The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [170]
Coaches also prescribe so-called “over-distance” runs to improve “speed endurance.” This is another added stress that Barry does not incorporate.
But how does his approach measure up in competition?
Keep in mind that his athletes’ average repeat running distance is under 40 meters, and that he’s completely eliminated training runs of over 70 meters for events of 400 meters or less. This is sacrilege in many corners of the track and field world. Despite this minimalism—or more accurately, because of it—the results speak for themselves.
One of his high school female athletes cut two seconds off her 400 meter, one and a half seconds off her 300 intermediate hurdles (IM), and dropped her 100 meter from 13.35 to 12.75 seconds. Though it’s hard for nonsprinters to appreciate, dropping from 13.35 to 12.75 is a huge improvement for such a short anaerobic event, where milliseconds matter.
Her average repeat distance (her “rep” distance) was a mere 33 meters, and she is by no means a novice. She had been running for six years.
Her pre-track season conditioning was just 15 minutes of fast walking three days per week. Her goal was to increase the distance covered (but never the time) each session. She, her dad, and her team coach doubted she’d ever be able to run a competitive 400-meter or 300-meter hurdle. The low volume almost drove her to panic.
The outcome: the first meet of the year, she beat two runners in the 300 hurdles she had not bested in the previous two track seasons.
After watching her against the competition, her track coach told her dad, “Never again will I make my sprinters practice over 70 meters!”
She also weighs 119 pounds and deadlifts 340 pounds.
The paradigm is shifting and the writing is on the wall: working smarter beats working longer, whether in the weight room or on the track.
by Pavel Tsatsouline
Athletes often miss the point of strength training.
Some confuse it with conditioning. Others confuse themselves with powerlifters. The barbell is not there to make you a better man (or woman) by testing your mettle. That is what the court, the field, or the mat is for. The barbell is there to give you a strength advantage over an opponent of equal skill.
Strength training cannot interfere with the practice of your sport. This is the point—the most important point—that many strength and conditioning coaches somehow miss.
The crucial principle is to lift heavy but not hard. This is where the “rule of 10 reps” can be applied:
1. Use two to three “global” compound exercises (e.g., the deadlift and the bench press).
2. Lift three times a week (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).12 Do your conditioning and supplementary work on separate days, practice your sport skills six days a week, and take one day off completely.
3. Focus on sets of two or three reps. Two reps is the most preferred rep choice of the Russian National Weight Lifting Team.
4. In all cases, complete approximately 10 reps per lift per workout (e.g., three sets of three, five sets of two, etc.).
5. Never train to failure, and always leave at least one to two reps “in the bank.”
6. Rest for five minutes between sets.
7. Finish your workout feeling stronger than when you started.
The goal is to build as much strength as possible while staying as fresh as possible for your sport.
When I worked with Maria Sharapova, I had her do a few singles, doubles, and triples of pull-ups, pistols,13 hard push-ups, Janda sit-ups, and nothing else. The future Wimbledon star had plenty of conditioning from her daily tennis practice, and the last thing she needed was fatigue and injuries from her strength regimen.
But what about less frequent training?
Less frequent training than Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (i.e., once a week) is not ideal for an athlete, even if it builds strength and consumes less time. U.S. powerlifting records in the 1980s and 1990s leave