Wally,
I'll quote Art himself on alactic training (not the theory, just the
practical approach) from an earlier essay of his:
"I do sets that I call 1/5s or "one, fives" because that describes how to do
them. I do one repetition, then put the weight down for 5 seconds. Then do
another rep and put the weight down another 5 seconds. Then do another set,
and so on for a sequence of about 4 to 8 repetitions. That's it, then move
on to the next exercise. What you have done is to achieve between 4 and 8
high quality repetitions without building lactate. The 5-second pause
between reps is enough to regenerate the muscle phosphates if you are in
reasonable shape. Up to 10 seconds pause is appropriate until you have
acquired the ability to recover quickly. You can use reasonably heavy weight
without the risk that goes with doing multiple repetitions with heavy
weights.
Alactic training is much safer and more productive of strength than training
to full failure. The reason is simple; doing multiple repetitions builds
lactic acid that limits your power and ability to handle heavy weight. By
doing just 1 rep and resting 5 seconds you retain nearly all of your muscle
power. This lets you handle heavier weight and do quality movements. You
never force yourself to work to failure, as many muscle magazines and
training authorities seem to recommend. There is no danger because you use a
weight that is below your maximum and do not try to force a depleted muscle
through another repetition. There is no straining to try to do that "last
rep."
On other fronts, I must be a sucker for the books that are discussed on this
list because, after reading "Lights Out," I bought Pavel Tsatsouline's
"Power to the People." I really enjoyed it but have not changed my routine
yet (tomorrow). I was a little frustrated at how similar his approach was
to EvFit, but how different his methods were from Art's. At any rate, one
thing Pavel mentions that resonated with me was soreness after working out
and his belief that it is unnecessary. After Monday's squat session, I was
sore until yesterday (Thurs.). I never bothered with it before reading
Pavel figuring it was just part of the game. I only work out two days a
week, squats/press on Monday and deadlifts/bench on Thurs or Fri. (I do some
intervals to round out the week on different days). However, I think I am
going to a MWF routine of just deadlift and incline bench for six weeks or
so and am going to follow the advice of 2 sets/5 reps to see what happens.
A very good article appeared a couple of days ago in the Washington Post
regarding Paleo eating. Boyd Eaton is quoted in there as well as the usual
cast of characters. I was happy to see the conclusion of the article which
I think is a very balanced approach to dieting, even if you're not a big fan
of grains. One thing I don't think this article takes into account is
seasonal variation in food supply. Even if you lived in a fairly temperate
environment like central France 3,000 years ago, I don't think there were a
lot of carbs available in February (one dietary area that I thought "Lights
Out" did a good job exploring). Here's the URL for the article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51501-2001Feb9.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Evolutionary Fitness Discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Wally
Day
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2001 5:07 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [EVOLUTIONARY-FITNESS] Alactic (sp?) training
> I'm turning off this
> protection until I see the need
> for it. Happy posting!
Cool, then if I don't have to jump through hoops to
post - I'll start posting :)
I have seen the term "alactic training" mentioned a
number of times in previous posts. I think I (kinda)
understand the heirarchial training concept from what
I gleaned from C. Bass's interview with Mr. De Vany.
But alactic? Could someone please clue me in?
-- Wally
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35
a year! http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
|
