Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Its NOT all about High Intensity



Its NOT all about High Intensity


Time to talk shop a little and this may get technical for some and this is completely my opinions so if what I say upsets you, bad luck!

I want to talk about the idea that training at crazy hard levels all the time is now "the way" everything has to be done. Everything you see is "join our high intensity class" or my favourite "constantly varied, functional movements, performed at high intensity"

This idea just flies in the face of everything that has been studied and practiced in strength and performance for the last 70 or so years. YES high intensity has a place, as do all facets of training:-volume, density, speed, power, etc. just not at the expense of all other principles.

What I want to focus on today is a little perspective for you as with the flood of information you are reading, this post included, you have to make some decisions on where to invest your energy, time and money. So I want to utilise Prilepins chart, as it is considered the gold standard for judging volume and intensity for weight training (bodybuilding does need some tweaks) I have attached the chart to help you understand what I am explaining here.



When you consider the goal of your training, what is often lost is the fact that you can illicit the necessary response at a variety of intensities as long as volume is matched correctly. The long standing rationale is that most of you work should be undertaken in the 70-85% range. Below 70% is generally not enough to create enough stimulus (unless speed/ force are added into the equation) whilst above 85% intensities should be used sparingly to gauge progress and prepare for a peak.

BUT the goal of many of these modern classes, training programs and systems (if you can call them that?) is to keep you working at a high intensity all the time! Some of these systems show promise too but drop the ball when you look at overall progressions with movements. They then use constant variety and say they are developing all fitness domains equally. Unfortunately high intensity training does not do this, you need specific time spent on endurance, on speed, power, agility etc. you get sub par results when you focus on all of these things at the same time!

So returning to Prilepins chart, optimal reps in the "sweet spot" zone of 70-79% are 3-6 reps and an optimal total reps of 18 for each exercise. This is the zone that most coaches find that they can achieve a good balance of intensity, volume and frequency, As all of these factors are key to progressing and improving but again you need to find the correct balance! This means you need to repeat these movements to get better at them, progress them, practice them and Ingrain them into your central nervous system (CNS).

When you look at various periodisation systems (linear, conjugate, daily undulating, etc) you may think that some use much more variety than others, or utilise various aspects of training at the same time (for example speed training in a strength cycle) but they don't do them in a vacuum. They are focusing on the main goal, Strength, whilst incorporating these other aspects in to assist  that development. Many use a specialised variety, which means doing something that is very similar to the main task to build up weaknesses seen with the main task. An example is using the Sumo deadlift to assist building your conventional deadlift.




If you keep yourself at sensible zones of intensity not only will your progress be faster but it will be safer, more enjoyable and above all else more consistent. Whilst if you are always at the limits of what you can do whilst doing a bunch of different things all the time then injury, burnout and lack of progression are going to follow very closely behind.

What I am trying to get across here is that there may be many paths to achieve an outcome BUT if your goal is to improve at something, get stronger, run longer, lose fat, whatever then you need to commit to it and then break it down into manageable chunks instead of trying to push your limits in all areas all at the same time and achieving below average results. 

Sunday, September 13, 2015

It is hard, stop looking for the easy way out

The fitness industry is such a funny industry sometimes. You want to get the right information to achieve the goals you want to achieve and when you go in search of that information you are inundated with conflicting arguments that leave you confused and thinking:-

"I just want to lose this fat around my belly, it shouldn't be this hard!"


Unfortunately it IS hard. It is a challenge. You will have to work hard, make sacrifices and most of all you will not always like having to do what needs to be done. This is just the fact of the matter, if you have gotten fat, unfit, weak and any other lifestyle induced ailment then you have to realise that he journey forward is going to make you uncomforatble at times, especially at the start.

All the promises of "This is the best workout" or "Take this supplement to drop the fat" that you see pn TV or in magazines are only there to profit the advertiser and when it comes to looking at what the studies say there is very little really offered by any of these things (If the companies have even bothered to get their stuff tested)



When you walk in to the gym you only need a few things to achieve your goal and this is the order of importance:-

  1. Realisation that things NEED to change
  2. Motivation to get started
  3. Understanding that the first few weeks will be tough no matter how easy you start
  4. Someone who has done it before to set it up for you
  5. Realistic expectations of what you will achieve
I know none of this tells you what to eat, drink or do. Why? Because in all honesty everything can and will work "for about 6 weeks" according to legendary Strength and conditioning Coach Dan John. So when you are starting out you just need to keep it really simple, do the basic movements, move as often as you can fit into your schedule and work on cleaning out the processed crap from your diet and pantry.


It is after this initial phase of everything being simple and seeing progress that you need to assess what is going to keep you moving forwards? Some of you will gravitate towards weights, some to cardio based training and some will find sports, Groups or other activities that you have found motivate you most. Again it doesn't matter WHAT you choose as long as at this point you realise that from this point forward you need to be focused on making progress more and more because it is easier and easier to do the things you like and find easy rather than the things that are getting you closer to your goals.

So here we must focus on the things we struggle with to make us better at the things we anjoy most. Me, i love weight training, so i keep a hefty chunk of my training time focused around this activity. I realise though that heart health is important, as is the ability to move easily for long periods of time, so i still do enough cardiovascular training to keep this area improving (it will never be the biggest focus for me) I also understand that lifting heavy and often can stiffen you up and this is why i have a mobility and flexibility routine that i do religiously.

If you want to make unbelievable changes, achieve that satus that your previously considered superhuman then you have to realise, first that it is possible and secondly you have to work for it. It is not a 6 week challenge, or some get ready for summer diet, it is a journey that takes the rest of your life, something you build upon everyday and something you nurture, love and cherish.



You can achieve greatness, go out and do it, then again tomorrow and the next day. This is your health, your quality of life, make it as awesome as possible.