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[Note
from Staley Training - in place of an article,
Fabrice offered to let us republish the first 3 chapters
of his new book, "1 Rep Fitness". In reading
through the book, the main concept behind it is very
clear and fundamentally powerful...fatigue management.
In this respect, the
performance of the training sessions are along similar
lines to EDT - the goal in both is not pain but performance.
We'll be doing a more
detailed review of the book in the near future but
the system is very well thought out and well worth
having a look at.]
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Click
here to learn more about
" 1 Rep Fitness"
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Chapter
1 - 1RF Fitness Principles
Since I have been in the United States, I have come to respect
many of the coaches and trainers I have come across. However,
so many of the magazines fail to cover the principles I consider
invaluable when it comes to putting on muscle and decreasing body
fat.
These principles are
built into the 1RF System, however they will work on any weight
training program. Use them!
Contraction
Is Key
The most important
thing to do when you train any muscle is to contract it forcefully.
Most trainees just lift the weight. They get caught up in how
much weight is on the bar.
Let me re-emphasize
this point: Despite the fact 1RF uses controlled, moderately heavy
weight lifting in its training protocol, the
goal is not to ‘lift heavy’, but to contract forcefully!
Simply “lifting”
a heavy weight is irrelevant for shaping your body when compared
the power of a good, hard-felt muscular contraction and having
your mind in the muscle.
The goal is to have
the best connection possible between the mind and muscle, and
the best way to do ‘this’ is to focus on one rep at
a time. That’s part of the power of 1RF. You are only focusing
on one rep.
To fully contract a
muscle, you must lift the weight with the muscles being targeted.
Despite the fact you will be using a challenging weight, you must
use a weight that is light enough to allow you to feel each and
every contraction of the muscle. That is why lifting TOO heavy
is always a bad thing when it comes to building and shaping your
body. If you want to be a powerlifter, that’s a different
story. But I assume that is not the case. You just want a better
body in the fastest way possible, and that’s what 1RF can
give you.
Rest
Periods
If you want to increase
your muscle and your strength at the same time, with an added
bonus of burning more body fat, you must master your rest intervals.
Again, most trainees just rest for some unknown time between sets.
It is usually too long. I’ve seen many people on their cell
phone between sets. I even saw one girl today at the gym on her
cell phone during a set!
This is just nuts…and
it will get you nowhere.
Rest must be varied
to achieve ultimate muscle definition. Depending on how long you
rest and how heavy you train, your body will use various systems
of internal energy production to fuel the workout, including your
own body fat. Sounds like the ideal plan, doesn’t it?
The 1RF System uses
very short rest intervals (as little as three seconds) as well
as longer rest intervals to get the job done. The limited rest
between sets (explained later) will allow you to lift the most
weight possible and exhaust the greatest number of muscle fibers
possible at the same time. The longer rest allows for your nervous
system and hormonal system to recover sufficiently to train longer.
Technically speaking,
1RF uses the phosphagen system (CP) and the anaerobic glycolitic
(Lactic Acid) system to produce energy for training. The phosphagen
system is taxed during challenging weight training, while the
anaerobic glycolitic System is used during more moderate weight
training.
The key to the equation
is ATP, or Adenosine Triphosphate. ATP is a molecule found in
every cell of the body and is the fuel-based end-product of carbohydrate
and fat, is used for about ten seconds in high intensity training.
Our sets are well under ten seconds, so your ATP will be kept
very high for most of your workout. This is a good thing when
it comes to building both nice-looking, toned muscles and functional
strength.
Muscle
Fibers
Mike Mentzer, a pioneer
in the field of H.I.T. (High Intensity Training), believed that
a muscle could be fully exhausted with just one good, hard set.
I personally do not believe this. I believe that the primary mass
fibers need to be taxed in the shorted period of time possible
(like Mentzer) but by using a variety of set/rep schemes to do
the job. This is where Mike and I part ways.
A muscle can be composed
of Type 1, Type 2a and/or Type 2b muscle fibers. Type 1 fibers
are used primarily for long endurance activity, such as running
a marathon. Obviously this does not appeal to those of us wanting
to increase muscle quality, unless your idea of a great body is
a marathoner.
Type 2 fibers are where
we will be concentrating.
Type
2 Fibers
Type 2 muscle fibers,
also known as fast twitch muscle fibers, have the capacity to
be larger than Type 1 (slow twitch) fibers. Most people have more
Type 2 fibers than Type 1 fibers, although the actual number varies
greatly from person to person. So, while one person may have a
larger number of Type 2 fibers than another, and thus have a greater
potential for muscle size, anyone wanting to increase the size
of Type 2 fibers they have must train in a specific fashion.
It just so happens
that 1RF Training is the best at stimulating both Type 2 fibers:
Type 2a and 2b.
Type 2a muscle fibers
fatigue more quickly than Type 2b. They are used in medium duration,
medium-intensity training. Type 2a fibers can be used in both
anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen) capacity.
Type 2b fibers are used in explosive bursts of strength such as
heavy lifting and sprinting. They are the “power fibers.”
What does this all
mean? It means that both low-rep and higher-rep training must
be done to ensure the most rapid body changes possible. When I
say “higher-rep”, I am not suggesting sets of 50 to
100 reps. Reps in the 6-12 range work fine for 2b stimulation,
while lower reps tax the 2a fibers more efficiently.
The problem for bodybuilders
has been the fact that too much 2a training leaves one depleted
and prone to injury. That’s also why so many people, women
especially, have been reluctant to train with sufficient weights
in order to produce the superior results one sees in 1RF.
But what if there was
a way to combine sets and reps into a protocol that worked both
2a and 2b fibers at the same time…and, in fact, forced them
both to work synergistically? To literally force your body to
use its own body fat as fuel while you gain lean, sexy muscle
at the same time?
There is. It’s
called 1 Rep Fitness.
Chapter 2 - What
About Fat Loss?
Just about everyone
on the planet wants to burn more body fat. I bet you do, too.
The goods news is 1RF is the ideal program to do two seemingly
contradictory things at the same time: Build lean muscle AND burn
body fat at an accelerated rate.
Let’s take a
look at calories. What is a calorie? Technically, it is a measurement
of heat and energy. 1RF training simply burns more calories than
traditional training. Why?
Let me appeal to your
common sense. What do you think requires more energy (i.e. calories)
— lifting a feather for 10 repetitions or lifting a 30-pound
dumbbell for 10 repetitions? Unless the dumbbell weights the same
as the feather, the answer is obvious.
So, we have a common
sense basic principle in action: Lifting sufficient weight requires
greater energy, thus a greater number of calories.
Take a look at Olympic
lifters. Not the super heavyweights, as they literally try to
put on the pounds to increase raw power. Look at the lightweights
and the middleweight lifters. Most of them are not just “lean”…they’re
ripped! And I promise you, from training many of these athletes,
they do not do tons of cardio or diet like a bodybuilder.
Calories are not the
only factor. Fat loss is primarily the result of a properly functioning
hormonal system. Calories come in second behind the power of hormones
when it comes to fat loss.
1RF training, as with
any other type of strenuous strength training, can substantially
increase the production of testosterone and HGH in both males
and females. The greater your natural testosterone levels, generally
speaking, the leaner you are.
I have seen many natural
drugfree bodybuilders achieve the results other require drugs
to achieve using 1RF’s Advanced Protocols (not included in
this book.) These results include extreme muscle gains, greater
shape and decreased levels of body fat. If you want to continue
on past the initial twelve weeks of 1 Rep Fitness and proceed
to the more hard-core 1 Rep Mass, email me and let me know.
When using 1RF Level 2 or Level 3, you can decrease the amount
of cardio you do significantly. Many of my clients find they can
cut it out altogether, which is wonderful news for those of us
who hate cardio.
Cardio
For The Rest of Us
Even if you are forced
to do cardio to burn away that stubborn body fat as I am, the
good news is you do not have to do it at a very high intensity.
I realize there is
much debate surrounding the issue of high intensity versus low
intensity cardio. However, in my experience in training clients
for over a decade, I have noticed that the vast majority (including
myself) responds very well to cardio done at 65% of their maximum
heart rate.
You do not have to
be ultra-precise. Just subtract your age from 220 to get an approximate
figure for your maximum heart rate. This is not a ‘scientific’
calculation. In fact, it was rumored to have been developed by
a college student who needed a clever way to impress a professor.
It became the accepted standard through hearsay. The irony is
that it actually works for most people—and it’s cheaper
than having a full stress test to determine your actual maximum
heart rate, which can also be dangerous.
For maximum fat loss,
I recommend two sessions of cardio: One before your workout and
one immediately after. Or, perform your first session first thing
in the morning. Either way, the first session should be done on
an empty stomach for the greatest fat loss effect.
Those with considerable
amount of body fat to lose can divide this up into three sessions,
with the last being prior to bed. Just be sure to keep your heart
rate in that 65% area, otherwise you will over-tax your nervous
system and your glycogen (muscle sugar) stores, and your weight
workouts will suffer. You may even begin to burn muscle! The duration
of cardio should be at least 20-30 minutes, and more if you really
need to burn a lot of fat.
Any cardio device will
work, including plain old walking. Keep it simple, and preferably
something you actually enjoy doing. Cardio, when done fasting
and, if your doctor approves, with caffeine, can do wonders for
getting the body you want. Just remember: Using the 1RF System,
you may find your need for cardio greatly diminished.
Chapter 3 - Using the 1 Rep
Fitness System
Now we will cover the
principles and the building blocks of the 1RF System. Let’s
start by becoming acquainted with the terms I use for the sets,
reps schemes, rest intervals, and training protocols. They are
fairly standard, but I want to cover them to be on the safe side.
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Sets
Sets are the
number of times you repeat a given movement. If you see
“3x10”, that means three sets of ten repetitions.
Often, you will see something like “6x1”. This
is not a misprint.
That means you will be doing six sets of only “one”
repetition, hence the title1 Rep Fitness.
Reps
Reps are the
number of times you lift a weight in a given exercise (see
“Sets” for an example.)
Rest
This is just
what it sounds like: The rest interval used between sets
(very short) exercises (longer.)
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Selecting The Proper
Weight
A key component to
the 1RF System is selecting the weight you will be using for your
sets. Using too much weight will prove to be both dangerous and
fruitless, but if you use too little, you will not tax the muscle
fibers to the extent required for maximum muscle growth. Given
the fact that we will be using a very unique way of doing single
repetitions but with very limited rest, selecting the ideal weight
is both crucial and experimental.
**NOTE: The weight
you select will not change during your sets. You will keep it
constant, changing it only between exercises as needed, and from
week to week as you progress. Actually, there is no way you can
change weights during most of your sets as the rest intervals
are too short. This is by design. We are going after volume in
a very unique way by using singles and radically short rest intervals.
The first series of
sets will seem almost light, but toward the end of the series,
especially the single-rep series, the weight will begin to feel
extremely heavy.
Here’s a rule
you must follow when selecting the proper weight: If you find
you could easily do a second or a third repetition on the final
set of an exercise, you must increase the weight used. Likewise,
if you find that you cannot complete your sets without assistance
from a spotter, you must decrease the weight being used. Do not
rely solely on the formulas presented below to determine your
ideal weight.
At
no time should you ever do forced repetitions. These
are reps completed with the help of a “spotter” or workout
partner. Forced reps on the 1RF System are dangerous and must
be avoided.
You have probably figured
out that determining your exercise poundage is not an exact science.
It will probably take you a few workouts for each exercise and
muscle group to determine the ideal weight to use for your exercises,
but that’s okay. Do the homework. Your body will thank you
for the effort.
The
1RF Weight Selection Formula
Here’s a formula
you may find helpful when determining the amount of weight to
use for your sets. You may need to increase or decrease the weights
after calculating these percentages. Everyone is unique when it
comes to strength. Just follow the guidelines listed above regarding
momentary muscular failure as your guide.
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For Maximum
Muscle: 75-85% 1-Rep Max
Ideal for men
or women interested in bodybuilding or building up a particular
muscle in the fastest time possible.
Or…
For Greater
Muscle Tone: 65-75% 1-Rep Max
While technically
there is no such thing as “muscle tone”, this
percentage works best for women seeking that “sleek”
look or men who want that “beach body” appearance,
often referred to as “toned.”
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The safest way to determine
your 1-rep max in any given exercise is to perform more repetitions
and calculate backwards. Using the process and mathematical formula
below, you can avoid having to do dangerous full-weight singles
(1RM uses less weight for singles) and determine a good starting
point for your exercise weight.
For 75-85% 1-Rep
Max Calculation
