Adarq.org

This is the paper: http://zachdechant.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/apre-mizzou1.pdf

Some interesting things to note about this study:

1. There was no pre-test. For comparison they used the numbers from the end of pre-season of the previous year.
2. Look at the group differences listed in table 1. While no statistical differences have been found, it is apparent that the APRE group on average was 7 kilogram (15 lbs) heavier than the LP group. While maybe not a statistically significant weight difference, it might very well still be a relevant difference.
3. The LP group on baseline was stronger in both bench press tests than the APRE group despite being slightly taller and less heavy on average - those differences were significant, one even being highly significant. It is therefore very plausible that improvements for the LP group were harder to come by than for the APRE group, simply because they might be closer to their maximal genetic potential.
4. In accordance to point 3, the LP group actually performed the same in post-test compared to baseline in the bench-press repetition test, actually the difference was even slightly in the negative. There must have been several athletes whose performance actually declined. Remember how the baseline levels were determined in the first place...
5. The differences in improvement between the groups can easily be attributed to the specific application of linear periodization vs. autoregulatory training. Despite the fact that the authors claim to have been utilizing very similar protocols, this is not apparent from the little information they actually give. One thing I can tell however is that the APRE group regularly went to failure and the LP group did not. Therefore the APRE group had the chance to train close to their actual potential while the LP group did not - because their training numbers were determined based on tests from a year before, which might very well have had little to do with their actual ability.

To summarize this... If you make a program based on the concept of linear periodization and have a very, very poor grasp of what you are doing and how you assign training numbers to your athletes, this is likely going to be inferior to training a group of athletes based on what they are actually capable of doing. Big surprise.
As a scientific paper this study is a complete failure and it has very little application for everyone who understands the slightest bit about training.

However, that does not take away from the fact, that AREG might be effective for certain things. As Lance pointed out this approach can be effective when dealing with reactive or power exercises because they are so much more susceptible to even slighter changes in constitution and because doing them correct and fast is probably more important than doing a certain number of them.
I found that not to be true for performing heavy resistance exercises where bar speed might in fact drop, which however says nothing about if the repetition or set can be completed or not. Strength exercises are for strength, power exercises are for power. That's my idea of it.

Quote from: adarqui on September 08, 2010, 04:26:36 pm

Quote from: Kellyb on September 08, 2010, 04:13:29 pm

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interesting info, i need to get a battery for my heart rate monitor.. it's interesting how tiring MR tuck's are.. i mean, they really kill everyone.. i feel more tired doing 10-15 MAX tuck jumps than if i did a 60-80 yard sprint etc.. so your data seems to fit how I feel also.

hahaha. good point. When I was in high school me and a friend of mine both bought a pair of strength shoes and did plyos in them.  I remember the workouts called for a TON of tuck jumps, like 4 sets of 20. The first workout I nearly passed out doing them and he lost his lunch.

haha nice.. you ever puke during training? I sort of puked once, but I had basically eaten a massive lunch then performed some seriously high rep squatting, came up a bit.. other than that, never puked.

Once, during college, I ate a grilled cheese and a bunch of curly fries immediately before practice. Practice then started (after warm ups) with suicides. Up came the grilled cheese and curly fries. Lesson learned.

^^^ = http://www.metacafe.com/watch/913665/mens_health_contest_second_submission/

I am not sure some other piece of grilled meat would actually look that much different after that period of time given the same environmental circumstances. This project, while maybe interesting from an artistic and intellectual standpoint, does not actually say much about about the nutritional aspects of such food.

I like fast food from time to time. I would not want to base my nutrition on McD, far from it, and I enjoy eating good, self prepared food from fresh ingredients. But I don't think I live a lot less healthy just because I eat a burger every now and then if I don't want to take the time to cook for myself.

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interesting info, i need to get a battery for my heart rate monitor.. it's interesting how tiring MR tuck's are.. i mean, they really kill everyone.. i feel more tired doing 10-15 MAX tuck jumps than if i did a 60-80 yard sprint etc.. so your data seems to fit how I feel also.

hahaha. good point. When I was in high school me and a friend of mine both bought a pair of strength shoes and did plyos in them.  I remember the workouts called for a TON of tuck jumps, like 4 sets of 20. The first workout I nearly passed out doing them and he lost his lunch.