THAT REP THING - PART I

It is generally believed that using a weight that allows more than 30
reps does VERY LITTLE towards building REAL STRENGTH - in ANY
exercise! Judging from my own experience, I'm not so sure that's true.
While there is definitely NOT a one-to-one CORRELATION between
a 30 rep increase in strength and a ONE REPETITION MAX increase in
strength, there is SOME. For the older trainee who may not be willing
to spend the time on the extensive warm-ups necessary for LOW-REP,
HEAVY WEIGHT TRAINING, this is good news. The following are some
observations regarding the heavy-or-light dilemma garnered over my own
FIFTY YEARS of weight training. This is the way things WORKED FOR
ME, so all statements should be regarded as "FOOD FOR THOUGHT"
rather than as universal truths:

1) I definitely make better strength gains in deadlifts, quadriceps
strength and ANY PULLING EXERCISE INVOLVING THE LATS
when I keep the reps above 20. The strength gained in those bodyparts
involved DOES seem to CORRELATE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT
with gains in strength with heavy weights and low reps. In other words,
if I increase 25 lbs. in my 20 rep max in, say, the deadlift, I can be
sure I'll be up 25 lbs. in my 5 rep max as well. I don't know how
these higher reps might affect my ONE REP MAX simply because
I never do maximum singles.

2) For all pressing motions the correlation only seems about half
that close. In other words, an increase in what I can seated press
for 20 reps might only give me a 5 lb. -- OR LESS -- increase in
my five-rep or three-rep max. But the thing is . . . it's STILL AN
INCREASE; and I'm able to obtain it without all the shoulder and
elbow DISCOMFORT AND STRAIN that the heavier, lower rep
training VIRTUALLY GUARANTEES.

3) No matter what exercise or bodypart I apply higher rep training
to, I can continue to move the weight up for many, many workouts
in a row, while heavy, low rep training stalls out and "STALES
OUT" after only five or six workouts - ALWAYS. This may be a
psychological thing, but I also think it has to do with the constant
strain on 62 year-old joints and tendons. The above illustration,
by the way, is a very accurate and NOT EXAGERATED depiction of
Gustav Fristensky (1901??), who did an above-average amount of
high rep training as well as the heavy stuff.

More on this in PART II.