Lifting is like Monster Hunter, not Pokemon

This post is a thought I’ve had rattling around in my head for a while now, and I thought that writing it down would help me in really fleshing out my thoughts on this matter. This will be something of a mish-mash of lifting and video games, so bear with me here.

The anecdotal observation from many people in the lifting community is that analytical, science-focused, “nerdy” types, tend not to experience the same success in lifting as those who fit the “dumb jock” stereotype.

Do you think this guy spends hours arguing about the most effective training split?

First, we have to look at the way “nerdy” types tend to think. Speaking as a maths nerd myself, I think I can offer some insights into the way we tend to think. “But everyone is different; you can’t possibly lump everyone into the same bucket!” Yeah, sure, but I’m talking about averages here, and I definitely feel that my analysis will be true for the average of “nerdy” people.

Right, with that said, I think it is a fairly safe assumption that “nerdy” types tend to like video games. For the purposes of this argument, I’m going to divide video games into two broad categories: “Pokemon” and “Monster Hunter”. Now, I love both games, but there is a fundamental difference in where the skill of these games takes place.

“Pokemon” games are games in which the majority of the skill takes place in the planning and preparation stage. They may involve lots of damage calculations, careful considerations of the meta, and team planning. The actual execution of the plan is something of an afterthought. Sure, there may be some decisions to be made during the execution stage, but there is little to no demand on one’s mechanical skill (as in, physically pressing buttons at the right times).

Well, maybe Magikarp can be the moral victor, right?

To illustrate this concept, imagine a player who is brand new to Pokemon. If someone else hands them a team of level 100 legendaries, and asks them to wander around in the grass in Viridian Forest (or any low-level area), they’re going to absolutely crush any Pokemon they come across, because their team is so powerful due to previous levelling up, moveset, etc. Even though the person playing has no idea of how to play the game, they can quite easily experience success due to the “planning” being done for them.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that Pokemon (and other games in this category) require just as much skill as any other game, but they don’t require as much skill “in the moment”.

“Monster Hunter” games, on the other hand, have the vast majority of their skill requirements contained within the gameplay itself. To get good at MH, one must learn to use their weapon of choice, and practice against a monster to learn its movements and attacks. Learning when it is safe to attack a monster and when it isn’t is a major part of MH, and that kind of experience can only really be gained through actually playing the game. Take a person who has never played an entry in the series, equip them with solid (or even overpowered) gear, and see them get destroyed by a Tigrex. In contrast, a MH player with hundreds/thousands of hours under their belt can easily defeat a monster using underpowered gear.

It's not like armour matters when every hit is a one-hit kill regardless. Also: What is this thing, anyway?

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that I believe lifting is far more like Monster Hunter than it is like Pokemon. You can have the most “perfect” lifting plan, that has been optimised to hit all body parts with the ideal balance between intensity, volume, frequency etc., but this plan will only work if you stick to it, and give 100% effort. If you half-ass all your sets, stop lifting when it gets tough, take obnoxiously long rest times, or fail to eat to support your goals, you can quite easily be outdone by the “dumb” guy who just shows up and lifts, but puts a great deal of effort into it.

Don’t get me wrong, I like plans. I get exasperated by people who take well-regarded lifting plans and make so many modifications that it becomes the lifting equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster. But I also see so many people who adamantly proclaim that their favourite program is the “one true way”, and the superiority of 3 sets of 5 as opposed to 5 sets of 5, etc…

The key to success in lifting is simple:

1. Pick a program

2. Follow it

3. Push yourself harder than you want to

4. Eat and sleep