Brent has a Ph.D. in Neurobiology.  He answered the questions in terms everyone can understand.  I emailed him to say thanks for explaining to everyone, including myself, of how and why it works.  His email reply:

“I'm the one who should be thanking you. Your posts on GoHeavy (back in 97-99 when I was originally training using this method) are what got me interested in all of this. To see a contradictory opinion that made sense really opened my eyes. It may not have seemed like anyone was paying attention back then, but I was.  My coach thought I was nuts. LOL

My experience using myself a guinea pig is what sparked my interest in physiology in the first place. For what it's worth, thanks for your influence, a little bit went a long way.” 


What goes around, comes around.  Here is what he posted, along with a few others’ responses.  Thanks again for the education!


Post 1)

In the "dark times" it's just as I said, a lot like "withdrawal" from substance abuse. If you want the specifics, I’ll try to lay them out for you as best I can. Maybe this will clear up some of the misconceptions people have about what actually happens when you lift weights. Then again, maybe monkeys will fly out of my behind...

Most people think the only part of the body to adapt to lifting are the muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. In fact, the brain also adapts to whatever stress you put on the body. It physically changes its structure and ability to deal with chemicals which directly relate to your physical activity. If you are a runner, you'll get better at making and using chemicals which deal with running. You'll also develop and affinity for extremely short shorts, politics, FOX news, granola, etc.

One thing that pissed me off about IA is his insistence that the CNS fatigues in some way. Bulls**t. People are still taught that the nervous system runs off of electrical impulses like a power cable. It doesn't. The nerve impulses (synapses) run off of chemicals (neurotransmitters). If these chemicals are not present, there is no signal between brain and muscle. The reason you can measure electrical impulses in the nervous system is because the electrical impulse is a BYPRODUCT of this chemical reaction. Its called an electrochemical reaction.

A large part of how strong we are is the ability to create and deal with a higher concentration of these neurotransmitters. The nerves develop more receptor sites to connect with them, and the glands learn to make more of the neurotransmitters themselves. Only then do you get a stronger impulse.

When you start placing demands on the brain to lift maximum weights every day, it says "oh crap I need to learn how to make and use these chemicals or he’s going to kill us. So it goes through an adaptive period where it shuts down some functions and tries to upgrade. These are the "dark times".

The main chemical in muscle contraction is SEROTONIN. It actually regulates how HARD the muscle contracts, which is why only the heaviest weights seem to effect our mood, the reason why people shy away from maximal lifting and cower from the imaginary symptoms of overtraining.

Serotonin just happens to be the main feel good hormone in the body. It directly effects your mood and mental outlook, your happiness and willingness to train. Your sleep, appetite, and also effects the cardiovascular system (your heart rate increases when you are supposedly overtrained - this is why). The serotonin cycle in the brain gets screwed up when drug addicts go into withdrawal (most recreational drugs artificially influence the serotonin pathways, which is why they are so much fun). There are other neurotransmitters which get effected by this (acetylcholine for example), but serotonin is the big one.

So, when the body receives a demand to lift heavy things on a daily basis, the brain shuts down the serotonin receptors to upgrade them. The brain structure changes take a few days to a few weeks. Changes in individual nerves happen quickly, a few days at most. This is why the dark times occur. Its the adaptive period thats needed for the brain and body to get to the next higher level. Natures little joke is obviously making us feel like crap when we are actually improving.

The body is trying to get us to stop the stress so it isn't forced to remodel the whole place, but thats exactly what you want. Thats why its so important to keep pounding away through it all. You want the greatest adaptation to take place.

Guys who are afraid of this response are guys who are lifting because they like the way it makes them feel. If you do lighter workouts, this serotonin is raised, but there is no signal to adapt. You feel high. Basically lifting weights becomes like a drug. People feel better doing light useless workouts, just like they feel better taking a hit of crack. I think this is why no one wants to try lifting the Bulgarian way. They are addicts.

You asked me about cortisol. There are no good and bad hormones. There are only hormones specific to your physical activity. Do you know why cortisol is released in weight lifting? Cortisol controls the blood pressure and concentration of blood sugar.

With short bursts of intense lifting (singles and doubles), blood sugar is not the primary fuel. Blood sugar only becomes an issue when you are doing higher reps. Cortisol is released mainly as a way to cope with these high reps, a way to shuttle more fuel (blood sugar) into the muscle tissue by using higher blood pressure. This is one reason bodybuilders have their posing trunks in a bunch over it. Cortisol is dealt with just like serotonin. The body tries to adapt to using it, and all the bodybuilders run and scream. If they stuck with it they'd go through a response much like the Dark times, and they'd be able to handle more high rep sets afterwards.

In this case, cortisol is specific to the activity bodybuilders, not power or olympic lifters. Keep your reps low and you never have to worry about it. (It has nothing to do with total volume, only reps in the set.)

Thats funny what you mentioned about the Bulgarians having huge adrenals. It makes sense. They adapt by getting larger and stronger just like anything else. Thats also a great argument against limiting genetics. Someone else would look at normal sized adrenals and say they would obviously be overloaded by stress. The Bulgarians entire organism changed in response to their lifting. Form follows function. Awesome stuff.

The adrenals don't only release cortisol, they release adrenaline as well. Adrenaline acts as one of the triggers to this adaptive period. You should go read the lecture by Ivan Abajiev here :

- weightliftingexchange.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=74&Itemi d=75

He explains this whole adaptive period and how it effects more than just the musculature. Go read the paragraphs which start with:

"So this is our aim when we are training athletes, that we would build up all those organs and muscles needed for a certain performance, not only the muscles, but the whole cardiovascular and other systems that support the working of the muscles in order for a better performance. The adaptive process however, does not only include all the lungs and the heart and the other organs that I mentioned."

So I hope I explained that all well enough. Bottom line, from a physiological standpoint - BROZ IS RIGHT. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Take care.

(p.s. - If you think maxing squats daily is tough, try typing all of this out on a phone!)

https://www.team-andro.com/phpBB3/beitr ... l#p9498520

Hab was interessantes zum Squat Everyday und Übertraining gefunden

I was having a discussion on another forum late last year about overtraining and CNS recovery. I am not a doctor and didn't know the exact reason why this type of training works, but along came Brent. Brent has a Ph.D. in Neurobiology. He answered the questions in terms everyone can understand. I emailed him to say thanks for explaining to everyone, including myself, of how and why it works. His email reply:

"I'm the one who should be thanking you. Your posts on GoHeavy (back in 97-99 when I was originally training using this method) are what got me interested in all of this. To see a contradictory opinion that made sense really opened my eyes. It may not have seemed like anyone was paying attention back then, but I was. My coach thought I was nuts. LOL

My experience using myself a guinea pig is what sparked my interest in physiology in the first place. For what it's worth, thanks for your influence, a little bit went a long way."

What goes around, comes around. Here is what he posted, along with a few others' responses. Thanks again for the education!

Post 1)

In the "dark times" it's just as I said, a lot like "withdrawal" from substance abuse. If you want the specifics, I'll try to lay them out for you as best I can. Maybe this will clear up some of the misconceptions people have about what actually happens when you lift weights. Then again, maybe monkeys will fly out of my behind...

Most people think the only part of the body to adapt to lifting are the muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. In fact, the brain also adapts to whatever stress you put on the body. It physically changes its structure and ability to deal with chemicals which directly relate to your physical activity. If you are a runner, you'll get better at making and using chemicals which deal with running. You'll also develop and affinity for extremely short shorts, politics, FOX news, granola, etc.

One thing that pissed me off about IA is his insistence that the CNS fatigues in some way. Bulls**t. People are still taught that the nervous system runs off of electrical impulses like a power cable. It doesn't. The nerve impulses (synapses) run off of chemicals (neurotransmitters). If these chemicals are not present, there is no signal between brain and muscle. The reason you can measure electrical impulses in the nervous system is because the electrical impulse is a BYPRODUCT of this chemical reaction. Its called an electrochemical reaction.

A large part of how strong we are is the ability to create and deal with a higher concentration of these neurotransmitters. The nerves develop more receptor sites to connect with them, and the glands learn to make more of the neurotransmitters themselves. Only then do you get a stronger impulse.

When you start placing demands on the brain to lift maximum weights every day, it says "oh crap I need to learn how to make and use these chemicals or he's going to kill us." So it goes through an adaptive period where it shuts down some functions and tries to upgrade. These are the "dark times".

The main chemical in muscle contraction is SEROTONIN. It actually regulates how HARD the muscle contracts, which is why only the heaviest weights seem to effect our mood, the reason why people shy away from maximal lifting and cower from the imaginary symptoms of overtraining.

Serotonin just happens to be the main feel good hormone in the body. It directly effects your mood and mental outlook, your happiness and willingness to train. Your sleep, appetite, and also effects the cardiovascular system (your heart rate increases when you are supposedly overtrained - this is why). The serotonin cycle in the brain gets screwed up when drug addicts go into withdrawal (most recreational drugs artificially influence the serotonin pathways, which is why they are so much fun). There are other neurotransmitters which get effected by this (acetylcholine for example), but serotonin is the big one.

So, when the body receives a demand to lift heavy things on a daily basis, the brain shuts down the serotonin receptors to upgrade them. The brain structure changes take a few days to a few weeks. Changes in individual nerves happen quickly, a few days at most. This is why the dark times occur. Its the adaptive period that's needed for the brain and body to get to the next higher level. Natures little joke is obviously making us feel like crap when we are actually improving.

The body is trying to get us to stop the stress so it isn't forced to remodel the whole place, but that's exactly what you want. That's why its so important to keep pounding away through it all. You want the greatest adaptation to take place.

Guys who are afraid of this response are guys who are lifting because they like the way it makes them feel. If you do lighter workouts, this serotonin is raised, but there is no signal to adapt. You feel high. Basically lifting weights becomes like a drug. People feel better doing light useless workouts, just like they feel better taking a hit of crack. I think this is why no one wants to try lifting the Bulgarian way. They are addicts.

You asked me about cortisol. There are no good and bad hormones. There are only hormones specific to your physical activity. Do you know why cortisol is released in weight lifting? Cortisol controls the blood pressure and concentration of blood sugar.

With short bursts of intense lifting (singles and doubles), blood sugar is not the primary fuel. Blood sugar only becomes an issue when you are doing higher reps. Cortisol is released mainly as a way to cope with these high reps, a way to shuttle more fuel (blood sugar) into the muscle tissue by using higher blood pressure. This is one reason bodybuilders have their posing trunks in a bunch over it. Cortisol is dealt with just like serotonin. The body tries to adapt to using it, and all the bodybuilders run and scream. If they stuck with it they'd go through a response much like the Dark times, and they'd be able to handle more high rep sets afterwards.

In this case, cortisol is specific to the activity bodybuilders, not power or olympic lifters. Keep your reps low and you never have to worry about it. (It has nothing to do with total volume, only reps in the set.)

That's funny what you mentioned about the Bulgarians having huge adrenals. It makes sense. They adapt by getting larger and stronger just like anything else. That's also a great argument against limiting genetics. Someone else would look at normal sized adrenals and say they would obviously be overloaded by stress. The Bulgarians entire organism changed in response to their lifting. Form follows function. Awesome stuff.

The adrenals don't only release cortisol, they release adrenaline as well. Adrenaline acts as one of the triggers to this adaptive period. You should go read the lecture by Ivan Abajiev

He explains this whole adaptive period and how it effects more than just the musculature. Go read the paragraphs which start with:

"So this is our aim when we are training athletes, that we would build up all those organs and muscles needed for a certain performance, not only the muscles, but the whole cardiovascular and other systems that support the working of the muscles in order for a better performance. The adaptive process however, does not only include all the lungs and the heart and the other organs that I mentioned."

So I hope I explained that all well enough. Bottom line, from a physiological standpoint - BROZ IS RIGHT. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Take care.

(p.s. - If you think maxing squats daily is tough, try typing all of this out on a phone!)

System Explanation:

The system is based on strengthening weak movements and / or muscles (whether muscle groups or individual muscles) on that particular day you train. You MUST LEARN TO TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, and be honest with yourself. (Hey InducedDrag, remember that thread you made a month ago about “Instinctive Training” and I said I was gonna do a write up? Here it is, bro.)

The program has 6 levels. We call them Movements A, B, C, D, E and F.

Definitions.

A: The main movement for that day
B: The secondary strength movement to assist the main weakness in “A”
C: The secondary power or technical movement, to assist weakness in “A”
D: The main ISOLATION assistance to weakness in “A”
E: The main isolation assistance muscular weakness
F: A bodyweight, unilateral, band assisted movement to address any imbalance



First, RPE – Rate of Perceived Exertion

- Rate of perceived exertion is very important. The higher your RPE, the less your volume. The lower your RPE,
the higher your volume.
- It is actually far better if you can learn to tweak your RPE. In the sense, if I say, 88%, if you can think 8.8 RPE
instead of actually using 88% 1RM, you can tweak your numbers far more effectively. Some sets, you’ll feel like
it got lighter. Those sets are the sets where you increase the weight to ensure the RPE maintains at 8.8 not
dropping down to 8.5 or 8.2RPE
- RPE’s are calculated to 10.0 as max effort (EG: 1RM squat) and 0.0 as minimum effort (EG:lying down)
- Every rep and set range that’s prescribed has a (+- 1) range. So if I say, 5 reps, it can be 4 or 6 too.

More on the movements.

A: This movement should usually be worked to a 1RM with good form (40-50 minutes) (RPE 8-10)
- First work up to movement 1RM (RPE-10)
- Strength day is usually squats. WL day, snatch, CNJ.

Once 1RM for the day is achieved, back off the weight and

- Squats - 82-88% 1RM, 4-6 sets @ 2-3 reps (RPE-7.5-8.5)
- WL - 85-90% 1RM, 4-6 sets @ 2-3 (if strong) 75-85% 1RM, 5-7 sets @ 3 (If weak) – (RPE-8-9)
- Usually, partial squats are used with full squats. Partial squats, could be, “A” or “B”

B: Main strength assistance to suckiness in “A” (15 -20 minutes) (RPE-7-9)
- If your first pull on that day sucked, you shall pull. If your jerk on that day sucked, you could partial front squat.
If your back squat, you kept leaning over, do some extra range pulls.
- For pulls, go to 1RM (Would probably be between 130-150% of snatch and CNJ max)
- Then go down and do 4-6 sets @ 3-4 reps @ 85%-90% on a good day. 6-8 sets @ 3-4 @ 70-80% on a bad day.
Always base upon your max of that day
- If doing overhead work, again go to 1RM of that overhead work (snatch balance, push press, push jerk, etc) and
follow above guideline.
- If you choose to snatch and CNJ on this day, after the squats (actually a great idea), try to stick for triples.

C: Main power or technical assistance (15 minutes tops) (RPE-5-8)
- To address technical or power deficiency in that day’s technique.
- 4-6 sets @ 2-3 reps for power
- 8-10 sets @ 3-5 reps for technique
- Percentages are difficult to explain on this day. Feeling, however should be comfortable and in control.
- Example: Panda pulls, high hang snatch pulls, behind neck push press, rack jerk for reps,
The reps tell a better story. Always remember that.

D: Main Isolation (10 minutes) (RPE-3-6)
- At this point, you want to begin thinking “muscular” and “biomechanics”. You want to go for 6-8 reps here
onwards if the movement has an eccentric portion. 15< reps if no eccentric. If your hamstrings are weak, use
things like Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, good mornings with bands hanging Kettlebell, extra range
deadlifts, back extensions, glute ham raises, kettlebell swings (high reps, no eccentric), ball tossing
- 4 sets should be sufficient

E: Isolation Muscular Assistance (10 minutes) (RPE-1-5)
- You’re attacking another muscle group that is weak. If on that day, you feel your hamstring truly is weakest,
move to a 1-3 RPE movement. Attack it with 20-30 reps. Up to 50 reps. 3 sets should be enough.

F: Final assistance (10 minutes) (RPE1-4)
- About now, if you did it right, you should feel like a wet noodle. Some bodyweight, isometric, band work,
bodybuilding; pre-hab work should be done at this point.
- Sprints, box jumps, broad jumps, some wrestling,

Extra Note
- ABC are all interchangeable
- DEF are also interchangeable
- ABC can also be done in DEF
- But DEF should not be done in ABC

To many strength athletes and coaches, building strength, METAPHORICALLY speaking, is a one-sided wall. They do nothing but singles, doubles, and triples. If that hairy-ass, mean wolf comes and huffs and puffs at that SINGLE wall, it will collapse. The Chinese, on the other hand, believe in building four sided walls. And they worked on their system for so long that their walls are actually octagon. You must build strength, power, balance and skill. AND YOU MUST ALSO TRAIN ALL DIMENSIONS OF STRENGTH, AND NOT JUST ABSOLUTE STRENGTH.

The Chinese believe that you should be good and strong at many, many various movements, and not just 3 or 4. For example, let’s say you are strong in back squats, deadlift and bench press. These three (3) are the foundation of your pyramid. When you get to the top, you will have built a pyramid that has a relatively weak and unstable base. Now, let’s say you have strong back squat, deadlift, bench press PLUS strong overhead press, weighted pullups, front squats, sumo deadlift, handstand pushups, and all kinds of unilateral DB moves, when you get to the top, your pyramid strength will have been built on strong foundation. This is the premise of the Chinese Weightlifting System.

Exercise Selection to Build a Strong Foundation

“Kung Fu” exercises are exercises that you have mastered and are comfortable doing. These have huge transfer to your movements and will be preferred. They have huge transfer to your lifting. You want the list to KEEP GROWING to establish a solid foundation at the bottom of your pyramid. How?

“Kung Fool” exercises are the ones you suck at. Once you have mastered these movements and you no longer hate them, they become your KungFu exercises. As a split jerker, this is the reason why I had been doing squat jerks lately – to carry over to my competition lift as a split jerker.

Intensity versus Volume

If you look closely at the volume-intensity relationship and rep scheme, it will APPEAR as though their system was influenced by many other systems combined. For example,

a) They max out every day to 1RM. Appears to be BULGARIAN.
b) They train for doubles or triples at certain percentage (RPE). Appears to be RUSSIAN/SOVIET (Prilepin Table)and other EASTERN BLOC.
c) They work on weak movements by isolating muscles and using high-rep isolation exercises, much like bodybuilders ’pump’ weak muscles. They use a strength-training version of the ‘instinctive principle’. They also do partials and pauses. Appears to be AMERICAN BODYBUILDING.

The above is a pretty good summarized assumption, but borrowing from other systems was really NOT the intent. In reality, they train based on FEELINGS (read again: INSTINCTS). They do max out every training day until they achieve 1RM for that day. The 1RM may or may not be a PR. They do not care about PR’s during training, as much as they care about 1RM with perfection. A PR with lousy technique is never acceptable. Besides, PRs in training don’t mean jack to the Chinese. Competition is where it counts. Remember: THEY DOMINATE OLY LIFTING IN THE OLYMPICS EVERY 4 YEARS AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS EVERY YEAR IN THE 85-KG AND BELOW WEIGHTCLASSES. (And the only reason why they cannot compete at the higher weight class, 94-kg and above, is the fact that the Chinese are a genetically smaller race compared to the Soviets / Russians, Slavics and Persians.)

Moving on. As a side note, strength coaches overseas, particularly China, actually learned a lot from pioneer American bodybuilders as far as USING COMMON SENSE. Guys like Vince Gironda, Bill Pearl, and of course Arnold No-Last-Name-Necessary, just to name a few great ones, were bodybuilding pioneers and geniuses. These bodybuilders used common sense to do what they had to do to achieve what they achieved. They used common sense first to produce results, then later on others researched the results of these gentlemen’s work. And this mode of thinking was adopted by the Chinese: More common sense, less science; let’s first produce results using common sense, and then research the results later. In contrast, way too much research, and analyses, and more research and internet bickering and trolling are wasted in North America. The Chinese are the 21st Century “Bro-Builders“ of Olympic Weightlifting.

And, ironically, some strength coaches in North America like to poke at bodybuilders, but the truth is that many strength coaches and athletes in Asia use bodybuilding principles – hypertrophy, pauses, partials, etc. – to GET STRONG.

If you look at Chinese weightlifters, they look like LIGHTWEIGHT bodybuilders because they do do bodybuilding training towards the end of their session not only to strengthen weak movements that day, but to also strengthen the supporting muscles of those weak movements. The only thing they don’t do is curl in the squat rack, or they will be sent to labor camps in North Korea.

In the bodybuilding and strength-coaching communities, every few years someone comes up with an exercise that will supposedly revolutionize training. In the 1970s Arthur Jones claimed that his Nautilus pullover machine was the only exercise that could effectively train the lats. That so-called innovation was followed by many others: Swiss ball crunches, single-leg deadlifts, Bulgarian lunges, suspension push-ups – and the list goes on. One exercise that is getting a lot of attention lately is the hip thrust. Knowing how susceptible this industry is to following fads, should we take the claims made about this exercise seriously? Let’s investigate.

 

I first learned about hip thrusts in 1982 from track and field coach Don Chu, PhD, when I took his weight training class at California State University, Hayward. Exercises such as these were referred to as pelvic bridges within the physical therapy community at the time, but in recent years the term hip thrusts has become more popular. (This term is also used to describe a leg exercise popular with football players; in fact, several manufacturers of exercise equipment call their machines the hip thrust.)

 

A few years later I watched an early ’80s video showing gymnasts using hip thrusts with resistance, and I also purchased a book published in 1981 featuring a dozen variations of this exercise. As such, the hip thrust is not so much a new exercise based on an original thought as it is an old exercise that has been rediscovered and repackaged.

 

In the 1980s and ’90s I used body weight hip thrusts with athletes as a general conditioning method for seven years when I was a strength coach for the Air Force Academy. I had my athletes perform a single-leg version performed in a dynamic fashion that focused on fast eccentrics, although I often finished off with isometric contractions.

 

Many who endorse the hip thrust claim that the improvements in glute strength and glute development it produces are superior to those produced by exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and lunges. They claim the hip thrust will improve running speed and jumping ability and that it will even help prevent or rehabilitate lower back injuries. They also say it will enable you to lift more weight in the squat, deadlift, and even the Olympic lifts.

 

One claim I find particularly interesting is that sprinters and Olympic-style weightlifters are using hips thrusts to improve athletic performance – could it be their secret weapon? As a fitness writer who is driven to discover the facts, I sought out two individuals I’ve known for more than 20 years who have extensive knowledge of these two sports, Dr. Michael Ripley and Andrew “Bud” Charniga.

 

Ripley is a sports medicine doctor who over the past two decades has treated and designed strength and conditioning programs for 35 Olympic medal winners in track and field. He has also been a sports medicine doctor for track and field athletes at LSU, one of the most dominant track teams in the country. Ripley is my inside man, so to speak, on track and field, so I asked him about his experience with the hip thrust.

 

Ripley told me he has never seen an international-caliber sprinter perform the hip thrust with resistance, nor has he heard of any elite track coaches promoting this exercise. Ripley also warns that there is a risk that hip thrusts could cause catastrophic injury to the spine by creating such conditions as spondylolisthesis (characterized by a displacement of a vertebra) or low-back facet syndrome. He adds that performing the exercise at high speeds (i.e., “thrusting the hips”) increases the risk of going into hyperextension and injuring the anterior longitudinal ligament, which plays a key role in spinal stability.

 

Ripley also says it is a mistake to believe that all elite athletes have sufficient core strength to perform hip thrusts properly; in fact, Ripley says he often has to spend considerable time with new athletes on developing core strength.

 

As for the opinion of Bud Charniga, a sport scientist who was also one of the best lifters in the US in the 1970s, he told me he has never seen any elite weightlifters perform hip thrusts. Charniga has a lifetime of experience to back up his judgment; he has translated numerous Russian textbooks on weightlifting, has contributed articles on weightlifting biomechanics to sport science publications, has attended international competitions every year for the past four decades as a spectator, and has interviewed countless world-class weightlifters and their coaches. Likewise, Jim Schmitz, who coached me for several years and trained weightlifters who went on to compete in seven Olympics, did not use hip thrusts with his athletes.

 

When I spoke to Charniga about hip thrusts, he was adamant about how ineffective this exercise is for weightlifters. Charniga says the primary role of the glutes during the classical lifts is as postural muscles. Unlike the trapezius, which powerfully contracts for only a fraction of a second during the pulling movements, the glutes are continually firing during the pull. Charniga also says it would be counterproductive for weightlifters to focus on contracting the glutes during the pull for the snatch or clean because this would delay their descent under the bar, thus reducing the amount of weight they could lift. 

 

With all the evidence pointing to the limited value of the hip thrust for improving performance, the notion that the best sprinting and weightlifting coaches rely strongly on this exercise is not credible. Experience says otherwise. This begs the question “What exercise is better than a hip thrust for weightlifters?”

 

The late sports scientist Mel Siff, PhD, told me that during weightlifting the erector spinae muscles are constantly working isometrically. Tommy Kono also wrote an article about this topic in 1974 in his “ABC’s of Weightlifting” series published in Strength and Health magazine. Rather than adding an exercise such as the hip thrust that continues to work the erector spinae muscles in a shortened state, Charniga says it would be better to perform variations of good morning exercises that stretch these muscles. As an analogy, Charniga says if your hands are cramping from typing all day, it would make no sense to try to release the tension by performing a grip strengthening exercise that could cause your hands to cramp more.

 

Over the past four decades, I’ve interviewed hundreds of head strength coaches and football coaches at the high school, college, and professional levels, but I haven’t come across a single one who has mentioned the hip thrust as an essential exercise in their programs. It is highly unlikely that the hip thrust is having the type of impact on athletic fitness training that the proponents of this exercise claim it has. Testimonials and marketing strategies aside, here are five reasons that the hip thrust with resistance may not be a good exercise to add to your workout:

 

1. It presents a significant risk of abdominal, hip flexor, and lower back injury. Paul Gagné is a rehab specialist and strength coach who has trained Olympic medal winners in winter Olympic sports and numerous pro athletes. Gagné told me he uses hip thrust exercises as a warm-up for strength and conditioning programs. He warns, however, that performing the exercise so that the top of the pelvis is parallel to the floor should not be done by those who have excessive anterior pelvic tilt, a posture quite common in the US. He says doing so may create excessive compression on the lumbar spine, as well as shearing forces on the psoas (a muscle that flexes the hips) and subumbilical (below the belly button) abdominal fibers.

 

Among the types of athletes who should probably avoid hip thrusts are competitive ice skaters. As a strength coach, I worked with many of these athletes, including several ice dancers and singles skaters who competed in the Olympic Games. Gagné, in fact, trains the current world champions in ice dancing. Gagné and I have found that these athletes often have valgus feet (i.e., fallen arches), a condition that commonly causes internal rotation of the lower limbs, which in turn increases the curvature of the lower back. This condition is called lumbar hyperlordosis.

 

A strength coach may conclude that because ice skaters often have exceptional glute development they could benefit from hip thrusts. However, if these athletes perform them without first correcting their postural problems, they may end up suffering from lower back pain and injury.

 

2. It disrupts the fascial system. When you perform a barbell hip thrust, even with a padded bar, the prolonged pressure of the bar resting directly over the pelvis compresses the fascia. The body reacts to this stress by laying down more fascia, which makes this connective tissue less pliable. The eventual result is disruption of the fascial system.

 

Jess Banda, LMT, a trainer and soft-tissue specialist I’ve worked with, says the most common problems he sees among those who perform hip thrusts include knee pain, tightness in the rectus femoris and piriformis, and excessive anterior pelvic tilt. In fact, one proponent of the hip thrust who performs this exercise with more weight than he can squat and deadlift says he had to significantly reduce his volume of training on the hip thrust due to pain in his quadriceps tendon incurred from performing the exercise.

 

Ella Dobrinina, a pro physique competitor to watch out for in the 2016 Ms. Olympia Physique Competition, tried hip thrusts to improve her glute development but was getting little benefit from them or, for that matter, from other exercises that worked the glutes. While focusing on hip thrusts she complained of knee and lower back pain, and she also failed the Modified Thomas Test, which assesses lower body length-tension relationships. Banda treated Dobrinina’s fascia, which not only resolved her lower back and knee pain but also enabled her to feel her glutes in more conventional exercises such as squats and deadlifts.

 

3. It offers little transfer to compound movements or sports. I would be interested in seeing future studies on athletic performance conducted by those who do not have a financial interest in the results, but from my investigations I doubt this exercise will be presented favorably.

 

One reason a hip thrust will probably do little to increase performance in the squat is that its resistance curve is highest at the point of the squat where the lifter is the strongest. An analogy would be trying to improve the initial drive off the chest for a bench press only by performing heavy supports. For more information on why the hip thrust has little carryover to exercises such as the squat, I recommend an article written by sports coach James Jowsey: “Why Doing Glute Bridges Will Never Help Your Squat.”

 

As for the prevention of hamstring injuries, research suggests that exercises that emphasize eccentric loading, such as the Nordic curl, are more effective than exercises that emphasize a shortening of the hamstrings, such as hip thrusts. In one study of 942 Danish soccer players, the control group experienced 52 hamstring injuries, whereas the group performing the Nordic curl only had 15 injuries.

 

Proponents of the hip thrust claim it is the best exercise to restore glute function for glutes that “don’t fire.” However, Dr. Marco Cardinale, PhD, writing in his sports and fitness science blog, says the idea that an individual’s glutes are not firing is “absolute nonsense.” He says if your glutes didn’t fire you wouldn’t be able to walk and your condition might suggest a spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative disease. However, if the glutes are inhibited in their ability to contract, it’s most likely because the antagonistic muscles are tight.

 

The medical term that applies to this condition of nonfiring is Sherrington’s law of reciprocal inhibition. John Gibbons, author of The Vital Glutes: Connecting the Gait Cycle of Pain and Dysfunction, recommends that those with inhibited glute muscles should perform two weeks of stretches for the hip flexor muscles before trying specific glute exercises. As for what exercise would be best, I saw one study using non-weighted hip thrusts and reverse hypers, and the reverse hyper had superior glute activation. The same researcher performed these two exercises under load and said the hip thrust was superior for glute activation. However, he admitted that he did not use a maximal weight in the reverse hyper, so it’s difficult to infer information from his results.

 

4. Its short range of motion limits glute development. According to Dr. Paulo Gentil, an outspoken fitness professional from Brazil, the limited range of motion of the hip thrust compared to the squat makes the hip thrust a less effective exercise for glute development. Further, it’s difficult to determine the effectiveness of the hip thrust as a glute developer because those who perform the exercise are often performing other exercises that also work the glutes.

 

5. Its proponents often use controversial research to support their claims. Many of the proponents of hip thrusts, including one individual in particular who sells an apparatus to perform the exercise, support their claims by citing EMG studies. The studies I’ve seen use only surface EMGs, which have many limitations, one being that a high EMG measurement doesn’t necessarily mean that that muscle is contributing the most to an athletic movement. Fitness professional Suneet Sebastian has an interesting YouTube video in which he discusses these limitations in detail.

 

Sebastian says the most accurate EMG testing for the glutes would involve inserting needles into the glute muscles of subjects who then perform maximal muscle contractions, a procedure that may cause nerve damage. According to Jowsey, EMG results of the hip thrust can be misleading because the nervous system is less active during that movement than when the body is in a standing position. As a result, when the pelvis is lifted in a hip thrust, Jowsey says, “…the only neurological drive goes to the glutes, hence the high EMG reading for the bridge.”

 

Respected sports scientist Dr. William Sands said the following about EMGs: “I did my dissertation on EMG. EMG is extremely useful for: 1. Knowing which muscle(s) are active. 2. Knowing when muscle(s) are active. However, after that it gets a little dicey. There is a nice linear relationship between magnitude of EMG and muscle force, but the relationship is only valid for isometric tension.” The bottom line is that an EMG may be a good tool for determining the effectiveness of an exercise, but it should not be the only tool.

 

Now that I’ve made my case about the risks associated with performing hip thrusts and pointed out some of the questionable hype behind this movement, you can make an informed decision to include it in your exercise program or pass on it. However, based upon my investigation of this exercise, I’ll leave you with the insight of Spanish philosopher George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

First of all I would like to thank the Weightlifting Federation for inviting me here.


This material that I have prepared here for you for today is the same material that I lectured on in front of the Greece Committee last spring.


They specifically asked me to present my material because one of their athletes, Ekatarina Tanou, was using this method of training and has incredible results using this method. She was third in the world for 100 meter sprint, and last year she was one of the best white athletes, and she has been using my methods of training.


If you pay attention to what I am saying and if you think logically about what I am saying then you will see that this method is applicable to almost any sports training. We will be concentrating on weightlifting nonetheless.


I have been asking myself a question, why such countries such as Uruquay, Paraquay, Peru, not to mention Brazil, have incredible achievements in, say, football, considering that those countries do not have stable sports methods or academic sports development. And yet, they have better results in comparison to other countries like Germany or Russia, which have been studying sports as an academic for a very long time.


The other question that I have been asking myself is why such universal athletes do not exist anymore, why it is so difficult to be good in different disciplines, such as only 100 meters or jumps. These athletes who do only one discipline they do it well but it is almost impossible to be good in a lot of disciplines at the same time.


The same question is with athletes who train 10 different disciplines. They have a mediocre scale of good results. For each sport they are not at their best at one of those sports because they try to perform good in all the 10 of them which prevents them from being good at only one sport.


The fourth question that I have been asking myself is why, when observing animals, for instance, they don’t have micro and macro cycles. They don’t have leisure periods. They are all the time active. They don’t have performance of 80% or 70%. They only have performance achievements of 100% all of the time. The way that animals prey, whatever they do, they do it their best and they do it at 100%. This is the way they survive.


And tonight I will try to answer all those questions in my lecture.


[Referring to a graphic illustration displayed on an overhead projector.]


Please forgive me for the simpleness of these examples, but everytime I talk with opponents who do not share my point of view, I have found that this is a simple method of explaining the way I think and the way muscles work and this is a simple way to present it graphically although it is not an academic way.


As you can see this is a train with coaches which is performing a certain function. We can compare this to a group of muscles or to a muscle fiber which also performs some kind of duty. It also has dynamic function.


Literally there is a difference between a living organism and this machinery, and I will try to talk about that.


[Pointing to the diagram.] The smoke indicates that this is a functioning machinery. Those are the same engines below, but they are not functioning. When this machinery is at work, it is using up its resources, energetic as well as plastic. When the resources are emptied out, then there is a signal sent to the central control unit. On its behalf, it contacts those depots which have the energy that the machine needs in order to continue working. And those depots present the necessary energy back into the machinery, they feed it back. The little ones are not active right now because they do not send a message that their resources need to be refilled and that is why they are not functioning at the moment.


[He changes to a second graphic diagrams.]


This is the reverse situation. As you can see those two smaller engines are working at the moment. It is because they have sent a signal of the need for the depots need to be refilled, and so naturally the central control unit would send water or whatever energy is needed back into them in order for them to function.


This is the precise way that a human body would function or human muscles or any living organism’s muscle function. That when there is a lack of energy, there is a signal sent to the brain which, on its behalf would provide them with nitrogen and whatever else is needed for them to function (energies) through the blood circulation system. Up to here the mechanism of the way they work is absolutely identical.


But the difference between the living organism and the machinery shown here is as follows. [He points to a different portion of the second diagram.]


Now we have switched on the little trains. This is a law in organics that the function builds the organ, or, the muscle. And when they function, they form new structures. On the examples shown, they are growing. First of all -- this is the coal storage, if we are talking about the train -- so it will extend its size [indicating].


[He changes to a third graphic illustration.]


As they enlarge their size, the number of . . .


[Abadjiev leaves the projection screen and draws a circular figure on butcher paper.]


This is a human cell and in the cytoplasm there are swimming those organelles which have this shape and form. This is basically how the energy received into a cell is deformated [sic] so the cell can use the energy provided. That is why they are called energy stations of the human cell. This is where energy is formed, and in the appropriate measure, then it goes into becoming energy that the human organism needs to perform.


[He returns to the third diagram shown on the projection screen (i.e., the train diagrams).]


This means that the number of those mitochondria is bigger so that the size of the whole cell will change and become bigger also. Which practically means that the more energy it receives, the more it grows, and the stronger the power of the engine will be.


Also, as well as the change of the cells and everything grows [transl.], the contacts between, in the organism, they change also, and they become faster and stronger. The quantity of blood cells is also growing, so there will be more blood provided, and they supply more oxygen. So those structures are making the muscular system stronger and bigger. But we are talking now only about living organisms, and this is the difference between this machinery and the human organism.


[Abajiev changes to a fourth diagram (also apparently illustrating the train analogy).]


As you can see, when the upper engine is not working, it reverses its size, the size is now a reverse process of what we were talking about just now, that it grows smaller if it is not activated and does not function. The minute it stops functioning, there activated a catabolic reaction, which means that the muscle would grow smaller. It will change its size.


If you were developing muscle fiber . . .


[He pauses, returns to the butcher paper, and draws three illustrations of basic muscle fiber-arrangement types: smooth, parallel, and _____.]


And those are the different shapes of muscles. We have one muscle that could be one after another one, when they’re parallel, . . . this is the different types of muscles. They all have a particular function, they all react to different things. For instance, when we have slower, but heavier exercise, then those muscles [pointing to ____ fiber arrangement] are the ones that are doing the work. The ones that need speed and heaviness at the same time, then those parallel muscles are activated, because power or strength of the muscles depend on different things, different parameters.


[He draws a separate diagram and draws an elongated elliptical shape on the paper.]


The part of the muscle which is contracting is called sarcomera. The longer it is, the faster it reacts, the faster it contracts. The shorter it is, it could provide enormous strength, but for a longer period of time. And there are muscle groups that can work without oxygen provided, anaerobically. And there are those muscles who work aerobically, with oxygen.


For instance, when we have a sprinter or cross runner, this is the muscle which is activated [he points to his hip flexor/ upper outer thigh area]. This is used for running and sprinting and longer running periods. [Translator: “Correcting, not ‘sprinting’ before.”] [Abadjiev points to his quads.] Those two muscles which are located on both sides of the knee, they take part when sprinting is necessary, also called out of phase muscles. They turn food into energy without using oxygen. When we are talking about longer distances, then the energy is formed using oxygen. So that the ones that are used for longer running distance, they have a bigger number of mitochondria. This is where the cycle of Krebs takes place and over 1,500 kilojoules of energy are formed.


And when we are talking about anaerobic working of the muscles, then we are talking about 60% less production of those mitchondria from the same amount of energy. So in the longer period, when we look at different training muscles, there are different muscles that are used for different groups and they are the ones who change their size accordingly to the training system.


[Abadjiev returns to the train diagram on the projection screen.]


That is why when we change, when we are not lifting weights, when we are doing something else . . . if we say that on the upper picture the engine is the one that is used to lift weights, if we do something else not lifting weights we are using other muscle groups, in another exercise not weightlifting, those are the muscles that are being contracted.So naturally those ones on the lower picture, they start changing their size, or there is a growing process. And there is a theory of priority in the energy supply of the human body, so naturally those, not the one on the upper picture, but those two will have the priority of getting energy and stimulation.


So we have used this system when weightlifters have done other exercises, not only weightlifting. For instance, I saw here that some of your trainers do jumps with weights. Which means that immediately the energy supplies for those muscles will be activated, the ones that are necessary for a jump to be performed, which means that there will be energy taken from the basic muscles needed in weightlifting.


And it is not only the matter of the muscle itself growing, but it is the connections and the blood vessels which supply it with needed energy, they change their form and shape too. So then, if we go back to doing the same exercise, which is shown on the upper picture, then it wouldn’t be as easy for it to get energy anymore. And those are physiologically proven right, that the mechanism works precisely this way. Respectable biologists and physiologists have proven that this is right.


As it is proved also that when we have, when there is new proteins and the muscles are growing and protein is developed [pointing to the lower part of the diagram, depicting muscles trained on non-weightlifting exercises] and what have you then it is at the same moment that the muscles on the upper picture [those used for weightlifting] begin shrinking.


So if we concentrate our energy onto other exercises, then it means that the creative process of the muscle needed in weightlifting will be stopped, which means that in a longer period of time it will not be as easy to develop into its original shape anymore, or size.


And afterward if we were to use those smaller muscle groups for weightlifting, it means that it will not be easy for those organs to be adapted in order to perform in the way a weightlifter would want it to. They too need oxygen. Somebody has to supply the oxygen.


So naturally making their demand for oxygen, they are sending a signal to the central control unit, and then it goes into the cardiovascular system, and so it is activated, and it starts supplying energy back into the muscles. We start breathing more frequently. The whole breathing process is activated. This means that with the new situation, if we take for instance that the triangle is the lungs [indicating on diagram], new creative processes would start developing in the lungs, and also the muscle controlling the lung function. And naturally in the lungs, the number of alveoles, they become bigger, they increase their size, in order to supply the oxygen into those new muscles, they have changed their size as well.


So does the heart, the heartbeat is activated also. It also changes its structures in order to change its capacity. With the other, for instance on a human leg, the muscles will not change their number, but it is proven in the heart for instance that there could be muscle structure changes that produce new muscle, and their size and shape also is changed. Which means that with a single heartbeat, the amount of blood thrust out of the heart is bigger. Which will result in more blood going up to the muscles. They will make the creative and the energetic levels higher. All those performing muscles which take part in the performance or function, they all need to adapt to the new situation, they change their size, their density of working, which is a chain of changes in the human organism.


So this is our aim when we are training athletes, that we would build up all those organs and muscles needed for a certain performance, not only the muscles, but the whole cardiovascular and other systems that support the working of the muscles in order for a better performance. The adaptive process however, does not only include all the lungs and the heart and the other organs that I mentioned.


The first adaptive period of the organism is an emergency one, which activates the hormone use in the blood and the organism. The first ones to be activated are adrenaline and noradrenaline. [He quotes from a published paper.] It is said in this work for instance that the adrenaline can be lifted as much as to 1,000 ng/ml from 0.5. It is almost 1,000 times higher than its normal amount. This whole adaptive mechanism plays a huge role in the functioning of the organism.


It is not only in sports, but that it is how our organism adapts to any number of changes, for instance, the cold when we go outside. And it is cold and there is a rush of adrenaline and naturally your cardiovascular system starts to work faster in order for your heart to produce enough blood to get you warm.


[Abadjiev returns to the easel and draws another circular diagram.]


Adrenaline also activates this anabolic machinery called [unintelligible]. This is the membrane of the cell. It is formed by four molecules, and we will be interested in only two of them. This is how the adrenaline divides this [part of the cell]. One of them mobilizes the calcium inside the cell. So calcium is needed in order for those two to be united, and as the disappearance of those little bridges that we see here [occurs, there is] the contraction of the muscle; as they are pulled apart, the muscle contracts. The other one is activated and is connected with proteins and it starts building up new protein in the core of the cell. Later on I will be talking about the anabolic effect. So the adrenaline and the noradrenaline have a huge function in the adaptive period. The other hormones as well. All other hormones have their different functions, but I will not be stopping on them.


So naturally everything is controlled by the brain, the adaptation and the growth of the muscles. And they are also determined huge changes in the kidneys, they grow bigger in size, and their production is also changed.


Another very important thing is how the body learns to economize with less hormones and it lessens its demands, it becomes more sensitive. Those new muscle cells that are produced, they become more economical in their demands. And it has been proven that those new muscles, they need less blood supply. So it means that they can better perform because of their new economical way of functioning.


All those processes begin with a stress reaction, exercise being a stress. [Referring back to the train-car diagram.] If there would be another coach after the engine of the train, then it would mean a new adaptation, and it is the same as with weightlifting when we add some more weight to the bar. All those functioning systems are in a stressed condition, they have the so-called stress reaction, and it activates all those mechanisms of all those systems. Their functioning grows, and so the structural changes begin, and new structural shapes and sizes can be formed.


So in the first stage that I mentioned before, the emergency stage, some times the production of adrenaline is way too high for the use of those systems.


When there is a bigger strain on the muscle there is a catabolic effect. As we can see here [referring to diagram] this is the size of a normally functioning cell, this is the cell after it has been adapted already to the new conditions, it becomes bigger, and this is the size of the cell after adding to its functions. So here we have already added those extra coaches to the train. It is bigger than in the beginning but it is smaller here when its in its extreme situation, the emergency state that we were talking about. Some athletes cannot overcome this stage of the extra strain on the muscular system and they cannot have the process, cannot obtain the maximum of the process, they cannot have this adaptation in their muscles.


In order to avoid injuries and complications, we have to avoid the state of hyperfunctioning of muscles and cells. The organism itself can form a stress limiting system. This system allows the organ at certain stress levels, it measures the amount of stress it thinks that a human muscle or cell can take and it limits it to a certain level. The organism has this level of the stress that it can take to avoid injuries or discomfort. This amino acid, which has one of those functions, to limit performance. Other such limiters are beta endorphins and enkepholytes, they have tranquilizing effects. The brain cells also have their way of avoiding injuries by limiting stress. There are also other ones but I will not be talking about them.


[Referring back to train-car diagrams.] So, when we have already built the upper system, and we have developed those three systems [indicating lower part of diagram] , when we have built the system of the hormonal balance, and when they all function together economically, and also the stress limiting system, after all those systems have been adapted well and function well with one another then this muscle which is most used, for instance in weightlifting, it will be dominant. And together with the stress limiting system, only then we can talk about full adaptation, when all those systems function together, equally supporting each other, then we have structural extremely well-functioning system.


This is why in our training program we have only four exercises that we perform. Which means that we are not using new material, we are not using energy or plastics in order to build new functioning systems. We do not force them to go into catabolic reaction. And this is the way that we make sure that the muscles adapt faster and better. And when I say adaptation I do not mean adaptation of only adaptation of one single muscle but the whole system that functions together, all those that I have been talking about, the heart, the lungs, the central control unit, and all the others.


There is also another fact which will prove the well-functioning of our theory. This is the cross-adaptation. This is well as can be proven from the theory of relativity that when you try to have many organs and one its own turn dominates the others they cannot be just as well functioning, all of them. We have to concentrate on building up a system which has only one primary and dominating organ, and then it could function and we can grow. This is the cross-adaptation that I mentioned earlier, for instance, adapting yourself to the cold or adapting to high-strength training periods. In their adaptation there are some structures that are alike and some which are different. For instance, we won’t be concentrating on the blood circulation because we are not training outside, we don’t need to heat the body already. But naturally people who, for instance, cross country skiing, which exercise outside, they will need the adaptation of muscles as well as the adaptation of warming the body. It goes without saying that as they develop their muscles, the percentage of fat will be different, because they will need the fat to keep them warm. This is why for instance we which have not developed those kind of skills, it will be different for us to go outside, we will be less prepared than a person who has already developed himself to surviving in the cold.


This is why trainers from our circle that have done weightlifting and they have achieved some kind of high achievement in weightlifting, they cannot go and adapt themselves to other circumstances such as being out in the cold. That is why we have to concentrate on keeping ourselves healthy before competition. Athletes who are in excellent form and shape, the number of their . . . lymphocytes which means that the immune system is lower . . . when we concentrate on building up muscles and building up those particular systems, naturally strength has been taken from our other skills. [Translator was losing him in the prior sentences.]


[Indicating on his systems diagram.] The T-lymphocytes that I was just talking about, they are the ones responsible for keeping those the connections between different muscles and organs, they have the ability to carry energy and then dissolve and give it into a different muscle or muscle group. So this is what I meant when I said the immune system is lowered. It means that with the lowering of the number of those T-lymphocytes that the immune system fails to perform at its normal rate. So you have to be extremely careful before competitions or when they achieve this hyper state of condition.


[Referring to a new diagram.]

This example that I will be talking about will come to show again why it is very important to use only one set of exercise modes. But now we will not only be talking about what kind of exercise to do but we are going to be talking about the amount of strength that is used during an exercise.


Heiden [sp?], a very reknowned physiologist claims that this is the density which goes through the neurons into the muscles, stimulating the muscle. When we are lifting 100 kilos, through the neurons there is a set of impulses sent, and this is the density of the impulses. [Indicating on a diagram that appears to compare graphically “signal density” data and protein structures associated with a 100 versus a 110 kilo lift.] And if he is doing the weight shown on the upper picture, presuming this is his record weight, that he would be doing in a competition, then the impulse density is much bigger. This density [associated with the heavier lift] activates this one particular part of the DNA chain [indicating]. Those genes have particular storage of information. And accordingly with this specific part of the DNA where the information is stored there is certain proteins produced which have this shape. And when we have the density shown on the upper picture [heavier], then there is another information which is used from the DNA chain, and then there is produced this kind of protein [indicating] which has another set of characteristics. And Heiden claims that only this set of proteins would be activated only at this density, which means that only by lifting 100 kilos will you be activating what you have been building, those proteins. During a competition, the density is like shown on the upper picture, and those will be the proteins activated in a state of competition or higher performance and those [indicating the proteins associated with the lighter, lower lift and signal density lower on the diagram] will be passive, they will not be activated, because of the density. So, when we are lifting weights which are not the maximum amount we could lift, and this lift is being performed in aerobic conditions, when there is a supply of oxygen, we will not be activating the density and the real performance of the muscle, it will not be taken to its extent. While lifting those higher weights, there will be a chance of producing more anaerobic energy [indicating the higher lift portion of the diagram].


That is why it is important that we lift our maximum, in order to produce those kinds of proteins and those kinds of structures that we will be using in a competition, for instance. We don’t want to spend our energy building structures that will not be used under extreme situations.


This comes to show why our training method is that we are lifting our almost maximum during training. Before we were talking about lifting many tons a day of weight. About the middle of the 70’s, we were lifting up to 60 tons a day. But we were not producing any effect. The speed at which we were training was different, it was higher. But those were little weights, not the maximum of an athlete. This is why our athletes now lift up to 4 tons a day, but they are performing in this zone [indicating] in the maximum zone, of maximum achievement. So we are building this particular protein structure that we will be using under extreme circumstances as competitions are, for instance.


It has been proven that the heart is one of the better protein productive organs. And the lung muscles, in their intensity of producing protein. And then all the other muscles which are on the hands and legs. All the scientists think that this is due to the sum of the exercise which is performed. The sum of performance of a certain muscle, the heart being a muscle also, for instance, the heart is performing for 24 hours, that is why it is one of the better protein producing muscles. The lung muscles they also work for 24 hours, but at a lower tempo. It also has a very dense function, but less than the heart, because it works slower. And then all the rest of the muscles, but then naturally because they perform only in certain periods of time, they are not active 24 hours per day, that is why they produce less protein. Naturally they have less function. So naturally the higher production of protein makes the building, of those adaptive systems that we have been talking about, faster.


So naturally we were looking for a way to expand those muscles which are used in weightlifting, leaning on those functions of the organism. We are lifting bigger weights, but slower, and we make less attempts. But in order to develop those particular proteins, we were forced to do more work in order to make those particular muscle groups work and perform.


You cannot be lifting big weights densely in the duration of one training. That’s why we have divided the training session into different parts. And so we have first snatches, then pulls [note: this is almost certainly a mistranslation, and should be “clean & jerks”], then snatches again, so we have twice snatches, and then squats afterward. But in the afternoons we change the order so those muscles are overall equally pressured. So what we are doing we have the maximum weights with lower tempo and lesser attempts. This is how we achieve this effect of building up precisely those muscles that are needed in weightlifting.


Now I want to show you a system which triggers a natural metabolic reaction. And this will be on the example of lifting weights.


This system is called the ties between the functional and the genetic apparatus. And what is the structure of those ties.


[Indicating on a diagram of gene structure.]

All medical workers know about the genetic repressor, which is the one that limits the function of DNA. For this scientific achievement they have received a Nobel prize. This is the DNA chain. This is the genetic regulator. This is the promoter, the upgrader, and those are the structure genes. This is the genetic repressor which has entered the DNA chain. And it has stopped its function. So this part is non-functional, not the least. This is a deformed genetic repressor. It cannot enter this DNA. So this DNA operator is free to work, and by work meaning producing proteins. So as the cell functions, it changes its structure. Those structures restructure, or metabolize, what neurons told them. So the more the function, the more those restructuring metabolizers achieve. So these metabolizers enter the structure of the gene repressor, and it has deformed it. And this being an enzyme it enters the structure and it becomes active. They can enter straight into the genetic repressor if it has the right shape or the right characteristics, but they can also enter from other places. So this means that it has entered the repressing gene, which has deformed the repressing gene, so that it cannot enter the DNA chain, which means that the DNA chain is performing normally and it is producing protein which is also known as an anabolic reaction.


Lifting weights we are achieving the contraction of a certain muscle which grows and which is needed for the weights to be lifted and we are changing its structure. So during training if we are using maximum amount of weight and only a few attempts to lift that weight, that means that we are activating this whole system, which will achieve the growth of that muscle and its maximum performance. So by stimulating with adrenaline those molecules, they bring more calcium into the cell. By doing that, they are making the genetic repressor dysfunctional, which means it cannot enter the DNA chain, and so it means that it can perform up to its maximum. But this is because of the adrenaline which is made during training sessions. Adrenaline is released only when we are doing the maximum amount of weight. In order to achieve this higher level of adrenaline release, we used to do Monday, Wednesday and Friday, training sessions in front of an audience, which resembled the situation of a real competition, when you have the lights, the audience, the crowd, the judges, and the emotional factor also plays a very important role, it stimulates the release of adrenaline. So you performed up to your maximum three times a week, almost in competition circumstances, which releases the adrenaline needed, which makes this whole mechanism function, which enables a certain muscle group to grow and perform better.


This is the way a different medicine, which releases, which makes more adrenaline to be released, they work exactly on this principle. Limbuterol [sp?] being one of this kind of medicine, which is now on the list of no-no substances.


Now we will be talking about the amount of training.


For instance, in bodybuilding, bodybuilders do not lift their maximum, but they lift a certain amount of weight many times. Mehrson [sp?] says that a cell has a particular amount of what it needs in order to function and it can self-energize itself.


[Drawing diagram of muscle structure] This is the main fiber. It has those contractive proteins. Those other fibers are acting as kind of supporting the main fiber. Those fibroblasts do not have the contracting proteins which the main fiber has. Basically what they are doing is acting as donors and supporters of the main fiber. In order to be able to support the main fiber during dense exercises, they enlarge their size. This is called [unintelligible]. This is the process when they are changing their structure. But if there are too many attempts, there is a process called hyperplasia. Those supporting fibers start to divide, and their quantity grows bigger. And they also start working on supporting the main fiber, but they do not have those contracting proteins. So the main fiber can function and perform longer, because of the supporting fibers, but on its own, its strength does not grow. But the muscle itself grows bigger. This, we are talking about bodybuilding.


So basically before, when you used to do this training with many repetitions, our weightlifters looked completely different, they had much bigger muscles. But Yakoblev [sp?] says that this actually prevents the main fiber from functioning correctly. It does not give it strength, even though it looks bigger.


If we go back in time and look at the technique that our weightlifters used to use, it is very incorrect and difficult to perform with it. On the scale, bodyweight is growing and they go into another category because their bodyweight is growing, but strength itself does not grow bigger.


There have been many tests made with lifts and the repetition, and it shows that the classical exercises are much more productive, even in the psychological aspect. Not only that there are different muscle groups achieving the same movement, and even the movement itself is different, and the speed of the performance is altered and changed.


Not only the strength of the muscle is important but also the coordination in between the muscle groups is very important in order to perform. And even this is an obstacle when you are doing not only the classical exercises, because you ruin this coordination, and you cannot perform the classical exercises anymore when in a competition for instance. So when we are doing only pulls, then the symbiotic structure of the muscles is different, and even the muscles have memory, so then they cannot as well perform when we are doing the clean and jerk. The better the coordination, the better the economical working of the organism, and the better function of the muscles. This is why we are not doing those half pulls anymore, and nobody, none of our athletes have lowered their achievements. Quite the opposite, they have achieved even better.


And now we will be talking just a few words about the medicine which induce this protein production. There are stronger, medium, and less strong medicines which do it. The stronger ones are forbidden. Some of the middle ones are not yet forbidden, but are soon to be. And all of the lower ones are naturally free to use.


If you achieve all those systems’ activation that we have talked about, but you do not take certain medicines which will increase the protein production, naturally those who use those stronger drugs, they have a better performance chance than you. [Garbled few words] . . . will only be Bulgarian athletes who have lifted almost five times their weight in world championships.


I have had this idea of gathering all sorts of athletes in one sports hall for instance, and having them perform without any kind of stimulants and with this system of training. There is not a doubt in my mind that the difference in methods would clearly be shown as a better one in comparison to others.


Naturally you are aware that there are systems of avoiding doping tests or not completely working within the rules of it. That is why there is a lot of dishonesty in sports nowadays.


And I will end my lecture with this sentiment.


The Finnish coach has been to Bulgaria and you have seen the way that we exercise, and with this lecture to complete it I think that you will clearly see that this is a good and proven to work system.


I now take the opportunity to invite all of the other sportsmen. You are welcome in Bulgaria to get to know our system and how we work and train. By using this theoretical knowledge and the things that I can show you in practice, I assure you that will better your results. For instance, the Finnish had an Olympic champion, since 1968, the Swedish too also have very strong competitors. When our weightlifting was not consistent in Bulgaria, the Polish were absolutely great. I have a joint recommendation to all the Scandinavian games that you will achieve Olympic medals.

The front squat is one of your best tools for preventing injury and achieving new levels of athleticism. Research shows you can use it to strengthen the lower back and get chiseled abdominal muscles.

A recent study compared the activity of the trunk muscles of the erector spinae and rectus abdominis in a variety of exercises. Using a load of 40 kg, electromyographic (EMG) readings were recorded for the front and back squat, and the military press. They were compared to muscle activity during an isometric prone bridge (also known as a plank) and isometric superman on a Swiss ball, both held for 30 seconds.

Results showed the following:

Spinal erector muscle activity was greatest during the front squat, despite the fact that an empty 40 kg bar was used. Heavier loads will train the lower back muscles to an even greater degree.The prone bridge produced the greatest muscle activity in the rectus abdominis, followed by the military press and then the front squat.Previous studies show much greater rectus abdominis activity during the back squat using heavier loads in the 70 percent of the 1RM range, indicating that the relationship of muscle activity and exercise type is load dependent.It is reasonable to use the front squat with heavy loads to train the rectus abdominis muscle as well. A review of how load, stance, and type of squat influences muscle activity found that a loaded front squat works the rectus abdominis, quadriceps, and erector spinae better than the back squat.

The researchers suggest the dynamic front and back squat and military press exercises are preferable for healthy trainees because they require stabilization of the abdominal and trunk muscles during a multi-joint movement, which is representative of daily living.

The plank and other isometric exercises may be useful in injured or the most deconditioned trainees because they teach them to contract the muscles for stabilization. Beyond that, they are largely useless because the plank and superman are performed in a nonfunctional static position that is rarely replicated in daily life or sports.

Another benefit of the squat is that it trains the entire lower body musculature across the functional length tension range, allowing for greater power generation at all levels of movement speed and force.

Basically, the squat has an accelerative component that trains rate of force development, which researchers note will help prevent the general population from falling.

Apply the accelerative component to sports training and we see that the front squat, in particular, trains vertical acceleration to increase jump height.

Take away the understanding that squat training with heavy loads is one of the best methods for training the entire core. Dynamic multi-joint exercises like those tested in this study will help trainees achieve the correct levels and balance of strength in the trunk muscles to enable optimal performance and avoid injury.

[quote="m.a.k";11104920][BBvideo 640,360][/BBvideo]Ausschnitt aus einem Interview zum bulgarischen System [user]Tavel[/user]

und ne Doku

[BBvideo 640,360][/BBvideo]

1. Estrich Betonboden
2. Billige Trittschalldämmung (für Laminat)
3. 15mm OSB Platten (das ist mein Gym Boden)
4. Holzrahmen aus 45° gesägten Latten für den Staubsaugerroboter, gerade geht auch (40x24mm)
5. 24mm Verbundschaumstoff VB140 außen (Link Shop)
6. 24mm Siebdruckplatten innen (OSB Platten 2,5x1,25m gehen auch und sind günstiger)
7. 10mm Bautenschutzmatte komplett drüber (Link zu einem Shop)

1. Das Rack steht auf dem OSB Platten Boden (3.)
2. Holzrahmen (24mm hoch) mit den OSB Platten verschrauben (vorbohren)
3. Siebdruckplatten (2x12mm) sägen, sodass sie genau ins Rack passen und hinten noch einmal schmaler werden. (Für die Hex Bar)
4. Schaumstoff mit Cutter schneiden (Tipp: Nur eine große Matte kaufen, dann hat man weniger Verschnitt)
5. Bautenschutzmatten drüber legen
6. Alles ausrichten und dann mit Holzschrauben und Rosettenscheiben verschauben (ACHTUNG: gleiches Material, sonst gibt es Kontaktkorrosion)

• Außen OSB Platten Boden (1x 12mm)
• 24mm Rahmen aufschrauben
• Innen OSB Platten (2x 22mm)
• 24mm VB140 auf die 12mm Platten
• 8mm Bautenschutzmatte auf den VB140 Schaum und den Rahmen
• 8mm Bautenschutzmatte mit dem Rahmenveschrauben