You grease the failing groove of the nervous system. In fact, when you train to failure, because of something called the Hebbian mechanisms, you train yourself to fail. Failure, fatigue and exhaustion do not factor in. Not relative tension, like how hard it feels, but the absolute tension, how much force the muscle is exerting and the time the muscle spends under tension. If you look at the studies going back to 1962, you shall find that there is only one variable that matters and it's the absolute value of tension. The only way you can measure intensity is through the percentage of your one rep max, period. Dmitri Mendeleyev, Russian chemist and the author of the periodic table of elements, said that science does not start until you start measuring. Pavel: That's correct, but the mainstream definition of intensity – a percentage of momentary ability – is very ephemeral. T: Isn't intensity important for weight training? That would be the end of the greatest powerlifter in the world. Then the ambulance would have to be called because he would have blown out a hamstring. If he was dumb enough to listen to these high intensity idiots, he would have used a lighter weight, say 660, and done 12 reps to failure. He can do a set of three in the squat with 875 pounds, but he could have done five reps. The exceptions you can count on your fingers without taking your shoes off. They always lift heavy, in terms of percentage of one rep max, they always keep their repetitions low, and they never, ever train to failure. The point is, if you look at the training of the strongest people in the world, be it weightlifters, powerlifters, strongmen, whatever, there's one universal truth. Jimmy Stewart's character in Harvey must have been a HIT Jedi he said, "I wrestled with reality for thirty-five years and I'm happy to state that I finally won over it." A bunch of lunatics from a galaxy far far away keep trying to convince us that their stuff works while their bench press has been stuck since Arnold's first movie. Pavel: The so-called "high intensity training" is the worst. Next subject: Where do Americans screw up in the gym? T: Hey, we like ogling women in strip bars! Fair enough, Pavel, but since we'll likely reach 25 million hits this month, we must be doing something right. Save your Testosterone for the gym where it counts. Some reader mail could have been written by fifteen year olds bragging about their imaginary conquests. Some of your editorials sound like the ramblings of an old man who can do nothing but ogle women in a strip bar. Pavel: I think you provide a lot of great information, but you should save your Testosterone for the bite and not waste it on the bark. T: I understand you have some strong opinions about our mag. It's our job to bring all schools of thought to the table, where they can be duly analyzed, dissected, and, if warranted, buried. Whether you agree or disagree with his theories doesn't matter. While much of his dogma is geared towards functionality, many of his novel concepts can probably be applied to bodybuilding and powerlifting. In case you didn't read it, Pavel is a former physical training instructor for Spetsnaz, the Soviet special forces, and he's gained quite a following with the martial arts community in this country. Last week, we featured Part 1 of our intervierw with Pavel Tsatsouline.
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