By Michael Krueger
The title implies a second question: How much is too little? This is a controversy that has raged in gyms around the world probably since the first caveman stuck a couple of rocks on the end of a stick and pushed it over his head. This basic question has generated many very good and contradictory scientific answers, which have been published by very learned people in extremely prestigious journals. Almost all of the research ends with some variation on the phrase “further investigation is warranted.”
Science vs. Art
Science has provided us with many options for how to strength train. They are all research-based protocols, shown to be effective with a particular population in a specific environment. For example, you may do anywhere from one set to 15 sets per muscle group, per exercise, in straight sets, drop sets, ladders, pyramids, super sets, or compound sets. You may do from 1 to 20 reps per set, either to failure, or to one, two, three, or whatever short of failure. You may do full body routines, or upper lower splits, or legs, back triceps, or shoulders, chest, abs. You may work out every day, or every other day, or twice per week, or once per week, or once every 10 days. You may use machines, or free weights, or body weight, or a combination of all three. You may rest 5 minutes between sets or 2 minutes or 1 minute or 30 seconds or not at all. Even the choice of working alone, in a group, with a partner, or with a trainer has been studied over and over, and each has been shown to be effective under specific circumstances.
The sheer volume of information is enough to make your head spin. Some of this information is contradictory, while others agree on one point and disagree on two others. Often, the actual results and conclusions apply primarily to the specific group on which the research was done, such as elite European soccer players, for example. The one thing they all agree on is that “the results are inconclusive and more research is needed.”
Fortunately, they will continue doing the research and publishing papers for the rest of us to read, interpret, apply, and argue about. Despite the confusion, in the end we will all be more knowledgeable about how our bodies respond and adapt to training.
The bottom line is that there are very few protocols that are patently harmful. There are a few that aren’t particularly effective, and some that in my opinion are a waste of time. However, most will deliver some positive results if you invest sufficient effort in them. Exercise, or more accurately training, is very personal and needs to be tailored to your particular needs and circumstances. Choosing one that works for you is where the “art” portion comes in.
Previously I have discussed the importance of goals. If you don’t have a goal, it is difficult to choose a protocol that may be most effective. At this point, I am going to assume that you have a goal and you are ready to decide which of the many programs might work best for you.
Intensity, Overload, Volume, Frequency, and Specificity
These are the five principles on which all programs are based. Actually there is one more, but that one deserves consideration on its own because, in the end, the other five are very much influenced by it.
1. Intensity.This is simply how hard you are working. Everyone has seen people in the gym who seem to be doing little more than going through the motions. They don’t keep track of what they have done and they have no taste for progression. You won’t see them sweat but you will see them listening to an iPod while staring into space. Occasionally they might wander over and annoy someone by striking up a time- and intensity-killing conversation. When it comes to intensity, your return will be in direct proportion to what you invest.
2. Overload.This is the concept that you need to ask your muscles to do more than they have ever done before if you expect then to adapt and grow. Adding weight to the bar is the most obvious way to achieve overload. I have a female client whose only experience with weight training had been working out with friends to DVDs, following articles from women’s magazines, and taking classes at the YMCA. Her successes hadn’t been impressive to say the least. Within six months of working with me, she has more than doubled her bench press, easily pressing more than her body weight for 10 repetitions. She can do chinups and many perfect pushups on her toes. She is amazed at how powerful and confident she has become and how great she looks. She is tight, toned, and strong–the envy of her friends.
At first she was concerned about the amount of weight and the constant progression she was experiencing; she didn’t want to “look like a man.” She had never lifted more than a 10-pound dumbbell before, because that is what the articles all said to do. She has now found the “magic” of progressive overload, and she is never going back. Your muscles need to be challenged to grow; and she certainly doesn’t look like a man.
3. Volume.how many sets and how many repetitions should you do? It has been shown that one set to failure will incite about the same strength and growth as will 3 sets. So why do more? Other than the fact that it is entirely dependent on you goals, coupled with the previously mentioned intensity and overload, it really doesn’t matter. If you are looking to improve your endurance, you might lift slightly lower weight and more sets and repetitions. If you are looking for an increase in absolute one rep max strength, you might lift lower reps and higher weight.
I think that a couple of warmup sets and one all-out set to failure is the same as two sub maximum work sets followed by one maximum work set. It is the same workout corrupted by semantics and ideology.
Bottom line on volume is that 1 or 2 exercises for each body part with 1 to 3 sets of 5 – 15 repetitions will, for most trainees, work equally well.
4. Frequency. How often you work out is dependent in part on your intensity and volume. If you work very hard and do many repetitions and sets, then you will most likely need to limit the frequency of your workouts. This, of course, is another area where there are many arguments, with trainees giving many variations of anecdotal evidence to bolster their positions.
The research is all over the place as well. Those results often depend on whether the focus is athletes, untrained young people, seniors, or just your average recreational/fitness lifter.
The only fact that is not in dispute is that if you do not give your body sufficient rest, it will break down. The disagreements arise in defining what “sufficient rest” means. Whatever the science discovers, anecdotally, if you don’t get enough rest, you may be plagued by nagging colds and minor infections. Your joints may ache constantly, and you will be a major grouch. The frequency question also somewhat depends on the sixth principle.
5. Specificity.You are a firefighter, and that needs to be a specific consideration in program design, or does it? Everyone needs a minimum level of strength and conditioning to get them through their day; you are no different. The question that arises is how much of that strength and conditioning can, or should be, achieved in the gym as opposed to through the training of specific firefighting skills.
The specificity principle basically says that you will get better at what you train the hardest in. For example, if you want to be a better runner, you run. Of course, it gets more specific: If you want to be a better sprinter, you need to sprint and not spend hours doing long slow distance. A football player doesn’t play basketball to become a better football player, nor does a soccer goalie play forward to improve his goaltending abilities. You will improve at the specific skill you train in.
Let’s use the example of pulling a hose over distance. You can somewhat mimic the movement in the gym, but it is far from exact and in my opinion not worth bothering with. If you spend your time in the gym strengthening your legs, back, and abdominals so that you have the core strength needed to train hard the specific skill of pulling a hose, and thereby building the specific endurance and strength necessary to repeatedly do so, that would be time well spent.
If you want to be a better firefighter, you need to build strength and endurance within your specific skills. But you also need a strong and solid base to begin with, or you will not be able to attack your training with the necessary volume and intensity to elicit a training effect. Fitness is an absolute necessity not only for general health and well being but to provide a base for your skills training as well.
Personalization
This is the sixth principle, and the one that overrules all the others. If you try and fit a square peg in a round hole, you are going to fail. You need to find precisely how your personality fits with a particular fitness training protocol. You will need to identify a program that addresses your particular wants and needs, something that will be effective and that you will do consistently. If you hate to run, you would probably want to find a program that didn’t put a great emphasis on running. There are always other options. Find the ones that work for you.
Physical fitness is important to everyone, but it is of crucial importance to you as a firefighter. If you are unable to perform at the top of your game because you failed to understand, accept, and prepare for the physical requirements of the job, then everyone loses.
Michael Krueger is an NSCA-certified personal trainer. He got his start in fitness training while serving in the United States Coast Guard. He works with firefighters and others in and around Madison, Wisconsin. He is available to fire departments, civic organizations, and athletic teams for training, consulting, and speaking engagements. He has published numerous articles on fitness, health, and the mind-body connection and was a featured speaker at the IAFC’s FRI 2009 Health Day in Dallas, Texas. E-mail him at MKPTLLC@gmail.com.
