03-28-11 Rest Day

Holy delayed on set muscle soreness. Yesterday's dumbbell bench press 8 sets of 10 at 40X1 tempo have made  me incredibly sore. The DB lunges and Russian step ups have made a mess of my upper quad and hamstring as well.

My lack of squatting prowess has put me into a position where lots of single leg work is necessary to fix some strength issues. Its tough work that requires concentration but I am beginning to enjoy it and I am also excited to see the results.

Since we are the topic of tempo...those of you who are familiar with OPT style training or maybe Charles Poliquin will already know what 30X0 is but for the uninitiated here you go. Taken from the FAQ's at
http://optimumtraining.ca.

What the hell does 50X0 mean?

It signifies a certain tempo. There are many examples like this – 21X0/1010/5010/etc. You simply have to take the exercise and correlate the timing (i.e. the numbers – 30X0) to it.

 

For example, if a bench press or back squat is rx’d at 30X0, it means that from the top of the movement, you should take 3 seconds (1 one thousand, 2 one thousand, etc.) to reach the end point of the exercise (bar to chest in the bench press or full depth for the squat). So, the first number signifies the lowering portion of ANY exercise. 

 

The second number signifies if there is any PAUSE in the bottom position. Because this example says 0, it means that it is simply 3 seconds down, 0 pause, and then back up. If the tempo was 31X0, then you would have to pause for 1 second at the bottom of the movement. If it was 32X0, then you would have to pause for 2 seconds, and so on.

 

The third number signifies the time in which to raise the load. When it says “X” as the third number, it means to accelerate the load as fast as possible – regardless of how fast the weight is actually moving; intention to accelerate is most important. If the number is 2020, as sometimes rx’d for GHD sit-ups or back extensions, then you have to take 2 seconds to lower fully, 0 pause in the full stretch position, then take 2 seconds to come back to the top (you are capable of going faster, but that is not what is being asked, so follow the numbers), with 0 sec rest before going into the next rep.

There is also a case when you could be asked to do a 3010 tempo - on the bench press for example (because it is simple). When it says 3010, the third number is critical, because it means that for whatever the rep range is, you MUST take the rx’d time to raise the load, which would be 1 second in this example. This type of tempo does not allow for maximal efforts within sets, as you HAVE TO MAINTAIN a certain cadence for the reps.

 

The last number, as you may have guessed, signifies any pause at the top of the movement. If it says 30X1 for a weighted chin-up (or pull-up, same thing), then you have to hold your chin over the bar for one second before lowering for 3 seconds to full arm extension.

 

Also, you have to LEARN to read the number, then apply it to the given exercise. Chin-ups, for example, are a special case - there are other examples as well (i.e. deadlift). Chin-ups begin with the raising portion first, not like a back squat or bench press. So, if the tempo is 30X0, the first thing you look for is NOT the 3 second prescription, but the X, meaning that you begin with the third number for this exercise, not the first one.

 

Why do we Rx tempos?

We do it dependent on what the Coach wants the training response to be from the workout. It is done to control intensity, overload certain areas of a movement/body part, improve technique on movements, ease the load on the joints, variability, transfer to other parts of CrossFit (i.e. back squat - 1,1,1,1,1 is MUCH different than high bar back squat @ 40X1 - 2-3 reps x 5 sets...and side note, endurance on the squat at that tempo is one thing that WILL take the CF'er to another level as it carries over to so many things).