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Y’know that cute little graph that aerobic dance folks
always look at when they want to know how high to take their heart rate?
They call it the “training heart rate zone” chart. They calculate their
heart rate by going 220 minus your age times .6 to .8 or so. It’s useful.
It’s no panacea though. Lots of folk nowadays use a “perceived exertion”
scale in determining when their training heart rate is high enough. But
that chart has always made me wonder whether one of similar ilk could be
developed for lifting.I’ve been playing with this project now for over 10
years. Here’s what I’ve found.
Well, they don’t call me “Dr. Squat”
for nuthin’! I’ve been a student of that particular lift for more than a
few years. I needed to know precisely how much weight to train with
because I didn’t want to leave ANYTHING to chance. But there were no
guidelines back in those days that I cared tpo hang my hat on. The old
timers all trained by “feel” or by what their experience told them was
best. Mostly they were right, but I didn’t want to take that chance.
Sometimes they WEREN’T! Let me show you how my squat looks at different
levels of training load:
AN EXAMPLE OF THE INVERTED “U” HYPOTHESIS
1600 I
I
1400 I 1400
I 1333
1200 I 1231
P I
O 1000 I
W I 952
E 800 I
R I 750
600 I
I
400 I 400
I___________________________________________________________________________
Weight 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
% Max 11 22 33 44 55 67 78 89 100 111
Time/sec .5 .63 .75 1.0 1.3 2.4
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Power equals force times distance per unit of time (P
= f X d / t). This is high school science stuff. So, since my squat goes
through a 2 foot stroke, all I had to do was measure the amount of time it
took me to squat at any given percentage of my max (which, at the time,
was around 900 pounds) at maximum speed. This, I did. The graph above
shows quite clearly that I’m generating the greatest amount of power when
the weight is between approximately 55 and 85 percent of my
max.
This, fellow iron freaks, approximates the recommended
training zone! Where the inverted “U” asymptotes is the training zone for
all exercises. All the time. For everyone.
Big statement? Yes, but
not without support. Let’s explore the 55-85 recommendation before
discarding it as another of Dr. Squat’s “Arthuresque” diatribes. First, I
tested the theory in the deadlift, bench press, curl and military press
with several elite athletes I was training at the time. The theory was
supported in each and every case. Over the past ten years I’ve been
observing weight trainees from every walk of life -- detrained couch
potatoes, elite athletes and everyone in between -- and it’s been
supported without fail. The numbers 55 and 85 may fluctuate up or down a
bit from lift to lift or person to person, but not much. The inverted “U”
appears to be virtually ubiquitous.
I believe that the reason for
staying within this training zone lies in discerning the amount of time
you spend under maximum tension. If the weight is too light, you simply
cannot recruit enough motor units to approach your muscles’ maximum
tension producing capabilities. And, if the weight is too heavy, you can’t
spend enough time under maximum tension due to fatigue.
CHOOSING YOUR OPTIMAL TRAINING LOAD
This inverted “U” hypothesis raises another question of
major importance. Where in the 55-85 percent range should you spend most
of your training time? After all, there’s a big difference between the
training effects one can expect from training at 55 percent of max as
opposed to 85 percent of max. The answer lies in carefully identifying
your training goals, and then constructing a plan or “blueprint” of how to
go about realizing them. This is called your training cycle, and it will
always require that you first build your foundation (strengthen all of
your muscles generally), and then progress on to more sport-specific or
lifestyle-specific objectives . The most noteworthy training goals that a
majority of you will ever encounter are listed in the accompanying
sidebar.
Here are some general guidelines that may apply to you.
Remember though, that the precise construction of your training cycle --
where on the 55 - 85 zone you’ll find it most fruitful to train -- will
vary considerably from person to person. We’re all unique.
-
When you’re training for limit strength and explosive
strength, most of your time will be spent most effectively closer to the
85 percent end of the zone (examples: powerlifters, Olympic lifters and
all other athletes in the “foundation” training period of their
cycle);
-
When you’re training for starting strength or reactive
strength, your objective will be best served by staying closer to the 55
percent end of the zone (examples: ballistic athletes like baseball
players, high jumpers, long jumpers, golfers or other athletes from a
host of sports requiring occasional ballistic force output);
-
When you’re training for anaerobic strength endurance,
explosive strength, or for a sport which requires a combination of limit
strength, explosive strength and starting / reactive strength movements
while in a highly fatigued state, you’ll find that most of your training
should be conducted in the 65-75 percent range of the zone (examples:
most glycolytic (lactacid) sports such as football, tennis, longer
sprints and boxing / martial arts);
-
When your training objectives are either to get all of
your muscles’ subcellular elements and structures to adapt to stress,
you will have greatest success by training at a variety of intensity
levels ranging across the entire training zone -- fast movements, slow
movements, heavy weights light weights, high reps and low reps, and
everything in between (example: holistic bodybuilding or general fitness
training).
SIDEBAR: THE MOST COMMON WEIGHT TRAINING OBJECTIVES
Bodybuilding, Fat Reduction Or “Trim ‘n’ Tone”
Training:
These three goals are by far the most common
reasons people go to the gym. They are realized through the application of
a strength training programs (the components of which are outlined below).
In other words, while of paramount importance to all of you, these body
composition changes simply “happen” through strength training, and are
part-and-parcel to the entire concept of periodized -- planned -- weight
training.
Limit Strength:
How much
musculoskeletal force you can generate for one all-out effort. Limit
strength is your bodybuilding "foundation." All of your muscles should
have a good level of limit strength. It's like building your house on a
rock instead of in the sand. While it's important for bodybuilders and
other athletes, only powerlifters need to maximize their limit strength
for competition. There are three kinds of limit strength:
1. eccentric
strength: how much weight you can lower without losing control.
2.
static strength: how much weight you can hold stationary without losing
control
3. concentric strength: how much weight you can lift one time
with an all-out muscle contraction.
Absolute
Strength:
Absolute strength is the same as limit strength
with one important distinction. Limit strength is achieved while "under
the influence" of some form of work-producing aid (supplements, hypnosis,
therapeutic techniques, etc.), while absolute strength is achieved through
training alone -- "Au natural." That makes "limit" strength more important
for your purposes. All athletes should take every available advantage
science has to offer, short of using drugs or other illegal techniques or
strategies which are against the rules. "Absolute" strength is still an
important concept for fitness enthusiasts, kids, and weekend warriors
however. Usually, they aren't as "scientific" or as "dedicated to
excellence" as are competitive athletes, and may wish to train "au
natural" for their fitness or sports
goals.
Speed-Strength:
You may have heard
this kind of strength referred to as "power." Speed-strength, however, is
a more descriptive term. There are two types of strength under the general
heading of Speed-Strength: 1) starting strength and 2) explosive strength
(explained below). "Speed-strength" is how well you apply force with
speed. It's importance in most sports cannot be overemphasized, as this
kind of movement is what it takes to stimulate your fast-twitch muscle
fibers to respond. Some sports scientists add a third type of strength to
the general description of speed-strength, called “reactive strength”
(described below).
Starting Strength:
Your
ability to "turn on" as many muscle fibers (muscle cells) as possible
instantaneously. Firing a 100 mph fastball requires tremendous starting
strength. So does each footfall in a 100 meter sprint, or throwing a quick
knockout punch in boxing.
Explosive Strength:
Once your muscle fibers are turned on, your ability to
LEAVE them turned on for a measurable period is referred to as
"explosiveness." A football lineman pushing his opponent, or a shot putter
"putting" the shot as far as possible are examples of explosive strength
in action. Olympic-style weightlifting (snatch and clean & jerk) is
perhaps the best example of maximum explosive strength in action. The
ultimate form in which explosive strength is displayed is called
"acceleration."
Anaerobic Strength:
The
word "anaerobic" means "without oxygen." So, if your activity is performed
without your muscles having to be supplied with oxygen in order to allow
them to perform that activity, it's "anaerobic." Of course, you need
oxygen to stay alive, and you'll have to "repay" your muscles the oxygen
"debt" you owe after performing anaerobically. You do this by breathing
hard once you stop. Scientists classify movements in sports as being
"driven" by the "ATP/CP" energy pathway, the "glycolytic" pathway or the
"oxidative" pathway. The first two do not involve oxygen and are therefore
considered "anaerobic." ATP/CP refer to the biochemicals inside your
muscles that produce energy for your muscles to work (adenosine
triphosphate and creatine phosphate). Glycolytic refers to the sugar
stored inside your muscles called glycogen. When you run out of ATP and
CP, you have to begin using that glycogen to re-synthesize the ATP and CP
so work can continue. Neither of these two muscle energy processes need
oxygen for them to work. So, we can have either anaerobic strength with
energy derived from the ATP/CP pathway of muscle energetics or anaerobic
strength with energy coming from the glycolytic pathway.
Traditional Strength Classifications:
Over the years many different classification schemes have
been devised in order that we may better understand strength and the best
methods of acquiring it. Here are a few of the more enduring terms used to
differentiate strength classifications. You will see that they are either
incomplete or too general.
“General Strength” is a term that many
coaches use to describe limit strength in all of your muscle groups and
body movements. In this category, you train all the muscle groups without
concentrating on the muscles that assist your particular sport skills.
Training for general strength will give you a foundation (a "base") for
your sport. Once you have developed general (overall) body strength, you
should then work on the limit strength of the particular muscle groups
that will be most involved when you perform the event in which you
compete. Traditionally, this has been called specific
strength.
Each sport skill requires a specialized type of strength,
or "special strength." Shot putters, for example, need explosive strength
and starting strength, while wrestlers need anaerobic strength endurance
to be able to apply limit strength or speed-strength in their movements
throughout the match. Many sports -- tennis and golf being two examples --
require the application of starting strength ("ballistic force") with
perfect control.
“Optimal Strength” is a reference to the fact
that one's "limit" or "absolute" strength level is not necessarily as
important as it is for powerlifters. Indeed, to train exclusively for
limit or absolute strength will invariably detract from performance
ability in most sports because one's Fmax -- the level of force output in
any given sport skill -- will be retarded. Remember, in all the world of
sport, SPEED is king. Speed is not necessarily improved by concentrating
exclusively on maximizing one's limit strength. The optimal strength level
of limit or absolute strength, then, for each sport will vary, and is
defined as that level where one's Fmax (force output in any given
movement), Tmax (the time it takes to get to Fmax) and explosive strength
are also maximized.
Some coaches schooled in the old Soviet
approach to training separately refer to "reactive strength" or one's
ability to switch from eccentric to concentric during the “stretch
shortening cycle.”
It's often considered a third component of
speed-strength. It is alternately called the “amortization” phase or the
“transition” phase. It is the application of great muscle force being
applied to “put the breaks on” the eccentric phase -- static contraction
-- in preparation for the initiation of maximum fiber recruitment
(starting strength). |
Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D., MSS