Repetition Library - Tension Selection - Slow To Fast & High To Low

SPECIAL REPETITIONS create new stimulus additional to movement selection.

Adding weight is only one way to progress tension.

Different neural & tension stimulus create different adaptations.

HARDWARE DOMINANT

Most coaches agree that getting the movement selection right is a huge part of the success of a training program.

Charles Poliquin's "Structural Balance" system might have been the most STRUCTURE focussed system in strength history. The focus was on increasing relative strength in exactly the right areas.

ATG is very "Movement Selection" dominant and that's the right approach when bulletproofing is the goal.

It's the right approach because the structural foundation is what all elite performance is built on.

We must build a surplus of pain-free ability that makes our sport pain free.

We must build a surplus of force production that makes the body feel very light to move around and creates little fatigue because it's not heavy.

SOFTWARE OUTPUT DOMINANT (Neural Drive)

There have been successful coaches who are neural dominant in their approach.

DB Hammer and Jay Schroeder are the two coaches that come to mind most when talking about focussing on NEURAL OUTPUT and the health of the biological battery that sends impulses to our muscles.

Some coaches influenced by this way of think suggest that it doesn't matter too much which movements you use as long as the nervous system is being well / specifically developed.

This approach works as long as the HARDWARE lasts. Still I would always favour building relative strength in the key muscles for the sport.

The sport itself will look after the skill / sequencing side of things if the force production side is there.

The thing is that using different neural stimulus also changes the tension created and therefore drives new hardware adaptations.

The good news is...

WE DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE

The FUTURE of ATG is clear with progressing from Slow, Acceleration, Fast progresses the tension.

This 2 minute video shows:

SLOW dense eccentrics

ACCELERATION Martin St Louis into

REBOUND Cheetah repetitions...

Now let's explore the other ways we can use:

1. SLOW

2. ACCELERATION

3.FAST

Stated differently we can break it into the 6 “P’s”

6 Repetition Types

Pauses & Pushes - Bottom - Klokov, Specific positions - Sopoto Press, Ditillo pin partials

Perfect reps - Control down, small bounce in the bottom, fast up, no pain.

Pins & boxes - Dead start. Paul Anderson - Anderson Squat, Josh Bryant - Dead Press, Box Squats

Pulses - ATG Squat bounces, Devon Larratt etc.

Punches - Banded Reps - Westside Drop throw powerful repetitions from different heights Buchenholz / Schroeder.

Purposefully Slow → Eccentrics - Poliquin, Klokov, Eccentric only, Concentrics - Healing

These types of repetitions can be combined within a repetition.

eg. slow eccentric with a pause at the sticking point.

Devon Larratt

full spectrum armwrestling training - from out to in

a standard workout in terms of duration and volume. exercises may change. during this block whatever weight i choose i just try to do more than i did the las...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk3AfASpa8U

SLOW

Defined: Intentionally slow bar speed for part or all of the lift.

Benefits Of Slow training:

1. Teaches positions.

2. Builds mass

3. Builds neural duration or a bigger bio battery to power muscles all day and potentially instantaneously. (Does slow work / volume build a neural foundation for speed.)

4. Builds tolerance to volume which is key for injury prevention.

5. Allows the tendons to adapt to carefully measured loads.

6. Is much more precise to load / progress / measure than tendon tension in rebounding movements.

7. Builds the ability to generate momentum (all speed starts with overcoming resistance.)

1. Submaximal Slow Eccentric + Concentric

What?

Slow down, fast up with sub-maximal weight. The tempo Charles is most well known for is 4/0/X/0 or 4/0/1/0 (This means 4 seconds down and either 1 second or as fast as possible on the up phase.)

Benefits?

1. You learn the movement pattern

2. Create a strength and learning stimulus through the whole range rather than just at the bottom and the stick point on the concentric which happens when we allow the weight to free fall.

3. The slower eccentric also allows relative rest. Let's say 10 motor units are needed to lift the weight through the sticking point but only 7 are required to lower it... 3 are getting longer rest if the eccentric is slower.

Limitations?

Going slow shields us from the higher tension / impulse that can be created by faster falling weights. Tension must progress for gains to continue. Adding weight is more limited than special repetitions.

Over-emphasising them or using them exclusively is likely to negatively impact acceleration / rebound ability.

When...

Great for beginners.

Areas of weakness.

Early phase hypertrophy in lagging muscles.

2. Slow Concentric

Most coaches will ignore these as an option... yet instinctively we all use them.

What?

Lifting the weight slowly. The muscle is getting shorter slowly. Usually done together with slow eccentrics for high repetitions for healing.

Can be used well with Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) for healing.

Benefits?

Learn the movement.

Learn to grind. Ed Coan speaks about using the same speed on the concentric phase of all his lifts. This helps to build strength through the full range where when a light weight is blasted from the floor there is already a lot of momentum (therefore no stimulus) after the weight moves a few inches.

Lower peak tension makes them the safest repetition type, great for rehabilitation.

Limitations?

Overusing them is likely to negatively impact acceleration / rebound ability.

When?

When we have pain. Going fast creates more tension. Often with tendon pain the muscles are able to do the work but the tendons are becoming more damaged through the process.

3. Eccentric Only

Supramaximal or submaximal

What?

Go down for 10 seconds or more.

Benefits?

Build an eccentric surplus for injury prevention and future strength gains.

Limitations?

You generally wouldn’t go above maximum weights with beginner lifters. Mostly used in pre-season or building phases. The surplus created with this work is put to work with more concentric dominant exercises.

Charles Poliquin programmed singles with a 10 second eccentric. Klokov had us do these on the back and then on the front at the 3-Day camp with Charles Poliquin. Klokov had a huge emphasis on slow work.

Used in the DENSE program on the nordic.

4. Pauses

Eccentric Pauses - Pausing during the eccentric phased of the lift. These are a great way to add extra stimulus. Often around the sticking point

Concentric Pauses - Pausing during the concentric phase of the lift.

ACCELERATION (POWER)

The weight selected will determine the speed but regardless the intent is maximal acceleration.

Even if the bar is going slow it's not SLOW training if the intent is maximum speed.

Benefits of power training

1. Improved acceleration / rate of force development (RFD)

2. Improved rat

Dead start

Start with the weight on pins, the floor or laying on a bench for a Nordic curl.

VARIATIONS:

1. Explosive Start - Going from no tension to moving the bar fast create a FAST / REBOUND training stimulus which puts a strong bias towards TENDON DEVELOPMENT.

Basically you're going from zero to 100% as fast as possible.

2. Smooth Start - Gradually going from 0-100 until the weight starts to move and then accelerating the bar as fast as possible.

Bob Peoples and Paul Anderson are some of the early users of this method. “Anderson Squats” and “Dead Bench” are two variations you’ll see today.

Full Speed

With this repetition style external load increases at a pre-determined joint angle. Usually the extra load would come at or just above the "sticking point."

Lukas Grigorescu - 30° Incline Benchpress w/ Full Speed Device

Lukas Grigorescu during a set of BB 30° Incline Benchpress with the Full Speed Device during the YPSI Invitation-Only Seminar in September 2017.The Full Spee...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQdS8ds13Hc

Bands Full Speed Set-up (ATG Squat Style)

Ben was squatting for a time with the bands loose so that only the top part of the lift was heavy.

Bands Traditional (ATG Bench / Deadlift)

With a controlled eccentric bands can be used to work on acceleration.

If the eccentric is fast then I would put banded work into the “Fast” category.

Chains

Lifting with chains is a great way to build acceleration. When you know and feel the weight getting heavier the incentive is to build as much momentum as possible as early as possible in the repetition.

Olympic Lifts

Accelerate the bar maximally.

There is also an instantaneous spike in power added to the bar at near full extension.

FAST

Failing to understand the variety of ways we can get FAST strength / tension stimulus leads to many injuries and athletes under or over emphasising fast training.

For example if a player is playing a lot of their sport they will be getting a lot of this type of stimulus in key muscle groups for how they play their sport.

Jumping and landing on the same foot is a good example of getting a high volume of FAST Tension training without balance.

If the player becomes injured and only does SLOW and ACCELERATION strength training then FAST qualities will be diminished and the balance will shift to more muscle dominance. This can create a higher risk of injury when FAST qualities are required.

Fast movements can include plyometrics, jumping, throwing.

They can also be weightlifting variations depending on the lift execution.

Traditional weight training exercises can become FAST stimulus. Jay Schroder used this style of training effectively with Adam Archuletta.

We can also get a lot of this stimulus with our sports depending on the sport.

Single foot take-off dunking will create an extreme tension stimulus for the calves... soccer can have a similar impact on the calves with the amount of time spent on one foot.

Catch / Land

Russian Lunge