VRT and rest.

[Focus]

Hi,

When I started VRT (i was involved in bodyweight exercises), I was advised to use it on days off. In a VRT only training do you need to rest like in any muscle-building method?

Plus, I am interested in purchasing your DVD, do you send to Europe and do you accept euro cheques?

Thanks

Focus

[douglis]

Hi Focus,
When I was training with weights anything more than once a week per bodypart was overtraining,especialy if I pushed my sets to failure.Now with VRT twice a week is fine even if I use max tension.I can even tolerate more volume.I think that's the main reason I see faster results with VRT.

[gruntbrain]

There's no clearcut answer. You can even train daily with VRTs esp. if you're contractions are sub-maximal It's easy to be delusional about your VRT efforts . Objective strength tests clear the cobwebs

[MikeNY]

I use VRT three times per week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. But also use DVR on a daily basis with the M7, Isometric Powerflexing/Dynaflex and use PCs. Mine is sort of a conservative approach.

At first VRT was hard for me, and used a four foot hardwood staff as a bar and two hardwood footrollers (bought footrollers to have the proper shape, nice new and clean) as dumbells; now I've been able to get the hang of VRT without the pseudo bar and dumbells. Having done DVR/M7 since April 07 I'd have thought that the practice of VRT would have been simple; but it was hard to use good form without the wooden bar at first and took time for me to develop the skill and way the wooden bar/rollers aside.

PS the more you use VRT the easier is gets. The School Systems of the World could really use Greg's System as a great asset if they just knew about it. The saving in just equipment costs could help so many 3rd Third Schools. It is a pity that the knowledge that Bronzebow leads the world in is not more well known. I can see schools all over the world adopting VRT & DVR using Greg's course, PYTP, M7, IPR and Powerflex.

[Focus]

Thank you all for your answers. So, none of you uses VRT on a daily basis.

To answer Gruntbrain, I do VRT with maximum tension. Except for the first serie following the warm up.

To MikeNY : Having wandered about in this forum for a few days, I have read about DVR and the M7 (that you mention in your message). What are they? I have guessed - but am not sure - that the M7 is the 7 tiger moves which corresponds to the group of exercises showed in the "EXERCISES" part of this site. For DVR, I found no explaination. Is it an isometric way of training?

I am asking a lot of newbie questions and am sorry for that. Even if I have been using VRT (without knowing it) for a long time in martial arts, I have not a full knowledge of VRT and linked concepts.

[VRT Man]

The School Systems of the World could really use Greg's System as a great asset if they just knew about it. The saving in just equipment costs could help so many 3rd Third Schools.

Let's hope the Internet can get the word out! Obviously I can't contact every school with a phone call, a letter and a DVD--:excruciating: but, schools could really use a wake-up call when it comes to an open-minded view of equipment-free fitness. All it takes is a phy ed teacher who's willing to listen, and try something new. John's website and books are really getting it out there. :hug-right:

--Greg Mangan

[MikeNY]

Yes the M7 are the 7 Tiger Move Exercises and are DVR. DVR and VRT are nearly identical, muscle tension exercises coupled with breathing.

Greg let's hope the internet does spread the word. Our friends in USA, Cosa Rica and other lands will be spreading the word. I can not think of a better system for Developing Nations or any School System that is straped for cash; VRT can be learned by one person and each person they teach is a new teacher in the making; a geometric progression of health and fitness. If School Systems adopted the Bronzebow methods, a Gym could return to what the anicent Greeks and Romans had, all they need is an open area. VRT is every machine anyone could want or can think of.

PS for the sake of people everywhere let's hope that Greg's VRT students carry the VRT banner across the Globe. Never has such an advanced system been so available.

[Focus]

Thanks for details about M7.

This method should probably be more famous. I live in Europe and I feel that where I live no one seems to know about this method. If I am on this forum today, it is because I didn't find only ONE French-speaking forum dealing with this and I've come to fetch information here.
And strangely enough, the medical area seems to already know this way of muscle working. Indeed my wife has just delivered our son, and like any new mother, she has to do exercises to tense her inner muscles (those muscles can obviously not lift weights...).

Her "teacher" teaches her to visualise a door which is being closed - or other elements according to the need - while contracting the muscles. It seems to be exactly what VRT is all about (as long as I have understood it).

Anyway, I am going to buy G. Mangan's DVD, because a pain in the shoulder will prevent me from using my pull bar and doing push ups for some time. I will be fully involved in VRT (at least for the upper body). This method seems to be really great.
I have already started my-onwn-style VRT. But I feel I need some advice and guide lines which I'll probably find in G. Mangan's method.

[jaymo]

I think that the "DVR" style of "self-generated resistance" is the MOST effective means of result-producing exercise than one can otherwise get!

Pushups are great- situps are great- but DVR resistance exercises are...

THE KING of exercises!!

J

[Focus]

Hey Focus- what about olivier lafay's site??? anything similar on there? or just bodyweight stuff / push ups,pullups,situps etc etc

I had already answered this post but my answer seems to have never been displayed. To sum up, Lafay works in favour of physical and mental health, with a positive attitude in life.

He has developped a method to build muscles with bodyweight only (pull ups, push ups, bench dips...). A friend of mine has got the book and if I remember well, this programme consists in combining endurance and strength. To overload the muscles without weight, you reduce the rest periods.

The book goes through 13 steps. At each step you have to reach a certain performance to hava access to the next step.

But I do not know this method by myself, so I don't have much information on it.

Focus.

[Royce]

Hi Focus,
When I was training with weights anything more than once a week per bodypart was overtraining,especialy if I pushed my sets to failure.Now with VRT twice a week is fine even if I use max tension.I can even tolerate more volume.I think that's the main reason I see faster results with VRT.

You have made some great points, Douglis.

Regardless of the form of progressive resistance employed, most people fail to gain significant size and strength. The reasons are many. But the most common reason, at least from my perspective, is overtraining. I have said this again and again. For most people, they only need to do strength training twice per week. That’s why it is good to have some other activity, such as Qi Gong or a sport, to take your mind off of strength training.

But many people want to do more and more strength training. Many of the people here also want to increase their ability to do pushups, pullups, etc. So they keeping increasing their sets and reps. I have to ask; toward what end do this do this? What’s so important about increasing your pullup or pushup count. I’m often puzzled about that.

But if that’s the goal you have in mind, I say more power to you. But don’t expect such a regimen to be idea for increasing size and strength.

There are some super high energy folks who accomplish great things with heavy and frequent training. They are the folks who have the kind of recovery abilities associated with world class athletes. Consequently, these high energy people usually believe that what works for them will work for everyone. Such is not the case.

A very high percentage of average people struggle along without a specific plan for building size or strength. In gyms around the country, you can see people who have trained for many years with relatively little to show for their efforts.

And these days, with the Internet, there’s an unending number of programs being proffered by people trying to make a quick buck. The plethora of information is confusing at best. Anyway, it’s a situation that isn’t going to change anytime soon.

[gruntbrain]

Listen to Royce; saying your training pgm is the best violates the spirit of a hubris free forum .Even if there were a perfect training protocol, our humanoid application often falls well short of the ideal. Also, listen to Greg & JP; be your own personal trainer

[jaymo]

This is a good point! Just last week, I was FORCED to miss TWO days of training!

I was upset, and half-heartedly did my set of hindu pushups (at work, on the side of the road!)

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my normal "sets" of hindu pushups were not 20 as usual...

But had jumped to 45 per set! And, I could have kept going, but....

I like to be conservative. (After years of "to the max" weight training)

Rest is so important, and so overlooked by some of us (like ME!)
J