A lifetime learner is someone who is willing to embrace the process of learning over the course of a lifetime. When it comes to things like tying my shoes, I’m not so concerned with being a lifetime learner. I learned how to tie my shoes as a child and only wish to maintain the skill. No new learning is necessary. Strength training is different. There are endless training variables to tinker with and endless training methods to try out. In addition, we can all look at the successes of others and try the methods that they have used to see if those methods will work for us.
Important Concepts That Took Time To Learn
In my own case, it took me decades to figure out the concept of training thresholds and precision points. It then took a process of trial and error to understand how to apply the concept of training thresholds in a productive manner. I learned a very important lesson from this, which is that precision matters in regard to training intensity, training volume, and training frequency. I found that the best results occur when you train hard enough without training too hard. I also found that you must do enough sets without doing too many, and you must train often enough without training too often.
The next concept of major importance that I learned is to allow the same training stressors to become easier over time. Another way to say this is that you must acclimate to the weights you are using and allow them to become more comfortable to lift before you increase them if you want to make long term progress. The practice of overloading your muscles immediately after you make a small gain in strength is what kills progress. In my own experience, long-term progress is more consistent if you give yourself a sufficient amount of time to allow the same weight, same reps, and same sets to become more comfortable for six to twelve weeks before increasing them.
Overload, Load, and Underload
Most lifters and coaches are stuck in overload mode. This simply means that they want to add weight or reps at the first indication that a lifter is able to do so. The only one I know of who thinks otherwise is coach Christopher Sommer, a gymnastics coach who specializes in strength training. His version of strength training is to go through three phases. The first phase is to start with overload. The second phase is to progress to load, and the third phase is to progress even further to underload. All of this is accomplished without changing the weight, sets, or reps.
Starting with overload means to start with a resistance that is very intense. Keep using the same weight, reps, and sets until you gain enough strength to transition to the load phase. When you reach the load phase, it means that the same weight, reps, and sets have become medium in the level of difficulty. If you stick with it, the same weight, reps, and sets will eventually become comfortable and fairly easy to lift which means you have transitioned to the underload phase. Coach Sommer’s explanation of this reads as follows:
“Increasing physical strength can never be a simple straight linear progression. The body is not a machine and requires periods of overload (heavy strain), load (medium level effort) and underload (light comfortable recovery oriented). The body has a set physiological window of recovery and recuperation of the various tissues that cannot be exceeded. Most of us tend to focus on maintaining too much work in the overload portion of our training, too little in the load, and far too little in the underload.” (Excerpt from gymnaasticbodies.com.)
While coach Sommer refers to it as overload, load, and underload; I refer to it as overload then acclimate to the load. You can read more about how to implement this principle by clicking on the following title to read the book: “Overload And Acclimate.”
New Training Methods
At this point in my life, I am immersed in a totally new phase of learning in regard to strength training. I have recently come to the conclusion that it is important to train every muscle in the body. To be more specific, if you want to train for a lifetime without a break down, you had better learn how to train every muscle from every angle throughout a full range of motion. All muscles are important, all angles are important, and every range of motion is important. In addition, connective tissue consisting of tendons and ligaments is exceedingly important and must be properly trained. Who did I learn this from? Miranda Esmonde White, and Christopher Sommer.
I am currently in a giant training experiment, feeling my body out with exercise motions and angles and positions that I never previously considered as important to strength training. This is necessary because I am forced to adjust my training methodology due to the fact that when I hit 54 years of age, my body began to breakdown with injuries, aches and pains at an accelerated rate. Now at the age of 57, I am learning a whole new way of training. I haven’t forgotten the important concepts that I have already learned, but I am adding to my training with tons of new exercises, stretches, loaded stretches, and dumbbell swings. It wouldn’t be appropriate to try and reveal what I have learned so far as I need time to observe results and form solid conclusions.
Advice: Be a Lifetime Learner
I am 57 and have been experimenting with weight training methods since the age of 16. After decades of training experience, I thought I had come close to exhausting every form of weight training methodology. However, after my recent exposure to some new training methods, it is apparent that I haven’t even scratched the surface of training possibilities as it would take a lifetime. With this in mind, my current advice to anyone who is serious about strength training is this: Be a lifetime learner if you want to be a lifetime lifter. Best of training to you.