Dual Factor Training
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Dual Factor Training: How to Use Training Theory to Reach Your Physique and
Performance Goals
by Matt Reynolds
http://www.midwestbarbell.com
Training Theory…
The very words make my spine cringe. Isn’t training theory the love child of
those Russian communist scientists from Rocky 4? You know, the one where Ivan
Drago is running and lifting and punching machines while pencil neck guys in
glasses and lab-coats follow him around with their clipboards and occasionally
give each other that leering glance of communist satisfaction. Are these the
guys who do Training Theory? What about my teachers from high school anatomy
class and freshman PED 100? The professors were self proclaimed "experts," even
though I never saw them in gym, and most looked like starving Somalian children.
Were they the great theorists of training? Well, probably not.
The fact is, having a good working knowledge of training theory isn’t just
about reading texts from fallen Eastern Bloc countries. When you know why you
train the way you do, you can make dramatic progress in the gym concerning your
physique and performance through more efficient training. i.e. – you’ll be
bigger and stronger and look better naked!
So let’s get started…
There are basically two accepted theories in the world of weight training
(and outlined in Zatsiorsky’s Science and Practice of Strength Training).
One is called Supercompensation (or Single Factor Theory), and the other is
called Dual Factor Theory. Bodybuilding tends to follow the Supercompensation
way of thinking, while virtually every field of strength and conditioning,
athletics, etc. follows the Dual Factor Theory. The reasoning that almost
everyone involved in strength training adheres to the Dual Factor Theory is
because there is scientific proof that it works, not to mention that the Eastern
Bloc countries that have adhered to this theory have killed the U.S. at every
Olympics since the 1950s. In the following paragraphs, I hope to prove to you
why Dual Factor Theory should be accepted, taught, and adhered to in the world
of bodybuilding as well as all other athletes concerned with strength and
conditioning.
The Supercompensation Theory has been, in the bodybuilding community, the
most widely accepted school of thought. The theory itself is based on the fact
that training depletes certain substances (like glycogen and slowing protein
synthesis). Training is seen as catabolic, draining the body of its necessary
nutrients and fun stuff. So to grow, according to the theory, the body must then
be rested for the optimal amount of time, and, it (the body) must be
supplied with all the nutrients it lost. If both of these things are done
correctly, then theoretically your body will increase protein synthesis and
store more nutrients than it originally had! (i.e. – your muscles will be
bigger!)
So obviously the most important part of this theory is timing, specifically
concerning rest periods. But that’s where the problem comes in. If the rest
period is too short, then you won’t be completely recovered, and as a result,
the next training session would deplete substances even more, which over a
period of time would result in overtraining and a loss of performance. If the
rest period is too long then the training would lose its stimulus and you would
recover completely and lose the window of opportunity to provide the stimulus
again. Improvements only occur when the training sessions are optimally timed.
So you are left with the problem of timing workouts to correspond to the
Supercompensation wave; anything sooner or later will lead to a useless workout.
A Better Way…
The Dual Factor Theory is somewhat more complex than the Supercompensation
Theory. The theory is based on the fact that the body is left with both positive
and negative effects from a training session. On the negative side, fatigue sets
in. On the positive side, fitness (or "gain" as it’s referred in the exercise
phys. world) increases. So the theory works like an equilibrium in that the
effect of training is both positive (gain) and negative (fatigue). By striking
the correct balance, fatigue should be great in extent, but shouldn’t last very
long. Gain, on the other hand, should be moderate, but will last longer.
Typically the relationship is 1:3 – if fatigue lasts x amount of time, then gain
lasts 3x amount of time.
Now, granted that’s some deep, confusing stuff, but here is where the wheat
is separated from the chaff…The timing of individual workouts is relatively
unimportant to long term gains (unlike Supercompensation), and whether fatigue
is or is not present, fitness can and still will be increased (which is the
goal).
Bodybuilders often get stuck in the "one time per week per bodypart" rut, and
that determines how many sets they do and the intensity they use. Since they are
not going to change frequency, they end up not changing much over time. So what
happens (when you view training through the lens of Supercompensation) is that
you beat the crap out of a muscle group and then don’t target it again for
another week. This is because you think that the muscle needs time to completely
recover before beating it into submission again. Well, the fact is, that when
you see training through the lens of Dual Factor Theory, then you’ll note that
it is ok to train a muscle group again even if fatigue is still present.
Now the really cool part is this…science has shown that the body responds
better in physique and performance enhancements when you have a period of
peaking fatigue (2-6 weeks), followed by a period of "unloading" (1-4 weeks).
(Unloading just refers to a time where you allow fatigue to fade. This usually
means active unloading, where you continue to train, but with reduced intensity,
volume, or frequency. Occasionally it could mean total rest.) You view entire
weeks and maybe months, as you would’ve viewed just one workout with
Supercompensation. For example, with Supercompensation, one workout represents a
period of fatigue. But, in the Dual Factor Theory, up to 6 weeks would represent
a period of fatigue. With Supercompensation, a day or two (up to a week)
represents a period of rest. But in the Dual Factor Theory, up to four weeks may
represent a period rest.
So to recap…
Each training session exerts both positive (gain) and negative (fatigue)
aspects. Instead of thinking of each training session as fatiguing and then
the next 6 days as recovery, begin to think of entire periods of training as
fatiguing or recovery.
Obviously then the most important thing is to understand how long and how
hard to "load" during the fatiguing phases and how long and how much to
"unload" during the recovery phase.
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