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How To Get Stronger? Succeed by Failing?
If you are
training for achievement in competitive events
(PT tests, races, power lifting, body building, etc.) or any of the
tactical
professions, you do need to change things up in a progressive routine
using
what is called the Overload Principle.
The Overload Principle as defined by William Kraemer, PhD. in the book Optimizing Strength Training: Progressive Overload “is the principle that underscores the need for greater demands to be placed on the body during successive workouts over time if improvement is to be achieved.”
In other words,
the Overload Principle requires a gradually
increasing training stress on the body during any physical training
program to
include many types of training programs and skills used by a variety of
athletes. For the
tactical athlete,
being good at all of the elements of fitness is a job requirement. An
above
average performance level in these elements can one day be the
difference
between life and death for you, your partner, or a victim you are
trying to
help. The reason
why the Overload
Principle is important is if an athlete neglects to push progressively
over
time, there will be no adaptation and therefore no increases in
performance. Here
is how it can be used with PT test (calisthenics) training programs, so
you increase your muscle stamina and testing abilities.
This week, I sent
several emails to people seeking to ace their military physical fitness
tests. In my closing, I always remind people not to give up and that
they will "succeed by failing." Some people get it and understand that
to improve with pushups, pull-ups, situps, and other high-repetition
calisthenics testing exercises, you have to push yourself until you
can't do any more reps. Then, you can try a few more of the easier
versions like knee pushups, assisted pull-ups or negatives, and
crunches respectively. But you cannot do this daily. When you
fail or do a high volume of calisthenics, you need a day off for
recovery in between workouts that challenge the same muscle groups.
Once you get to that burning sensation, you are reaching the peak of
the muscle stamina in your body. In order to gain more stamina and
muscular endurance, you have to "push the envelope" at least one
workout a week. The remaining workouts of the week need to be
foundation-building workouts that enable your body to do many
repetitions in several sets. Such workouts are circuits, pyramids, or
supersets as listed below:
Supersets
for Pushups and Situps
Repeat this cycle of exercises non-stop 5-10 times
Regular pushups - 10
Regular situps - 10
Wide pushups - 10
Reverse Crunches - 10
Close or Tricep pushups - 10
Double crunches - 10
If you do this five
times, you will have done 150 pushups and abdominal exercises in less
than 15 minutes! Now that's a good foundation-building workout. You'll
reach failure no matter who you are, only if you continue this workout
for 10-15 times. When you reach failure and your goal is to reach five
sets, go to your knees for pushups if you have to. That is what I mean
when I say, "succeed by failing."
You have to be able to tell yourself that you can do these workouts
even when you have never done over 100 pushups in your life. By
breaking it up into little sets nearly anyone can do the above workout.
Even if you can't, you still succeed and will be stronger the next time
you try it.
There is a mental aspect to this type of "failure" training. Your mind
will tell you that you are ready to quit before your body will usually.
You have to be able to disengage that thinking process and push
yourself until you truly fail. You want to not only fail at pushups,
but fail at knee pushups too! The same goes for pullups and pull-downs
and situps and crunches too.
I have trained many people who were unable to increase their PFT scores
for years, and by adding the supersets and pyramid
two times a week, and a testing workout once a week, they
were able to gain in all areas. Testing workouts should be
goal-oriented and pushed to maximum repetitions during a certain a
period of time. For instance, the SEAL trainees I work with will do the
following workout to test themselves and fail each set:
Pullups - 100
Pushups - 200
Situps - 300
The Max Rep Set Workout
The repetition goal
above is to be done in as few sets as possible alternating from one
exercise to the next. The only rest you receive is when you workout the
other muscle groups and moving from exercise to exercise. If you are
not on that level of endurance, set your goals for half of that or even
a tenth. Everyone fails at this workout -- even the most fit people I
know. Try it -- you will get stronger by pushing yourself to failure
once in a while.
Also see the
pyramid workout article for other ideas on
foundation-building exercise.
Feel free to email me if you have any questions at stew@stewsmith.com
TRX Workouts - This is a great device to use if you are failing at pushups and pullups. The TRX rows will help you build your chest, shoulders, triceps and bicep / back muscles like a set of weights, but also work the core at the same time.
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