Adaptation

We understand that we become stronger by adapting to stress. In terms of physical, intellectual, and psychological prowess, successfully navigating or coping with stress is how we grow. I guess you could quote Nietzsche and/or Schwarzenegger (depending on your age and level of sophistication) and be DOB accurate. That which does not kill us makes us stronger … to an extent.

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S.A.I.D.

435lbs RAW squat @ 147.9lbs body weight  -- Armed Forces RAW Meet 2011

Specific

Adaptations to

Imposed

Demands

How do I train to squat deep and heavy?

I SQUAT DEEP and HEAVY ... pretty simple, huh?

This is how the body works and it is an important principle to remember.  I sometimes find it a little strange how some people can't wrap their heads around the fact that doing bicep curls won't make them strong enough to pick up a refrigerator.  Picking up refrigerators will make them strong enough to pick up a refrigerator.  Let me explain by showing you an example.

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Look Strong vs. BE STRONG cont.

There exist some generally accepted rep/set schemes when it comes to training for different purposes.  I’m not a fan of these generalizations because they don’t take into account the many different flavors of strength I’ve noted in previous posts (such as strength-speed, flexibility-strength, strength-endurance, and explosive strength).  

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Look Strong vs. BE STRONG III

So we have established that there are two basic types of resistance training.  Keep in mind that they really aren’t separate because you can never really do only one.  Functional training is most closely related to sports like weightlifting or powerlifting in which athletes execute movements of maximum intensity / low duration.  Structural training is most closely related to bodybuilding in which athletes are on a quest for muscle size at all costs.  

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Look Strong vs. BE STRONG II

Let's define strength so that we are starting from the same point.

Let's just say that strength is a muscle or muscle group's ability to exert force against an external load. (Siff, 2003)  Now we could add to this definition that we would like to move the load, but let's keep it simple for now.  Dr. Mel Siff broke strength down into its essence in the first chapter of his book "Super Training."  If you don't already have this book, I highly recommend it.  There are plenty of flavors of strength.  We will cover terms like speed-strength, strength-speed, explosive strength, starting-strength, etc., etc., ... We aren't writing a college paper right now so I will introduce concepts as needed.

 In my first post on this topic, I explained that it wasn't the size of the muscle that was of primary importance, but the nervous system of the athlete.  In Super Training, Dr. Siff states, 

"The production and increase of strength both depend on neuromuscular processes.  Strength is not primarily a function of muscle size , but one of the appropriate muscles powerfully contracted by effective nervous stimulation.  This is the foundation of all strength training."( Siff, 2003)

 This is key and here is how it changes the entire game.

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Look Strong vs. BE STRONG?

 

One of the most basic struggles we have in the gym is the ego’s battle over size vs. strength. Most of us tend to judge a book by its cover and assume that as we become more muscular, great strength will follow.  This idea can be a bit misleading. 

In my previous posts, I eluded to the fact that many of the biggest guys in the gym may not necessarily be the strongest. 

Less experienced lifters are often fooled into thinking that the bigger you are, the stronger you are.

It is not uncommon to find average looking people that perform specific exercises well beyond the capacity (or at least the same level )of their larger counterparts.

This is because even though a larger muscle carries the potential to be stronger than a smaller one, it is the nervous system that innervates the muscle, which is responsible for its display of strength.  Wouldn't everyone like making the muscles they already have even more powerful?

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