Preseason - Hammer Nutrition

NMES
Incorporating Compex into your training
Pre-season
Compex training:
Build power and VO 2 max
BY JIM BRUSKEWITZ
Increasing VO 2 max (the maximum
amount of oxygen one’s muscles
can use when exercising intensely)
is best improved when not just
training aerobically. The higher an
athlete’s VO 2 max, the greater the
potential to maintain a fast pace for
long periods of time. Training up to the
anaerobic threshold without exceeding
it, how most of us train to improve our
aerobic capacity particularly for longer
lasting events, won’t improve VO 2 max
as much as a training schedule including
systematic training above the anaerobic
threshold.
As pace and power generated increases,
we recruit more muscle fiber types.
When we recruit the three types of
muscle fibers, ST (slow twitch), FTa
(intermediate fast twitch), and FTx
(dedicated anaerobic fast twitch), we do
it in order from ST, to ST plus FTa, and
finally ST plus FTa and FTx. Up to our
anaerobic threshold, ST and only a few
of the FTa muscle fibers are recruited.
Until the effort exceeds the anaerobic
threshold, the majority of the FTa and
the FTx muscle fibers are not recruited.
It turns out that regularly recruiting
and training FTa and FTx shows greater
improvement in VO 2 max than just
training the aerobic ST muscle fibers. In
order to maximize VO 2 max, an athlete
must improve the aerobic capacity of
both their slow and fast twitch muscle
fibers.
Compex strength programs train the
ST, FTa, and the FTx muscle fibers.
The Resistance Program targets the
FTa muscle fibers, while the Strength
and Explosive strength programs target
FTx muscle fibers. These muscle fibers
can be effectively trained with Compex
programs without as much stress as
training above the anaerobic threshold.
Single muscle groups can be effectively
trained without stressing the whole
body’s cardiovascular, muscular, and
structural systems. Being able to more
easily fit this important muscle fiber
training into a weekly routine pays huge
dividends in increased strength and
VO 2 max.
Most athletes will train one muscle fiber
type at a time. A few of my associates
and I have been experimenting with
training a muscle group by using two
different strength training programs
on the same day. This approach is not
doubling the training load on one muscle
fiber type, which is probably more than
that muscle fiber type can reasonably
absorb. Rather, the approach trains two
different muscle fiber types one time
within each 48-hour training window.
More of the muscle will be fatigued.
The muscle adapts and can handle this
load. Rather than trying to gain these
adaptations a month before the year’s
big event, now is the perfect time to train
the muscle to absorb this kind of training
load. The more the muscle can absorb
AND recover from in time for the next
training session, the greater the level of
fitness that can be achieved.
Follow the training plan as shown on the
next page, and you will notice significant
improvements. Those around you will
notice the difference too. Note that for all
training blocks, recovery programs are
recommended daily—as much as needed.
You’ll notice a significant difference
in how well you perform your sport
after following this plan for even
just three weeks. The benefits will
continue to accumulate as you extend
the training time with Compex. There
are other Compex plans that will yield
great results as well. Variations on
this schedule may be more tailored to
your abilities and needs. Let’s explore
the basic features that should be
incorporated into any successful Compex
plan.
Any skeletal muscle group can be trained
with Compex. For any muscle group
trained:
Train a particular muscle group
three times per week.
If you train a muscle group one time per
week, you will detrain between sessions,
and the amount of improvement will
be limited. Three times per week is
ideal, but twice weekly is definitely
worth doing if three times per week is
impossible.
Take at least 48 hours between
training sessions.
Training three times per week will
leave 48 hours between two of the
three sessions and 72 hours before the
remaining session. Because strength
programs deliver a training load,
recovery is important to ensure that
the body’s capacity to absorb another
workout is large.
With any of the fast twitch muscle
fiber strength programs (Strength
and Resistance), train for at least
three weeks and not more than eight
weeks.
It will take three weeks for the muscles
to adapt to the stress and respond with
significant increases in force production
and improvement in aerobic capacity.
The rate of gain will drop to zero after
eight weeks of training. Switch the type
of training, the Compex program in this
case, to begin a new cycle and return to a
- continued on page 29
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