I frequent this forum for tips. REcently I recieved a copy of 'Men's Health Power Training' and was wondering what the general concensus was? good/bad?
What's it say ?
It emphasizes 'alternating linear periodization' or in lamens terms, changing your workouts about every two weeks. One thing that i found to be differnt in this book is training the body both unilaterally and bilaterally.
ex. workout A 1.explosive movement/olympic lift 2.knee dominant (bi) 3.hip dominant (uni) 4.horizontal push(bi) 5. horizontal pull (uni) 6. vertical push (bi) 7.vertical pull(uni) 8. rotational core 9. bridge
workout B 1. explosive movement/olympic lift 2.knee dominant (uni) 3.hip dominant (bi).... so on and so fourth.
Stick with conjugate periodization. I used to subscribe to linear but you always lose your gains after starting a new phase.
the training period lasts 12 weeks. weeks 1-3 explosive movement 4 sets of 5, every exercise thereafter 4 sets of 10. weeks 4-6 explosive movement 4 sets of 3, every exercise thereafter 4 sets of 6. wekks 7-9 explosive 4 sets of 5 every other, 4 sets of 8. weeks 10-12 4 sets of 4 for everyting.
thanks for the tip shooter
Can someone give a simple comparison between conjugate and linear periodization?
Liyon,
Linear periodization means that you focus on a particular physical quality over a given period of time, and then switch to another. For example, you might start with a strength based program for 2 weeks, and then switch to hypertrophy based program.
Conjugated periodization means that you work on several qualities in the same cycle, generally in the same week, but possibly in the same workout.
-doug-
Vermonter, thanks for the info.
Say you work out with weights. If you were doing linear periodization, you'd do sets of 3 reps for 2 weeks to gain strength, then switch to sets of 10 reps for hypertrophy for 2 weeks?
And conjugated periodization would be just working out in the 4-8 rep range? Or maybe you're you go for strength in the core lifts ie. DL, bench, squat and go for more reps on the isolation exercises like curls?
Liyon,
Your description of linear periodization is accurate, but not the conjugate.
For conjugate you would do a strength workout, say for pressing, at the beginning of the week, and then a hypertrophy workout later that same week. Or you may do both in the same workout, doing several low rep sets, and several mid-rep sets.
Those are a few examples.
-doug-
"For conjugate you would do a strength workout, say for pressing, at the beginning of the week, and then a hypertrophy workout later that same week."
Would this be like a routine that has heavy and light days?
"Would this be like a routine that has heavy and light days?" - Liyon
I'm presuming I know what you're thinking and what you mean by "light days", and I don't think it's what you think it is.
Your "light" days, or days where the weight is well "lighter", will likely have more volume and/or intensity. ME- Max effort, heavy days. DE - Dynamic effort, submaximal weights but moved very fast & explosive, RE - Rep Effort, submaximal weights lifted to failure. So even on your "light days" it's pretty taxing on your body. It's not like it's a "break". If that's what you meant.
cheers
So it would be like heavy days ala a powerlifter and "light" days ala a bodybuilder within the same routine.
"alternating linear periodization" is a little different from just "linear periodization". all of the definitions i see posted so far are for the latter, not the former. if i'm wrong about this someone will have to clear it up for me.
my understanding of the difference is that in linear periodization you train a single facet of your performance (possibly with maintenance work for other facets) during a single mesocycle. in alternating periodization you train a single facet during each microcycle, but alternate between two facets over the course of a mesocycle.
conjugate periodization involves training different facets of performance over the course of each microcycle, and changing those variables over the course of a mesocycle. actually i'm not so sure conjugate periodization has mesocycles.
i use conjugate periodization, personally. it's just not clear that everyone's talking about the same thing here. i glanced through the book. remedios seems solid, and the book is head and shoulders above most of the shit on the shelves. i just happen to have my program already ironed out.
(edit for clarity - microcycle = workout week, mesocycle = series of microcycles. yes, i have to look that up every time)
"So even on your "light days" it's pretty taxing on your body. "
But not your CNS....that is the difference.
I just picked this up last night as it looked pretty decent. Has some good ideas and a lot of work out options. Definitely a good book for a beginner that wants a broad overview of the subject.
Coach Dos is the man. It is a great book.
I've missed some posts on this thread, hope it's not too late.
Liyon,
The definition of conjugate, like linear, doesn't include "light days" per se, meaning a plan could be called either conjugate or linear and either have light days or not. What most people mean when they say "light day" is a day of submaximal work to de-load or for active recovery. I.E. the workouts would not be taxing.
However, an example of what conjugate means could be as follows: On monday i might do some form of bench press working on my max weight to develop strength. On Thursday of that same week, i might do another type of bench press but rather for 3 sets of 12 reps at close to my 12 rep max to develop hypertrophy. (I'm not saying these protocols are ideal, but just giving an example.) Although i'm working with lighter weights on thursday, most people wouldnt call it a "light day" since i'm still working at my limits.
WP,
I think most periodization is a little bit looser than that, and depends on who wrote the book and what they decided to name each. Linear periodization more or less just means working on a single quality and then switching to another. Conjugate just means switching back and forth sooner (and by meaning of the words, indicates switching between just two qualities). Sounds like "alternating linear" changes somewhere in between, or, since it focuses on two qualities, might be some form of elongated conjugate, but you see how the terms are a little restrictive to the human imagination.
And yes, conjugate can have mesocycles. The Westside method for example, has some unpronounced mesocycles, but their in there.
-doug-
Good book, not much loss of ability as you change phases. Sometimes it doesn't even feel like a change at all. But it might be because it is not a month's worth of change comapred to a generic linear model.
There is a place for the information in this book and Dos is good at what he does.