Originally Posted by
mitchless
I find myself with two competing responses to Dr. Sullivan's pedantic rebuttal:
1. As Dr. Sullivan observes, "exercise" was a blanket term and Rippetoe's great contribution was to bring light within this shadow separating exercise from training. This distinction is important and powerful. Rippetoe has now made a second great contribution bringing further light to the subject and distinguishing training from maintenance. The purpose is not to denigrate the efforts of those who now do maintenance. Rather it serves the dual purpose of motivating those who can still achieve PRs not to give up early, and to recognize that special place of those who have reached the end of their ability to achieve PRs and motivate them to continue in their efforts.
2. Dr. Sullivan is correct in his observation that there is far more in common between this new distinction between "training" and "maintenance" than there is different. This being the case, "training" should remain an umbrella term covering both states and a new term identified to distinguish the period where PRs are still achievable from maintenance. Perhaps a better the correct approach is to see that the term -- or in fact terms -- already exists. Perhaps the distinction is Novice -> Intermediate -> Advanced -> Maintenance.
I always enjoy a good quibble over words. Hopefully this grows into a flamewar to rival emacs vs. vim or tabs vs. spaces.