I think it’s important not to hang any hats on this one. The article itself points out some limiting factors and flaws with it such as size of the study itself, history, experience, previous training methods employed by each lifter, where they were in relation to a plateau, what other uncontrolled things factor in like fatigue, rest, injury, diet changes and how if at all were these considered etc etc etc.
One question that needs to be answered is why did the low rep heavy group outperform on the bench press? This I find interesting to note. Is that linked to dominant type of muscle present in the area being worked and it’s response to this stimulation method? Is it do to the type of exercise being it’s really the only free weight compound lift included here and all other were machine assisted? I’d like to see this study done on the big 3 (bench, squat and dead).
It would also be interesting to ask the powerlifting coach that was quoted in the article if he’s now changed his entire approach to training in his athletes he’s getting ready for a comp? I know there’s more going on for a prep than strength alone, however pure strength is obviously an important factor. If he’s backing this claim wholeheartedly, is he prepared to pull the plug entirely here? Why or why not? Perhaps one has to look at a far bigger picture to what the continual evolutionary process looks like? Not working a small relatively short term study. Perhaps these measured gains cam from a break of the proverbial mold in what these guys had been doing? Perhaps it comes down to the way they are measuring strength increase? Perhaps its a deload to some effect that helped snap through a plateau.
my take? Like everything in life.... variety is important. You can’t train heavy in the low rep range all the time. Not only does progress slow by doing the same thing all the time, risk of injury is inevitable for the most part. The body is very efficient and wants to limit things that cost it energy. Why because evolution over thousands and thousand of years has made it so. It constantly adapts so change is necessary for continuous growth. This is why new guys can slap on 30 lbs with decent effort but guys who have neared or even surpassed their physiological limits struggle to move the scale 5lbs. Well part of the story but that goes beyond the scope of this story.
one other thing I can say that I’ve learned is finite statements when it comes to the human body and how it’s fueled and how it behaves is impossible. There is truly nothing that works for everyone 110% of the time. We as humans want that so much to make things easy for us to understand, but it’s impossible. You see this approach to many things, not just diet and exercise. Like always.... the best answer usually starts with.... Well it depends. Diet and exercise subject matter is exponentially complicated because there’s just so much we don’t know about the body and how it behaves. What we do know though is yes some things work generally for everyone to at least some extent.... but where does the start and finish line begin and end? It’s not the same for everyone. And what is measured success exactly? Lines blur quite easily sometimes.
I know I’ve had some decent success with lower weights, high reps but it’s success hinged on other important factors such as time under tension, contraction and mind to muscle connection. However I will say it’s difficult to get past your ego on this approach because even though you are still training to failure in the end, you also feel lazy and maybe even self conscious to some degree. It can be a real mind fuck.
Regardless I think the message I’m attempting to convey here is never put all your eggs in one basket and make the mistake of believing one approach is the best one. We all benefit from change and the only way to truly know what works best for you is to do it and really commit to it before you pass judgement. Then you will know. We are all a little different in our make up and our comfort and that can also dictate success or failure. And despite the feeling of loss it can create, failure can be a good thing. It’s how we learn and evolve. We also have different reasons which depend on a lot of what we have learned and may choose one method over another based on what it affords us in other aspects of our lives and the specific goals we have at any given time.... because they do change for most of us over time.
I mean if
@King56 had never introduced
@The Old Guy and I to naked hot Zumba classes we may have missed out on our life calling.
it’s cliche I know but the saying variety is the spice of life can be employed in a lot of ways for overall success. Regardless still interesting discussion and there are certainly some takeaways but as I said in the first few lines.... not enough to stake a concrete claim and ditch the heavy sets forever.