Periodisation, Peripheral Vision & Range of Motion Testing
David Fleming
Senor Fleming hits us with his usual geeky spiel here. If you sometimes find you can’t seem to follow the program and perform as you expected - maybe you need to auto-regulate a tad. If you’re a wimp, this may help you back out of a final few sets - but, more importantly - if you’re a badass, or think you are and you train in a T Shirt that says "I don't have bad workouts" and if you like to sing "pimps don't cry" to yourself at the slightest hint of an off day - this little article might help you check yourself before you wreck yourself. (Apologies for everything I just wrote).
A successful periodisation model I have used with regards to building weights-room strength is one of volume manipulation, fluctuating between high volume, moderate volume, very high and low volume weeks, while always trying to
I was introduced to this system by power lifter and U.S strength coach Eric Cressey. Eric pointed out that the simplest systems are often the most successful.
With several more years of education, training and hands on experience with clients, I couldn't agree more. Simple is indeed the way forward. Fluctuating volume on a weekly basis attempts to offer the body windows of opportunity to super-compensate from the previous weeks training. In theory and in practise this is an extremely good way to organise resistance training, the basic premise being management of fatigue. So why does it sometimes not work?
There are days on all programs, no matter how well planned, that things just don't seem to go so well. The spreadsheet may say; dead-lift 6x3 @ 150kg and you made 4x3 during the previous week’s training but for some reason you're just not firing on all cylinders for that particular lift. Your strength just doesn't seem to be there but the program says it should be. Unfortunately, the body is a lot more complex than you may think.
People will always tell you to listen to your body and that is extremely good advice, but without a subjective way to test yourself and only having cognitive (conscious) based decisions to guide you, it’s unlikely that you'll even be able to hear what your nervous system is telling you.
When considering the training of athletes, fatigue must be managed and work balanced with recovery. Depending on the sport, resistance training will most likely be orientated towards the development of strength and power and often stability. Strength training is CNS (central nervous system) intensive and must find its place between the rigours of skill practice, speed training, conditioning and competition. Let's take Rugby league as an example. Rugby is a highly anaerobic, contact sport. More contact equates to more injuries, injuries equate to pain and pain results in inhibition within the body. That is the down regulation of performance or an increased level of perceived threat by your brain.
Pre cognitively or un-consciously, your brain is receiving and filtering 11-20,000,000 bits of sensory information every second! All of this information passes through a part of the brain called the amygdila and it assesses this input on a 'threat' or 'no threat' basis. Most of the time we are blissfully unaware of this torrent of information, but if enough of the input is considered threatening you will be informed. Giving a definitive reason as to why you can't pump out the ball busting reps you expected to is an exercise in futility, it’s just best to take note and not to assume that you, consciously, know best. Anything from quality of sleep, diet, a jammed joint, an issue with an internal organ, stress, or even an injury from a fall when you were 5 years old can impact your performance. Our nervous systems are in a constant state of adaption. You are not the same person you were yesterday or will be tomorrow. To optimise your training it is vitally important to realise that if your performance has dropped or if you are experiencing the ultimate action signal of pain, you should not try to force what isn't going so well. If the body is in a process of recovery and regeneration, speed, power, flexibility and strength can all be temporarily reduced.
Strength coach Cherry Mescia of Rugby League team 'Wests Tigers' tests the mean power output of his players before any weight training session. Using a device attached to a barbell in the bench press and the back squat, maximal speed repetitions will be performed and recorded. If the power output on those lifts doesn't land within a certain performance zone, then no lifting of heavy ass weights that day.
In sprinting, the weights room plays a big part of the conditioning process but performance is mostly judged on sprint times for various distances. During the off season if an athlete isn't running within a certain time, then it’s ice baths, stretching and other recovery methods until performance returns.
Test your Peripheral Vision
If the only physical activity you're involved in is that of resistance training, then things may not have to be quite as focused as those described above. However, it would still be beneficial to know what your nervous system is capable of on any given day, and exactly when fatigue has reached a level that your performance is going to drop for a given movement.
These two things are incredibly easy to assess. Firstly, let's say you want to get strong and you're smart enough to be working around some kind of periodisation model. While you may have made a decision about the number of sets to perform at a heavy load based on what you've heard or read or maybe what someone you know does, you're kind of guessing as to the true capacity of your nervous system to complete that movement on any given day. 5x5 has been shown to be pretty successful in providing strength and hypertrophy gains but what if 3x5 was enough or 7x5 was optimal?
To find out, test your peripheral vision before you begin a workout and periodically throughout it. Your peripheral vision is a great marker of the perceived threat your body is dealing with. Although we are capable of staggering levels of performance our brains number one priority is survival. It doesn't care that you 'want' to dead lift 150kg's, if it’s not appropriate it won't happen and if you push through with terrible form any way, you will end up injured. When you start to hit a fatigued state, or a higher level of threat, your peripheral visual field will reduce. This would represent a point at which to stop training your primary lift and the workout or to switch to less intense exercises. Sometimes training the opposite motion is a better idea. If bench pressing is reducing your peripheral vision even by a small amount, try some rows instead.
To test your peripheral vision: stand tall and focus straight ahead. Extend your arms at about eye level directly in front of you but continue to focus straight ahead, making a light fist with the rest of your hands and start wiggling your index fingers. Now begin to move the arms apart. Keep looking forward and keep wiggling the fingers, stop when you're just about to lose focus of the moving fingers. Have a look at the width of your arms, this is a representation of your peripheral visual field, around 170 degrees is considered normal. The wider the field of vision, the less threat your brain perceives your body to be under. A marked reduction in this width represents a level of threat, tension or fatigue that warrants a change of activity or rest. If you can learn to follow this process rest assured that when you train that movement again, you will be stronger.
Let's look at tension a little closer. A relaxed state with no screaming tight muscles could be considered better than the opposite. Any exercise, movement, mobility drill or treatment in general will either increase, decrease or leave the amount of tension in the body unchanged.
Think about how your body responds when you try to walk on ice (excluding ice skaters). The brain considers you to be under threat and you tighten up. Your body undergoes a reflexive flexion response in an attempt to protect your vital areas and concentrates your attention on not falling over and hurting yourself.
While a gym based exercise probably isn't going to make you respond as though you were walking on ice, it will increase or decrease the amount of tension throughout the body to some degree. Over time the effect will be cumulative. If exercise is supposed to be therapeutic, why are so many people who lift weights regularly so beat up all the time? It is the norm to find barbell enthusiasts with biomechanics compensations and very poor tissue quality. Most training resources and gyms know all about foam rollers now. (The long, thick foam tube things that bring painful misery to quads, I.T bands and calves all over the world.) They are a tool used to treat symptoms of high tension. Wouldn't it be better to train optimally in the first place and try to avoid as much of the injuries and tightness that are associated with hitting the iron?
If you had a tool to assess which exercises improved overall levels of body tension, why wouldn't you use it? Maybe because it might temporarily lead you away from exercises you like? Or you look a bit weird performing self tests intermittently throughout your workout? If you can get over that, you should give it a go.
Test your range of motion
Another excellent way to test yourself is to use range of motion testing. If you have adequately prepared your body for movement and begin training, use simple range of motion testing to gauge your levels of fatigue and over all tension.
Before you start working out, put your feet together and slowly melt down to the floor with slightly soft knees. Stop as soon as you feel any kind of tension or pull anywhere through the calves, hamstrings, glutes or low back. Note how far you got as this is your baseline.
Next, perform a couple or reps of the movement you're focusing on. Let’s just use a squat as a simple example. Grab the bar and perform a couple of reps with perfect form! Put your feet together and re-test your melt down to the floor. Did you get further before the tension kicked in or did it tighten you up? If your range of motion remained unchanged or improved, get on with it. If it reduced you have a couple of options. Try the movement again but perform it slower. Make sure you're not looking up at the ceiling (see my 'head position and hamstrings article), breathe out as you descend, and breathe in on the way up and be honest about your technique. Maybe even reduce the range of motion you’re trying to work through until you have the mobility to get deep. If this still doesn't help you can try another motion and come back to squatting another day.
Range of motion testing isn't the best model for everyone. If you have structural restrictions from birth or through surgery, your range in a toe touch might not improve no matter what you do.
In my experience, following the advice from the part of your brain that knows a whole lot more than you do is a really good idea! Assuming you display perfect technique throughout every repetition, you should improve consistently and suffer less discomfort from lifting heavy weights. Another bonus is avoiding
Pattern overload is caused by repeating the same movement pattern over and over again with little to no variation and no regard for its effect on the 'threat' concept. Machine training is the worst for this as at least two planes of motion will be restricted, not allowing freedom of motion at the moving joints. Even free weights or cable exercises, if used too frequently and in the same way over a long enough time period, can be a cause. Another term that can be used to describe pattern overload is repetitive stress injury. Using the same motion again and again without ever seeking balance or variety in a program will encourage faulty load sharing among muscles. Basically you can end up teaching certain muscles to be recruited at inappropriate times, which stresses the joints and connective tissues.
As everyone’s nervous system is unique you may or may not get to train a particular movement week in week out with ever increasing loads. If a particular pattern of movement, for whatever reason, increases the threat level to your brain, try going lighter or throw some novelty in to your training. Try something you've never done before like a standing, bottoms up kettlebell press instead of seated dumbbell presses, or a kettlebell swing over a leg press.
If you have an open mind and you want to get the most out of the moving parts of your body, give some of these concepts a try, you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The Pendlay row is a variation of the barbell bent over row. Most bodybuilder types will be used to performing the Dorian Yates style row, where the body angle is high and scapula retraction (pulling the shoulder blades together) is the goal. This variation is much harder and in my opinion a superior lift.
Why?
Traditional barbell rows, if performed correctly, are in a bent over position that utilises an isometric contraction through the entire extensor chain. The bar never returns to the floor. While this is no bad thing it is hard to maintain proper form without rising up higher and higher as the reps continue. The low back commonly takes a lot of the load in this version of the lift and the ensuing tightness in that area tends to be a common complaint.
In the Dorian row, the body angle is very steep. High loads can be used as the overall range of motion is very small. This doesn't lend itself to strength development that will carry over to the dead lift or sporting endeavours.
The Pendlay row is perfect for building strength. You are forced to initiate the lift from a dead stop, each rep with an emphasis on extending a part of the spine that is commonly hyper flexed and with an emphasis on acceleration. The low back is also spared with this variation as it isn't bearing the load over the duration of the rep sequence. Use this lift to help with strengthening the dead lift pull from the floor, strength in extending the thoracic spine, anything that requires pulling or as a sure fire way to add size to your back, especially the lats.
As well as the obvious strength improvements associated with this lift, the requirements of the technique promote good form. The trainee is forced to remain cognitive about the movement. Stopping in between each rep helps to ensure maintenance of alignment and will also aid in following correct breathing patterns. Any movement that trains good hip hinge motion gets my vote. It is important to be able to disassociate hip from lumbar spine (low back) motion. This movement skill has huge carry over to jumping and sprinting, and mastering it will have great impact on your ability to produce power and explode from the athletic ready position which looks like a the mid way stance of a good squat.
How To:
The set up for this movement is as follows:
1: Place your feet under the bar, much like you would for a clean grip dead lift, just not as far under.
2: Push the hips back and bend forward from the hips with as much knee bend as you need to have your spine perpendicular to the floor.
3: Set the hands to a grip a little outside shoulder width.
4: Let the thoracic spine (upper back) round slightly towards the ground.
5: Without any motion from the hips, forcefully rip the bar from the floor by strongly arching the thoracic spine. Continue the rowing motion with the arms and bring the scapulae together.
6: Return the bar to the floor and let the upper back relax again. That’s 1 rep.
Sets and Reps
So, what weight and how many? Let's assume an increase in muscle mass is the goal. As this lift requires a momentary stop start motion it lends itself very well to one of my favourites, cluster training.
First of all make sure you take the time to practice the technique correctly. Use an empty barbell and move slowly. You'll also need feedback and a mirror is only so useful. If you don't have a training partner, consider finding one as another set of eyes to watch your form and scrutinise your technique is invaluable. Failing that, consider buying a video camera and tripod. It’s a lot easier to adjust your technique if you can see what’s wrong.
Once you have mastered the motion begin to load the bar and establish a weight you can lift for 8 clean, tight reps. Keep that weight on the bar and perform the following set and rep structure:
3 reps followed by 10 seconds of complete rest. Repeat the sets of 3 for 5 mini sets, sticking to 10 seconds rest. Upon completion, rest for the optimum amount of time by following my recommendations in the 'periodisation, peripheral vision and range of motion testing' article. Depending on the content of the rest of your day’s workout and total weekly volume, perform 1-3 sets in this fashion. With this method you will be achieving a total of 15 reps with an 8 rep weight!
About the Author
David Fleming is one of London’s top personal trainers. He is obsessed with helping people get stronger and helping people to get More-Athletic. He has studied and learned from the best strength coaches in the world. He is happily married and can lift heavy weights. His mother is very proud of him and he writes a good article.It took him until the age of 30 to pass his driving test, but other than that he is a solid chap.
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