Random Thoughts About Training

I was thinking a lot about the different qualities of strength and fitness and thought that a person's strength (overall) could probably be best judged by a combination of factors. Let us say we have 5 basic factors-

1. Maximal Strength - This would have 2 components- The load used and the ROM used. For example a 500 lb squat ass-to-grass would signify greater strength than a 500 lb squat breaking parallel, and even more strength than a parallel squat. This would mean that strength is load + Active Flexibility, in which you can use that strength. Otherwise a headstand push up would be the same as a full ROM handstand push up.

2. Power- This would be speed plus rate of strength development. Essentially how fast you can move your body and how fast you can develop force. For example- a 500 lb squat performed in 2 seconds is much harder than a 500 lb squat performed in 4 seconds.

3. Strength Endurance- This would be the number of times a certain load can be lifted. Only consecutive reps count in this regard.

4. Muscle Recovery And Nervous Recovery- This is the amount of time its takes your muscular and nervous system to recover from a workout. The shorter the better.

5. Cardiovascular Health- This would be a function of your maximum heart rate, your stroke volume and your resting pulse and Blood pressure.

6. Digestive Health- This depends on the regularity of motions and the amount of food you are able to digest (protein, mineral, nutrient uptake).

Most people say that the development of strength and strength-endurance is counter productive to each other. The 2 mains reasons are-
1. They use different types of muscle fibers
2. They have different neuro muscular effects.

The basic theory is that if fast twitch muscle fibers are trained more and harder, eventually slow twitch muscle units will become fast twitch. This is supposed to be a good thing because they have greater hypertrophy ability and max strength and speed ability. On the downside they tire A LOT faster.

In my mind, both are important. You need the max strength, and very frankly even minor improvements in slow fiber strength translates into a lot of daily carry over. The thing is, both can (and should be) improved together. They main reason people are unable to do both together is because the strain of doing both things together, is too much for the body to recover from, so if emphasis is on one, the other suffers.
This can be avoided, by keeping the effects of each mode of training primarily different. If workouts are not more than 3 times a week, than both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers can be trained in the same workout in the following manner-

For Workout 1 and 2-
Pick 2 upper body movements and 1 core movement on which you want to build strength endurance.
Pick 1 heavy lower body lift for the development of max strength (this will also contribute to speed, when lifted with an emphasis on speed).
Pick one lower body lift for speed if you feel you need it. (unless you are lifting more than twice your body weight in the deadlift and the squat, this won't be necessary as max strength will work speed too at this point)

The trick is to pick strength endurance movements (or weights) of which you can perform more than 10 reps a set in. This keeps the effect primarily muscular, not straining the nervous system.
Then use a weight in the heavy movement that you can handle for no more than a double (this all excludes warm ups of course- ideally your strength endurance work should be enough to warm up). This will keep the effect primarily neural.
This way you have a moderate amount of muscular and a moderate amount of nervous stress- enough to develop both qualities a little- but not enough to not let you recover at all. The total improvement overall will be slight, but definite and holistic. The trick to progressing on such a system would be HOLDING BACK! Do not let the stress accumulate beyond your recovery ability, which will hinder either one quality.

For workout 3, do the opposite- 2 lower body strength endurance movements, and 2 upper body strength
movements (one for the lats and back, one for the pecs, triceps and deltoids).

For cardio- a set of 5 sprints twice a week is more than enough. Sprints are the most effecient form of cardio, and do not compromise your strength efforts. Also, the the neurological and Endocrinol effects of sprinting improve your recovery ability and generally refresh the body and promote strength.

And go on a fast once a month! Have nothing but water and fresh vegetables for a day. This clears up everything in your digestive system- gives it a break, increases your nutritional uptake and improves your elimination. Also, have a clean diet! No junk please- it will do wonders for your blood work! Blood toxicity is almost always the bigger reason for body fat and bad blood work, than the number of calories consumed are. As long as you are cutting out the processed foods and simple carbs, anything you eat will aid your growth and strength. Be sure to eat a lot of vegetables and fruits though, as modern diets are very short in the fiber area. Plus the additional vitamins and minerals will greatly aid your efforts to get stronger.
Also, don't go overboard on the protein, experiment to see how much per day suits you. For me, it is 1.5 grams per kg of body weight  Unless you are exercising more than 3 times a week, I don't think you will need more than that. If you are exercising more than that, use your discretion.
That is all! Keep it simple and sweet- And gradual.
Always increase the intensity and volume gradually. Do it slowly enough, you can adapt to anything.

Good Luck!