Supertraining

Ok at this point I'd like to return to a point in the original posting.

The question was why her coach would insist on a longer recovery period than 
she previously was required to use and a secondary question of why a personal 
trainer so adamantly opposed to her very successful coach's teaching.

The question of recovery when working with heavier sets and from the sound of 
her program, the original poster is indeed working with challenging weights and 
requires more rest than the personal trainer expects.  Perhaps the personal 
trainer in question is not familiar with heavier ends of periodized programs, 
where you NEED more rest in order to get the reps you are asked to perform.  In 
any event, the personal trainer should be strongly cautioned that they should 
NOT meddle in an athlete's program where they are being directly coached and 
particularly enjoying success.....being asked a question is NOT license to try 
to talk down the coach! and the statement made shows the ignorance of the PT in 
question specifically!

Generally speaking, in my experience as a powerlifter, the recovery for a heavy 
set on the high end of a periodization program can be from 3 to 10 minutes, 
depending on the size, conditioning, and external fatiguing factors on the 
athlete.  Yes, it's highly individual, and it's also likely the original 
poster's coach has carefully tailored her rest interval to that 2.5 minutes 
because she achieves her lifts in that rest interval usage and is succeeding in 
her goals and sport.  Some elite lifters take less time.  Some very large males 
take that 10 minutes...lol.  It's a matter of careful work to understand your 
own recovery status too, this is not something you learn without a lot of time 
and understanding. 

I myself use a guideline of 5 minutes for my heavier end of program sets, 
because I also have to keep in mind I must meet eventually the requirement of 
sitting and waiting between attempts on the platform.  I'm very careful to stay 
warm between the sets and attempts too.  If I'm having a very good energy day 
though, I might cut the rest to 3 minutes.  But I go by the clock, to be very 
consistent AND be sure I'm not distracted as we have walking distractions where 
I lift....lol.  Living ones.  Might have to answer 4 questions, or spot 
somebody else in the middle and make sure I am NOT out of my own training in 
the same timeframe!

However, the question which should also be asked is why other parties seem 
intent on trying to reroute a successful athlete with a VERY effective coach 
from doing what is WORKING FOR THAT ATHLETE.  The personal trainer in question 
CLEARLY does not know what they are talking about and should NEVER HAVE 
PRESUMED to overstep and state unequivocably that her coach is WRONG!  
(personally if i had a dime for every PT who has approached me over the years 
with gems like "DL will HURT YOUR BACK" and "Sq will HURT YOUR KNEES" I'd be 
VERY WEALTHY....Bill Gates might be getting loans from ME??)

I guess the rest of my advice would be to not speak to that personal trainer 
again lol.  Stay with your coach, who clearly knows you very well AND is 
teaching you how to win.  Success cannot be substituted...and it's funny, when 
you succeed, you find "experts" coming out of the woodwork to "coach you" 
suddenly....sigh.  I still find there are people out of nowhere who want to 
"coach me" when it's quite clear they've never coached a powerlifter in their 
lives...!  or worse yet, REALLY want to try to make a bodybuilder out of 
me...<GROWL>

Mel once said there is no Grand Unified Theory of training, no One Program to 
fit everyone, and your coach clearly knows her sport, and has you on the right 
track.  I would suggest in future instead of asking some random personal 
trainer the question, ask your coach the question directly instead.  <grin>  
This forum is also useful but again, you might find you could get 100 answers 
to your otherwise simple question...!

Congratulations to the original poster on your success in kayaking, may you 
continue to lift and enjoy it too!

The Phantom
aka Linda Schaefer, CMT, CSCS, competing powerlifter
Denver, Colorado, USA

=================
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
  To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
  Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 10:58 AM
  Subject: Re: [Supertraining] Question - Rest interval between sets?


  The rest component between sets is a total individual thing. Some require 
  more and some require less. The one main component I always use is one's 
  composure (mental/physical). It should never become (your workout) a race 
against 
  the clock. Arbitrary time elements, such like the "so called" popular 30 
  seconds between sets don't allow for individual recovery factors. When you 
are 
  composed and ready to continue, get after it and don't look ahead or look 
  behind. Never ever should your training be ruled by arbitrary set times 
between 
  your exercises. 

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