Charles Poliquin shares the top five lessons he learned from Vladimir Zatsiorsky, author of Science and Practice of Strength Training
Lesson #1: Why Bodybuilders Need to Get Strong
Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy
- increase of sarcoplasm (gel like component) within muscle cells
- does not contribute to muscle force
- achieved by higher reps (lower-intensity weights)
Myofibrillar hypertrophy
- increase in the basic unit of a muscle, the myofibril
- does contribute to muscle force
- achieved by lower reps (higher-intensity weights)
Lesson #2: Motor Coordination Influences Repetition Prescription
- number of reps for an exercise depend on the amount of motor coordination involved
- for example 1-3 reps clean and jerk for, 3-5 reps squat for, 5-7 reps curls for
Lesson #3: Value of the Valsalva Maneuver
- Zatsiorsky says that intraabdominal pressure can be increased with the use of the Valsalva maneuver, and this can reduce pressure on intervertebral disks up to 40 percent
Lesson #4: Train Hard, Heavy and Fast
- focus on short and intense training sessions (45 to 60 minutes) to make optimal use of your blood testosterone levels
- this produces effective adaptation stimuli, especially for the nervous system, provided sufficient rest between workouts
Lesson #5: Importance of Manipulating the Strength Curve
- you are only as strong as your weakest link
- targest weak points of your muscles strength curve
- example one-and-one-quarter squats
