He just never worked heavier than his 6rm
i think it depends on what you’re comfortable with and your level of strength. ben was a sprinter, sprinting came first, strength second, so it was in their opinion that loads beyond a 6RM were unsafe. As well you have to take into account the CNS implications of doing near 2RM versus near 6RM. Loading up heavy for 6 reps is fine to build strength, throwing in heavy sets of three in the third or fourth week to test out strength is not a bad idea either.
The heavier the athlete is lifting already, the more you might consider where the limits should be placed. this is the same principal thet we used when we decided to drop the deads. CNS implications will always be height (intensity/weight) vs breadth (reps).
As intensity rises exponentially while breadth is linear, the highest CNS stimulus will always be generated by lower RM numbers, with safety as the guide.
This is why we went relatively heavier in the bench, which is safer.
Charlie, at what point in Ben’s training did you drop deadlifts and how long were they included in his strength program? What were the loading parameters? In addition, I’m confirming that I will be flying into Toronto on Monday morning, December 11th and should be able to stay through Thursday.
correct me if i am wrong but wasnt bens 600+ for 6 reps squat only a half squat.
Def. not full because that is what the olympic SHW guys are doing lol. I believe charlie has said they were to parallel (half squats).
Charlie–
How strong was Tim when he was running those blazing 60s? He seems like a small guy, but who knows. I know you have said at some point Marion wasn’t a stand out in the weight room.
You may well be better suited to increasing the rep ranges. Maybe 5, 6 and 8 reps will do?
Remember that the ends of your joints are probably not fully boney yet so be careful.
We dropped the deads after 1984, as he was over 500lbs at that time and would only be going up. He’d done an extensive lifting program for 4 years by then.
I felt we could gain stimulus better through advancing the squat, which still had room to grow safely. Eventually, we had to grow the numbers at an assumed safe limit.
I’ve said this before that other athletes have been very strong in the squat.
While Ben broke parallel in the squat, he wasn’t butt to the ground. Stan Floyd told me he contest lifted 675 but hurt his back doing it (confirming for me that I was right to be paranoid!). I assume Stan must also have gone deeper for the lift to count but I don’t know.
Please e-mail with your flight details asap.
Tim was a good lifter for his weight but Marion was a modest lifter, especially the upper body.
A few other considerations:
1: The smaller the expected change in max, the more it may need to be concentrated to create a high enough stimulus effect, if that is your objective.
2: When there are many High Intensity variables, as in sprinting, the less dramatic the shifts may need to be within each element to keep the whole process moving forward without overtraining effects. This applies to rep numbers as well as weight.
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so (assuming my understanding of what you are saying is correct)
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wouldnt it be more productive to focus on intensity versus breadth while less developed (due to a decreased ability to recruit and sychronize motor units to stress the CNS)
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and then as CNS development grows, breadth would be a better factor due to smaller gains that can be made in the intensity portion along with the fatigue induced by the higher intensity (caused by increased CNS ability)
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Which may hurt advancements in other areas due to a greater needed period of recovery time
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Along with the potential for muscular damage at greater intensities (again due to advancement in CNS ability, resulting in much higher muscle tension)
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Am I getting the gest of it?
why would an individual become injured with a maximal weight and if a maximal effort would injure them how do you prepare them to perform maximally? ( rhetorical)
I don’t think so (as I understand you).
First, you must develop through traditional means, which will always be more rep centered. Then the numbers drop till you reach a level (if, in fact, you are genetically disposed to reach it) where safety dictates that you shouldn’t continue up in weight, leaving rep numbers as the final means of increased stimulus in that area (likely squat first).
While you may be right that a modest increase in rep numbers will be less demanding on the CNS, this may be of limited value, as the stimulus of the CNS is your objective, and, if you could do it with less reps, so much the better, and, what you don’t get with one area must be done in another. This gets in to the tactics in the maintenance phase.
Can you not challenge someone maximally by raising their rep numbers with a high weigth?
Charlie,
Do you think reps ranging from 4-8 on my main lifts is safe enough for a 17 year old? I consider myself pretty weak at the moment if that makes a difference.
Also, On your store are the prices in America or Canadian dollars? and is everything shipped from American or Canada (will I pay more for shipping to Canada?).
Thanks
isn’t strength largely an expression of the neurology (inter/intramuscular coordination)?
if so then shouldn’t training (schemes or reps and sets) be directed towards that which most efficiently “programs” the neurology to accomplish the given goal?
training is the process of motor learning.
does not the greatest and most rapid motor learning (toward the goal of strength) occur with maximal loads (in the form of inter/intramuscular coordination)?
so should not training consist of maximal efforts as sub-maximal efforts require different motor patterns and are inefficient at programming the neurology (too great a number of compatible movement patterns which can effectively but not efficiently lift a given load)?
Reps ranges are probably going to be towards the higher end of your range as a start, but must be determined by your level of development. It’s always better to be modest in your gains over the long haul.
The paypal prices are USD and right now we are selling downloads onto your computer, so transfer should go through as soon as your payment has been cleared by paypal.
yes an indvidual can be challenged but the training effect will be different. motor patterns are significatly different. transfer from the squat to the sprint or any sporting skill is dependent on intermuscular coordination. intermuscular coordination is desired optimal for any given expression of skill. optimal coordination only comes from motor learning under circumstance in which only optimal expression of motor ability will allow for completion of the movement. yes there is a training effect with higher reps but the effect is not optimal.
I forgot to ask, but which product would you recommend to me?
17 years old
lacrosse player
6’2
195 lbs
Right now I’m leaning towards “Training for Speed”, but I’m not sure.