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Q & A:
October 27, 2009 Well, this marks the first Q&A session
and we had some good questions. For others of you out there, try to keep them
simple. If your question is two pages long, I probably won't be able to answer
it here. Today's topics include: -Rep Ranges for Strength Training -Bodyweight and One-Legged Jumping -The Role of the Abs and the Upper back in Jumping Q:
What's better for vertical leap? Would you recommend 6 reps
with a higher weight, or 10 reps with a lighter weight and done more
explosively? -EB A: Honestly, if
we're talking about general strength training here, I really wouldn't care.
Rather than reps, I would prefer that people thought in terms of set duration.
The number of reps really doesn't tell us much about a set. For instance, a set
of 10 squats would take much longer than a set of 10 shrugs. Are we really
supposed to believe they provide the same adaptations? I usually break set duration down into 4 brackets:
PC-1: The Phosphocreatine bracket. This
bracket lasts from roughly 0-9 seconds and signifies the limit of endurance for
the type IIb muscle fibers. AG-2: The Anaerobic Glycolytic bracket.
This bracket usually lasts from 10-25 seconds, and signifies that the anaerobic
glycolytic energy pathway is supplying the bulk of the working energy, but
lactic acid has yet to be generated in significant amounts. LAG-3: The Lactic Anaerobic Glycolytic
bracket. This bracket lasts from roughly 26-50 seconds and it represents the
upper limit of the endurance of the type IIa muscle fibers. A-4: The Aerobic bracket. 51+ seconds. At
this point, the body is relying on type I muscle fibers and the aerobic energy
pathway. Each of the above brackets produces varying
effects when one trains in them. For instance, the relative strength gains from
doing A-4 work will not be as great as those from doing PC-1 work. Anyways, to
answer your question, without getting too far into specifics, most athletes
would be best served by strength training in the AG-2 time bracket. Training
within that bracket necessitates the use of weights that are sufficiently heavy
for strength gains, yet sufficiently light to get in enough volume to improve
and avoid CNS burnout. Q: How
much would bodyweight (regardless of relative strength) is going to influence a
one-leg jump and why? -E A: This is a
tricky one. The one-legged jump is a strange beast. By looking at those with the
highest levels of proficiency in one-legged jumping (high jumpers, long jumpers,
triple jumpers, etc.) we can see that it obviously pays to be light. At a
lighter body weight, it's easier to have higher relative strength levels, so
that would make sense. However, by asking to take relative strength out of the
question, you're making things a little more interesting. If you had two guys with similar
frames, similar muscle/tendon ratios, similar nervous systems, similar levels of
skill, and similar levels of relative strength, with the only difference being
that guy A weighed 150 lbs and guy B weighed 200 lbs, would they jump the same?
I would think that yes, they would. In this case though, the issue isn't one of
proficiency, but one of survivability. One-legged jumping exposes the body
to massive forces (10x bodyweight on one leg during a long jump), and the
heavier a person get, the higher these forces become. Up to a point, there's
only so much that bones, tendons, and cartilage can take before they reach their
breaking point. This is the same reason why little kids can run and jump off the
roofs of houses without so much as a concerned thought, while 350 pound NFL
linemen need to be careful when doing depth jumps off of even low boxes. Yeah,
the lineman are relatively stronger than the kids, but the impact forces they
face are so much greater that the risk for significant injury is there.
Significant
Injury... What this means as far as your
question goes is that while lighter, it's much easier to keep training volumes
and intensities where they need to be without worrying about one's body breaking
down on them. If one is unable to provide themselves with a sufficient workload
to keep adapting, they'll stagnate. This is why it pays to be light for the
one-legged jump. Where the limit for weight is at however, is up for debate.
I've seen people well over 200 lbs (myself included) soar off of one leg, so
it's probably not an issue until your weight really starts getting up there.
Q: How do the
abdominals and upper back affect one's jumping (i.e. what role do they play)?
-P A: Getting to
the easier part of your question first, the upper back doesn't do much to affect
one's jumping. A strong upper back aids in shoulder health, it stabilizes the
upper body while sprinting, and having a big upper back looks cool, but it won't
really add anything to your jump. The abs are another story. The abdominals are (or at least they
should be if they're functioning correctly) the primary stabilizers of the
pelvis. They control pelvic tilt when at rest and when in action, they're
responsible for transferring force between the lower and upper body, and their
function is key in getting the most powerful muscle group in the body, the
glutes, to do their job at full capacity. If one neglects training their abs
while they build up the rest of their body, their abdominals will be unable to
stabilize the forces generated across the body and this will result in sloppy
movement, poor activations patterns, and potentially injury. In order to keep a
healthy, balanced physique, the abs need to be training, and traditional
compound movements aren't cutting it. This is actually one of my pet
peeves. People say that all you need to do is squat and deadlift to build up
your abs, but if they ever really thought about the statement, they'd see it
didn't make much sense. When doing squats or DLs, the spinal erectors are taking
the brunt of the load on the core (as the torso is inclined forward). If all the
load is going to the erectors, then where's the stimulation for the abs? The
answer: there isn't much of it anyways. In order to keep the abs as strong as
they need to be for peak performance and health, they need to be trained just
like every other muscle group, directly and through progressive overload.
Endless sets of crunches don't the trick, and neither Pilates. What the
performance seeking trainee needs is a steady diet of weighted planks, weighted
decline situps, full “V” leg raises, and dragon flags done for traditional rep
schemes.
Why is it important to train them as well as your legs?