Supertraining

Your rest intervals are a matter of your goals and current conditioning level. 
Athletes other than those in the weightlifting sports would typically have a 
shorter rest interval as it may reflect the needs of their respective sport.  
This would apply more to the assistance exercises as your main training lift 
would typically have longer rest periods between sets but again this is a 
matter of training goals. 

You metioned "anatomical adaption"  and "hypertrophy" phases, this is typical 
of a western style periodization model. This system if it has not been 
explained to you has phases that you focus on developing one aspect to improve 
while hopefiully maintaining the others. The writings of Tudor Bompa are one of 
the best examples of this style of periodization. The systems works well.

The fact that your coach has a system in place and it seems to be working for 
you is the most important thing. You should continue to utilize it until it 
stops working and try to ignore all the "trainers" advising you in the gym.

 I personally prefer the conjugated system for athletes as it aims at 
increasing all aspects at the same time. 

The PT that you spoke to in the gym is most likely a moron, as most of them 
are. Anyone who is offended by this statement is one of them.

Train hard and smart!
Damien Chiappini
Pittsburgh, PA.


----- Original Message ----
From: Susan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: me <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 9:53:36 AM
Subject: [Supertraining] Question - Rest interval between sets?

My name is Susan, I'm 43 years old, and this week is my 12th week in a gym.
Ever. I'm a marathon kayaker and in order to get ready for races I've always
just gone out and paddled. I never set foot in a gym in my entire life until
12 weeks ago. Now I have a kayak coach who has me on a periodization weight
training training program and I've been totally surprised at how much I'm
enjoying it. Please keep in mind that I don't totally understand
"periodization, " I just follow her directions and I trust her implicitly and
do exactly what she says. The results are already paying off, I've already
won two races (last week and the week before) and I credit the extra
strength I've gained from weight training for my wins.

I'm now in the "max strength" cycle of periodization. (I started with
"anatomical adaptation" then moved to "hypertrophy" and now am in "max
strength.") The ultimate goal is for me to complete a 70 mile race on
Memorial Day.

My "rest interval" between sets is a full 2 1/2 minutes (it was 2 1/2
minutes for hypertrophy too, but 30 seconds to 1 minute during anatomical
adaptation). I got talking to one of the personal trainers at the gym I go
to and he said I didn't need to wait that long between sets, and he was very
insistent about it. I'm not about to change anything that my coach has me
doing, I totally believe in her, and the results are already showing, but it
got me thinking about rest intervals and their meaning.

My question is: Can you help me understand the "rest interval" between sets,
and what the different lengths of time mean? What does 2 1/2 minutes between
sets mean versus 1 minute between sets? I do not understand the mechanics of
the rest interval and what a longer versus shorter rest interval does for
the body. Any help in understanding rest intervals is appreciated!

Thank you,
Susan Williams 
Just west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
http://pennkayaker. com/wiki/ members/members. asp?db=MemberPag es&o=Lady% 
20Justice