It's Really Very Simple...Cut Back And Do More

[John Peterson]

Hey Friends,


I received an e-mail this morning addressing a problem that many, many men have asked me about in private pm's over the last five years. Since it is such a common issue for so many people, I thought I would address it here and now and invite the interaction of other friends. This is the question:

"John, I have been doing 4 sets of 50 Push-Ups each morning for the last 3 months and lately they have been getting harder and harder to do. I don't seem to be progressing at all. What do you suggest I do?"


As already stated, I have been asked this question many,many times. And the answer is really very simple. If you are feeling spent and lacking in energy, if you are feeling drained and emotionally on edge, and if you feel you are losing muscular strength, YOU ARE OVERTAXING YOUR CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM and you need a break. First, take a few days completely off. Trust me on this, you will not fall apart.

Next, when you get back to training, set a cumulative total and allow yourself latitude in achieving it. It's really very simple. Just cut back and do more. For instance, the man that e-mailed me was working to close to his one set limit day after day. Over time he was 'over taxing' his Central Nervous System. In other words, he was gradually using himself up and was totally unaware of it until he hit the wall and began feeling weaker and overstressed.

Now let's be specific. He was doing 4 X 50 reps=200 reps each day. No breaks, and performed each and every day for 3 months. My recommendation is to set a cumulative daily total and reach it over the course of a day. Let's say instead of 200 we go for 210 reps instead. Not a problem. he simply does 7 sets of 30 or 6 sets of 35 or any combination that he wishes. Ultimately he does more reps and achieves far better results without over taxing his CNS.

So now some of you are shaking your head and saying Peterson is wrong about this. NO I'M NOT! By doing more manageable sets in flawless form the man would be pumping his muscles six or seven times daily with vital nutrients via an infusion of highly oxygenated nutrient rich blood. This in turn will cause accelerated growth. In addition, he would not be overtaxing his CNS. Trust me Guys I have this base covered in Power Sculpt with exact sets and routines that are based upon your own personal performance. You can and will progress much faster and feel much better if never over tax your CNS. Your NERVE FORCE is the key to your progress. If you over tax or dissipate it you will be setting yourself back. SO CUT BACK AND DO MORE.

----John Peterson

P.S. If you want super strength as well as physique, use the Isometric Power Belt exactly as instructed for no more than 10 to 15 minutes of intense contractions when combining it with High volume Power Calisthenics. That way you can achieve super human strength, fitness and physique safely.

---John Peterson

[gruntbrain]

A simple,objective strength test is one way to determine if you're over taxin' your CNS

A change of training may counteract possible psyschological staleness - eg substitute pullups for pushups

[vegetus25]

Hey John,

This is a timely post for me. I have been feeling the way you described. But I got there from the other end. I have been working w/ mainly 50% of max rep sets, but lots of them in one workout. Even though I was no where near failure on any of my sets, eventually my CNS started to take a beating. What would you suggest in this situation? I had not thought of GTG, but I can see how it could be a option in the same way it is for recovering from the high intensity side.

I can also say that after taking a few days completely off I felt much better than I had in years. But I made the mistake of taking more days off and after a while my body started to feel bad (sluggish, achy, etc.). I think lay offs from time to time are a good thing, but I think we were made to be active most of the time.

Thanks for posting and God bless,

Veg

[CharlesMartel]

If something is not working, try something else.

One of the oldest pieces of advice ever for a reason.

[gruntbrain]

Any training break does not require complete rest; think active rest activities like joint mobility drills use modest DVR tension

[Alan_OldStudent]

Hi John,

I agree 100% with what you're saying. And I'd add one more thing too.

From the tone in this fellow's PM to you, I wonder if perhaps he was not having fun any more with his routine.

Maybe, instead of being an interesting and engrossing challenge, his workout had become an irksome task he had to frantically complete, lest he lose everything!

He had perhaps made progress for a while, was thrilled, and said, "Hey, I could do more!" Then, before his body was really ready, he was trying to do 200 push-ups in every day.

When it became harder and harder for him to keep up this pace, he started ragging on himself. His self-coach was yelling, "Come on boy, you should be able to do it" and "what's the matter with you?"

Right! The notorious "Should Monster" was nipping at his heels and then biting him in the butt!

Your suggestion gives him an opportunity to make his workout interesting and fun again. It helps him prevent the notorious "Should Monster" from spoiling his fun.

When the ""Should Monster" succeeds in spoiling your fun and making your workout an irritating should instead of a fun adventure in self-exploration and self-development, he's winning the battle, and ultimately, he's going to be able feed your body to his three dogs, "Too Discouraged," "No Time Today," and "Too Tired ."

You gave him excellent advice, Brother John.

Regards,

Alan OldStudent

[Kevin Nickerson]

Less equals more but doing more doesn't always equal success. A lot of times I don't feel like I do enough but I'm also learning that doing more leads to results.If a little is good why not do more?but the thing is if if we were carpenters in the process of building a house,we would never get it built because we would always be in the process of tearing it apart.Hey why isn't this happening?Answer because I thought I could do it better,I'm learning that doing more reps but making every rep count,and by this I mean,and i hope I can explain it right.I like to call it compacted effort followed by relaxation.I do the tiger moves and have gotten to the point where I get a great pump after one set and I feel it stays with me through out the day.sometimes I do more sets other times i tell myself why?What is it going to add?When I'm on this forum I learn something new each time from different people,I think of it as a master class and if we truly listen and apply what we learn we will have few if any set-backs in our development.there is a wealth of information that if one applies correctly will lead to success. I know this is redundant but the whole idea of exercise to build not to drain energy.I'm learning to listen to my body signals and the way I feel mentally because this is where we get into trouble because we try to force thing when all the while we need a little break every now and then.I took a break from push ups for about 4 months because I did not want to get on the floor and do them probably a bad excuse.I did tiger moves dvr's and isometrics for that time.About 3 weeks ago i decided to try some push up to see what I could do,I did fifty.I stopped at fifty even though I felt I could do more.Sorry for being long winded-Kevin

[sillypup]

pavel calls it training to failure. he suggest ending training when you still feel fresh and feeling strong to build strength and through conditioning in his martials arts training principles. if you max out each time, that condition you to fail and be fatigue. so in other words, don't do too much reps that it tax and fatigue you when you finish. better to do less reps with higher tension or less rep more frequently for more output numbers. exercising is cumulative. what matters is how you feel when your done.

[stingray]

John,

Great advice. I have made this mistake multiple times and it always ends with me being so bonked that I am tired, grumpy and don't want to do push ups.

Someone could have told me this, and I probably heard this advice, but it wasn't until I experienced it did I really believe what was happening.


Alan,

Great advice as well. I have heard that voice telling me that I should be able to do it many, many times.
I need to learn to have selective hearing.

[gruntbrain]

It's probably OK to train to failure as an infrequent challenge; such challenges are a double edged sword & can provide motivation

[Hank_Z]

Excellent post, Alan.

The "Should Monster" can hurt us in lots of areas of life. Not just in exercise. It helps to be aware of this "monster."

Hank

[Hank_Z]

(Regarding push-ups)
My recommendation is to set a cumulative daily total and reach it over the course of a day. Let's say instead of 200 we go for 210 reps instead. Not a problem. he simply does 7 sets of 30 or 6 sets of 35 or any combination that he wishes. Ultimately he does more reps and achieves far better results without over taxing his CNS.

---John Peterson

John, this makes sense to me. I love doing push-ups and am rehabbing my rotator cuff in hopes of being able to do them again.

Question: In your opinion, does this method of setting a cumulative daily total and doing a number of sets during the day also work for DVRs and VRTs? I don't recall seeing a post about this.

If this does not apply to DVRs and VRTs, what is the reason?

Hank

[Greg Newton]

Question: In your opinion, does this method of setting a cumulative daily total and doing a number of sets during the day also work for DVRs and VRTs? I don't recall seeing a post about this.

If this does not apply to DVRs and VRTs, what is the reason?

Hank,

That is a good question. Instinctively I know there is a difference, but how do you articulate this? I am curious to see John's response on this.

[dave]

Very simple and very informative, in agreement with John here. Again Hank a very good question I to am curious to the answer.

Dave

[John Peterson]

Hello Hank,

This method would work perfectly with moderate intensity DVR/VRT and deep breathing because the goal is to infuse the muscles with highly oxygenated, nutrient rich blood and deliver it to the muscles throughout the day in order to enhance the healing process. In this instance you may decide to use light to moderate intensity for 15 to 20 reps and then increase it incrementally on the last half dozen so that your muscles feel reasonably taxed.

Example: If you performed 20 or more reps several times throughout the day of Tiger Moves 1through 5 or better yet all 7 you would be amazed at how it would enhance the blood flow and healing process.

I will also make an announcement later today about some of my new supplements that are specifically designed to enhance the healing process. Products that I know are the absolute best of the best.

But to answer your question, YES! Moderate intensity High Volume DVR/VRT would have the same effect and dramatically enhance the healing process.

---John Peterson

[gruntbrain]

I'll continue to pound the table for performing DVRs to enhance joint mobility. Using varying ROM movements with varying DVR tension will make your joints happy. I perform high volume joint mobility drills but I concede that my approach may be overkill

[Hank_Z]

Hello Hank,

This method would work perfectly with moderate intensity DVR/VRT and deep breathing because the goal is to infuse the muscles with highly oxygenated, nutrient rich blood and deliver it to the muscles throughout the day in order to enhance the healing process. In this instance you may decide to use light to moderate intensity for 15 to 20 reps and then increase it incrementally on the last half dozen so that your muscles feel reasonably taxed.

Example: If you performed 20 or more reps several times throughout the day of Tiger Moves 1through 5 or better yet all 7 you would be amazed at how it would enhance the blood flow and healing process.


---John Peterson

Thanks, John! I'm giving this a go, since this is something I can do even with my rehabbing rotator cuff.

Hank

[Hank_Z]

Hello Hank,

This method would work perfectly with moderate intensity DVR/VRT and deep breathing because the goal is to infuse the muscles with highly oxygenated, nutrient rich blood and deliver it to the muscles throughout the day in order to enhance the healing process.

---John Peterson

John, one more question about this. When you say to combine "moderate intensity DVR/VRT and deep breathing", are you referring to deep breathing during each exercise? Or to a deep breathing protocol similar to what you recommend for between isos in IPR? The latter may be very good; it's also much more time-consuming.

Thanks, John.

Hank

[A1C Evans]

This is an interesting idea to me but I have some questions. Is this method meant to be used as the main method of training or just cycled out with other more intense training phases? I mean, most of the time when I finish my conditioning workouts im pretty well exhausted. I feel well accomplished but very tired and low energy usually. Is this bad, or is it just better to use sparringly? Obviously different people have their own opinions but im interested in functionality and long term health, many who are about using intense training are training to be competitive athletes, or is it that you can do this when you're more advanced?

[Alan_OldStudent]

..... Obviously different people have their own opinions but im interested in functionality and long term health, many who are about using intense training are training to be competitive athletes, or is it that you can do this when you're more advanced?

I'm with you on that. I'm not interested in being in competitive athletics, just in long-term health and functional strength through natural means.

To me, the key is this: Do I feel good? Am I having fun? Is exercise something I look forward to?

Whatever routine best fulfills those criteria is going to be our best bet.

For one thing, we'll stick to it. For another, it keeps the "Should Monster" at bay, and we will achieve our maximum potential of good health.


Regards,

Alan OldStudent

[gruntbrain]

We all SHOULD keep movin' ; the alernative is deadly

[stingray]

My take on this thread, is that it doesn't really matter how I get to my daily total as long as I am not going to failure in any of my sets. So, if my goal is 500 reps in a day. I could do 25 sets of 20, 20 sets of 25, or 10 sets of 50. As my sets got easier, I would increase my reps per set.

I find that my sets vary depending on the type of push up that I am doing. While doing the Atlas 3 push up, I have to do smalller sets, the same with the Power T's.

I like to do my sets in clusters. So, I might do 4 sets of Atlas I in the morning, and then another 4 in the afternoon and then I would do all of my Tiger stretch push ups later in the day.

Please correct me if my interpretation of this thread is incorrect. I am looking for feedback.


Thanks.

[gruntbrain]

Stingray
There's no one single coorrect way; even going to failure can at times be worthwhile. Your own experiments are more useful than most internet advice