Need some educating on "Fitness Terminology"

**Asriel** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 9:13am

I Deadlifted wrong by having the bar too far away from my legs.

Luckily i wasn't lifting heavily but the muscle strain lasted weeks

**Teh El Macho** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 10:39am

Originally Posted by CharlesTC

Oh, alright.

Thanks guys!

I think I am going to enjoy attempting to build muscle! :D I just hope I am doing it right!

One way to find out is by reading the proper material. Starting Strength for example. Check also the articles in t-nation as they are usually of good quality when it comes to build size.

**Emevas** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 2:59pm

Originally Posted by Kentucky Fried Chokin

Depends what you want to do. For bodybuilding it's a very good thing. Bodybuilders love the pump, the burn, and the high you get from going to failure. For strength training...

Really, I wouldn't even say that training to failure is a very good thing for bodybuilding, at least for a natural trainee. It can have some applications, but for those without chemical assistance, you're not going to want to go to failure very often.

**Asriel** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:03pm

How applicable would training to failure be if you were working on endurance?

**Emevas** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:12pm

Generally training to failure for any aspect is not a good thing. Training to failure means you train until you fail at a movement. For your CNS, this isn't a good thing to reinforce in your motor pattern. It also tends to fry out your body, and can lead to overtraining faster.

That being said, I don't like weight training for endurance compared to SPP that is meant specifically to improve your endurance and ability at a given activity. Training boxing to get better at boxing, and running to get better at running.

**Asriel** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:28pm

Thanks for that mate, very interesting.

One thing though, what does SPP stand for? Specific something?

**Emevas** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:29pm

GPP is General Physical Preparedness so SPP is Specific Physical Prepardeness, or something like that. The Air Force gives me too many acronyms to remember.

**Asriel** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:32pm

OK, so, as you mentioned above, SPP is basically:

To improve endurance for grappling do grappling etc?

That makes perfect sense

**Emevas** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 3:44pm

It's my take on things, at least for a non-professional athlete. Most people are gassing out not just as a result of "bad cardio" or even weaker muscle endurance, but also as a result of wasted movement because they haven't developed their technique to be as efficient as possible. I figure that, but taking the time to train exactly what it is they want to do, they will both improve technique AND improve their cardio and involved muscles at the specific activity they want to get better at. So, if you want to box for longer, box for longer when you train. Spend more time hitting the bags, gloves, and sparring.

For some reason, people treat combat sports different than any other sport when it comes to conditioning, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. How come, when swimmers want to get better at swimming, they swim more, but when a fighter wants to get better at fighting, they swim and run and do all sorts of other stuff during the time they could spend training? I mean, would you tell a swimmer to box to get better at swimming?

Now, once you reach a level wherein you've already developed your technique to a point that it is as maximally efficient as possible before getting into the territory of diminishing returns, cross training becomes a viable option. You look at professionals like Fedor and such, and cross training is a heavy element to his conditioning, in that he runs along with training for his combat sport. However, it would be folly for a beginner to emulate the training style of a professional without being on their level.

This is just my take on things though. There's lots of literature that supports and goes against my views, and it's ultimately up to you to decide what it is you want to do.

**Asriel** · Posted On: 1/05/2009 4:00pm

I've always preached that to get better at something (I.E. MA) you need to do it more. A perfect example is people wanting to know the best stretching routines to improve their kicking when they should just be kicking more.

But to suggest that to improve one's endurance within a sport, one should simply take part in that sport more is something i've never even considered.

Thanks for that, something to think on :)