The principal of progression

The principal of progression. I will cover what it is and more importantly why it matters in just a moment. First let me say that although many people claim to understand this principal important to building real strength, there are many people who do not live by it. Although anyone who remembers being in any high school level or above weight training class has heard about this, many people are actully working against it.

So what is it? According to About.com, "The Principle of Progression implies that there is an optimal level of overload that should be achieved, and an optimal time frame for this overload to occur. Overload should not be increased too slowly or improvement is unlikely. Overload that is increased too rapidly will result in injury or muscle damage. Exercising above the target zone is counterproductive and can be dangerous." For our purposes that is pretty accurate.

Why does it matter?
Simply put, without it, there is little PROGRESS. Let me paint a illistraiton in your mind's eye. You walk into a public gym, and you see somebody in the corner benchpressing, say, 160 and struggling.  A month later same guy, same weight, but this time it is casual. So far so good. Yet next month he still is on 160. Months later he is only on 165 (or 160 still). What is the matter with this? It should be clear that the benefits of him benching are sliding substancily, he really isn't going to master that 160 any better than he already has. That's why to principle of progression is vital.

How does it apply?  In the book I have been reading, Dinosaur training by Brookes Kubik, he says rule number one to build mass muscle and strength is hard work (when it gets casual it's already past time to switch it up). If rule one really is that the work has to be hard, then  this guy in our example and you and anyone else training, should be throwing on weight whenever they can without compromising good from. If it ain't hard, you can do more.

Working out without machines, the way men use to?

I have been reading a book called "Dinosaur training", by Brooks Kubik, it is a book that my strongman friend Dan Cenidoza once reccomended to my friend Steve Moore. It is in large what inspired today's post. Brooks slanders today's 'breakthroughs' and 'miracle machines' passionately. His reason for doing so is simple though, they don't seem to work that well. Some may, but the latest off the assembly line with the extra hightech buttons seems to always be unneccasry. Instead Brooks would like to see more return to the old rules of the "iron game", and work like the strongman of the past use to. That is why it is marked "dinosaur training".

This goes beyond just lifting normal weights over machines. Brooks, like my own strongman friend, has toys. These toys help build raw strength even seeing their continuing rarity to hear of their use.

Before I list some toy ideas, let me tell of one of my own expierences. I have been wanting to build some grip strength lately. So one day on the job at a home where our company was remodeling a bathroom, I was asked to take some discarded (big) tile out to the trash pile. There was plently, while carrying I relized what a chance I had. I now have two tiles in my basement available whenever I wish for pinch grip training. I think this is the mindset Brooks encourages, almost childlike simplicity.


Now here are some toys right out of the strongman's toybox. Heavy and ocward to handle are the key themes:

• An anvil. Try picking even a small one of these up by the horn.
• A sandbag
• A barrell (or keg)
• Chains (for pushup bling etc.)
• Tires 

Be creative, work hard, build muscle.

Professional strongman: Žydrūnas Savickas

I thought it would be good to study a real life example. To look into the world of someone who has given their life to being strong: Žydrūnas Savickas. Žydrūnas (Za-dru-nas) won the Arnold Strongman Classic 6 years in a row. He has set 40 world records in different events from 2003 to 2009. He won all 15 strongman competitions he entered in 2005. He can do this stuff:
Squat - (938 lb)
Bench press - (629 lb)
Deadlift - (898 lb)
Just one thing, I don't think he has given his life. Stay with me here.

Unfortunately I cannot pinpoint a specific source saying exactly how long he works out. Yet according to http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KFY/is_5_24/ai_n26903256/  he gives a breakdown of his regiment and his ideals behind them. "The most important exercises for building strength are the powerlifting exercises of squats, bench presses and deadlifts, and [practicing] strongman events; so I train six days a week, three times powerlifting and three times strongman events, alternating workouts. For each powerlifting exercise, I do six or seven sets of three reps."

SAVICKAS' WORKOUT

EXERCISE       SETS  REPS

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Squats         6-7   3
Bench presses  6-7   3
Deadlifts      6-7   3

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Various strongman events





If you read carefully, you should see that although he does something everyday, 6 days a week, he only does a few reps and 7 sets is his ceiling.

That's not his life. That's working out and practicing. As I said, I did not find a place where it mentions his normal time to complete any given workout. I have not looked into his diet too much, although I assure you he eats a massive amount of calories to maintain his muscle weight.

So what's the point? It's simply this: the pros go above normal, but not by much. Not unreachable heights. Part of it is finding what works for you. So even if he read and studied health for an hour or so 6 days a week, even if he worked out for 2 hours a day, that's just 3 hours a day to be where he is.

Someone willing to work hard doing the right things can be considered 1#, imagine that. Yet, I have to be realistic. By realistic I mean he probably was working at about that level even in the beginning. He figured some things out and got better of course. Still, it is true that patience is a virtue until you hit that "overnight" success.





There will always be someone saying "I don't have 3 hours a day!", but there may be a point for that as well. You don't have to. Unless it is your passion, you probably don't need to. If you want to be fit an hour 4 or 5 times a day can have you super fit. It's been well established by study and example that an hour a day, 5 days a week with make you a pro in 3 years and a world expert in 5. That's for study though, with is essentially shaping the mind. Shaping the body is far easier so imagine what you could be in 6 months. I have gained 15 healthy pounds in my first 2 months.



If you would like a professional example look no further than Jack Lalanne. He is a favorite pick for my next strongman bio breakdown. I've heard that he worked out just 2 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week. Yet, at age 70 he towed 70 rowboats, with passengers on them, while he was handcuffed, for a mile.