Last Man Standing

If you're looking for membership in the 1% club, it's time for a paradigm shift.

I'm about to challenge one of the most deeply held beliefs about training with weights. The paradigm in question is so widely accepted that for most it is considered a simple fact of life. You might not even realize that you're a believer, but it's highly likely that you are.

As a way of presenting my argument, let me first draw a few parallels between two hypothetical training scenarios.  The first is highly unlikely; the second is omnipresent and all too familiar. Both, however, are equally absurd!

Scenario One

A traditional martial arts or boxing class is in progress. The students are being put through their paces as their instructor leads them through an advanced technique session, which features a number of extremely difficult maneuvers.

Two hours later, the students are still at it, although their ability to perform the more difficult skills has deteriorated noticeably.

Four hours after the workout began, the students are still valiantly attempting to execute the kata, however, by this point, three students have dropped out due to sheer exhaustion, while the rest can barely manage to stay on their feet, unable to perform anything even remotely resembling the kata they are practicing. Their punches are slow and imprecise, their stances shallow and unstable, their breathing out of control. Trying to actually improve the kata is all but a distant memory at this point, as mere survival becomes the new goal of the workout.

Scenario Two

You're in the gym performing a set of squats to failure. You reason to yourself that only an all out assault on the bar will result in progress…no pain, no gain as they say. So you unrack the bar, step back to clear the rack, and go to war. The first 4 or 5 reps are pretty solid, but after that, you begin to slow down. Nevertheless, you manage to complete 12 reps.  This is a personal record for you, but no need for congratulations: rep by rep, your fatigue levels escalate. And the more you fatigue, the less force you exert on the bar; ie the bar speed slows.  The less force you exert, the less your training targets the fast twitch fibers and the more it targets the slow twitch fibers.

By the way, fast twitch fibers are so-named because they make you fast, while slow twitch fiber development slows you down. What IS your reason for strength training???

If you're feeling somewhat discouraged by the sudden realization that all the weight training you've done (for who knows how many years) is ineffective, take heart, you're not alone! Based on experiences and observations, I'd estimate that well over 99% of those who train with weights subscribe to the erroneous notion that the primary goal of training is to achieve a high level of fatigue.

If you're looking for membership in the 1% club, it's time for a paradigm shift.  Here it is. 

The effectiveness of training is not determined by the amount of fatigue it produces; but rather, by the degree to which it improves the skill or quality which is being trained.

In strength training (as in most other pursuits), the "quality" of a training session is defined and measured by how closely it approximates your maximum capabilities. For example, if an athlete can perform a 120kg deadlift for one rep and not two, this is called "1RM," or "single repetition maximum." This is their 100% quality benchmark for that exercise. In strength training, the closer you are to your 1RM, the higher the quality and (neuromuscular intensity) of that session.

In another example, if your 1RM is 140kg and during a workout you lift 105kg, then you are training at 75% of 1RM, regardless of how many sets and reps you perform with that weight. Paradoxically, even a single repetition with 110kg is higher quality than an all out set of 12 reps with 105kg, although the 12 reps will certainly result in greater fatigue.

Obviously a certain amount of quantity is necessary to achieve a good training effect. What I’m suggesting is that quality should never be sacrificed for the sake of quantity. This certainly shouldn't be a foreign concept for boxers & martial artists!

How many times have you heard your coach or instructor preach,

"One perfect kick is better than 1000 sloppy kicks" or

"Practice doesn't make perfect....perfect practice makes perfect!"

What I’m recommending is the application of the same principle to your strength training.

THE NEED FOR SPEED 

OK, now that we're familiar with the concept of 1RM as the maximum quality benchmark in strength training, it's time to examine an important method of improving the quality (and therefore, training effect) of any given weight. However, doing so requires violating another dearly held belief, something known as "the gym junkie’s mantra", ie lift weights slowly and under control. Now, the "under control" aspect of this mantra is a truism of course, but lifting weights more slowly than necessary lowers quality and here’s why:

For any given weight, more speed equals more tension. And by this point you can hopefully appreciate that more speed leads to better recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fiber…the heavy artillery responsible for elite-level athletic performance.

Quick quiz…does lifting weights quickly, increase the chance of injury?  An answer with a question…does punching and kicking fast increase the chance of injury?  I'm always amazed how martial artists & boxers can spend hours each week delivering lightening fast punches and kicks, yet feel the need to lift weights slowly due to fear of injury.

Here's a more refined way of considering the issue of training safety:

Danger is relative to preparation: More stress to the tissues does statistically elevate your chance of injury, but it doesn't mean you'll get injured. Think about it this way; if your body can safely handle 1000 units of tension, then 400 units of tension poses a greater chance of injury than 300 units. But it still represents a minimal chance of injury. The whole point of strength training, in fact most any training, for athletes at least, is to provide the body with a challenge that it could not experience otherwise. If you want to eliminate your chance of injury, you'll also need to eliminate the challenge, which also means saying goodbye to the training effect!

Quality versus Quantity

I am reminded of a television commercial which ran during the last Olympic Games providing an example that reflects our devotion to quantity:

The camera zooms in on a fit-looking woman pounding out sit-ups in the park, as she counts "23, 24, 25..."  Then cut to another athlete punching out a set of push-ups in a boxing gym, counting "39, 40, 41..." The commercial continues in this way as it follows several athletes repping out on various exercises to the backdrop of heroic music. By the end of the commercial, your hair is standing on end and you feel like driving to the gym immediately. However, the most critical aspect of training, the aspect that is fundamental to training success, is completely ignored…Quality!

Despite what many athletes and coaches think, more reps at the same weight DOESN’T indicate a higher quality set. It indicates a higher quantity set. Compare the following examples:

Jim & Dave can both bench press 140kg for a single repetition.

In one workout Jim uses 125kg (90%) for 8 sets of 2 repetitions.

Dave uses 105kg (75%) for 4 sets of 10 repetitions.

End result:

Jim gets stronger, despite doing less total work, because he employed higher quality weights in his workout.

Of course, Dave feels more "trashed" after his workout, which gives him a false sense of confidence about his abilities.

Jim on the other hand, still feels quite fresh after his workout, and his sense of confidence is accurate, since his 1RM's are improving month by month.  Dave however, never seems to get stronger, but remains confident because he's almost always sore, which for him is a constant reminder that he’s working hard.

Choose Your Method…wisely:

Ultimately, there are essentially three methods of strength training available to athletes, as outlined by famous Russian Dr. Vladimir Zatsiorsky in his excellent text “Science and Practice of Strength Training” and popularized by Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell fame.

Repeated Effort Method: A sub maximal weight is lifted for several (typically 8-12) repetitions per set, either to complete muscular failure or close to failure. This is the method which (mistakenly) is almost exclusively used by most athletes and of course most gym trainees.  It is also popular with bodybuilders, who have and still do influence the many “fitness experts”, within mainstream health and fitness. The repeated effort method causes increases in muscle mass, but has a minimal effect on maximal strength, relative strength, and speed strength improvements.  It also causes post exercise muscle soreness, which can have a negative effect on skills training.

Maximal Effort Method: A maximal (or near maximal) weight is lifted for a small [typically 1-3] number of repetitions per set. This method leads to significant improvements in maximal strength, relative strength, and speed strength and minimal post exercise muscle soreness. The maximal effort method leads to less gains in lean muscle mass than the repeated effort method. For this reason, it is favored by competitive weightlifters, which must be as strong as possible without gaining bodyweight.

The Dynamic Effort Method: A light to moderate weight is moved with maximum speed. This method is used to improve the rate of force development (speed strength). As such, it is of enormous value to athletes who must overcome large loads (either their own body or an opponent’s body) with great speed.

The take home point here is that martial artists & boxers need to minimize their use of the repeated effort method in favor of the maximal and dynamic effort methods of strength training. These two methods are considered major outcome activities…meaning, activities which have the largest positive impact on your major outcome or primary goal. These two methods have been used by athletes requiring speed and explosive strength qualities in a wide variety of sporting events for years, yet for some reason, martial artists & boxers are slow to adopt these proven methods.

Ultimately, hard work (by itself) doesn't cut the mustard in elite-level sport. When the Last Man is Standing, no-one receives medals for working hard. Medals are awarded for being the best. If being the best is a priority, then I urge you to employ the concepts I've outlined here in your own training.