Just read 0ni's post in the Sheiko thread and it reminded me of this article. It's weightlifting/Crossfit based but the general message regarding volume is still there.
Thoughts?
"I finished up another one of Medvedyev’s training manuals last week and was reviewing my notes and thoughts on the manual this week. The training manual I read is titled “A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting.” Much of what I gained personally was a better understanding of the necessity for GPP and athletic work at an early age in order to produce elite lifters later in life. While I knew and saw the necessity for basic athletic ability in the sport of weightlifting, this manual helped to draw out when and how to train young athletes. The manual gave me a little insight into how great a percentage of an athlete’s training should be General Physical Preparation and at what ages should that percentage shift. Furthermore, this manual listed some of the better ways to train young athletes in their athletic ability throughout their training lifetime even giving me specific exercises to add to their programming.
Also one of the more intriguing elements that compiled this manual was how Medvedyev arranged the volume of elite level weightlifters as compared to lifters who are very young in the sport. He detailed percentages, tonnage lifted, and number of lifts (NL) per age group or skill level in order to achieve optimal results. These charts and parameters have proved invaluable in programming and coaching athletes in the lifts. Furthermore, Medvedyev gave me a template to manipulate and arrange for the purpose of Crossfit programming. In 1986 when Medvedyev wrote this manual Crossfit didn’t exist. However, much of the theory behind his parameters for yearly loading can be applied to loading and training Crossfit athletes. If you follow the Outlaw Way, you are currently loaded seasonally according to these principles. I bet ole Medvedyev is rolling in his grave thinking his Russian weightlifting protocols are making Crossfitters more fit.
Lastly, and probably the most affirming part of the book came at the end. The majority of the manual was straight science, charts, and physics. However, near the end Medvedyev gave us a little insight into the passion and dedication he gave to the sport of weightlifting and his programming philosophies. I posted this quote on Outlaw Barbell a while ago but it’s worth repeating so you can get a little insight into why the Russians program the way they do.
“The volume of loading has grown noticeably, in recent years. However, it is impossible to agree with the viewpoint that an increase in the volume of training work is considered the sole or at best, the most accessible opportunity for raising the effectiveness of the athlete’s preparation. In contrast to the volume, the rational structuring of the loading is of great significance, in any type of sport. Practical experience has shown that no one means, nor one method of special training can be considered universal or absolutely effective. Every means and method can (and should) have chief significance at a given stage of training; depending on the motor specifics of the type of sport, the sportman’s preparedness, character of the preceding loading, the concrete objectives of the current stage of training, etc. Furthermore, our research (Y.V. Verkhoshansky, 1966, 1970) has shown convincingly, that if one is speaking of the absolute effect of special-strength-training, i.e., a definite system of employing a variety of means and methods, this effect is significantly higher qualitatively and quantitatively, than is achieved with separate means and methods, not sequence over time. Furthermore, this effect is achieved at a lesser volume of loading…The fact is that it is simpler and easier to increase the volume of loading, than to search for effective means of special training. That is why this method is so commonly used in practice.”[1]
Medvedyev makes a giant point here. When done in a chaotic fashion and when done without specific goals and loading in mind is futile. Furthermore, just because you do more does not necessarily mean that you are getting better. He makes the point that it is easy to just add more volume to a program. That takes no science, research, or critical thinking skills. Just add more reps and more sets. The idea that you can just “out-work” your competition and be a better athlete by simply doing more than your opponents is a fallacy plaguing the Olympic lifting and Crossfit world. Even in a system like Crossfit where randomness and chaos is the whole idea, there has to be structure. Medvedyev notes that while this is true, it’s also hard. It’s always easier to just add more volume but it’s not always best." - Spencer Arnold
Thoughts?
"I finished up another one of Medvedyev’s training manuals last week and was reviewing my notes and thoughts on the manual this week. The training manual I read is titled “A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting.” Much of what I gained personally was a better understanding of the necessity for GPP and athletic work at an early age in order to produce elite lifters later in life. While I knew and saw the necessity for basic athletic ability in the sport of weightlifting, this manual helped to draw out when and how to train young athletes. The manual gave me a little insight into how great a percentage of an athlete’s training should be General Physical Preparation and at what ages should that percentage shift. Furthermore, this manual listed some of the better ways to train young athletes in their athletic ability throughout their training lifetime even giving me specific exercises to add to their programming.
Also one of the more intriguing elements that compiled this manual was how Medvedyev arranged the volume of elite level weightlifters as compared to lifters who are very young in the sport. He detailed percentages, tonnage lifted, and number of lifts (NL) per age group or skill level in order to achieve optimal results. These charts and parameters have proved invaluable in programming and coaching athletes in the lifts. Furthermore, Medvedyev gave me a template to manipulate and arrange for the purpose of Crossfit programming. In 1986 when Medvedyev wrote this manual Crossfit didn’t exist. However, much of the theory behind his parameters for yearly loading can be applied to loading and training Crossfit athletes. If you follow the Outlaw Way, you are currently loaded seasonally according to these principles. I bet ole Medvedyev is rolling in his grave thinking his Russian weightlifting protocols are making Crossfitters more fit.
Lastly, and probably the most affirming part of the book came at the end. The majority of the manual was straight science, charts, and physics. However, near the end Medvedyev gave us a little insight into the passion and dedication he gave to the sport of weightlifting and his programming philosophies. I posted this quote on Outlaw Barbell a while ago but it’s worth repeating so you can get a little insight into why the Russians program the way they do.
“The volume of loading has grown noticeably, in recent years. However, it is impossible to agree with the viewpoint that an increase in the volume of training work is considered the sole or at best, the most accessible opportunity for raising the effectiveness of the athlete’s preparation. In contrast to the volume, the rational structuring of the loading is of great significance, in any type of sport. Practical experience has shown that no one means, nor one method of special training can be considered universal or absolutely effective. Every means and method can (and should) have chief significance at a given stage of training; depending on the motor specifics of the type of sport, the sportman’s preparedness, character of the preceding loading, the concrete objectives of the current stage of training, etc. Furthermore, our research (Y.V. Verkhoshansky, 1966, 1970) has shown convincingly, that if one is speaking of the absolute effect of special-strength-training, i.e., a definite system of employing a variety of means and methods, this effect is significantly higher qualitatively and quantitatively, than is achieved with separate means and methods, not sequence over time. Furthermore, this effect is achieved at a lesser volume of loading…The fact is that it is simpler and easier to increase the volume of loading, than to search for effective means of special training. That is why this method is so commonly used in practice.”[1]
Medvedyev makes a giant point here. When done in a chaotic fashion and when done without specific goals and loading in mind is futile. Furthermore, just because you do more does not necessarily mean that you are getting better. He makes the point that it is easy to just add more volume to a program. That takes no science, research, or critical thinking skills. Just add more reps and more sets. The idea that you can just “out-work” your competition and be a better athlete by simply doing more than your opponents is a fallacy plaguing the Olympic lifting and Crossfit world. Even in a system like Crossfit where randomness and chaos is the whole idea, there has to be structure. Medvedyev notes that while this is true, it’s also hard. It’s always easier to just add more volume but it’s not always best." - Spencer Arnold
