5 things to think about before you start your next training program

[kdsmith27 14]

Here are 5 things to think about before you start your next

training program.

1)  The more strength you develop in a unstable environment, the

more your brain has the ability to stabilize your joints, the

more stable your joints are the more neuromuscular drive your

brain will allow your prime movers.

2)  After a heavy workout your next workout should be of a light or

moderate load.

3)  Strength workouts with maximum resistance should be limited to

more than 2 workouts per week.

4)  For workouts using less than 4 reps your rest period should be

between 3-6 minutes and should include easy stretching and or

shaking of the limbs. Heavy athletes may require more rest time.

5)  Train in a unstable environment first, then exhaust on machines.

Ok lets look at each a little more in depth...

1)  The more strength you develop in a unstable environment, the

more your brain has the ability to stabilize your joints, the

more stable your joints are the more neuromuscular drive your

brain will allow your prime movers.

At the end of the day its all about the brains "confidence" in

the muscles your using. I see too many people who only train on

machines. This teaches the body nothing but bad habits and

creates instability in the joint. Example, I see people all the

time doing squats or bench press using a smith machine thinking

that they are going strength. Problem is they are using the

mechanical advantage of the machine which is allowing them to

"push" into the guides for extra leverage. Ask them to do the

exercise in a "unstable environment" and watch them do 1/3rd of

the weight. Reason why, well for one the body will have weak

stabilizer muscles due to all the machine work they do. Reason

two is the brain is the central controller for all activity and

when the brain senses something is wrong it wont perform up to

its maximum capacity.

2)  After a heavy workout your next workout should be of a light or

moderate load.

Simply put your body needs time to recover. Light or moderate

workouts will help to increase blood flow to the region which

will flush out toxins, and aid recovery. You will see during

during the maximum strength phases that your middle workout will

be high rep exercises. Now you know why...

3)  Strength workouts with maximum resistance should be limited to

more than 2 workouts per week.

Same as above...You need time to recover. You might feel like

superman but your really not.

4)  For workouts using less than 4 reps your rest period should be

between 3-6 minutes and should include easy stretching and or

shaking of the limbs. Heavy athletes may require more rest time.

To keep this simple for us common folk. Training with near

maximum loads 85-100% 1RM really takes a toll on your body and

central nervous system. During extended rest periods the muscles

are allowed to recover almost completely. When the brain senses

no danger it will allow for more powerful nerve impulses to the

muscles, resulting in better muscular performance...Simply put,

RELAX between sets. This is important when training for maximum

strength.

5)  Train in a unstable environment first, then exhaust on machines.

This is done to prevent injury due to muscular and CNS fatigue.

This is really the only time I would use machines. If your

looking for that "LAST" set to failure there is nothing wrong

with jumping on a smith machine or other piece of equipment and

blasting out reps to failure. I can promise you its a heck of a

lot safer and you will get more of a workout then if you did it

with free weights so go ahead and cheat.

So there you have it...

Regards,

Mike Fry

Fry and Associates LLC