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REALM OF PHYSICS
Obj: Sport Specific Power Endurance, Power Endurance, Sport-Specific Strength
Training:
(1) Hike/Run 1.0 Hours
****Change mode to climbing gym****
(2) 10 Rounds
5x pull ups every 30 seconds
(3) 12x Laps on traverse wall carrying 25# pack
(4) 10x Rounds
1x V1/V2 overhanging bouldering problem every 40 sec.
(5) 10 Rounds
Lap on climbing wall carrying 35# pack, be at or near
failure by top of the route - approx 20x hand movements
Comments:
I received the following question via e-mail:
Rob,
Just had a question that I can't seem to find in any of the other postings (or maybe I just missed it). I was wondering
what kind of scheme you use to build your athletes up to their 1RM. Does it adjust by week, do you let the athlete simply
go with what they're feeling, or does it change by exercise? Just looking for some insight. Curious to see how you do it.
Thanks, Matt
COMMENTS/ANSWER: There are plenty of very specific methodologies for determining 1RMs used by lifters and strength coaches.
Often these include dialed loading, reps and wait periods as the athlete approaches his or her 1RM.
My approach tries to accommodate lift-specific warm up, athlete experience, and time restrictions. Also, I'm not training
competing power lifters or Olympic lifters.
In other words, I'm not interested in how much my athletes can lift, I'm interested in getting them strong. Further, I'm
not interested in getting them as strong as is genetically possible - I'm only interested in relatively modest relative strength
such as a 2x bodyweight dead lift for men, or a 1x body weight bench press for women.
In the world of serious strength athletes, my gym's strength goals would be just the starting point of serious training,
not the "goal."
All that out of the way, we start a 1RM test with a movement specific warm up. Many of our 1RM tests follow the 4x barbell
complex warm up - the complex pretty much prepares my athletes for anything.
But yesterday, we did a 1RM Dead lift, and the warm up was 3 Rounds of 10x dead stop dead lifts at a relatively light
weight (I used 135#), coupled with 10x burpees.
When we start the work up, I try to have my athletes attempting a new PR by the 4th or 5th time they touch the barbell.
Here's the general loading/rep scheme we use:
5x @ approx 60% 1RM
3x @ approx 75% 1RM
1x @ approx 85-90%
1x @ New PR - generally just 5 pounds above old PR
As you can see, I don't like to mess around taking athletes up to their new 1RM. There is a mental "fear" element
to doing max tests, and I don't want my athletes to psych themselves out. I tell them the loading they use, and often don't
tell them when they are attempting a new PR.
Some of my veteran athletes remember and track their old PRs, and it's interesting to see their manner change as they
get close to a new attempt. I certainly find that I get more nervous as I approach a new PR.
In terms of wait between attempts - I don't time this. When 2 or 3 athletes are working on the same bar, there is a natural
wait period built in as they each wait for their turn. In general, I'd guess the wait time between lifts is 1-2 minutes, which
I'm sure is much shorter than optimal.
I can an do change this loading/rep scheme on the fly, and for individual athletes. For example, yesterday, I had an athlete
who was just not mentally comfortable going heavy this fast. We backed her down, and had her do one or two extra sets in the
80-85% range.
Also, I group similar strength athletes together on one barbell for these tests - i.e. strong guys working with strong
guys, etc. This minimizes plate changes and saves time.
Further, it's not like I get specific with these work up loading percentages. Individualizing this for athletes would
just take too long. For example, yesterday two of my male athletes had old dead lift PRs of 315 and 340 respectively. I grouped
them together on one barbell and after the warm up, their work up loading/rep scheme looked something like this:
5x @ 185#
5x @ 225#
2x @ 275#
1x @ 315#
1x @ 325#
1x @ 345#
Once a new PR is achieved, I watch the athlete to see how much more I want to take him or her up. I decide, not the athlete
- on whether or not and if so, how much more he or she attempts. If the athlete looks strong and feels confident, we keep
taking him or her up.
One thing I guard against is getting greedy. I'm not after absolute max max - as Dan John describes it. There's no hurry
here. I always error on the cautious side and would rather stop sooner, than later.
Plus, I've got time concerns, and need to get on to the working rounds and rest of the work out.
- Rob Shaul
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