Books in Review: Practical Programming

Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore's Practical Programming for Strength Training is the definitive guide on how to design programs for the weight room. My criticism of Starting Strength was that it did not offer any set programs, now that I have read both books I understand that they are companion pieces; Starting Strength teaches an athlete how to lift, while Practical Programming teaches an athlete how to put exercises into effective programs.

Practical Programming begins with an explanation of how little is actually known about strength and conditioning. Few western universities offer courses in strength and conditioning and little practical research has been done in the last 50 years. In fact, many training techniques are based on translations of Soviet texts. The authors emphasize the point that the best coaches are the ones who have learned via practical experience from training all kinds of athletes.

The book next introduces Hans Selye's theory of General Adaptation Syndrome, which states that to affect progress, training must disrupt homeostasis to cause supercompensation (an improvement over where the body was before). It is important that the training does not disrupt homeostasis to the point that supercompensation cannot occur and the body actually slides backwards into a state of overtraining. Athletes are categorized into four categories: novice, intermediate, advanced, and elite. The level of athlete is determined by the volume, intensity, and complexity of training needed to disrupt homeostasis and cause supercompensation.

No one starts a weight training program without some goals in mind. Goals may include: hypertrophy, speed, power, or strength. Regardless of goals, gains are best made by multi-joint exercises that heavily tax the body's large muscle groups. The authors point out that athletes in most competitive sports need power (the ability to move loads quickly)  more than any of the other goals. In order to achieve ideal performance for different sports, a coach must understand what metabolic pathway the athlete is competing in (phosphagen, glycolytic, or oxidative), and try to match said pathways to the strength and conditioning program. For example, a 100m sprinter is going to benefit from doing sets of an exercise that last 10-15 seconds, rather than a continuous circuit of exercises lasting 20 minutes.

The book sets out definitions for the basics of weight training: reps, sets, volume and intensity. The book's definition of intensity is specific to strength training and contrasts with the traditional Crossfit definition of intensity. Crossfit's definition of intensity is: intensity is equal to power (force times distance over time). Practical Programming's definition of intensity is: "the amount of weight lifted, or the average amount of weight lifted in a workout, or a group of workouts, in relation to 1RM" (Kilgore and Rippetoe 55). The average amount of weight lifted would be found by dividing total volume by total reps. Volume is the sum of the weight times reps for each set. By these methods, the book sets forward precise ways to measure the effect of a workout in terms of total volume and intensity.

The meat of the book describes training programs for athletes at 3 of the four levels of training: the novice, the intermediate, the advanced athlete. The elite athlete is admittedly outside of the purview of the book, as elite athletes are at the point in their training where they are on top of their game and their training has become highly specialized. Many willing to dedicate years of consistent hard work to their training can achieve an advanced level, but few will realize the elite level.

For the novice, progress is easy. Novice athletes will recover and make progress from workout to workout.  All kinds of training will improve their fitness, but it should be noted that all kinds of training should not be done. It is important that the coach still coaches intelligently, recognizing that they should be setting the novice up for future success. A novice's program is built on basic exercises (squat, deadlift, press, bench press, and chin-ups/pullups) on a 3 times a week schedule. As the novice advances, a program can start adding more variance (front squat instead of back squats, powercleans instead of deadlifts).

An intermediate athlete progresses in terms of weeks of training. More work and complexity must be programmed to ensure the athlete continues to progress. At this level, exercises will start to become more sport specific, with more assistance exercises added. Athletes may program exercises into any one of the following methods: Texas method, speed sets, a split routine, or the Starr model.

An advanced athlete progresses in terms of months of training. At this point, training has become very sport specific and is built around competitions. Athletes must use different cylic training programs to peak at the correct time before a competition. Methods for an advanced athlete include: the Pyramid Model, the Two Steps Forward, One Step Back Model, the Building Blocks Model, and the the Hormonal Fluctuation Model.

The book concludes with a brilliant chapter on "special populations," which society seems to define as anyone who is not a healthy man less than 35 years old. The authors start with women, about whom they point out: "women are not a special population. They are half (more, actually) of the population" (Kilgore and Rippetoe 243). While there are differences in hormones and muscle distribution, women need the same kind of training that men do, as we share the same basic physiology. The authors point out that one notable difference between women and men in the weight room is that women can lift larger percentages of their 1RMs that men can.

You are never too old or too young to benefit from some kind of load bearing exercise, as the authors point out in the remaining section on "special populations." Practical Programming prints a series of helpful guidelines for safely training children. Aging takes its toll on the body, but one can maintain youth and even exceed the strength levels of their youth by lifting weights. A major consideration for athletes over 35 is their declined capacity for recovery following a strenuous workout;  careful thought must be given to the proper use of periodization to maximize older athletes' performance.

Comments

[Mary]

Zach,
Great write up. Does the book discuss how you know if the training disrupts homeostasis to the point that supercompensation cannot occur and the body actually slides backwards into a state of overtraining. I am interested in this point most of all because sometimes I think I may be overtraining. Do the describe the state of overtraining.

Thanks!!! Great summary.

[Elizabeth chesnes]

Zach:
Once again you have digested information and delivered a clear and concise summary for us Plebes to consider.
Being in the over 35 category, I can attest to the fact that it does take me some extra time to recover from some of the more strenous WODs. However, over time I have gained a greater understanding of my personal tolerance level, thus with the help of the Trainers at CFDV
and scaling I have been able to continue to increase my fitness level without suffering injury or lapse in training.

In summary, the Trainers at CFDV have taught me to train SMARTER not necessarily longer. I may not be where I want to be at the moment but with each WOD I get closer to my fitness goals.

I may just have to read these books, I don't know I am one of those people where "a little information" can be dangerous :)

Thanks again,