I would say it's not the tool but the exercise, and on the whole the exercise selection, and at the most important how you train the exercise.
Agreed, having been down the BB road a ways I learned quickly (if 10 years is quick) that it wasn't for me, between the roid heads (I experimented too, but was very apprehensive) and wrecked joints I was turned off completely (almost). I have no quarrel with the barbell work, the high rep BB stuff isn't my cup of tea anymore (never was).
My knees and shoulders just got continually worse (in the 80's) so I quit bodybuilding and started MA while maintaining with dumbbell work. Eventually the dumbbells irritated my joints too, and I'm a stickler for proper form. It wasn't until I started with KB work that my joints reversed course, now they feel better than ever, so hence my bias toward them. No disrespect meant to any barbell guys.
It seems as this program is Meathead V 2.0 as it contains many movements geared solely to puffing up muscle, and it's almost exactly the 3 day/wk schedule I followed for years while MA training for 3 days/wk.
Now I'm a kettlebell guy probably for life, maybe some deadlifting in the future but as they say 'to each his own'..
Frankly with my mileage I'm stoked to be where I'm at, not many hard trainers from my era around who aren't physical wrecks.
Edit: There's no mention of LED work either, just a timed 1 mile run on Wed every week.. I don't get it, half these guys are perfect heart attack candidates