Forever Training: Instinctive Training and Deloads

The dreaded deload. From the very first work out, we all fear the week of rest. The dreaded time where we lower the weight, or even stop lifting entirely. A fitness addicts worst nightmare. Is it really neccessary?

It depends. 

Powerlifter

The goal of powerlifting is to lift as much weight as possible, period. The problem is, heavy deadlifts cannot be practiced frequently, for they are extremly draining on the central nervous system. Every time a deadlift PR is hit, multiple days of rest are needed before the central nervous system can work at full capacity again. To counter such fatigue, powerlifters periodize their training, working up to a one rep max over several weeks or even months. After the one rep max is hit, a week of rest, or deload, is taken to counter the culmulative fatigue. 

Olympic weightlifter

 Much like the powerlifter, an olympic weightlifter's goal is to lift as much weight as possible. The difference, however comes in the movements. Unlike the deadlift, the snatch and clean and jerk have an eccentric and concentric portion. While many weightlifter may beg to differ, I ask them to simply look at the movement. The weight is pulled up and the muscle is lengthened, eccentric, and then the muscle is shortened, concentric, when it is caught in the bottom of a squat. When the muscle is shortened, the central nervous system builds up like a spring, and then shoots off as the muscle is relengthened. Because of this reaction, the movement is much less draining on the central nervous system. More so, the snatch and clean-jerk are very technique driven; therefore, failure will be due to technique failure, not fatigue. With this in mind, it would make no sense to deload. Yes, training intensity will vary day to day, but an entire deload is preposterous. 

Crossfitter

Unlike wightlifters and powerlifters, pure strength is not the goal. The "fittest" on earth need to be able to lift "heavy" weights for multiple reps. A typical crossfit workout is very high volume, often much higher than that of a bodybuilder. While crossfitters may denie it, deloads are perhaps the most neccesarry for these individuals. Crossfitters may not be lifting shattering numbers, but the sheer volume enough destroys the central nervous system. 

Bodybuilder

Weight is simply relative for a bodybuilder. Numbers have very little value, for bodybuilding is much more of an art than other strength sports. The only thing that matters in bodybuilding, is the size and shape of the muscle. To achieve the sheer size of a bodybuilder, many go on a high volume five day split: arms, back, legs, chest, and maybe arms again. The volume may be very high, but bodybuilders tend to do single joint movements. Single joint movements, like bicep curls, put very little stress on the central nervous system, allowing bodybuilders to do very high volume. The volume, however, is not enough to drain the central nervous system, allowing bodybuilders to lift "heavy" every week. 

 

But what if there was a way to allow all athletes to train hard every week. I'd hate to break it to you, but there is. You can train hard 4, 5, or even 6 days all week every week. This is what I like to call "imstinctive training"

Instinctive training is nothing new. In fact, the bulgarians have been using it since the 60s! But for some reason, everyone seemed to froget about it. Now, many look at training as some sort of mathmatical equation which can be solved for the perfect program. Sadly, this can not be farther from the truth. The truth is, programming is very individual. You wouldn't give the same program to a newbie as you would an NFL player, would you? I certainly hope not. The philosophies, however, can be very similar.

 

Train very heavy, very often. That is the secret to all great athletes. This is not to say we are hitting PRs every day. Instinctive training is all about finding a daily max. Maybe today, you can only lift 80% of your max. Does that mean you should go for a new PR? I would say not. You could, however, treat that 80% as your PR. So that day, your numbers are based off of 80% your one rep max. By doing this, you can take advantage of the good days and the bad days. We all know their going to happen, so why try to ignore them? Instead, use this variance to your advantage by basing all numbers on your daily PR, not your all time PR. 

Make a program ahead of time, but allow the numbers to change with your body. If you try to force your body into a modality it does not want, the body will resist. It is better to listen to the body and succumb to its every need. By doing this, you will grow much stronger much faster, no matter the athlete. If you want to start hitting PRs all the time, you need to start finding your daily PR.