The General Adaptation Syndrome (Part II)
The General Adaptation Syndrome (Part II)
The General Adaptation Syndrome (Part II)
How to Quantify Heavy, Light and Medium Workouts?
The following examples will illustrate technique, programs, and cycles that will permit you to effectively utilize the guidelines of GAS in a variety of ways. You will also find that how heavy, light and middle days can be set.
Consider the following workout:
1. Power Snatch: 80 X 5 (meaning 5 reps with 80 pounds), 100 X 5 X 3 (meaning three sets of 5 reps with 100pounds.
Total reps 20 reps, 1900 pounds
2. Power Clean: 100 X 5 reps X 1 set, 120 X 5 reps X 3 sets
Total reps 20reps, 2300 pounds
3. Front Squats: 120 X 5 reps X 1 set, 140 X 5 reps X 3 sets
Total reps 20, 2700 pounds
Volume: 60 reps
Load : 6,900pounds
Intensity: Load Volume = 6,900 pounds 60 Reps = 115 pounds per rep
There are a number of interesting figures about this type of workout and the methods used to evaluate it quantitatively (that is described it objectivity by numbers). It is based on three core exercises. Yet with only three exercises (simplicity), it satisfies the completeness characteristics of quality program, working for all the major muscle group of legs, hip, torso, back, shoulders and arms.
Quantitatively, the volume for each exercise is the total number of lifts done in that exercise 20 in the above example, and the volume of the workout as a whole is the total number of lifts (repetitions) done during the entire workout - 60 in the above example. Reps should be counted for the major exercises, other exercises like sit-ups, crunches and hyper extension repetition should not be counted. Additional examples that follow will help you to decide which exercise to include in volume counts for your workouts. The volume in major lifting movements is important to consider, since it represents quick estimate of the total effort demanded from your body during a workout.
Load is an even more accurate calculation of work your body does. A load measurement is obtained simply by multiplying the weight used in each set by the number of reps, and adding the values from the whole workout together. In the power snatch for the example above, 80 X 5 = 400 , plus 100 X 5 X 3 = 1500 for a load of 1900 pounds. The same is then done for the other exercises. By themselves, load figures would not be of much more value than volume figures in quantifying the total demands of reason imposed on your body by a given workout. By dividing the load figure by the volume figure, however you get the very important and useful parameter of intensity.
Volume and intensity considered together clearly define the effort required by a given workout. Think of it this way: volume is measured of quantity of work, just as the distance covered by a jogger during a run, or the number of jumps or throws by track and field athlete in workout is quantity measure.
Intensity, on the other hand, is a measure of quality of exercise. For jogger intensity would correspond to his running speed and is measured in average minutes per mile for example, 8.5 minutes per mile. For throwers and jumpers, intensity is the average distance thrown or jumped during workout. In weightlifting intensity is simply the average weight lifted per repetition. As seen in the example, it is calculated as total weight lifted (load) divided by total repetition (volume). In other words, intensity equals load over volume
(I = L/V).
In other example above, the heaviest weight lifted was 140 pounds, in the squat. The lightest weight lifted in a major exercise was 80 pounds, during the warm-up for power cleans. By calculation load and volume as shown, the intensity formula (I=L/V) tells us that the average weight lifted was 115 pound per repetition.
The absolute value of the volume and intensity for your training sessions is important in analyzing workout, planning future workouts and measuring improvement. For example I have mentioned the concept of heavy, light and medium training days in your strength program. Let's assume the workout just analyzed was your heavy day. The next workout should be light, which means about 75 to 85 percent as hard as the heavy day. We will use approximately 80 percent of the heavy day weights as an example.
Light day (about 80% of the previous heavy day)
1. Power Snatch: 65 X 5 , 80 X 5 X 3
Total reps 20, 1525 pounds
2. Power Clean: 80 X 5, 95 X 5 X 3
Total reps 20, 1825 pounds
3. Front Squats: 95 X 5, 110 X 5 X 3
Total reps 20, 2125 pounds
Volume: 60 reps
Load : 5,475 pound
Intensity: 5475/60 = 91 pounds per set
The third workout of your training week should be medium in the demands it places on your body, and be in the range of about 85 95 percent of the heavy day. We will use approximately 90 percent of the heavy day weight of our example.
Medium day (about 90% of the heavy day)
1. Power Snatch: 70 X 5 , 90 X 5 X 3
Total reps 20, 1,700 pounds
2. Power Clean: 90 X 5, 110 X 5 X 3
Total reps 20, 2,100 pounds
3. Front Squats: 110 X 5, 125 X 5 X 3
Total reps 20, 2,425 pounds
Volume: 60 reps
Load : 6,225 pound
Intensity: 6225/60 = 104 pounds per set
The arithmetic for quantitative evaluation of the heavy, light and medium workout above shows that:
1. From workout to workout during a week, the training load and intensity have considerable variation about 21 percent from the heavy (L=6900 pounds, I=115 pound per rep) to light (L=5475 pounds, I = 91 pounds per rep) day.
2. The absolute volume, or total number of reps performed in all exercises, is constant from workout to workout (60) and, therefore from week to week 180.
3. the total weekly load ( 6900 + 5475 + 6225 pounds or 18600 pounds in all) will change little from week to week due to the relatively small changes possible week to week in exercise weights.
Point (1) is a favorable property of the program although the variation from heavy to light day in load could be larger (30 percent to 40 percent) in more advanced programs.
Point (2) is not a favorable property of the program but is acceptable and productive for beginners and for advanced level trainees over shorter periods (two to four weeks). Programs for the advanced level trainees are generally designed to vary the volume, as well as the load and volume can be adjusted occasionally as a means of introducing additional variation in to program. Making these types of adjustments helps avoid the unfavorable property of current example listed as point 3 above.
Volume, load, and intensity were introduced with this example because the calculations and meaning of the values should be easier for you to follow here than with a more complex example. The examples that follow will illustrate additional ways to plan strength programs, and the methods of quantitative analysis just introduced will be used to pick out the good and bad features of each program.
By:Khizer Hayat RajaSr. Lecturer in Physical Education & SportsInternational Weightlifting Coach & ExpertE mail: wlexpert@yahoo.comhttp://www.articlesbase.com/extreme-sports-articles/the-general-adaptation-syndrome-part-ii-2799671.html
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