A question of strength Part 20

Training veterans need fewer repetitions

Q: Is it true that experienced exercisers need fewer repetitions for hypertrophy (mass gains)? Does "training age" really make a difference?

A: Yes. What happens is that most hypertrophy gains occur in the 70-85% of max weight range. (This is of course an oversimplification, but we can use this range as a rule of thumb). An untrained person will perform 7 to 12 repetitions in this range, but an experienced exerciser will only perform 4 to 6 repetitions. If you are an experienced exerciser and neurologically efficient, then the number of repetitions you can perform at a given percentage of your maximum weight will decrease.

While there is some data in the scientific literature that contradicts this observation, the vast majority of studies agree with the statement that the number of repetitions you can perform with a given percentage of your maximum weight decreases with increasing training experience - which is especially true if the athlete has been training correctly. This is especially true if the levels of maximum strength have increased significantly, as is the case with the double bodyweight bench press, for example.

How many years of training experience are we talking about? About three years? This is also assuming that you have trained properly.

Genetically very blessed exercisers can achieve hypertrophy with just 2 or 3 reps, but most need to do more reps - in the region of around 10 reps. An inexperienced exerciser might build up with 3 sets of 10 reps, but then three years later build muscle with 10 sets of 3 reps.

A lot of athletes do well with doing 10 sets of single reps and then 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps when the nervous system is stimulated. These single repetitions would be what some people would call single repetitions with a weight close to the max weight. So if your maximum weight for a repetition is 100 kilos, then you would perform 10 single repetitions at 97.5 kilos.

Correct squat execution on the multi press

Q: A trainer at my gym says that the multi press is fine for bodybuilding purposes if you keep your heels under the bar as if you were doing free reps. He says that the multi press is only dangerous if you place your feet further forward. Is that true? And is the multi press any good for this?

A: This trainer is right that squats on the multi press are less dangerous if you keep your heels under the bar, but when it comes to injury, it's all about repetitive strain. One three-week training cycle of squats on the multi press with your heels under the bar per year would be okay. I don't think this is going to cause anyone to tear their patellar tendon, but I wouldn't make this a basic exercise.

Bodybuilders don't give a shit about function, which is why they can do whatever they want. But most people want a transfer from what they're doing - whether they're skating or windsurfing. For this reason, I don't like training on the multi press.

The best trapezius exercise

Q: Everyone knows that shoulder raises (shrugs) are an exercise for the trapezius, but I've read that explosive Olympic-style weightlifting exercises are supposed to be better. Is that true?

A: For ultimate trapezius development, I would use both. The problem with barbell shoulder raises is that most people limit their range of motion with this exercise. When performing shoulder raises, it's best to perform this exercise with a dumbbell with one arm so that the trapezius has a few more inches of range of motion.

Use this exercise for three weeks and then alternate to an Olympic-style weightlifting exercise such as the power clean or power snatch.

The problem in the strength training world is that people become too dogmatic. It's almost like the debate in martial arts. "Karate is better than judo. No, aikido is better than karate." My opinion, on the other hand, is that you should always use the tool that is best for the moment.

Which is better? Front squats or classic squats? That's a stupid discussion. It's like looking at the world with blinders on. Use the best tool for the moment.

When good exercises become something bad

Q: Are there any exercises out there that are so stupid or dangerous that you would throw them out of your arsenal?

A: Dumbbell power clean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZaMVvhx18w

This is the most useless exercise on the planet. I believe that anyone who recommends this exercise should be put on trial. Basically, this exercise is one of the best ways to injure someone. Many physical therapists have treated strength coaches who were foolish enough to use this exercise themselves - along with athletes who were among the unfortunate ones who had been recommended this exercise by their coach.

There are a number of reasons why dumbbell power deadlifts are a poor choice:

• The diameter of the weight plates on dumbbells moves the weight in front of the center of gravity, putting much more stress on the spinal discs than using a barbell.
• The muscles of the shoulders that are most likely to be strained by dumbbell power lifts are the teres minor and infraspinatus. The strains can be caused by the body trying to stabilize the dumbbells as they fall towards the shoulders during the last part of the movement.
• The part of the movement where the dumbbells are caught at the end of the movement causes rapid overstretching of the forearm muscles, which can lead to bad forms of tennis elbow or golfer's elbow.

Basically, dumbbell power deadlifts are probably the hammer with a flexible rubber handle in your toolbox. This is simply not a good tool.

The same is true for dumbbell power snatches. Why subject our shoulders to something that can cause a lot of trauma when there are other exercises that are more effective and, more importantly, much safer? I know people in the fitness industry who promote one-arm power snatches and tell you in the same sentence that they are about to have their fifth shoulder surgery. That doesn't sound particularly intelligent.

Another trainer I know recommends leg extensions before squats...and he's had 26 knee surgeries. Are these people incapable of learning?

So the worst exercises are dumbbell power deadlifts and one-arm dumbbell power snatches. I don't know of any successful strength coach who uses these exercises. A lot of these exercises are just gimmicks that contribute to nothing but injury.

Many people say that rowing upright should also be thrown out of the exercise arsenal. I am not against rowing upright if it is done with a rope tied to the equipment you are moving up. This will save your wrists a lot of strain, which will ultimately save your shoulders.

You can also use a cable pulley with a rope. This allows the wrists to be at an optimal angle so that the exercise is not as stressful on the ulnar nerve. Performed in this way, this is not a bad exercise as long as you don't perform it in a position where the elbows are raised more than 5 centimeters above the parallel plane of the forearms.

The problem is that most people who use upright rowing already have a kyphotic posture (hunched back). Rowing upright is not a bad exercise if you have balanced muscle development - however, they are a terrible exercise if you already have poor posture or muscle imbalances.

Use your common sense. If it hurts, then you don't need a dozen studies telling you that this exercise is bad for you.

Choose your coffee wisely

Q: You said at one of your seminars that decaffeinated coffee is a bad idea. Why?

A: The chemicals used to remove caffeine from coffee have been shown to be potent carcinogens (cancer-causing substances). While there are a few newer methods that supposedly remove caffeine without chemicals, the bottom line is that drinking coffee without caffeine is like eating a cheese-free cheese sandwich or a protein-free steak.

Furthermore, most people who study carcinogens will tell you that the two most important things you should buy as bionutrients are coffee and butter. These are the two foods most heavily loaded with chemicals if you don't buy them organic.

An interesting side note would be that research on coffee shows that people who don't drink coffee die on average five years earlier than coffee drinkers. One of the main reasons that could be responsible for this is that coffee is one of the few antioxidant-rich foods that most people consume.

I need a well-developed butt

Q: I am a 24 year old woman who is thinking about entering her first figure class competition. However, the problem is that I have a flat butt and it seems to get worse when I diet. Do you have any training recommendations for building rounder and fuller glutes?

A: Follow the Jenifer Lopez diet. No, just kidding. As for workout recommendations, you should try this triple set:

• Squats through full range of motion x 6 reps
• 10 seconds rest
• Lunges 12 reps per leg
• 10 seconds rest
• Dumbbell deadlifts a 25 repetitions

It will take a week before you can sit on the toilet again without pain.

I used to use this program for alpine skiers as part of their general preparation phase, as the glutes are very important for absorbing compressions and changing direction. I also believe that one of the best things for the gluteus is weightlifting workouts.

What does muscle soreness really mean?

Q: Do I have to get sore muscles after a workout at the gym to make progress?

A: When it comes to hypertrophy, I would say yes. Hypertrophy is a biological adaptation to a stressor and the stressor here is microtraumas in the muscle tissue.

So I would agree that this statement is true, but that's just one of the reasons why you need to change your training program every 6 workouts - to get sore muscles again. But do you have to be sore all the time? No, but you should feel sore for 48 hours after starting a new program.

However, when an athlete reaches their maximum performance at the end of their training phase, they naturally don't want to feel sore muscles. But if you are trying to build muscle, you should feel some soreness after the first two workouts. (Of course, you shouldn't aim to achieve such extreme soreness that you can't get out of bed the next morning without painkillers). Over the next 6 workouts your body will adapt and after the sixth workout you will be ready for another sore muscle that you get from doing something different.

The rule is that a training program is only as good as the time it takes you to adapt to it. The changes to the program don't have to be dramatic. For example, you could do classic squats with your feet shoulder-width apart for 6 training sessions and then switch to front squats with your heels elevated and you will achieve a new level of muscle soreness.

I know a very successful weight training coach who simply has his athletes change their shoes.

He is a ten set guy who has his athletes do 10 sets of squats for three weeks with Addidas weightlifting shoes. For the next three weeks, his athletes wear Pignati weightlifting shoes and then for 3 weeks they wear regular running shoes.

The athletes get sore muscles every time they change shoes. Even this slight variation is sufficient for this.

High or low repetition numbers during the definition phase?

Q: How should I train during the diet? Higher repetition numbers in the style of lactate training? Lower reps with heavy weights? Both methods are advocated by good trainers, but which is best?

A: Both work. The secret is to know your muscle fiber type. If you are more predisposed to being a 100 meter sprinter (and primarily have type IIb fast contracting muscle fibers) then you should stick with sets of 5 reps, long rests, etc. when you are in a fat loss phase.

If, on the other hand, your disposition is more in the direction of an 800 meter runner (and you primarily have type IIa fast-contracting muscle fibers), then you should stick to lactate training.

If you have primarily type IIb fast contracting muscle fibers, you will lose muscle mass during a caloric deficit if you perform high repetition lactate training. In the same way, type IIa trainers will lose muscle mass if they train with low repetitions.

So both approaches are correct - but which one you should use depends on how you are predisposed.

The basics of step-ups

Q: Of all the lower body exercises out there, step-ups seem to be the least used in most gyms. Are step-ups a good exercise?

A: Well, the problem is that most people perform this exercise incorrectly. They falsify the execution of the exercise - usually by bending too far forward and pushing off with the leg on the floor. If you push off with your leg on the floor, then the leg that is on the bench is not doing much work.

Here's the trick that will keep you from doing step-ups in a bent position: Simply curl the toes of the foot that's on the floor together and keep them in that position throughout the exercise. This will make it harder for you to push off the floor with that foot, as you need to keep your toes down to be able to push.

When performed correctly, step-ups are a great exercise, but I prefer squats. There is almost no eccentric overload with step-ups. You basically can't do a slow lowering movement when you move back down.

As for the height of the bench or step, this can be very high. The highest possible position of the step/bench is a height where you are on your toes. This version involves more engagement of the vastus medialis and the leg flexors. These are basically super high step-ups. It is very important that your knee does not bend inwards during the upward movement.

You can alternate step-ups with your right and left leg or keep one foot on the bench until you have completed the desired number of repetitions. Alternating is usually better for athletes who are about to compete. If you want more time under tension, then use the static version where one foot remains on the bench until you have completed all repetitions with that leg.

You can perform step-ups with a barbell on your back or in front of your chest or with dumbbells. These are all good variations. However, squats are a much better alternative, especially if you're short on time.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/question-of-strength-37, https://www.t-nation.com/training/question-of-strength-38

From Charles Poliquin