Adarq.org

Flies in the face of everything you might think you know about training. The pervasive myth behind HIIT is that a diet of low reps, low volume, heavy weighs and nothing else is sufficient to get one strong, lean, fast, big etc. I think it's taken for granted here and elsewhere that anaerobic activity is superior to aerobic, that aerobic work detracts from strength, speed, power etc.

Here is an ebooklet that contradicts this idea -

http://anthonymychal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/TheMythofHIIT.pdf

thoughts?

Please summarize for us why the author thinks that you can build strength better with high reps as opposed to low reps.

if anyone cares i've switched over to the conventional deadlift. currently my bests are 330x7 and 340x6. I will be attempting 350x5 next week.

I also do back extensions twice a week. On one day, I do 3x8 with heavier weight, and on the other day, 4x15 with lighter weight.

Great!

One question: Why do you decrease reps while increasing weight?

I agree with Bret Contreras. The best way to fix a crappy movement is to do the movement correctly. This can be accomplished by concentrating really hard and getting feedback - ideally from a coach but at least from video. If the movement to be improved is a resisted one, proper weight selection is key. While merely getting stronger often does not fix movement inefficiencies, inefficient execution certainly prevents strength to be developed in those areas where the inefficiencies take place. This in turn can lead to serious problems in performing an exercise with proper form AND maximal weights. Fixing stuff like this can take a lot of patience and hard work. So better do stuff correctly from the beginning.

Regarding why bad form develops in the first place, there is something to be said about proper and improper exercise selection. Some people convince themselves that one exercise is what they want to "specialize" in or what is "most important" for their goals. Often this is the bench-press, around here it certainly is the squat for many people. But no matter how great that exercise is, it will NOT cover all the bases. And when you are new to training this can be very hard to realize because it's a short-term vs. long-term thing. For example, if a beginner would want to improve his VJ during the next three months, the best thing he could probably do is squat heavy 2-3 times per week and invest the rest of his resources into jump training. Doing other stuff as well might cut into resources that he does not have. But when you plan to train and improve over a long period of time, then doing a well-rounded training program that gets the whole body stronger, is the best thing you can do. Bad motor stuff due to specific weak areas is less likely to develop and you open up a lot of training options for later. Excess strength, that you do not necessarily need in your sport, will rarely hurt you much and it might come in really handy somewhere down the road.

gosh that weird. i have problem with deadlifts. it's easier when i push my hips up first making it more like a RDL, or i cant lift the weight.

This is how a technically very good deadlift looks like. I bet yours is very different. Figure it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=44OAhh9n7l4#t=214s

also, @Pointer: When you half-squat 95 kg x 5 you won't even full-squat 80 kg x 5. So don't worry about your deadlift too much. Worry about your squat form instead...

I would do whichever sport I'd be most competitive in and where I see the most potential for improvement as well. But that might not be why YOU do sports. I could see why you like both sports. Powerlifting is probably a sport where you can improve hugely over time though. Do not know whether the same is true for deca.

There is probably some truth to that assumption. But I would personally not recommend such an outlook on things. It won't hurt you much to include press, bench-press and chin-ups into your training. And with those three exercises and the minimal time/resource investment that comes with training them (even half-heartedly), you already cover all the bases.

Another thing is, that you often do not know which exercise you will later have to do to get those last inches. You might have a big squat and deadlift already, but you might profit from a bigger powersnatch to help utilizing your strength for explosive events. But if your shoulder strength is not up to par, you might not be able to stabilize big weights over head and practicing the powersnatch becomes much less effective - and therefore your VJ training.

So essentially, training your upper body as well

1) gives you training options you otherwise would not have
2) makes you a better athlete over all (think about throwing, blocking, hitting etc.) and
3) prevents power leaks in explosive events ("core strength").

How high, roughly, do you jump? Standing? From a drop-step? From a full run-up?

Otherwise, people are right that you won't jump up to your potential when you are always in the process of recovering. For training that is not necessarily a bad thing. But to get a better feel for what you can actually jump I second what Dreyth wrote - a couple days off is the way to go.

Besides that, your progress is very good. But 295 is not a high squat yet, even at your current weight. Keep at it and add an explosive lift, preferably a powerclean or powersnatch to your training.