Variation
What is the scientific definition of variation?
The manipulation of training variables to prevent down us and injury while magnifying the long-term adaptive process.
How can variation be created?
Variation can be created via basic changes such as:
Volume ranges
Intensity
Repetition ranges
Exercise section
Frequency
Velocity
What are positive feedback loops?
When the product to the process leads to an increase rate of production of that same product
(e.g it's very contagious. if one start more start.)
What are negative feedback loops
When the product to the process leads to a decrease rate of production for that same product
(e.g you eating food, the more you eat the less hungry you become hence the decrease of food you eat.)
What is adaptive resistance?
Resistance your body generates to create adaptions for staleness.
The more you improve the harder it becomes to improve more
Every system in the human body, that chronically adapts to stimulus is governed by negative feedback loops
How do you reduce adaptive resistance?
Stop stressing the same system and a certain way, and perform it in another similar way (e.g variation)
Then alternate it to prevent the buildup of too much resistance again
What are the three general phases and learning a new technique?
First phase is early learning where mistakes are made, and it is quite slow
Second phase is rapid where enough of our bases been acquired from the first phase to become more productive
Third phase is where technique has been performed consistently for too long, causing staleness
How do you prevent staleness in technique (e.g the 3rd phase)
We must introduce technical variation
(e.g of comp bench feels off and isn't getting better week to week. Might be a good idea to stop camping for multiple weeks and focus on another variant, such as wide/ close/ incline bench)
It allows comp bench to resensitize also allows to break off from bad habits when coming back to Comp bench.
Why do certain muscle fiber groups within a muscle become overloaded more than others leading to possible overreaching past MRV and adaptive resistance?
Because certain groups of muscle fibers within a muscle will be activated, while others remain dormant during certain movements
(e.g sternal fires and pics are used maximally and con bench, but an incline are not)
What can you do to prevent overreaching certain muscle fibers within a muscle? And how do you recognize the process?
Exercise variation allows the overage muscle to recover and sensitize, while building the strength/adaptations on the new muscle fibers being targeted.
Experience lift us will recognize the process, when switching back via higher levels of DOMS
How often should exercise variation occur and for how long and what do you do when consistent I purchase variation changes begin to develop staleness themselves.
Altering exercise once every mesocycle can work for several mesocycles on end.
However, after multiple months of hypertrophy, the molecular pathways can become stale/blunt causing a need for a break from hypertrophy
Training for strength as a break in most cases for hypertrophy training as it conserves muscles and the volume/wrist between sits, allow for recovery from hypertrophy specific training
What causes neural output, adaptive resistance
Training any neural output for too long (e.g months on months of short burst of maximal motar unit recruitment), will lead to adaptive resistance, regardless of fatigue management
How do you prevent nervous system adaptive ressistance
Occasionally laying off from maximal recruitment of strength and peaking.
This does not mean to back off from overloading training, rather changing the stimulus of the nervous system to be significantly different.
(e.g focusing a missile cycle or two on submaximal actions of the nervous system, avoiding low rip maximal ones, hypertrophy works well in this instance)
How do you prevent adaptive resistance with connective tissues?
Provide some sort of variation to prevent staleness and allow new areas to be trained
What are 2 limitations of variation?
Two frequent use of variation (e.g new exercises every week) doesn't allow for directed adaptation and gains to solidify
Using variance that are not specific for powerlifting
- must be in line with specific goals and lead to some benefit towards pace
What is the powerlifting definition of variation?
The strategic alteration of training variables to decrease adaptive resistance, bounded by the specificity of the demand of powerlifting training.
How important is the variation principal compared to others?
The basic powerlifting movements work so well that with appropriate fatigue management, they can use impressive gains variation is not the most powerful, however, is effective nonetheless
What is the best time to use variation with exercise/intensity/volume?
The best time to use variation is the deep off-season. the worst time is during prep/peaking as variation should be minimized if not eliminated completely due to high specificity needs of the 3 Lifts
How should variation be structure within a training program?
With each miss cycle from the beginning of the macrocycle to the end, the specificity increases and variation declines
(e.g skull crushers - dips - close grip - comp bench)
(e.g low intensity, high volume - high intensity, low volume)
What is adaptive proclivity training?
Honing down on genetically advantaged movements/muscles, that rapidly progress quicker than others.
How do you find your genetically advantage muscles/movements
Selecting effective lifts, as long as they are not the powerlifts themselves and tracking performance
What happens when the strong base has been built from honing down onto genetic advantages
Weak points begin to become become more defined and contributing/supporting muscles are left behind.
This risks, both injury and performance, plateau, and further work on advantage, body parts/movements will not yield almost any more improvement on comp lifts
Using variation allows you to target weak points (e.g quads - highbar/pause squat) allowing them to be brought up to pace, and the pace are likely to increase themselves however, this is mainly targeted towards more intermediate/advanced lifters as they have Home down on there, genetically advantage lifts.
What is the negative if you continuously, train weak points
It won't lead to much gain
Mostly with quads and generically have a weaken back or you need is your back to be strong enough for your quads to use it as a launching pad.
If you spend ages, trying to even out all your points, it'll end up an average lifter, rather than taking advantage of what you're good at.
Your strength, as long as your weaknesses aren't holding you back "I never stopped working on his advantages. Least he kills the goose that lays the golden egg."
How much variation is enough?
Minimum standard is enough that adapt. The resistance is reduced.
The exercise should feel reasonably different.
Bar position should be either high low or front to create variation.
Foot/group with should also be at least a foot/hand apart difference
What are some problems that occur with training the same intensities/sets/reps year-round
Well, exercise variation is the most effective, for my variation manipulation of sets/reps/ intensities can improve training
The problem with static programs is they are too general and come out on a specific phase, such as peaking/ hypertrophy.
Also, does not cater to individual needs (e.g 5x5 maybe be effective for one left her or too much for another a good program will have a wide range of sets/reps/ based on the phase of the training and there different MRV
Why should you never do comp lifts all year round?
Although you have to practice how you play by only doing the comp lifts you miss out on directed adaptation.
(e.g if your triceps are weak, and you continue doing just the comp lifts it will never get better.
Adaptive resistance is also never reduced as if you do not remove the competition lifts for a period of time the systems responsible for improving the hampered.
What are four applications of variation that are not supportive for powerlifts
-The use of non-specific variants (e.g running)
-The use of non-overloading variants (e.g leg extentions)
-The use of phase/goal in appropriate variants (e.g low bar for quads/non-comp lifts during peaking.)
-too frequent variation (e.g switching exercises too soon/randomly) violates directed adaptation, and adaptation will not be formed or retained.
I've done close grip for a mesocycle (3/4 weeks) when switching back to comp bench, the adaptations will be retained for close grip.
What is DUP?
Daily undulating periodization
How should rep/weight range variation rotation occur
Utilizations of DUP with rep/weight being slightly varied keeping them within the same range of the same physiological effect
(e.g 6 sets, 4 sets, 2 sets, - because all the rep ranges/volume are closed/within general strength range.
But well-designed program will consist of some form of DUP
What is the second more extreme type of DUP variation and reps/volume.
Where reps/volume spans across multiple physiological ranges e.g sets of 12 for hypertrophy, then 6 foot strength and then 24 peeking all in the same week.
This largely violates the directed adaptation principle
What are the main differences between hypertrophy vs strength/peaking variation
Hypertrophy benefits from high weekly volumes, where strength/peaking will lower the volume
Hypertrophy generates high fatigue whereas strength requires fatigue with Peaking requiring the lowest
Hypertrophy tailors the nervous system for repetitive submaximal exertions which are the opposite for strength & Peaking