A Newbie Question...

[alaska_Mike]

Hello,

I have a brief question. I am new to weight lifting and have been told to try a program called "Power Factor". I am trying to focus on Powerlifting and am wondering what your thoughts are on this program. I live in a very remote area of Alaska and only have access to a bare-bones gym. Thanks in advance.

Michael

[paperboy]

Hi Alaska Mike, welcome to the Forum!

What are your goals?

Power Factor is a program that emphasizes lifting in your strongest range of motion (partial reps). Theoretically, by lifting in this range, you can train with much heavier weights than when training in a full range of motion, therefore building strength and size very quickly.

I've never tried the program myself, but from what I know and have heard, it might have a place in your weight training routine. I'm not sure if you want to use this program as your mainstay, because, I suspect, by working partials you won't get the benefits of strengthening your joints and your core, resulting in an imbalance. You might benefit, however, from using it to bust out of a plateau.

Again, I've never tried it, just my opinion based on hearsay and conjecture.

If you're a newb to the weight training arena, just about anything you do will result in some gains. Keep it simple, use free weights and compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, bench press, etc), and don't overtrain. See Marty's article in the Training section. Good luck!

[alaska_Mike]

My goal is to have as much functional strength as I can. I am a police officer and have neglected to take care of myself. I am totally new to lifting and I am finding it hard to find information on beginners workouts in powerlifting. I am working on my cardio and am looking for some guidance in the lifting area.

Michael

[paperboy]

My goal is to have as much functional strength as I can. I am a police officer and have neglected to take care of myself. I am totally new to lifting and I am finding it hard to find information on beginners workouts in powerlifting. I am working on my cardio and am looking for some guidance in the lifting area.

Michael

I would recommend that you check out Power to the People by Pavel Tsatsouline. It's an outstanding resource for building functional strength without adding bulk. As long as you have an Olympic weight set at your gym, you'll be able to follow the program.

[Tom]

I'm not a fan of partial reps with too-heavy weights. It's too easy to hurt yourself. Badly. Stick to weights you can handle through the full range of motion.

My 2c,

Tom

[JimmyVengeance]

I haven't read the entire program, but it sounds like one that's more catered to advanced lifters. Since you're just getting started, I think I'd go with relatively high reps (maybe 12 or so), on big compound, multi-joint exercises Then I'd start going for the lower rep stuff to build some strength.

I think the key thing to remember is that the last thing you want to do is hurt yourself -- it's better to take it a little slower at the beginning to avoid knocking yourself out of the game entirely.

[alaska_Mike]

Thanks to everyone for their advice. Since I have already ordered the book I will give it a go and see what happens. If I think that the workout is too much I can always back off and go lighter.

Thanks again,

Michael

[paperboy]

I'm not a fan of partial reps with too-heavy weights. It's too easy to hurt yourself. Badly. Stick to weights you can handle through the full range of motion.

My 2c,

Tom

Hi Tom, welcome to the Forum! I echo your sentiment, especially for those just starting out. There's nothing more discouraging than an injury for the enthusiastic trainee.

[Marty]

Sorry I am just getting around to visiting but I have been uber-busy with magazine deadlines - seems there is a lot of buzz about the use of partials but frankly my inclination is to go the other direction and emphasis an exaggerated range of motion. Here at the mountain compound we'll use an full range of motion in conjunction with pauses and deadstops to make the difficult (full range of motion ROM) even more difficult - there are few things in life more difficult then a super deep squat for say eight reps.Want to make the difficult exchriciating - do ultra-deep squats with a PAUSE at the bottom! This is more in line with the PP philosophy - we try and make things purposefully more difficult whereas the rest of the world seeks ways to make things easier - ditto bench pressing - rather than bounce we pause the reps on the chest - curls are done from a dead hang...partial reps have a place in the training quiver but more as a contrast when we've burnt out on the extreme ROM stuff...

[W McCabe]

Power Factor Training by Pete Sisco and John Little will not repay your time and effort with the results you want in terms of either strength and/or muscular development. I tried it; I just checked and found I still have the book, which I read cover to cover, as indicated by the highlighting and marginalia. The approach also significantly increases the risk of (serious) injury in that you are handling weight considerably above your 1RM for a full ROM. This doesn't mean that 100%+ partials have no place in training. I believe the research and experience of numerous successful lifters indicates otherwise; but its not a newbie technique.

[Marty]

let's master the ultra-basics before we tamper with the exotica

[Riverhorse]

Marty is correct. partial overload reps are a neat little "tool" to have in one's training arsenel, but they should be used in-frequently and as an addition to, rather than instead of the basics.

I believe most people would be best served by selecting 6-7 core exercises and sticking with them for their entire lives. When you feel you need to change your program, simply vary the repetition scheme or even vary the style of the core exercise, but if you are constantly changing exercises, then it is difficult to get really good at performing them. Write down all of the exercises you use in your program and then create a list of "check-points" that are important for each lift. Develop a habit of mentally referring to those checkpoints on each and every repetition and eventually they will become second nature to you. Larry Bird used to do this when shooting free throws. He had a mental list of things to do when shooting and he would go through them over and over in his mind until he could make long strings of consecutive shots. There is a story that when Larry was playing still an NBA pro, he was hired to appear in some commercials for McDonalds. The first commercial called for him to shoot and miss a free throw in practice. The first 22 takes were failures because he was unable to miss the free throw. This is a good example of proper mental conditioning and discipline.

If your progress on a particular lift has stalled or reached a plateau, or if an exercise is causing some non-growth related discomfort, then consider analyzing and working to improve your form. Break down the lift into smaller parts and analyze any weaknesses or trouble spots and then work to improve them. This can be done via adjunct exercises, power rack training or simply fine-tuning the technique involved. You may have to experiment with variations of each movement in order to find what works best for you.

Even when you have developed extremely good form, it is very easy to fall into minor habits that cause form deterioration. A little bounce here, a slight heave there, you don't notice them at first because they are subtle and because you are adding weight to the bar, but eventually it catches up with you either in the form on injuries or halted progress. The wise lifter is constantly checking and re-checking their form.

You can make a tremendous amount of progress by routinely having your workouts videotaped and then reviewing them later, either alone, or with someone that has the experience to critique your performance. You will always spot things on the tape that you just don't see in the mirror during the actual performance. We can all learn from anyone with wisdom and experience, but I have always learned the most about exercise technique from individuals with whom I share a similar structure with.

I hope that helps

K