Bret S.
Level 9 Valued Member
In some weeks of VWC I was lifting 45-50,000 lbs just snatching, the carryover from hoisting that much tonnage overhead is amazing, my shoulders got bigger and fat melted from below the belly button, which is always the last place to go when ripping down. My weight stayed static but body comp changes were significant, shoulder vascularity was almost popping through my shirt.Very interesting topic. Strength, upon closer examination can be very specific to how it is trained. I recall several studies that compared high %RM to low %RM done to failure. The lighter load done to failure equaled the muscle growth of the heavier loading, the heavier loading increased RM by a significant amount, but isometric force was comparable between the two groups.
Is tempting to say "I increased my max loading on exercise X therefore I am stronger" but on some other exercise you might very well have gotten weaker or showed zero improvement.
I have to agree that some forms of strength training have more carryover - when doing my offset weighted pole exercises I nearly doubled my 1arm press AMRAP without doing any pressing. I believe exercises that force the core to activate to attempt the lift, and exercises that improve reflexive shoulder socket integrity/tension have the greatest potential to carry-over, but even these are largely specific.
Everything felt easier during the VWC process, my low back elasticity and durability increased and my legs felt springy, like I could jump up 10 ft in the air. On top of that my resting heart rate was way lower.
The main problem with the protocol is accumulated fatigue, I would have done it once or twice a week if I wanted to hang with the program for awhile. I have nothing bad to say about it and have zero regrets. It's just too glycolytic for me to do, now I'm getting stronger slowly in the A+A format. No matter how I look at them or do them, snatching in higher volume is the king for me, nothing else comes close.