« How a Bodybuilder Can Sculpt A Superb, Functional Physique - By Powerlifting! | Main | To gain strength, quit bodybuilding! »
May 16, 2005
The Way of the Truly Strong: Dump Your 'Workouts' and Start 'Practicing' the Skill of Strength
As my leatherneck father-in-law - who can take on any punk a third his age - likes to tell his son when the junior is heading to the health club, "Tell them sissies hello."
Mental toughness aside, one of the reasons Liederman, Nordquest, and their contemporaries succeeded in the game of strength is the simple fact that they treated their iron time as a practice rather than a workout. Understanding this subtle semantic difference made the physical culturists of the golden era supermen.
Recall the importance of neural adaptations in strength development. You can sum up these adaptations as honing your skill in contracting your muscles harder. Quoting Prof. Thomas Fahey, “Skill is perhaps the most important element in strength.” In Russian sports science there is even a term skill-strength and your date with iron is referred to as ‘a lesson’ or ‘a practice’.
Once you appreciate that strength training – as opposed to bodybuilding – is a form of skill practice, designing an effective customized strength program becomes just a matter of following the fundamental principles of motor learning. There are three.
First, practice must be specific. Do not rep out with a light weight when you are training for a heavy single.
The second rule is an extension of the first one. Practice fresh and stop before your skill starts deteriorating. That means ending your practice before you start dragging your tail – and saying no to training to failure.
Third, practice as frequently as possible while observing the first two rules.
For more information on this topic order Pavel’s Beyond Bodybuilding today.
Posted by james at May 16, 2005 5:45 AM