really none of my business. If, however, you ever join that group of people who are racked with pain from years of weight training - or who simply didn't get the results they wanted from the practice, I'll be here for ya.

Copyright, Gold Medal Publications, Inc 2004

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Editor's Note:

Urgent News Bulletin: Weight Training May Be Losing Its Strangle Hold on the Fitness World.

Combat Conditioning, Yoga, Pilates and various other forms of bodyweight exercises are gaining customers by the thousands. Why? Because bodyweight exercises simultaneously increase strength, stamina and flexibility. According to Matt Furey, author of the international best-selling Combat Conditioning, nothing works better than his program - and weight training experts are shaking in their shoes about it. 'They're terrified that I'm going to own the fitness world,' says Furey. 'Truth is, I don't want to own it. There's plenty of pie for everyone. In fact, there's not only enough pie, there's plenty of ice cream to go on top.'

'Truth is,' Furey added. 'I wish all these guys would stop pissing and moaning and get real. Why don't they come out with ads that tell the masses that bodyweight exercises are a joke, that they don't work, that they're a con? That would make sense, wouldn't it?'

'Well, fact is, they really can't do that because too many people are finding out that they do work.'

To find out how, go to www.mattfurey.com