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By
Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems |
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Whenever you perform a workout,
you're exposing your body to a challenge- a form of stress.
In order to describe and quantify the character and extent
of that stress, we use the phrase "loading parameters."
Generally these parameters refer
to the load used, the number of sets and reps performed with
that load, as well as the rests between sets and the speed
of movement used on each repetition. However, other parameters
can be monitored as well, including frequency of workouts,
the number of exercises per workout, the order of exercises
within a workout, the duration of each workout, and so on
and so forth.
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With that in mind, I'll share a few
thought about loading parameters…
"Work" is defined as displacing a load for a specified
distance
This is an important distinction,
because most people wrongly confuse work with the effort it took
and/or how it felt to perform that work. In fact, it's possible
to have a high perception of effort during low-output performances.
An example of this is using purposely slower-than-necessary repetitions-
they hurt more, but accomplish less. Perhaps an even better example
is static contractions, which hurt a lot, even through (technically-speaking)
you're not performing any work at all.
Bottom line: "work" is what
you did, what you produced, not the resources you consumed to do
it.
"Power" is defined as how quickly a load can be displaced
for a specified distance
Accomplishing work in a shorter period
of time means you're more powerful than someone else who took longer
to perform the same task. This is what almost every competitive
sport is all about.
A single parameter can only be appreciated
against the context of the other parameters
If you perform 2 sets of 8 reps, is
that the same as performing 4 sets of 8 reps? Clearly it isn't.
Therefore, advising someone to perform "8 reps per set"
has no real meaning unless you also specify how many sets should
be performed.
Similarly, performing 8 reps in 15
seconds is not the same thing as performing 8 reps in 25 seconds.
Performing 8 reps with a 9RM load is clearly different than performing
8 reps with a 12RM load.
The point is this: no single parameter
has significant meaning unless it is understood against the backdrop
of all other parameters. Remember this the next time you hear say
"high reps are for tone" or "low reps are for bulk."
Loads should be earned, not assigned.
To say that you "should"
perform 6 sets of 2 with 242 pounds during next Wednesday's bench
press workout is absurd. It's fine to use those numbers as a goal,
but you have no way to predict your functional capacity on a future
date. If you've over-estimated your capacity, you risk over-extending
your adaptive resources and/or injuring yourself as you stubbornly
try to complete your assignment. Conversely, if you under-estimated
your capacity, you might lose the chance to hit a new PR, or at
the very least, you'll under-train your bench presses for that workout.
On any given workout, a superior performance
(at least in the case of trained individuals) indicates a high functional
capacity, and it's an indicator that the previous training cycle
has produced good results. It's time to "strike while the iron
is hot" as the saying goes.
Inferior performance, on the other
hand, indicates inadequate recuperation from previous workout loads
and suggests the need for rest, not work.
Balancing Specificity Against Variation
First, your training must reflect
both requirements- it must be specific enough to render a result,
but not so specific that you stagnate and/or develop overuse injuries.
The best way to walk that fine line is through the use of what I
would term "worthwhile" exercise families, as follows:
- Squats
- Olympic lifts
- Horizontal Presses
- Vertical Presses
- Vertical Pulls
- Unilateral lower Body Drills
The exercises in each category are
all cousins of each other: Back squats, front squats, Zercher squats,
overhead squats, box squats, and thrusters are all squats, but they're
all different types of squats. Squatting is "worthwhile"
because there are so many variations of this exercise, you can do
them all the time without stagnating. Same with the other categories
listed above.
Quality And Quantity Are Inversely Related
You can't run a marathon at 100-meter
speed, and you can't perform 10 reps with your 1RM. Volume and intensity
must always be balanced. First establish quality (speed, strength,
movement quality, asymptomatic joints) and then, if desired, increase
quantity.
Strength Is Fundamentally "Motor Intelligence"
Many people under-estimate the neural
component of strength training. Although it is true that a thicker
muscle fiber can produce more tension than a thinner fiber, the
fact remains that muscles are slaves of the nervous system. Most
people have enough muscle tissue to accomplish impressive physical
tasks. What most people lack is efficient wiring. Only heavy loads,
lifted in a relatively fresh state, help to motor cortex improve
its force production strategies: inter and intra- muscular coordination,
rate coding, and so on. If you value pain over performance, you'll
probably rarely train in the necessary manner.
Resources Are Finite
If your adaptive resources were unlimited,
you'd be well-advised to train as hard as possible, as often as
possible. But unfortunately, you're ability to recover from workouts
requires a number of resources, all of which have limits. This being
the case, you should always strive for maximum efficiency in each
workout. By efficiency I'm referring to the resource/production
ratio of your efforts. For every unit of resource, you're looking
for produce as many units of work as possible. Smart manipulation
of loading parameters is the key.
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Always
Assume You're Under-Appreciating Specificity
If your training isn't producing
the results you want, I'd look at specificity first. When
in doubt, be more specific, not less. Even seemingly non-specific
tactics are often highly specific when examined carefully.
Example: A powerlifter practices pin presses instead of
bench presses to improve his bench. This seems less specific
than simply benching, but if the pin presses are performed
under the premise of weak triceps, it becomes clear that
pin presses are more specific to the issue of triceps strength
than are bench presses.
The Strength/Technique Relationship
Strength and technique are
often assumed to be distinctly separate entities, but I'm
losing faith in that distinction. I now think of strength
and technique as two sides of the same coin. For example,
holding the back in the correct position during a deadlift
is thought of as a technical issue, but frequently the inability
to achieve this position can be attributed to a lack of
strength. And of course, lack of strength in the squat can
often be traced to insufficient technique. These two qualities
are inexorably linked- neither one can exist without the
other.
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About
The Author
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His colleagues call him
an iconoclast, a visionary, a rule-breaker. His clients
call him “The Secret Weapon” for his ability
to see what other coaches miss. Charles calls himself
a “geek” who struggled in Phys Ed throughout
school. Whatever you call him, Charles’ methods are
ahead of their time and quickly produce serious results.
His counter-intuitive approach and self-effacing demeanor
have lead to appearances on NBC’s The TODAY Show
and The CBS Early Show.
Currently, Charles competes
in Olympic-style weightlifting on the master’s circuit,
with a 3-year goal of qualifying for the 2009 Master’s
World Championships.
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