banzaiengr
Level 6 Valued Member
Spent the weekend watching the 3.5 yr. old Grandson. During one oh his "why Papa" moments it got me to thinking about some of my questions on the forum. It is a good way to learn as with the "HIRT for Hypertrophy" thread there were many back and forth comments. Some getting into mitochondria and energy systems which go way over my head.
Let me preface by saying I'm not a trainer. I try to keep up with the health and fitness world but there is a lot more that I don't know than what I do. As long as you don't comment with"that's not right you bloke" or some other derogatory remark it's fine. (actually it's my understanding that bloke isn't derogatory)
One question brought up in the "HIRT for Hypertrophy" thread was, "what is Strongfirsts definition for some of these terms" brought up in the discussion. I'm the curious type with too much time on my hands so I began my study at Google University. I did find some interesting results and some of these are not from Strongfirst.
high intensity; high intensity training means short-term training under maximum stress. A variety of systems, such as the circulatory system, heart, lungs, muscles, nerves, and your metabolism are challenged and stimulated in a most intense way.
interval training; a type of training that involves a series of low- to high-intensity workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods involve activity of lower intensity.
sprint interval; "Walk-back sprinting" is one example of interval training for runners, in which one sprints a short distance (anywhere from 100 to 800 metres), then walks back to the starting point (the recovery period), to repeat the sprint a certain number of times. To add challenge to the workout, each of these sprints may start at predetermined time intervals - e.g. 200 metre sprint, walk back, and sprint again, every 3 minutes. The time interval is intended to provide just enough recovery time. A runner will use this method of training mainly to add speed to their race and give them a finishing kick.
High-intensity interval training; attempts to decrease the overall volume of training by increasing the effort expended during the high-intensity intervals. The acronym DIRT is sometimes used to denote the variables : D = Distance of each speed interval, I = Interval of recovery between speed intervals, R = Repetitions of speed intervals, and T = Time of each.
High Intensity Repeat Training; Interval training is differentiated from repeats by when the recovery occurs. In interval training, the recovery is incomplete, so the next interval starts when the person is already fatigued. This incomplete recovery leads to a decline in performance after each interval. Repeats maintain the same high level of performance over time.
A+A; anti-glycolytic plus aerobic The anti-glycolytic training focuses on training bouts that push the ATP/CP system right to the edge of its capacity, but stopping the bout before glycolysis kicks in fully, basically avoiding the burn. You will then rest long enough to allow your ATP pockets to recover and then repeat the bout. This is done for a prescribed number of minutes, based on the goals of the training session or the protocol you’re following. The aerobic training is done at very comfortable pace which would allow you to breathe through your nose the whole time. It can also be done using the MAF heart rate method.
Let's think about what high intensity means, training under maximum stress. A variety of systems, such as the circulatory system, heart, lungs, muscles, nerves, and your metabolism are challenged and stimulated in a most intense way. What I find interesting here is it's not just the usual systems like heart or muscle that is stimulated but also the nerves and metabolism, "in a most intense way".
Interval Training involves both high intensity work interspaced with low intensity or recovery periods. High Intensity Interval Training attempt to decrease the overall volume by increasing the effort and lowering or nearly eliminating the recovery period.
Repeat training the recovery period is complete. A+A is a form of repeat training as you push to the edge of glycolysis but stop and ensure recovery so that as in repeat training there is little or no decline in performance. On other training days you work the aerobic system at a very low intensity.
One of the questions brought up on the "HIRT for Hypertrophy" thread was how long can someone participate in high intensity training before having to pay the piper as they say? I can say from experience that at times this may be for a good period of time if all other aspects to recovery are in place such as low stress, quality sleep, and quality nutrition. Remove one of those pillars to recovery and watch your training world come falling down. I worked a job without a regular schedule for several decades. At times those pillars were in place and my training went well. But then I would get on a routine of less sleep and much of it not quality as I tried to sleep during the day and all of a sudden what I had been doing in the gym became nearly impossible. It all depends and everyone is different. One trainee could possibly go for a long long time until something happens that increases his stress level and then he begins to feel the symptoms of "overtraining".
@kennycro@@aol.com stated that it would happen very quickly to a novice trainee on a poorly written program. Can we assume that a novice trainee wouldn't be on a high intensity program? Could he be on a poorly written program? Well yes but for the purposes of the discussion lets also assume that he is not. But a novice could be on a very well written program such as S&S and very quickly experience metabolic and other issues if he is not following the written program. I have also experienced this by trying run each S&S workout within the 5 and 10 minute time goals. This seemed to be a portion of the training that others missed. So the symptoms of overtraining can also happen when a well written program is not followed.
So, what have I learned here? I've learned that one way to ensure results and reduce the possibilities of overtaxing myself is to simply limit the amount of training I do which puts me into glycolysis. Then if my sleep is suffering or I'm not eating properly (another issue that reduces my progress) it may not have as dramatic an effect on training as otherwise. Sometimes it can be something completely out of our control such as the loss of a loved one. You believe you need to continue to train to help with this stress but if you are continually pushing the glycolytic envelop the training will hurt more than help.
Here's another good Strongfirst article by Mark Kingstone which describes why Anti-Glycolytic training is why sometimes less is more.
Understanding Why "Less Is More" with Anti-Glycolytic Training | StrongFirst
Let me preface by saying I'm not a trainer. I try to keep up with the health and fitness world but there is a lot more that I don't know than what I do. As long as you don't comment with"that's not right you bloke" or some other derogatory remark it's fine. (actually it's my understanding that bloke isn't derogatory)
One question brought up in the "HIRT for Hypertrophy" thread was, "what is Strongfirsts definition for some of these terms" brought up in the discussion. I'm the curious type with too much time on my hands so I began my study at Google University. I did find some interesting results and some of these are not from Strongfirst.
high intensity; high intensity training means short-term training under maximum stress. A variety of systems, such as the circulatory system, heart, lungs, muscles, nerves, and your metabolism are challenged and stimulated in a most intense way.
interval training; a type of training that involves a series of low- to high-intensity workouts interspersed with rest or relief periods. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods involve activity of lower intensity.
sprint interval; "Walk-back sprinting" is one example of interval training for runners, in which one sprints a short distance (anywhere from 100 to 800 metres), then walks back to the starting point (the recovery period), to repeat the sprint a certain number of times. To add challenge to the workout, each of these sprints may start at predetermined time intervals - e.g. 200 metre sprint, walk back, and sprint again, every 3 minutes. The time interval is intended to provide just enough recovery time. A runner will use this method of training mainly to add speed to their race and give them a finishing kick.
High-intensity interval training; attempts to decrease the overall volume of training by increasing the effort expended during the high-intensity intervals. The acronym DIRT is sometimes used to denote the variables : D = Distance of each speed interval, I = Interval of recovery between speed intervals, R = Repetitions of speed intervals, and T = Time of each.
High Intensity Repeat Training; Interval training is differentiated from repeats by when the recovery occurs. In interval training, the recovery is incomplete, so the next interval starts when the person is already fatigued. This incomplete recovery leads to a decline in performance after each interval. Repeats maintain the same high level of performance over time.
A+A; anti-glycolytic plus aerobic The anti-glycolytic training focuses on training bouts that push the ATP/CP system right to the edge of its capacity, but stopping the bout before glycolysis kicks in fully, basically avoiding the burn. You will then rest long enough to allow your ATP pockets to recover and then repeat the bout. This is done for a prescribed number of minutes, based on the goals of the training session or the protocol you’re following. The aerobic training is done at very comfortable pace which would allow you to breathe through your nose the whole time. It can also be done using the MAF heart rate method.
Let's think about what high intensity means, training under maximum stress. A variety of systems, such as the circulatory system, heart, lungs, muscles, nerves, and your metabolism are challenged and stimulated in a most intense way. What I find interesting here is it's not just the usual systems like heart or muscle that is stimulated but also the nerves and metabolism, "in a most intense way".
Interval Training involves both high intensity work interspaced with low intensity or recovery periods. High Intensity Interval Training attempt to decrease the overall volume by increasing the effort and lowering or nearly eliminating the recovery period.
Repeat training the recovery period is complete. A+A is a form of repeat training as you push to the edge of glycolysis but stop and ensure recovery so that as in repeat training there is little or no decline in performance. On other training days you work the aerobic system at a very low intensity.
One of the questions brought up on the "HIRT for Hypertrophy" thread was how long can someone participate in high intensity training before having to pay the piper as they say? I can say from experience that at times this may be for a good period of time if all other aspects to recovery are in place such as low stress, quality sleep, and quality nutrition. Remove one of those pillars to recovery and watch your training world come falling down. I worked a job without a regular schedule for several decades. At times those pillars were in place and my training went well. But then I would get on a routine of less sleep and much of it not quality as I tried to sleep during the day and all of a sudden what I had been doing in the gym became nearly impossible. It all depends and everyone is different. One trainee could possibly go for a long long time until something happens that increases his stress level and then he begins to feel the symptoms of "overtraining".
@kennycro@@aol.com stated that it would happen very quickly to a novice trainee on a poorly written program. Can we assume that a novice trainee wouldn't be on a high intensity program? Could he be on a poorly written program? Well yes but for the purposes of the discussion lets also assume that he is not. But a novice could be on a very well written program such as S&S and very quickly experience metabolic and other issues if he is not following the written program. I have also experienced this by trying run each S&S workout within the 5 and 10 minute time goals. This seemed to be a portion of the training that others missed. So the symptoms of overtraining can also happen when a well written program is not followed.
So, what have I learned here? I've learned that one way to ensure results and reduce the possibilities of overtaxing myself is to simply limit the amount of training I do which puts me into glycolysis. Then if my sleep is suffering or I'm not eating properly (another issue that reduces my progress) it may not have as dramatic an effect on training as otherwise. Sometimes it can be something completely out of our control such as the loss of a loved one. You believe you need to continue to train to help with this stress but if you are continually pushing the glycolytic envelop the training will hurt more than help.
Here's another good Strongfirst article by Mark Kingstone which describes why Anti-Glycolytic training is why sometimes less is more.
Understanding Why "Less Is More" with Anti-Glycolytic Training | StrongFirst