Commando PT with Pavel Tsatsouline, MS

[GJEC]

"I have tried lifting weights to add power to my striking and grappling techniques. Since I want to build endurance, as well as strength, I do three sets of ten to twenty reps to failure on all my exercises. The problem is, I get so sore and tired, that I have no energy left for my martial arts practice! What am I doing wrong?"

Everything. The punch bag who came up with the light weights/high reps formula for martial artists did not have a slightest clue about either strength training or martial arts.

The best strength training formula for a fighting man or woman is heavy, 80-95% 1RM, weights, and low, 1-5, repetitions. There are at least five reasons why:

1. Heavy weights build strength.

It is the muscular tension, not fatigue, that you should maximize in training if strength is your goal. There are plenty of studies, for instance Goldberg et. al (1975), to support this notion. The heavier is the weight you are lifting, the higher is the tension. It is that simple.

2. Strength endurance gained with ten, twenty, or more, reps is not specific to hand to hand combat.

You would be a lot better off doing a few rounds on a heavy bag or Thai pads. Iron is just for strength, period. Leave the sissy high rep stuff to aerobic instructors.

3. Low rep training causes minimal fatigue and muscle soreness.

Strength endurance work of the kind that you and most martial artists favour takes a lot longer to recover from that one to five rep strength work (Roman, 1962). High repetitions also make you a lot more sore. Does not it make sense to perform your conditioning in a manner which does not interfere with the practice of your fighting art?

4. High reps build useless tissue and break down real muscle.

One of the reasons bodybuilders are generally a lot weaker than they look is that their muscles ain’t real. Repetition lifting of a submaximal weight, the bodybuilding choice, promotes sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, or an increase in the volume of worthless jello like filler inside the muscle, while breaking down the contractile proteins, the "real" muscle (Nikityuk & Samoylov, 1990).

5. Heavy low rep training is the safest way to lift.

No, I have not been hit on the head a few times too many. I will give you at least two reasons why heavy, low rep weight training is much safer than lifting a light weight a lot of times. First, the stabilizing muscles get tired before the prime movers in high rep sets, which sets you up for an injury. When you do a set of twenty squats, your back gets tired before your legs and sooner or later you will get hurt! On a five rep set your legs will be first to go. Second, when you lift a weight which is heavier than eighty percent of your maximum, you can get superstrong without training to failure. Ed Coan who posted the highest powerlifting total of all time not long ago always racks his monstrous weights a rep or two short of his limit! If you want to know the hows and whys, check out my new book Power to the People!: Russian Strength Training Secrets for Every American.

With all of the above in mind, here is the program of choice. Perform three core lifts: the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift. Squat and bench on Monday, then press again and deadlift on Thursday. Upper body exercises tax your body less than leg and back work, that is why you get to bench twice a week.

Do five sets of five, four, three, two, and, one reps. Add a little weight, 2.5-10 pounds after every set. Rest for as many minutes as the number of reps you have just done: 5 reps, 5 min, 4 reps, 4 min, 3 reps, 3 min, 2 reps, 2 min, 1 rep, go home.

Start the program with weights you can easily lift for the prescribed number of repetitions. Add a little weight every third workout until you can barely make your reps, then take a week off lifting. When you come back to the gym, start another power cycle with comfortable weights, and build up to your new personal best in eight to twelve weeks.

The results will be spectacular. You will build great strength without stealing time or energy from your martial art practice. Who can expect more from a conditioning program?

Gary

[senshido]

Thanks for that Gary

[hangtime]

Thanks for sharing, Gary. Personally, I've had the biggest strength gains since giving up the notion that I have to lift 10 reps to a set.

I may integrate the 3 core lift schedule into my preparation for the April Oyama tournament...if nothing else, I'll be more disciplined on bench pressing

OSU!

[MMX]

Thanks Gary!

Just reinforces what I have read elsewhere.

Osu!

[wullie]

Good stuff Gary!

[fatjoe]

Thanks for sharing this Gary!! Awesome post. Osu!

[curlbroscience]

Thank you Gary.

Out of curiosity, where does this fit in with fighters that are training for a specific weight class.

It almost seems contradictory to Pavel's stance on high rep snatches and swings. He has stated that high rep snatches and high rep swings are the closest to getting in to a real fight.

[GJEC]

I don't see it as contradictory as it depends what attributes you want to emphasise. If you're fighting 3 x 5 minute rounds, that dread feeling you get from high rep snatches and the ability to push through discomfort might be useful.

If you prefer more grunt and more impact, I'd follow a low rep program.

Gary

[curlbroscience]

Mar 16, 2011 3:03:33 GMT -5 GJEC said:

I don't see it as contradictory as it depends what attributes you want to emphasise. If you're fighting 3 x 5 minute rounds, that dread feeling you get from high rep snatches and the ability to push through discomfort might be useful.

If you prefer more grunt and more impact, I'd follow a low rep program.

Gary

Osu!

Thank you Gary for your incite as it has changed my way of training and turned me on to Ross Enamait.

I know you are a big proponent of KB so I always love reading your posts.

It seems my body naturally excels at lifting heavy and explosive in short bursts. Long, grinding exercises like high rep swing/snatch tucker me out more. High Rep/Low Weight exercises are my weakness. I guess the power leak is in my smaller muscle groups?

Osu!

[GJEC]

Mar 16, 2011 10:31:28 GMT -5 curlbroscience said:

High Rep/Low Weight exercises are my weakness. I guess the power leak is in my smaller muscle groups?

Osu!

It's hard to see them as a weakness. They take a lot out of you, sure, and they hurt for days afterwards, granted. TBH I feel so much stronger though after I cut out the high rep stuff and started using 3 to 5 reps.

I still do some high rep sets as finishers, tabata snatches for example, but as for 5 sets of 20 or such like, never.

Mind you, I want to hurt people, not control them or score technical points, so my needs are a bit different to competitors.

Gary

EDIT: Only if they thoroughly deserve it of course ...

[curlbroscience]

I will admit that I have found more stability upon impact in my left hook after doing lower rep, heavy weight exercise ladder drills. OH Press/Pull Up ladder. That has probably helped more than the high rep, no weight shadow boxing.

Thank you again Gary!

[GJEC]

I think the biggest single problem with supplementary training is that people seek the same level of discomfort they feel in the dojo. Telling people to do less reps or rest longer between sets gets worried looks. People feel they are wasting their time as it doesn't feel hard enough.

In fact the opposite is true. First, this kind of supplementary training allows recovery between karate sessions, which should, after all be our priority. It also allows for bigger strength gains and that has a huge effect in general training. Remember, it's not just about how much you can bench, but about building basic strength to stop being pulled and pushed around. Improvements in max strength also - for a long time - transfer easily into greater impact.

To sum up. A good strength program should leave you feeling stronger, not knackered. It should give you the power to hit harder and stand your ground. If you can get all that in a couple of 40 minute sessions a week, and still leave loads of energy for your skill training, you've hit the jackpot.

Gary

[senshido]

when I was weight training, I never had more than a 40 minute session, in fact 40 minutes would have been a long one, i could do everything I needed in that time, I have alway worked with heavy weights too

[GJEC]

That's true.

I never do longer sessions now. I much prefer sets of 3-5 reps with plenty of rest. I feel stronger for it, not just by numbers but physically more dangerous too

Gary

[curlbroscience]

Mar 17, 2011 6:56:08 GMT -5 GJEC said:

I think the biggest single problem with supplementary training is that people seek the same level of discomfort they feel in the dojo. Telling people to do less reps or rest longer between sets gets worried looks. People feel they are wasting their time as it doesn't feel hard enough.

In fact the opposite is true. First, this kind of supplementary training allows recovery between karate sessions, which should, after all be our priority.

Osu! I believe this is the most important thing to remember which I often forget when I am constructing supplementary sessions. They are exactly that supplementary. The main of it all should be in the dojo/gym.

Thank you again Gary.

Osu!