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By
Charles Staley, B.Sc, MSS
Director, Staley Training Systems |
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Recently, through the work of
popular fitness movements such as CrossFit and its many imitators,
the previously unexplored concept of randomized training has
received a significant amount of popularity throughout the
fitness community. This popularity is not without reason-
randomized workouts have significant benefits, but like all
approaches, random training also has its drawbacks.
In this article, I'll compare
and contrast random versus structured approaches to training,
and then I'll summarize by offering a few approaches that
(I think) provide the benefits of both while simultaneously
minimizing the drawbacks.
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Benefits
of Randomized Training Approaches
"Crossfitters" enjoy random
workouts, and I think you will too- here's why:
1) That new car smell:
To borrow a great phrase from my client
Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein, there's a palpable sense of renewal at the
prospect of a new workout program that you plan to start on Monday
(by the way, no one ever starts a new program or diet on any other
day of the week, unless it happens to be New Year's Day.) In a sense,
randomized training gives you that "new car smell" every
single workout. If you're suffering from ADD or are otherwise under-motivated,
this can be a great boost to your morale and can make you more consistent
than you'd otherwise be. And needless to say, if you're consistent,
you'll make more progress than your inconsistent peers, even if
what they're doing is "better" or "smarter"
or "more scientific" than what you're doing.
2) Specificity to random and/or
varied professional or athletic needs:
Some professions, avocations, and
sport disciplines (an perhaps people seeking "general"
fitness, whatever than means) require or desire a generalized, highly
varied, almost random set of physical attributes and motor qualities.
Firefighters, police, military and para-military job descriptions
come to mind, as do many fighting sports, most notably mixed martial
arts (MMA).
Drawbacks of Randomized Training Approaches
Despite the significant benefits I've
just described, random training (like any approach) also has its
drawbacks. The most significant of these shortcomings are as follows:
1) Constant soreness:
If you squat anywhere between one
and thrice a week, the soreness that you initially experience during
your first handful of workouts soon becomes all but a distant memory
as your body's adaptive systems and resources solve this particular
Rubik's Cube. In fact, once the puzzle's been solved, it'll be nearly
impossible to invoke soreness, no matter how hard you push yourself.
On the other hand, the more random your training is, the more often
you'll be sore- the random nature of the physical challenges you
experience makes it far more difficult for you to habituate.
If you're an in-season athlete, or
belong to a highly physical profession that presents randomized
challenges, you don't really want to be sore all the time. This
means that although you need enough variety to keep your nervous
system somewhat off-guard, you don't want the variety to be so significant
that you're basically starting from scratch each and every workout.
2) Poor learning curve:
In order to learn challenging and
complex motor tasks (such as the Olympic lifts for example), it'd
be to your advantage to do them often. Learning requires frequent
repetition, and motor learning is no exception to this rule. If
your training is completely random, you'll never have enough repetition
to sustain the learning curve.
3) Limited specificity:
This third point somewhat overlaps
with the previous two points, but to put a sharper edge on it, powerlifters
need to do their 3 competitive lifts, swimmers need to swim, and
climbers need to climb. If you want to be great at pull-ups, you
need to work them hard- a lot. And obviously, a completely randomized
approach doesn't accommodate this need.
Reconciling Structure And Non-Structure
I've often said that there's no such
thing as a perfect program, because even if you could find it, you'll
quickly habituate to it and progress will slow to a halt. That being
said, there are principles that help us to identify "better"
approaches, and one of these principles is that specificity ("structure"
in the scope of this conversation) and variety ("randomness"
for our purposes here) must be balanced and integrated within the
overall scope of training. Here then, are a few suggestions for
doing just that:
Use A Structured Exercise List With Random Loading Parameters
If you've determined that a particular
exercise tends to move you closer toward your goals, you should
probably do that exercise on a regular and relatively frequent basis.
One possible drawback (as discussed earlier) of regular frequency
is neural habituation and slowed progress as your nervous system
"figures out" how to deal with that particular form of
stress. The solution to this, which was discovered eons ago by athletes
in a wide number of sports, is to randomize the character and/or
specific attributes of that exercise stress. In our case, that means
providing variety through constantly changing loading parameters
(E.g., set/rep brackets, intensity, tempo, and rest intervals.
Simply create 6 different loading
protocols, such as:
-5x5/80%/3 minutes rest between sets
-6x2/90%/5 minutes rest between sets
-3x10/70%/2 minutes rest between sets
-10x3/85%/4 minutes rest between sets
-2x20/60%/2.5 minutes rest between sets
-1x5/85%
Next, assign a number to each option,
and roll a dye. Whatever comes up determines your loading parameters
for that exercise.
Use A Semi-Structured Exercise List With Structured Loading Parameters
If Monday is defined as "squat
day," you can randomize what type of squat you'll do by selecting
from 6 options: back squats, front squats, overhead squats, box
squats, Zercher squats, and dumbbell squats. If you'd like to substitute
your own favorites for some of mine, go ahead. Once your list of
6 choices is completed, number each choice from 1 to 6. Prior to
squat day, roll a dye and whatever number comes up determines what
type of squat you'll do that day. From there, you apply whatever
loading parameters you've appropriated for the current cycle you're
on, and you're ready to go.
Worth noting here is that only the
most useful exercises can be plugged into this option, which is
one of it's greatest attributes. You're not likely to come up with
6 variations of tricep kickbacks, leg extensions, or pec deck, but
you can easily devise a half-dozen options for vertical pressing,
horizontal pressing, unilateral leg drills, snatches, cleans, and
deadlifts. This is simply an extrapolation of the "same but
different" approach that I've written about in previous articles.
Use A Semi-Structured Exercise List With Random Loading Parameters
This is an amalgam of the previous
two suggestions. Both exercises and loading parameters are "semi-structured."
On Monday, you know you're doing some type of squat, but you don't
know which one until you roll the dye. Then, a second roll gives
you your loading parameters. Obviously, this is the most random
of the three approaches, but it still provides structure.
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What
About Periodization?
To further maximize the benefit/drawback
profile when attempting to reconcile structure with non-structure,
you can employ a cycling concept where you (for example)
employ the first option for 4 weeks, followed by the second
option for a month, and finally, the last option for the
remainder of a 12-week cycle. If your needs require a variation
on this theme, go ahead and apply your creative elbow grease
to the situation.
Now Go And Make It Yours!
The suggestions I've presented
here are for the purposes of illustration and to inspire
your own creative thinking. If, during this article, you're
struck by alternative applications of my ideas, then I've
been successful. And as always, I'd love to hear your questions,
comments, suggestions, and ideas about what you've just
read. To sound off, simply click the "discuss"
link below.
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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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