Exercise works on the SAID principle: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. Your body will only adapt to the specific type of stress you apply to it. Therefore, if you want to be strong, you have to primarily practice lifting heavy weights and if you want to be a marathon runner, you have to primarily practice running long distances.

In weightlifting, there is a relationship between the amount of reps you do and the muscular adaptation that occurs in response. This is why programs tell you to do 3×6, 3×10, 3×15 and so on.

The chart below is a general representation of the commonly accepted continuum. The science behind the chart is more complicated as it takes into account the central nervous systems role in creating strength and how a muscle gets bigger. I provide some links to the “behind the scenes” information after the chart.

Repetition-Adaptation

The Repetition-Adaptation Continuum

Looking at my hand drawn graph, you notice:

– the continuum goes from 1 to 20 reps+.

- 1 repetition corresponds with 100% intensity, which is the heaviest weight you can do for one rep, As you move further to the right, the percentage of your one-rep max decreases which means the amount of weight you are lifting decreases. There is an inverse relationship between intensity and reps. As reps go up, the intensity at which you are able to work goes down. Intensity is not about how something feels. It simply measures the percentage of what you can do one time. In the chart you see that five reps is around 85% of what you can do one time.

- The second part of the graph is the strength/hypertrophy rep range. This is where you get the best combination of strength and hypertrophy. For more background on this topic, read this.

- As you move past eight reps and continue further to the right, the emphasis starts to be more hypertrophy and endurance. Eventually, it becomes virtually all endurance. If someone is consistently performing more than 15 reps in a set, the intensity is very low. They might be struggling and shouting and feeling the burn, but the drama is in response to the chemical reactions that are going on inside the muscle to produce energy. They won’t be gaining as much strength or muscle as the person who calmly does 6 reps of the heaviest weight he can do.

- There is overlap between all the categories as you go from left to right. Consistent training will always improve numerous aspects of fitness, however different rep ranges emphasize different aspects. Even one single rep will result in some hypertrophy when it is done consistently and in a systematic way. It’ll also result in some endurance improvements, though the improvement may be so minimal as to be barely noticeable.

- The same can’t be said for starting on the left and moving to the right. Although absolute beginners can make strength improvements by lifting just about anything, as you get more advanced, a strength threshold kicks in. Studies and practical experience show that you must train at a higher percentage of your one rep max to maintain progress in strength. I describe it in more detail in this post.

- The rep ranges of 8-12, and even up to 15, are where the most controversy arises. I’ll address these issues in a future post.

For now, keep in mind that progressive overload is the key to building muscle. You could use any amount of reps and grow as long as you are lifting progressively heavier weights over time. Some rep ranges lend themselves to progressive overload better than others.

I have had the most success in training people (and myself) with rep ranges of 6-8 on the compound exercises as the core of our training. Assistance exercises are usually done with slightly higher rep ranges of 10-12 for various reasons which I have touched on here.

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Weight Loss Confusion

January 18, 2012

in Nutrition

When it comes to the causes of weight loss and weight gain, the science is not controversial. Perhaps it is so simple that people need to believe it’s really more complicated.

Let’s say it was calculated in a scientific laboratory that you burn 2,000 calories each day.

1. If you eat 2,000 calories you’ll be in energy balance and your weight will remain stable. You eat 2,000 calories and your body burns 2,000 calories. No net gain or loss.

2. If you eat 1,700 calories, but your body burns 2,000, you’ll lose weight because you’ll be in a 300 calorie deficit. Your body will have to call upon stored body fat to make up for the 300 calorie deficit.

3. If you eat 2,300 calories, you’ll gain weight because you’ll be in a 300 calorie surplus. You can’t burn the extra calories, so they’ll get stored.

While the science of weight gain and loss is simple, the reasons why people eat too much are not so simple. Appetite and appetite control have both physiological and psychological aspects. Appetite control is where the real challenge of weight loss comes in. So when someone says “I don’t know how I gained weight”, you can confidently assure them that they gained weight because they ate more calories than their body had use for. Alert them to the fact that their thought process should be more along the lines of “I don’t know why I’m eating more than I need”. That’s the real, and more complicated, question.

Ignore the Noise

For completeness, here are things that don’t make you fat:

- insulin
- pH balance
- white rice
- twinkies
- your thyroid
- gluten intolerance
- sugar
- fruit
- your body temperature
… and the list goes on and on.

If you are told that someone can do everything right, yet still not lose weight, rest assured that this “someone” isn’t doing everything right.

The only all-encompassing “right” thing to do is to create a caloric deficit through diet and/or exercise. Then you’ll lose weight. If you don’t create a caloric deficit, you aren’t doing everything right.

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Italian Quinoa and Sausage Soup

January 9, 2012

I got a lot of good feedback from my last recipe blog, Greek Style Quinoa. . In keeping with the quinoa theme, I present Italian Quinoa and Sausage Soup. I’m always looking for ways to get enough protein and eat leafy greens. This recipe does both. This is how I made my soup, but as [...]

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Bill Parcells and the The IT Band Revisited: How Years-Old Knee Pain Can Vanish

January 6, 2012

I recently received the following text from a friend of mine: ” I swear Neal, ever since I’ve been using the foam roller for my IT-band, or whatever it’s called, my knee problems went away, and I’ve had knee problems for a while”. I remember seeing an old video clip of Bill Parcells when he [...]

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Champagne and the Hangover.

January 1, 2012

For anyone interested in the New Year’s Eve tradition, a little science behind what you drank last night. Reasons for a hangover, and what you can do about it. Hope you have eggs, fruit, and salt handy. Happy New Year. Neal Share on Facebook

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