Scientific Principles of Strength Training: Individual Differences PDF

CHAPTER NINE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION The principle of individual difference describes that while all of the training principles apply to everyone, different individuals will respond in slightly different magnitude to each principle. For example, while everyone needs overload...

CHAPTER NINE INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE SCIENTIFIC DEFINITION The principle of individual difference describes that while all of the training principles apply to everyone, different individuals will respond in slightly different magnitude to each principle. For example, while everyone needs overload, exactly how much training is overloading can be different in quantity (not quality) between individuals or the same person at different times. This last point is important, as in the sport science literature, there are two different and important types of individual difference: I N T E R - I N D I V I D UA L D I F F E R E N C E Differences between individuals in how they respond to the same training. These differences are often genetic, but can also be environmental, such as how much sleep someone is getting, how their nutrition is, what supplements or drugs they take, how long they have been training and so on. I N T R A- I N D I V I D UA L D I F F E R E N C E Differences between the same individual at two different times. Genetics Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 308 will be the same, but sleep patterns, diet, drugs, supplements, and other environmental factors may be different enough to alter the training response. Training age and experience are especially large sources of intra-individual differences as many environmental variables may be very stable over long time periods. The big implication of individual differences in the training for any sport is the understanding that no two individuals or even the same person over two times will respond identically to the same program. This means that every single training program ever written should ideally have room for some sort of alterations to accommodate for individual differences. At first this revelation can be quite daunting. If every program must be custom-tailored, exactly how complex can programming get? Is there any hope of generalizing between individuals? There absolutely is. Firstly and as already mentioned above, individual differences are always within the realm of all training principles. There is no one on earth who grows best without overload, doesn’t need to manage fatigue with hard training, or benefits most from zero variation. Secondly, even within the boundaries of the principles, most individual differences between and within are found in only 5 areas, to be described in the next section. P OW E R L I F T I N G D E F I N I T I O N In powerlifting, program alterations to accommodate individual differences turn out to be surprisingly simple. In fact, most of the alterations made to a program to better suit it to the individual are categorized in only 5 areas: Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 309  MRV Fatigue and Fitness Decay Times Development Status/Goals Exercise Selection Exercise Technique 1.) MRV Different lifters and the same lifter at different times may have wildly differing MRVs.The irony is that in powerlifting, the very fast-twitch musculature that makes you better also predisposes you to relatively low MRVs. Sometimes talented lifters will chronically overreach or even overtrain when attempting to go set for set with less talented lifters because the faster fiber types of the talented lifters simply can’t handle the same volume of work. In a similar vein, a volume phase or multiple volume phases over time can greatly increase an individual lifter’s MRV. So can enhanced recovery strategies like diet, sleep, intelligent training design, and supplements/ drugs. What used to be a very effective dose of training can later be barely enough to maintain performance, let alone improve it. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 310 2. ) FAT I G U E & F I T N E S S D E C AY T I M E S Bigger, stronger, and more experienced lifters tend to dissipate fatigue and decay fitness more slowly. But genetic differences independent to those three factors play roles as well. Often these differences are linked to both fitness and fatigue to the same extent, but sometimes they are not. It’s very possible that some individuals drop fatigue very quickly, but decay fitness very slowly (lucky, lucky), while still others drop fatigue slowly but decay fitness rapidly, which may require a more frequent training approach and a less aggressive taper for competition. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 311 Additionally, environmental variables can influence the dissipation of fatigue and decay of fitness between and within individuals. Drugs, supplements, good nutrition and other recovery modalities generally speed up fatigue drops while delaying fitness drops. Considerations of these variables may be useful when choosing taper length and characteristics. Those who drop fatigue slowly but also drop fitness slowly may benefit from longer, more aggressive (bigger decreases in volume/intensity) tapers. Those who drop both quickly may benefit from shorter, less aggressive tapers. Those who drop fatigue slowly but fitness rapidly can benefit from long tapers that don’t cut volume as drastically at any point, and those who drop fatigue quickly but retain fitness well can hardly need to taper at all, with perhaps nothing more than a deload needed before a meet. Most of us are somewhere between those four extreme cases, and must find what type of taper works best with either the help of a coach, via measurement (bar velocity, force plate data, etc…), or the old-fashioned form of trial and error. 3. ) D E V E L O P M E N T S TAT U S / G O A L S There are three main development statuses of lifter that can be helpful in organizing thinking about the larger periodized structure of training. BEGINNER LIFTERS Beginner lifters (1-3 years or so of experience) almost all need more hypertrophy work than anything else for best rates of improvement. Thus, their hypertrophy phases can be longer and their strength and peaking phases can be shorter. Because they are fresh to the sport and probably not strong enough to have any major injuries or too many bumps and bruises yet, their active rest phases can be shorter as well. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 312 In their development focus, they should prioritize all movements and muscles fairly evenly so as to build a strong base for later training and discover where their proclivities lie. I N T E R M E D I AT E L I F T E R S Intermediate Lifters (3-6 years or so of experience) almost all need plenty of hypertrophy work, but now have the muscle mass to benefit from longer phases of dedicated strength work. This can mean that they still do full hypertrophy phases, but can now also maximally benefit from extended (3-6 month) strength phases as well. These stronger lifters don’t need too much time to peak, but will need an average length active recovery phase in order to recover from their now more disruptive training. Because they have built a good foundation of all body part and lift focused training, intermediate lifters would now likely benefit from focusing more on their proclivities. Close stance squatters with big quads should focus on their quads, chest benchers on their pecs, back- dominant deadlifters on their back work. It’s these strengths maximally developed that will have the highest contribution to eventually taking lifters to elite performances. A DVA N C E D L I F T E R S Advanced lifters not seeking to move up a weightclass already have most of the muscle and strength that they’ll have. Their biggest focus now is on perfecting the peaking process and competing more often to show off the strength they’ve built for so long. Because they already have tons of muscle and a well developed strength base, they can do longer peaking phases to really squeeze out the most ability from their Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 313 nervous system force production and technique. Those who move between classes will have similar recommendations as intermediates. Because advanced lifters have heavily developed their “best weapon” strong points, they may now be in a position where further development of those body parts and movements is slow. As well, because of their high level of development, these strong points may now begin to be limited by weak points. For example, hamstrings don’t contribute much to the forces of a quad squatter. But if you’re squatting 700lbs and tip forward even the least bit (guaranteed to happen on occasion), insufficient hamstring strength will lead to caving over and a possible missed lift, if not worse. Thus when quads get very developed (as they should in this example) during the intermediate development stage, the hamstrings need to be P 314 brought up during the advanced stage so as not to be a limiting factor. The same idea applies to all limiting factors for the advanced lifter; train them hard to allow the strong points to continue to exert their maximal contributions to performance. 4.) EXERCISE SELECTION For those beginning powerlifting, a very wide range of exercises should be performed so as to seek a well-rounded base. As beginners transition to intermediate status, they will become familiar with their genetic proclivities and start prioritizing them more. Because everyone but identical twins are genetically different, different individuals will have different proclivities. This will result in the need for different exercise selections. For example a “chest bencher” will do more flyes and a “triceps bencher” will do more skull crushers in the intermediate phase so as to develop their strong points. In the advanced phase, lifters with different strengths will almost always have different weaknesses. Thus exercise selection is again going to be individualized to target the weak points of the advanced lifters. In all cases but the beginner, doing exactly the same lifts as your training partner is probably effective, but not maximally so. 5.) EXERCISE TECHNIQUE Not only do different lifters have muscles that grow at different rates or to different final sizes, but they also have different bone and joint Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 315 structures. The resultant skeletal differences produce lifters with a very wide range of different limb ratios and levers. Though the fundamentals of technique stay the same for all lifters (blocking and core bracing for squats and deadlifts, retracting shoulder blades for benching, etc...), some technique details can be changed for the individual lifter to maximize results. Lifters with shorter torsos may want to squat with a wider stance so that their thighs create a smaller lever arm and they don’t have to good-morning the weight. Longer- armed deadlifters may not have to worry about sinking their hips down as much into the deadlift as shorter-armed lifters. Longer-armed benchers may benefit from touching their presses lower on their chests and arching the bar back more during the lift. While the exact prescriptions for such differences are numerous and not the focus of this text (a good powerlifting coach is the go-to guide on such matters), understanding that not everyone is going to train and execute the lifts identically is the important message. So long as basic technique is not being violated (rounded lower backs in the deadlift are for no one), there is considerable room for optimizing individual technique based on limb ratios. P R I N C I P L E I M P O R TA N C E R A N K Individual variation seems to be touted almost everywhere as a super- important principle, except here we have it ranked last. Why? Without putting too fine a point on it, the effects of individual variation Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 316 are often overstated. One of America’s top sport scientists, Dr. Mike Stone, has often repeated the adage that “you’re special... just like everyone else.” On a technical rather than comedic note, humans are all genetically almost completely the same. A small fraction of a percent difference in genetic code separates all humans from each other. We share upwards of 90% of our DNA with lab mice, and they respond to training in very similar ways to humans, down to some very intricate pathways. The systems of the body designed to augment strength, size, and neural output are evolutionarily dozens of millions of years old. The mTOR/AMPk system is likely even older, as are most other basic cell responses to loading, stress, and fatigue. When we get right down to it, humans are so similar that they all respond to training in incredibly homogenous ways. Every single of the first 6 principles applies to every single living human. There is not a single person alive that doesn’t benefit from specificity. Not a single person who doesn’t accumulate fatigue. Not a single person who experiences no adaptive resistance with a stale program. The only big difference between individuals is to what degree they respond to training and detraining, not if they do or how they do. Yes, within the realms in which they matter, individual differences are important. But because each tweak only applies to some people, they’re not more important than the basic principles that apply to everyone. All people and thus lifters are different, but in the grand scheme, it’s in relatively simple ways that are not overwhelmingly difficult to adjust to in program design. Next up, how to make sure your program is properly tailored to the individual but at the same time doesn’t go too far in customization and lose track of the foundational training principles. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 317 I M P L I C AT I O N S & E X A M P L E S O F P R O P E R A P P L I C AT I O N OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE 1. ) C H O O S I N G T H E R I G H T VA R I A N T S /A S S I S TA N C E M O V E S The first notable way in which individual variation can be applied is by programming the right assistance moves for the lifter. To review, the basic progression in variation based on development is as follows: Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 318 Beginner: A wide range of variants targeting all movement patterns and muscle groups involved in producing force for powerlifting. Intermediate: Mostly variants targeting the improvement of highly responsive and contributory movements and muscles (genetic proclivities) with “back burner” work in other areas. For example, a lifter with highly responsive quads should choose lots of leg presses, front squats, and high bar squats in their programming. Advanced: Mostly variants targeting the improvement of weak points that are holding back highly responsive and well developed muscles and movements from contributing maximally to the three main lifts. For example, an advanced lifter with highly developed pecs should choose lots of skull crusher, close grip, and slingshot work to allow lockout strength to stop limiting lifts that start with plenty of strength off the chest but stall closer to lockout. Within those major categories, there is a near-endless list of possible exercises matched up with a near-endless list of needs of the particular lifter. Some of the criteria can be much more personalized that general development status. Some lifts, for biomechanical, neuromuscular, or sheer preference reasons may feel and/or be better for some lifters, and as long as they are within the bounds of effectiveness via the other principles, those lifts should be chosen. If dumbbell skull crushers are the only kind that don’t wear down on your elbows (so long as the other kind of skull crushers are not hurting you because of wrong technique), by all means do them. So long as the intended big picture effect is being achieved, lifters should choose their own variants with care. Another example is the difference in stimulus angle. Both hack squats and leg presses stimulate the quads very well, but hack squats tend to stimulate Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 319 a different part of the quadriceps more so than the leg press and vice- versa. Some lifters love the leg press and respond very well to it (they get sore in the muscle and their knees and hips feel fine), but hack squats give them knee pain and not much else. Other lifters respond very well to hacks but hate the leg press. The good news is that both exercises develop the general quad hypertrophy that’s needed as raw material for a strength phase to work into an efficient force producing unit, so either (or both) of these exercises work well, and it often comes down to individual choice as to their selection. 2. ) C H O O S I N G L I F T I N G S T Y L E S F O R YO U R B O DY T Y P E As discussed earlier, different body types respond better to different forms of technique. Especially once in the intermediate phase, lifters should choose their lifting style even in the competitive lifts themselves based on their musculoskeletal structures, proclivities, and limitations. If you have narrow hips and short femurs but a longer torso and weaker back, a narrow stance upright squat may maximize your leverages and prevent you from exposing your weak points too much and limiting your weights. If your triceps are a strong point, you may be able to benefit from a closer grip on bench presses and lift more in that style. If your pecs dominate, a wider grip may prevent your triceps from limiting your lifts as much. If you have a long torso and short legs but a weaker posterior chain, you might want to pull with a low starting position and stay upright, but if you have long arms, short torso, and long legs with strong hamstrings but weaker quads, a relatively straighter-leg deadlift might yield best results. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 320 There are two caveats to this personalization of lifting styles a.) You can’t just stick to the style you started with as a beginner. You might have some amazing quad proclivity you simply don’t know about yet, but the person who taught you how to lift had you squat with a wider stance because that’s what worked for them. There’s nothing wrong with that, but as you try out different variants as a beginner, you should also try out different versions of the competitive lifts. While they might seem awkward first, some of these versions may fit your eventual proclivities more than the ones you started out with. Experimenting with different styles is a very good idea early in development, all the way up to intermediate levels when proclivities are clearer and a suitable style can be settled on. b.) Don’t just do what “feels right.” Most people like high bar squatting more than they like low bar squatting. Low bar hurts, Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 321  it’s uncomfortable, and the technique can be tricky to master compared to a high bar squat. Problem is, almost everyone can low bar more than they can high bar. When picking technique styles for the main lifts, pick the style that reliably (after years of experimentation as a beginner and intermediate) gets you bigger numbers. If it doesn’t feel “quite right,” you might have to suck it up. After all, lifting maximally usually doesn’t feel “quite right” either but here you are in this weird sport anyway! 3. ) C H O O S I N G YO U R B E S T M R V & P R O G R E S S I O N R AT E S Based on individualizing to your own MRV, it’s very important to choose a volume that you can find optimally challenging yet still recoverable. The way to do this is rather straightforward. Keep track of total volumes at any given intensity range, start with the basic recommendation in this book, and track your progress. If you’re recovering easily and hitting expected numbers week after week, slowly raise the set numbers until you’re regularly overreaching in the week before deloads. That is your MRV for that phase/intensity range, and next time you program, you can use similar set numbers and be that much more precise. Additionally, your progression rate can be optimized. Some lifters can put 15lbs on the bar each week and do great, while others benefit much more from slower progressions like 5lbs per week. For any given volume and intensity, the slower progression requires a higher starting value for both, but doesn’t rise as high, whereas the faster progression requires a lower starting volume/intensity but climbs higher in the pre-deload peak week. Notice, two different lifters may have the same average MRV but different proclivities for progression rate. Some lifters get very beat up with a relatively high initial volume of new movements, so they are better off starting lower and making bigger jumps. Other lifters can handle Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 322 the high starting point just fine, but the bigger jumps quickly overreach them. It’s up to the individual to find what method they find most recoverable and effective, and not just “doing what others do.” More on that in the next section on under-application of individual differences. U N D E R - A P P L I C AT I O N O F I N D I V I D U A L D I F F E R E N C E 1. ) D O I N G T H E E X A C T S A M E W O R KO U T A S YO U R T R A I N I N G PA R T N E R While you may not look or act like your training partner, that relationship can contain quite a meaningful bond. You show up to the gym together, train together, suffer together, and progress together. Training partnerships are one of the many really beautiful and enjoyable elements of the sport. One of the unfortunate side effects of improving any process is the inevitable need to consider discarding comfortable, established processes that have been adhered to previously, some of them for a very long time. While training partners are indeed a great part of the sport and can absolutely help maximize performance, the principle of individual differences must limit the degree of similarity in training between you and your training partner or partners. It’s almost always easier to do the same exercises as your training partners. To keep things really simple a lot of lifters even do the same sets and reps. At the extreme ends, some lifters will use the same weight on the bar as their training partners. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 323 In all cases, these approaches deviate from the recommended approach by not sufficiently considering the principle of individual difference. For each variable, there is a problem if training is made too similar to that of your training partner(s) on principle: Doing the same exercises violates the principle of variation, particularly directed variation to target certain muscles and movements more than others. If your training partner needs more quad work and you need more ham work, do you do stiff legged deads, hack squats, or what? Doing the same set numbers as your training partner can violate either overload or fatigue management. What may not be enough volume for you to progress your fastest may be just enough volume to consistently overreach your training partner and prevent or negate most of his/her gains. This insistence on doing the same sets as each other or as that prescribed by an internet powerlifting program is likely responsible for a large percentage of the cases in which someone says a program “didn’t work for them.” It should be no surprise that a program far off of your MRV is not going to work well, if at all. Doing the same repetitions as your training partner might be ok, but only if you are choosing the right weight and in the same training block (hypertrophy vs. strength vs. peaking). Even still, faster-twitch lifters often benefit from the lower end of a rep range while slower twitch from the higher, so even a hypertrophy phase may call for one lifter doing sets of 8 while another does sets of 12 Using the same weight is probably the most absurd form of training partner homogeneity. Never mind that lifters start out at different strengths, they also progress at different rates! Using the same weights as your training partners is inappropriate even for assistance moves, on which it is more Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 324  common for training partners to just use the same weight for convenience. The real deal is that if you want the best results, move some plates around on the bar and get the best training you and your training partners all need, not some mishmash that fits well for only one of you or no one at all. 2. ) T R A I N I N G E X A C T LY L I K E T H E B E S T We have a lot to learn from studying the techniques and programs of the best lifters. They are not the best by accident, and though genetics, drugs, nutrition, and time spent under the bar all weigh into performance, training approaches absolutely do as well. Those that are the best do most of the basics right most of the time. That being said the particular details of their approaches are not always going to be the same details that work for all other lifters. In fact, especially for beginner and intermediate lifters, the programs of “the best” tend to be different in predictable ways from those programs and approaches that work better for most other lifters, especially beginner and intermediate lifters. Here is a list of some of the more notable predictable differences: A. ) I N D I V I D UA L T E C H N I Q U E Some of the best lifters may be built very differently from the average lifter. The best squatters have shorter legs, the best bench pressers have shorter arms, and the best deadlifters have both longer arms and shorter torsos. Most people don’t have those leverages to those extremes, thus simply replicating that the technique that works for the best may not always produce the best results for you. Yeah, you can pull like Ed Coan if you’re built like him, but are you built like him? Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 325 B. ) O P T I M A L R E P E T I T I O N R A N G E S / VO LU M E S The top lifters tend to be more predominantly fast-twitch. This means among other things that they likely benefit from slightly lower repetition ranges and total volumes, especially in hypertrophy phases. Yes, that elite powerlifter may grow almost maximal muscle size from sets of 5, but you will likely benefit most from at least 8 reps per set. C. ) L E N G T H O F B LO C K S / P H A S E S Elite lifters have built most of the muscle and even most of the basic strength that they will in their careers. Now, they are focusing on Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 326 peaking more often and perfecting their technique at higher loads, so chances are that they will be spending much more time at high loads than most lifters should be, especially those in the beginner and intermediate stages. Another way to put this is; if you want to copy the best, do what they did to get to the top, not what they’re doing to stay there. D. ) M AG N I T U D E O F I N D I V I D UA L T R A I N I N G S E S S I O N S After the years of overload presented in sequence to take lifters to the top, not just any old workout will spur adaptation. In fact, anything other than a gigantic homeostatic disruption is unlikely to make a dent in the lifter ’s physiology and make them any better. Thus, elite lifters are likely to have individual sessions that are monumentally overloading. In fact, much more overloading than what beginner and intermediate lifters can beneficially recover from in any one session. Follow elite lifter advice to the letter and some of the workouts might be brutal, but not any more productive and perhaps less so. E. ) F R E Q U E N C Y O F H O M E O S TAT I C A L LY D I S R U P T I V E (OV E R LOA D) T R A I N I N G Elite lifters are capable of absolutely massive homeostatic disruption, and in fact need such disruption in order to continue to present an overload. However, most elite lifters are very close to their physiological limits on recovery, and that usually implies that such disruptive training cannot occur as frequently as it can in beginners and must be interspersed with more light sessions to promote recovery while holding onto fitness gains. Yes, Vince Urbank only deadlifts heavy every two to three weeks, and you might too if your working sets were in the 800s. But they are not, so you can likely train heavy more often. In the unlikely case that you are Vince Urbank... hey! Hope you like the book! Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 327 F. ) U S E O F D I R E C T E D VA R I AT I O N Elite lifters, especially if they are taking intelligent approaches to training, will likely be spending a lot of time working on bringing up weak points or other limiting factors. Most other lifters should be working on all areas as beginners or focusing on strengths as intermediates, not working on lagging areas with most focus. Even if you are an elite lifter yourself, copying even better elite lifters’ programs may not be the answer. After all, not all lifters have the same weak points, and copying a program verbatim might instead work on your strong points more and neglect the very weak points you’re trying to hit. Jay Nera might need more quad work, but you might need more ham work... simply copying his routine is unlikely to get you the best results. 3. ) T R A I N I N G L I K E YO U U S E D T O No matter how good any program is, someone will always say “man, I got pretty good results with this program, but the bench program I did in high school really shot my pressing up!” The biggest problem with this line of thinking as that as the body changes and adapts, the type of stimuli needed for progression will change as well. And because the untrained state is so conducive to rapid adaptation, of course all sorts of routines “used to work” but don’t anymore. A program heavily based in hypertrophy might not work as well as it used to once the lifter doing it nears their ideal weightclass. Even a basic strength program is left lacking when advanced athletes who need more peaking time are involved. By training the same way all the time and “training like I always have,” the intra-individual variation Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 328 and career progression of training is not attended to and thus results cannot be expected to be great. An older program can be updated to reflect current abilities, but it’s unlikely to produce te best results verbatim with no modification. 4. ) D O I N G A N I N T E R N E T P R O G R A M V E R B AT I M W I T H O U T A DJ U ST M E N T Programs off of the internet (without a coach to adjust them for you based on needs and responses) are not without value. In fact, they can be absolutely great, especially for beginner and intermediate lifters. However, the better programs are the ones that allow plenty of room for individual variation. If a program is highly delimiting (prescribes exact exercises, sets, reps, percentages) and does not offer suggestions for alteration based on needs, it’s likely somewhat limited in its effectiveness. Any time you use an internet program, try to gravitate towards the more flexible ones, and worst-case, make some off-the-path adjustments to the non-flexible ones if needed. So long as the program you end up with after all the changes still follows the main principles of training, it should work well no matter what individual particularities you specified. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 329 O V E R - A P P L I C AT I O N O F I N D I V I D U A L D I F F E R E N C E 1.) POOR TECHNIQUE There is no one effective and fitting technique for all lifters of all body types and strengths. However, there are some basic rules of technical execution that hold true through every single lifting style. Here are some, mostly for an illustration and not a comprehensive list: Keeping a lordotic lumbar spine in the squat and deadlift Moving your hips back as well as your knees forward during the squat Benching with your shoulder blades retracted Not bending your elbows when you deadlift Not letting your knees cave inwards on the squat Etc… These technique universals have the combination of enhancing lift safety, reducing long-term wear and tear, and allowing the lifter to put more force into the bar and thus lift higher loads. Variation in personal technique is just fine, but only if it does not involve variation outside of such technique basics. If it does, the lifter is simply not being as effective as he/she could be, and is also needlessly risking injury. At some point, we can just call what’s being done “bad technique” and nothing more. Sometimes lifters get quite strong with less than the best technique, but that’s no defense of bad practices. ‘That’s just how he pulls’ is all well and good, but maybe if he pulled better he could Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 330 actually lift more and be safer. In fact, “that’s just how I pull” is one of those priceless “famous last words” before a possibly nasty lower back injury. It’s absolutely great to vary technique to fit the lifter’s body, but if your deadlift looks like a question mark impression, you’re just lifting wrong and you need to correct the practice. 2. ) G R O S S V I O L AT I O N S O F O T H E R P R I N C I P L E S A huge swath over the over-application of individual difference is really just an application of individual difference while failing to apply or under-applying the other important training principles. In essence, over- applying individual difference often means that your training is no longer overloading or fatigue is no longer being managed or specify is thrown out the window. This is of course not the best thing, since the most effective training concords with all of the training principles at the same time. Some examples of this phenomenon: SPECIFICITY When you replace a normal leg workout with sled pushes, you exit the realm of powerlifting-specific adaptations and are now just “working out.” Will this benefit your lifting? Maybe, but more specific work like squats and leg presses are much more likely to work even better. You might even “really feel” the sled pushes in your legs, but feelings can be deceiving. Stick to what works for sure and only take wild detours on rare occasions. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 331 OV E R LOA D Using cable overhead one-arm triceps extensions with the rope attachment is a fine triceps exercise, but it lacks the capacity for overload and thus homeostatic disruption that overhead barbell extensions provide. Properly applying overload cannot be jettisoned during exercise variation if best results are the goal, even if you feel a good pump from the movement. Everyone needs overload, so individual differences should always keep that in mind. FAT I G U E M A N AG E M E N T “I don’t need to deload” is a funny statement, but it’s less funny when its maker is later recovering from a knee injury sustained while training too fatigued. Sometimes lifters with very high MRVs can get away without deloading if they are chronically following average programs that under- dose volume for their needs. If you don’t need to deload, you’re not training hard enough. If you still don’t need to deload even after you’ve begun to train at your MRV, you soon will because of regressions in performance and possible injuries. “I TRIED SHEIKO AND I DIDN’T LIKE IT.” 3. ) “ S U C H A N D S U C H M E T H O D WO R KS B E ST FO R M E ” Well, why not? It’s obviously not the name of the program that left you wanting, but a feature of its design. The interesting thought is that it’s not immediately apparent which design feature or combination of features were not a good fit. Assuming your nutrition and recovery were Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 332 good, any number of the training principles could have been off of your personal needs in the program. In fact, it might just be one, and the rest of the program is just fine, so perhaps discarding and writing off a program so hastily is not the best approach. Alternatively, it might be a good use of time to try to figure out what it was about the program that didn’t fit to your individual needs and abilities, which can give you insight about your situation and allow you to select, modify, and design better programs in the future. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 333 SOME EXAMPLES “Sheiko didn’t work for me.” Take the same Sheiko plan and reduce the set numbers by 1/3. All of a sudden, results are amazing. Turns out it wasn’t the program’s structure but rather the total volume that was problematic. “Westside doesn’t work for raw lifters.” The Westside system is not ideal, but it can be quite effective for raw lifters. Replace the dynamic day’s bands and chains with full range of motion raw assistance lifts, and all of a sudden Westside works pretty well. The structure is just fine; it was just the exercise selection that was non-specific to raw lifting. In the end, the training principles work for everyone, but the degrees to which they apply can differ. Most programs work well if you customize just a couple of features to your needs, with no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. SUMMARY In powerlifting terms, Individual Differences imply that no two lifters are exactly alike and that no single lifter doesn’t change in their needs and responses to training over time. While lifters are all different, these differences are usually small and mostly on the amounts in which various principles are applied, not if they are applied or if other principles are applied instead. By modifying mostly the volume, progression rate, exercise selection and phase-focus (mostly hypertrophy vs. mostly peaking, for example) of a program, almost all individual differences can be easily accommodated. Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 334 Key Points Although only a relatively small priority, individual differences should be accounted for when developing a powerlifting program. No two individuals will respond exactly the same to a given training stimulus, nor will they progress in the same manner over time Many individual differences are already accounted for when addressing concepts like maximum recoverable volume, fatigue management, and stimulus recovery adaptation Keep in mind that magnitude of the effect when addressing individual differences is relatively small. Programming for powerlifting will share many commonalities between different programs, with some fine tuning for the individual SOURCES & FURTHER READING Individualization and Training Periodization 5th Edition Theory and Methodology of Training Genetic Influences in Sport and Physical Performance Adaptive Processes in Skeletal Muscle: Molecular Regulators and Genetic Influences Individual Differences in Response to Regular Physical Activity Variability in Training-Induced Skeletal Muscle Adaptation Genetic Inheritance Effects on Endurance and Muscle Strength: An Update Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 335  High Responders to Resistance Exercise Training Demonstrate Differential Regulation of Skeletal Muscle microRNA Expression Individual Response to Exercise Training - A Statistical Perspective Understanding the Individual Responsiveness to Resistance Training Periodization Chapte r N o. 9 Sci en t if ic P r in c ip les o f St ren g t h Tra in in g P 336