Sunday, February 28, 2010

Training thoughts, notes, and new directions

Lots of reading/new knowledge in the last couple months, and their synthesis into new training models are still to be fleshed out in the next couple months. For now, there are just a jumble of ideas, and figuring out an approach, or even where to start, will be tricky. Some thoughts:

- Each weight produces a different mechanical rep based on its relation to the individual's bodyweight - from Simmons and Pendlay, and especially relevant in the olympic lifts, as the momentary weightlessness in which lifter and barbell are moving solely in relation to each other derives its characteristics from the weight ratio: when the lifter weights more, their COG will remain more stable relative to the bar, as the COG of the entire lifter/bar system biases towards the individual. In lifts where the weight is greater than the lifter, the opposite happens, and new mechanics and timing must be learned. I'm starting to believe this is why so many people hit the bodyweight snatch as a barrier - they haven't taken the time to learned a new set of mechanics required for the new movement patterns. Put simply, I wonder if this can be fixed by hanging out in the 1RM realm with assistance exercises - snatch balances, pulls, etc.

- Without proper starts, powerful, smooth lifts will never be achieved (Kono)

- Without proper flexibility, proper starts can never be made - Potential Potential (Kono/Starrett)

- Without proper starts, then heavy lifts will inevitably induce injury (Starrett)

- For proper lifts, there must be proper starts. For proper starts, there must be a capacity for proper biomechanics. If those biomechanics are not possible, then they must be achieved first.

- It is unreasonable to ask an individual to sideline workouts because of these issues, but at the same time it is irresponsible to allow them to derange themselves incrementally simply for their own. While working on mobility, is it preferable to reduce weights with the same movements, or simply find new movements that can be loaded heavily without possible damage? This would be most difficult with the basic lifts (deadlift, squat, press, etc).

- The base strength > strength endurance > work capacity > short time domain work model for developing success in CF is currently most successful - it out GPP's CF's own GPP model. Is there a way to produce a programming model that produces Westside-type constant readiness without the randomness of CF main site? Many boxes and programs aim towards this goal, but few seem to pay much attention to the body's recovery/adaptation needs - very few programs consider the adaptation abilities of the novice (70% of CFers), intermediate (25%), and advanced (5%) individuals. The numbers are my own guesses, but the actual numbers can only be more skewed. More trained individuals need more than different load and rep schemes, they need different exercise frequency and loading patterns (undulating, wave, etc).

- Are microcycles that move from pure strength to pure short-term work capacity effective in producing adaptations? Theory would say yes given proper recovery, but would these gains be too incremental compared to traditional periodization? Simmons says that his program creates GPP, but is his method successful because of a relatively narrow pursuit within the full realm of athletics?

- Sport vs training vs athletic base - CF posits itself as all three simultaneously, though its different implementations have had defined and clear differences within the three realms. Each one has its own appropriateness and best method for use, but how do you sell this to the client? People either want everything or are simply disinterested in the nuances, so can this even be addressed in a group setting, and more importantly to the satisfaction of the client? Programming CF and doing CF workouts have dramatically different attitudes and goals if someone does them for health or as sport. Furthermore, many who want to do it as sport are likely not ready and should be doing it as training instead. CF's draw is as sport, but to train its athletes for it as sport requires a sport approach, not a CF one.

And then there are the nutrition questions....

Friday, February 12, 2010

Playing around

The recent snow has thrown definite problems into workout programming - I missed the last two days of OPT and as a result did an amalgam today of three different workouts:

A1 Power snatch 2.2.2 x 3 (Started at 135, dropped 10lb per drop set)
A2 Close grip bench 30x0 4.4 x 3 (Started at 145, dropped 10lb per drop set)
B1 Jump squat 10x3 (195 - 225)
B2 CTB Pull-up 20x3
C Airdyne (18 sec all out, easy spin recover for 1:42)x5, 5 min rest, repeat

The original workout was the airdyne portion only, 5 sets with a rest, repeated 3 times - I originally wanted to supplement this by doing the first portion of the workout from the day before (the power snatch and bench couplet), but realized quickly that the structure and loading of both workouts were recovery workouts. Since I essentially had the last three days off, starting off with a recovery workout would do me no good at all, hence the insertion of a couplet from yet another workout.
This highlights one of the problems I have been having with following the programming - OPT eschews a weekly schedule. While most of his followers are able to keep up with a "workout anywhere, anytime" format, I'm having difficulty keeping up any type of regular schedule - I can make them up eventually, but I'm still missing out of any sort of overtraining/supercompensation effect that his workouts might have. I'm going to have to be smarter about missing and making up workouts - adding and editing as I can in order to keep a good fatigue/recovery cycle. I believe I will continue to do his metcons, as I'm enjoying his formats and regulations for some of his workouts, but I will probably supplement the strength portion with strength and strength-endurance work. I'm less than two months away, and need to get to work.