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Poliquin on Training Relative Strength


Scott Malin
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Poliquin on Training Relative Strength

I know there are a few out there with a hybrid BW/Weights program (myself included) so I wanted to type up a couple basic Poliquin loading parameters for relative strength with weights. This comes from Level 1 Theory.

Definition:

Relative Strength. The maximum force an athlete can generate per unit of bodyweight irrespective of time of force development. Primary aim being an improvement in neural drive.

Repetitions:

Lower repetitions at a given speed favors neural adaptation whereas higher repetitions at the same speed favor muscular adaptation. For relative strength we're looking at a range of 1-5 reps @ 85%+ intensity (note we do not want more than a 10% intensity spread for a rep bracket). In terms of hormones this has a much lower anabolic response than a moderate intensity with higher reps. Additionally this range will favor recruitment of Type IIb fibers (which we want) as opposed to Type IIa or I with higher repetitions.

Sets:

Number of reps and number of sets are inversely related, i.e. the fewer reps done the more sets it will take to achieve the desired effect. True as well for time under tension versus number of optimal sets (more TuT = decrease in sets) and number of exercises vs. number of sets. Also note that single sets are not more beneficial than multiple. It takes the body multiple exposures to a weight to understand it as the new "norm" and adapt to it. As the number of sets increases, so does the hormonal response.

Rest Intervals:

High intensity means longer rest intervals. Because our primary aim is neural adaptation it's crucial to remember that the CNS takes 5-6x longer to recover than the muscular system. I've been very guilty in the past of "getting bored" and not taking as long a rest interval as I'd need. But I'm putting a big stress now on following these protocols. It makes a difference. Longer rest periods will also decrease the growth hormone response. So how long are we talking? 180-240 seconds is considered the zone of ATP-CP Recovery (3-5 reps) and 240-300 seconds the zone of neural recovery (1-2 reps). The range of motion and amount of muscle mass recruited also affects the rest interval as the greater the range of motion (or mass recruited) in an exercise, the more time is needed to recover. Same deal with an high complexity exercises such as Olympic lifts. We'll go into tempo in a moment but it's important to note that short intra-set (between reps) pauses will recruit higher-threshold motor units.

Tempo:

Training for relative strength we have a lot of potential variety in tempo. Now when playing with tempo, remember that some exercises are inherently meant to be executed slowly or quickly. The standard notation for tempo is a four digit system (in seconds) as follows:

0.0.0.0 (lowering.pause.return.pause.)

So a 3110 pull up would be a three second lowering, 1 second pause at the bottom, and one second return. An X in the return spot indicates explosive effort. The key word being effort because moving a heavy weight with the intent of doing it quickly will still cause adaptation, regardless of the actual speed of the bar.

For relative strength we want to keep the total time under tension under twenty seconds per set. So if we did the above tempo with a bench we'd be at five seconds a repetition and thus four per set would be our maximum. This will keep us in the appropriate energy system.

I'm going to directly quote Poliquin on a principle because it's one I've found hugely beneficial.

Pausing in the advantageous isometric position will favor high-threshold motor recruitment.

Examples of this would be bottom of the pull up, lock-out of the bench. This is only a one or two second pause but since I've integrated it myself and now with a couple of NAU's players I've quickly seen the benefit of it.

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How I Hybridize My Own Program

I'm not an expert in S&C or gymnastics so take this with the understanding that this is what has been effective based on what knowledge I have and a lot of experimentation.

The first thing I have done in a hybrid program is to pool all my potential exercises both weight and bodyweight and then divide them into two categories: strength, and skill.

Skills are exercises that need to be performed and repeated to the point of complete automation (handstands are a basic example) in order to be successful in the sport. These are my number one priority in training.

Strength consists of exercises that are weights or progressions of advanced skills I can not do yet for reasons of inadequate physical power or neurological efficiency. I treat all ring elements in this category for a couple reasons, the biggest being I use them as the primary mode for my upper body work.

Strength I work on a 2-1-2-2 on-off schedule with an accumulation towards Friday as an overload event. I add in my underload days as needed and alternate between volume and intensity phases. The order of the exercises themselves is determined by complexity and stress and or "assistance" classification. Technical exercises that diminish with fatigue always come first and assistance exercises last (one such assistance exercise I've incorporated is Durante's "Maltese Press" on a bench). Additionally, my workouts alternate between static element and lift days and dynamic/explosive lift/skill days. I pair agonists where I can.

Skills I aim for working on a few times a week, but many of them I do any chance I get (sometimes to my friends' annoyance). Conditioning is the peak of the pyramid in sport with skill as the base so as stated earlier my priority is automation of skill.

At a certain point of automation I feel pure bodyweight training will take over and provide more efficiency and benefit in conditioning than hybridization. In experimenting with pure bw programs I've found I'm not to that point so I continue to supplement using weights. Perhaps I have some holes in my programming but I'm looking forward to Coach's books and learning more :)

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