Topic: Myofibrillar Hypertrophy Training.

[Damayonnaise]

Firstly, thank you to everyone that replied I really got some valuable info. Secondly, I know the reps that help with myofibrillar hypertopht training but are there certain exercises that would help more than others or what should I be doing to help with my training.

[Andy Animus Tran]

I honestly don't know the scientific literature regarding plyometrics, but I don't think most traceurs should really bother with them in GPP.  Jumping is a skill and you're better off practicing in ways that will develop cognitive functioning in parkour specific situations.  Max effort precisions, bounding and striding precisions as well as other various parkour related skills like gettiing max distance after vaulting are all more useful to someone who wants to get "better" at parkour.

Parkour is really heavily skill oriented (unlike track and field for example), so I'd rather spend my time developing better visual/proprioceptive strategies, anticipation, and body control skills, than add plyometrics to my GPP (alongside strength training).  Just seems like there wouldn't be too significant a difference in performance and I'd be better off overall because I would have practiced my sport-specific skills more.

Most traceurs?  No, you're right.  Most traceurs are weak as hell.  Power can't come without strength and neither can speed.  But most traceurs are also very linear, so agility drills will have a significant impact on performance.  Being able to function at a full sprint is going to impact performance.  Etc. etc.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I think plyo training in conjunction with true strength work and Parkour-specific training is going to be the route for your advanced athletes.  In a lot of cases, advanced traceurs have pretty much tapped out on what technical training is actually going to offer them as far as performance goes, and that's where traditional strength and conditioning come into play.

[G. Will.]

Firstly, thank you to everyone that replied I really got some valuable info. Secondly, I know the reps that help with myofibrillar hypertopht training but are there certain exercises that would help more than others or what should I be doing to help with my training.

Looking for strength as opposed to size means you should be doing big compound exercises with moderate to low reps. I would suggest pull ups. They work most of the back, parts of the shoulders and arms, and too a small extent the abs. I consider them one of the best exercises in general, but it's also very applicable to parkour.

I've read a lot of different articles with strength vs size in mind. Whether it's fast-twitch muscle fibers, greater central nervous system activation, or the "maintenence" mass vs "strength" mass of the muscle, it all comes down to this.

Heavy weight, low reps, compound movements, good form. That's what I live by for workouts. Hope that helps.

[Damayonnaise]

Alright so weights are fair game too?

[Tom Coppola]

Most traceurs?  No, you're right.  Most traceurs are weak as hell.  Power can't come without strength and neither can speed.  But most traceurs are also very linear, so agility drills will have a significant impact on performance.  Being able to function at a full sprint is going to impact performance.  Etc. etc.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, but I think plyo training in conjunction with true strength work and Parkour-specific training is going to be the route for your advanced athletes.  In a lot of cases, advanced traceurs have pretty much tapped out on what technical training is actually going to offer them as far as performance goes, and that's where traditional strength and conditioning come into play.

I'm looking forward to when we can really see the human potential fully cultivated by parkour athletes as proper knowledge and coaching are firmly established in the sport.  I feel like we've barely scratched the surface.

[G. Will.]

Alright so weights are fair game too?

I'm always happy to help, but this is all more or less covered in the sticky titled, "IF YOU'RE NEW READ THIS FIRST."

Yes, as far as I know, weights are fair game for strength training with parkour in mind.

[David Jones]

Alright so weights are fair game too?

A lot of us think that weights are essential for longevity, let alone in the aspect of performance.

[David M.]

Generation167 - Absolutely lift.

Heavy weight, low reps, compound movements, good form.

When training for strength and CNS activation that can be very much untrue.

Good form I agree with.

Compound Movements are good.

Heavy weright I tend to somewhat disagree with. Many people who train for strength will use a weight that is around 60% of their 1RM to build that strength. Louie Simmons: the godfather of powerlifting says to use 60% of your 1RM. Jim Wendler and a lot of other powerlifters use a lighter weight. The key here is that you accelerate the weight with maximum effort.

[G. Will.]

I agree with that. "Heavy weight" can be taken a lot of different ways. That's to say, "Don't lift in the 4-8 rep range with weight you could use in the 10-15 rep range."

Frankly, I don't know what my 1RM is. Right now I shoot for 30 reps in 8 and 6 rep sets with probably 10 to 8 RM on the weight.

Do you consider the percentage of 1RM to be that important?

[David M.]

I don't think it's that important and neither do the people that say to use around 60%. That's why they say around. You can estimate what your 1RM is though.

[Andy Animus Tran]

Uhm.. Louie Simmons uses a 60% 1RM weight for his dynamic effort work, not his max effort/strength work.  Max effort is closer to 80-85%, but it varies on phase and how close to a meet an athlete is.

Wendler's loading protocol varies week to week, but he takes the 1RM, drops it by 10%, then uses anywhere between 65 and 95% of that load depending.

[Damayonnaise]

whats 1RM?

[David Jones]

1 Rep Max.

[Damayonnaise]

So basically lift about 60% of the most weight you can lift in one rep, and then only do 3-5 reps of that 60%?

[Chris Salvato]

Dude, read practical programming by Mark Rippetoe.

[David M.]

Uhm.. Louie Simmons uses a 60% 1RM weight for his dynamic effort work, not his max effort/strength work.  Max effort is closer to 80-85%, but it varies on phase and how close to a meet an athlete is.

He says that building strength to accelerate the weight of around 60% as much as possible. That will build strength. I know Wendler's 5/3/1 is somewhat different though.

[Andy Animus Tran]

He says that building strength to accelerate the weight of around 60% as much as possible. That will build strength. I know Wendler's 5/3/1 is somewhat different though.

Louie Simmons's programming is designed primarily to focus on two separate aspects of heavy lifting: the first is to actually lift heavy weight.  The second is to be able to accelerate weight quickly.  Other than pure activation, the dynamic effort method of training also contributes to being able to push out from the hole much more easily.  Simmons isn't necessarily saying that it's going to build strength, especially doing that alone.  What it is.. is a method of training the lifts to specifically address an issue that occurs in the sport of powerlifting, and that is getting stuck in the hole.  So while, yes, it is going to make you "stronger" in the long run, it's only a component of developing strength and not nearly as useful for strength when it's on its own.

Joe DeFranco toyed around with Louie Simmons's ideas and developed them for athletic performance, which may be a better place to look for training theory than the strict powerlifters for traceurs.

[Damayonnaise]

Thanks Chris.