WHY WE USE DIFFERENT SET/REP RANGES, WEIGHTS AND REST PERIODS FOR DIFFERENT FITNESS GOALS

WHY WE USE DIFFERENT SET/REP RANGES, WEIGHTS AND REST PERIODS FOR DIFFERENT FITNESS GOALS

PART 2-STRENGTH

We gave a description of the three energy systems and fuel sources your body uses in Part 1 of this series in yesterday’s article. READ IT HERE In today’s article we’ll start to relate them to different training styles for different goals.

Below is a chart summarizing the 3 energy systems.

                      

SYSTEM	FUEL	DURATION	RECOVERY	ORDER	ADAPATIVE RESPONSE
ATP-CP	ATP STORED IN CELL	5-10 SEC	5 MIN	1	STRENGTH
GLYCOGEN	ATP CONVERTED FROM CARBS	1 MIN	1-2 MIN	2	GROWTH & FAT BURN IN RECOVERY
OXIDATIVE	OXYGEN & FAT	MIN TO HRS	VARIES	3	STAMINA & FAT BURN

Strength Training

Strength competitors are usually not too concerned with being lean or possessing a great deal of stamina. Their main focus is moving the largest amount of weight possible (that could include moving an opposing linemen), or throwing the shot the farthest or hitting the ball the farthest.

Competitions for strength athletes involve one huge effort in one quick movement lasting only seconds at the most with several minutes between each effort.  

If you want to be a champion chess player you don’t practice by playing checkers. You train for chess. If your goal is big dead lifts you do big dead lifts.

A note before we start building our workout. No matter what your size there are upper limits to building pure muscular strength. Otherwise competitors could keep getting stronger indefinitely.

A huge part of strength is training your central nervous system (CNS). That’s what practice is often about. As you train repetitively your CNS will try to find the most efficient way to handle it. You practice form over and over trying to find the most energy efficient way to get it done. Your CNS adapts by “learning” to recruit more and more muscle fibers on each lift. The CNS begins to predict what’s needed and adapts accordingly. The best strength athletes, given equal size, are the ones who have the best form and technique. But you can also fatigue and over work the CNS.

Look at the chart above and the correct training protocol is obvious:

·        Reps-How many reps can you do with heavy loads in 5-10 seconds? 5 to 10 seconds max divided by 2 to 3 seconds per rep=2 to 5 reps.{ When doing heavy compound lifts you should actually be doing 1 rep 5 times. Reset at the starting position with a minor pause (1 second or so) between each rep. Not doing so can easily cause form to deteriorate quickly with resulting injury.}

·        Rest period- It takes your body up to 5 minutes or longer to replenish ATP stored in the cells.

·        Sets- usually 4 to 8 sets or until form starts to falter from fatigue

·        Weight-85-100% of your 1RM (1 Rep max). The weight you use is solely determined on how many reps you can get with good form. If you can do 6 or more reps in 5-10 seconds without form deteriorating you need to increase the weight. If you don't know your true 1 RM you can estimate it HERE

In Part 3 we’ll discuss hypertrophy (muscle growth).