Hello all,
I just wanted to post a few comments about Strategic Deconditioning (SD) in hopes of clarifying what I think is being misunderstood, or at least, misrepresented.
The problem reached a threshold when reading my friend Lyle McDonald’s newsletter/blog when he classified HST as not being high-intensity, or not involving heavy loads. This assumption is based on the idea of not training to failure, and the incorporation of SD followed by relatively lighter weight loads, only using your nRM relatively infrequently during the 6 week progression to your 5RM.
I don’t blame Lyle, or the people here who have the same understanding. He and other people I see debating the issue are all sharp cookies. It is perfectly natural that over time, we end up talking about methods far more often than the principles behind them, as a result we lose touch of the original reasons behind what we do. Those sharp cookies listening in are then left to their own devices to make sense of the method without any discussion of the principles behind them.
SD is a “method” of addressing a problem. This problem is a natural, if not unavoidable, result of demonstrable principles. What has happened is that the method has taken priority over the principle upon which it is based. This always leads to trouble! Without an understanding of the underlying principle, the method will be misapplied.
Ok, so what is/are the principles upon which SD is based? Well, let’s start at the beginning (the beginning after specificity). The first principle is the Load principle. The Load principle states that, “the chronic external load applied to a muscle is the primary determinant of the change in size.” Now, this does not take into account the physiology behind the adaptive-hypertrophic process because it is just a principle.
Now, standing upon the Load principle is the “Relative Load” principle. The principle of Relative Load states that “the effectiveness of any fixed-weight load is dependant upon the level of conditioning of the muscle at the time the load is applied.” Thus, as the level of conditioning changes, so does the effectiveness of a fixed external load to produce hypertrophy.
The final HST principle we need to consider is that of Diminishing Returns. It states that, “a given load, applied in a consistent manner will produce diminishing returns over time.” This is an inevitable consequence of the relationship between external stimuli and internal adaptation. We can speak of this relationship in terms of the Repeated Bout Effect (RBE) when describing some of the adaptive changes that take place in muscle tissue exposed to frequent loading. Both hypertrophy and resistance to further hypertrophy are part of the RBE.
Now, there is one final principle that makes sense of SD, and that is the principle of Specificity. The principle of Specificity states that the nature of the demands placed on the body will determine the nature of the adaptation that follows.
So, with that understanding of the principles, I hope it becomes clear why SD came into being. The net result of all those principles in action is eventual stagnation. Just when and to what degree that stagnation is reached depends on many variables. But that is not our concern. What we are concerned with is what to do about it when it becomes necessary that we do something.
SD is a simple method of applying an opposite stimulus to the tissue in order that it will become more sensitive to external loading, once growth is no longer occurring while using maximum weight loads. It is based on demonstrable physiological principles of adaptive hypertrophy.
Ok, for fear of this becoming so long no one will read it, let me close with a brief Q&A.
Q. Does SD work?
A. In my experience is does.
Q. Is there any other way of increasing the tissues sensitivity to external loading once growth stops?
A. Yes, testosterone works better than anything else I know of.
Q. Is SD always required after only 6-8 weeks of loading?
A. No. It depends on how close you are to your natural limits. The more growth potential you have, the longer you can train without stagnating.
Q. How do I know how close I am to my natural limits?
A. http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/maximum-size-calculator.html
Q. Is there any other reason to do SD regularly?
A. Yes. Joints need more time to heal than muscle. Over long periods of heavy loading joints can become chronically inflamed, leading to maladaptive changes to the tendons. There is also evidence of favorable hormonal changes in response to short term detraining in highly trained lifters (i.e. deconditioning). I am also very interested in the impact of training > SD and satellite cell overshoot…but that is still unfolding.
Free thinking individuals will always question why a given method is recommended. If the only answer they are given is, “Because that’s the way you do it.” they will inevitably reject the method. Not because there is anything inherently wrong with the method (i.e. SD) but because they refuse to go along with anything that they don’t fully understand. Obviously this attitude can lead to unnecessary difficulty in the gym as well as in life, but it can also be the spark that keeps them searching for more knowledge. That is a good thing. This forum must remain a place for knowledge, not just rhetoric.
-bryan
I just wanted to post a few comments about Strategic Deconditioning (SD) in hopes of clarifying what I think is being misunderstood, or at least, misrepresented.
The problem reached a threshold when reading my friend Lyle McDonald’s newsletter/blog when he classified HST as not being high-intensity, or not involving heavy loads. This assumption is based on the idea of not training to failure, and the incorporation of SD followed by relatively lighter weight loads, only using your nRM relatively infrequently during the 6 week progression to your 5RM.
I don’t blame Lyle, or the people here who have the same understanding. He and other people I see debating the issue are all sharp cookies. It is perfectly natural that over time, we end up talking about methods far more often than the principles behind them, as a result we lose touch of the original reasons behind what we do. Those sharp cookies listening in are then left to their own devices to make sense of the method without any discussion of the principles behind them.
SD is a “method” of addressing a problem. This problem is a natural, if not unavoidable, result of demonstrable principles. What has happened is that the method has taken priority over the principle upon which it is based. This always leads to trouble! Without an understanding of the underlying principle, the method will be misapplied.
Ok, so what is/are the principles upon which SD is based? Well, let’s start at the beginning (the beginning after specificity). The first principle is the Load principle. The Load principle states that, “the chronic external load applied to a muscle is the primary determinant of the change in size.” Now, this does not take into account the physiology behind the adaptive-hypertrophic process because it is just a principle.
Now, standing upon the Load principle is the “Relative Load” principle. The principle of Relative Load states that “the effectiveness of any fixed-weight load is dependant upon the level of conditioning of the muscle at the time the load is applied.” Thus, as the level of conditioning changes, so does the effectiveness of a fixed external load to produce hypertrophy.
The final HST principle we need to consider is that of Diminishing Returns. It states that, “a given load, applied in a consistent manner will produce diminishing returns over time.” This is an inevitable consequence of the relationship between external stimuli and internal adaptation. We can speak of this relationship in terms of the Repeated Bout Effect (RBE) when describing some of the adaptive changes that take place in muscle tissue exposed to frequent loading. Both hypertrophy and resistance to further hypertrophy are part of the RBE.
Now, there is one final principle that makes sense of SD, and that is the principle of Specificity. The principle of Specificity states that the nature of the demands placed on the body will determine the nature of the adaptation that follows.
So, with that understanding of the principles, I hope it becomes clear why SD came into being. The net result of all those principles in action is eventual stagnation. Just when and to what degree that stagnation is reached depends on many variables. But that is not our concern. What we are concerned with is what to do about it when it becomes necessary that we do something.
SD is a simple method of applying an opposite stimulus to the tissue in order that it will become more sensitive to external loading, once growth is no longer occurring while using maximum weight loads. It is based on demonstrable physiological principles of adaptive hypertrophy.
Ok, for fear of this becoming so long no one will read it, let me close with a brief Q&A.
Q. Does SD work?
A. In my experience is does.
Q. Is there any other way of increasing the tissues sensitivity to external loading once growth stops?
A. Yes, testosterone works better than anything else I know of.
Q. Is SD always required after only 6-8 weeks of loading?
A. No. It depends on how close you are to your natural limits. The more growth potential you have, the longer you can train without stagnating.
Q. How do I know how close I am to my natural limits?
A. http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/maximum-size-calculator.html
Q. Is there any other reason to do SD regularly?
A. Yes. Joints need more time to heal than muscle. Over long periods of heavy loading joints can become chronically inflamed, leading to maladaptive changes to the tendons. There is also evidence of favorable hormonal changes in response to short term detraining in highly trained lifters (i.e. deconditioning). I am also very interested in the impact of training > SD and satellite cell overshoot…but that is still unfolding.
Free thinking individuals will always question why a given method is recommended. If the only answer they are given is, “Because that’s the way you do it.” they will inevitably reject the method. Not because there is anything inherently wrong with the method (i.e. SD) but because they refuse to go along with anything that they don’t fully understand. Obviously this attitude can lead to unnecessary difficulty in the gym as well as in life, but it can also be the spark that keeps them searching for more knowledge. That is a good thing. This forum must remain a place for knowledge, not just rhetoric.
-bryan
