Here are 5 things to think about before you start your next
training program.
1) The more strength you develop in a unstable environment, the
more your brain has the ability to stabilize your joints, the
more stable your joints are the more neuromuscular drive your
brain will allow your prime movers.
2) After a heavy workout your next workout should be of a light or
moderate load.
3) Strength workouts with maximum resistance should be limited to
more than 2 workouts per week.
4) For workouts using less than 4 reps your rest period should be
between 3-6 minutes and should include easy stretching and or
shaking of the limbs. Heavy athletes may require more rest time.
5) Train in a unstable environment first, then exhaust on machines.
Ok lets look at each a little more in depth...
1) The more strength you develop in a unstable environment, the
more your brain has the ability to stabilize your joints, the
more stable your joints are the more neuromuscular drive your
brain will allow your prime movers.
At the end of the day its all about the brains "confidence" in
the muscles your using. I see too many people who only train on
machines. This teaches the body nothing but bad habits and
creates instability in the joint. Example, I see people all the
time doing squats or bench press using a smith machine thinking
that they are going strength. Problem is they are using the
mechanical advantage of the machine which is allowing them to
"push" into the guides for extra leverage. Ask them to do the
exercise in a "unstable environment" and watch them do 1/3rd of
the weight. Reason why, well for one the body will have weak
stabilizer muscles due to all the machine work they do. Reason
two is the brain is the central controller for all activity and
when the brain senses something is wrong it wont perform up to
its maximum capacity.
2) After a heavy workout your next workout should be of a light or
moderate load.
Simply put your body needs time to recover. Light or moderate
workouts will help to increase blood flow to the region which
will flush out toxins, and aid recovery. You will see during
during the maximum strength phases that your middle workout will
be high rep exercises. Now you know why...
3) Strength workouts with maximum resistance should be limited to
more than 2 workouts per week.
Same as above...You need time to recover. You might feel like
superman but your really not.
4) For workouts using less than 4 reps your rest period should be
between 3-6 minutes and should include easy stretching and or
shaking of the limbs. Heavy athletes may require more rest time.
To keep this simple for us common folk. Training with near
maximum loads 85-100% 1RM really takes a toll on your body and
central nervous system. During extended rest periods the muscles
are allowed to recover almost completely. When the brain senses
no danger it will allow for more powerful nerve impulses to the
muscles, resulting in better muscular performance...Simply put,
RELAX between sets. This is important when training for maximum
strength.
5) Train in a unstable environment first, then exhaust on machines.
This is done to prevent injury due to muscular and CNS fatigue.
This is really the only time I would use machines. If your
looking for that "LAST" set to failure there is nothing wrong
with jumping on a smith machine or other piece of equipment and
blasting out reps to failure. I can promise you its a heck of a
lot safer and you will get more of a workout then if you did it
with free weights so go ahead and cheat.
So there you have it...
Regards,
Mike Fry
Fry and Associates LLC