Fakten:
1) strength is the most important aspect of metcon, and
2) excessive metcon is unnecessary and possibly counterproductive.
-Total workout time averaged an hour and a half, mostly because I was bringing a new guy along. My time under the bar was much shorter. Since I was doing circa max weights, I often rested 4-7 minutes between sets.-You can view length of metcons in the attached spreadsheet. I didn't count Tabatas as metcons because of all the rest. Of course they have an undeniable metcon character which is hard to discount. So put it on my tab if you must.
The Grant Hybird
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=111530641-Better to start with say 65lbs and accomplish the first 21 thrusters in <35 secs and then add 5 lbs every time you can accomplish this. In by your 7th try you should be well with in the <4 min range, assuming your pull-ups are fairly strong.
-In the Fran example, the no-scale camp might have you do rx'd weights in 8 minutes. The scaled camp would suggest doing a light weight, say 65#, in 3 minutes with no rest. I'm saying you keep the weight heavy for you, maybe 80# for 15-12-9 with no rest in around 3 minutes. I think you'll get more out of doing it this way.
-Look at my log. My rule when I was doing this was "nothing over 10 minutes." Sometimes the main site WOD fit the bill (Elizabeth, Helen, Fran). Others you can cut down (half Cindy, 3 rounds of "Quarter Gone Bad"). Most I just made up with exercises that fit my goals (I happened to like most of them). Add some of the functional implements into your metcon and you'll see what I mean.
-I'm glad Jeff chimed in. To be clear, when I start beginners, I always have them scale (they're probably mad because I'm really conservative with them for several weeks). I'm an advocate of scaling, but I like to sneak some strength in earlier (I have a guy that's front squatting 230 but still needs to use 75# thrusters to maintain speed). So I'm with you there. I just find that giving guys an extra dose of the iron helps them scale up faster.
-Again, I'm not here to discuss what should or shouldn't work. I'm here to share what happened to me (and is happening to others who are doing this). Strength-biased workouts with short metcon sessions (as heavy and fast as you can safely go for 3-6 mins.) translates well to metcons like Helen, Elizabeth, Cindy, and Murph.
-I understand. I'm advocating using rx'd weights as quickly as possible, provided the bar is still moving. I prefer to scale reps before weight if I can. There are enough bodyweight metcons to make up for this.The OLY lifts and the ME/DE work in the slow lifts tightens up a lot of the metcon shortcomings you think are going to happen in this scheme.Assuming it can be done at speed with little rest in roughly the same time frame, I'd rather a guy do a 15-12-9 Fran with heavier weights than 21-15-9 with lighter weights.
-That's right. When I describe "heavy" metcon, I'm not referring to near ME. In fact, I'm referring to as heavy as you can do something and still keep moving. I pick my exercises then pick my weights. For example, Monday I decided on 5 rounds of 10 KB swings and ring pushups. I figured that 32kg was the most I could handle on swings without rest and 10 pushups was about the most I could manage on the rings over the five rounds. It worked out. Sometimes they don't.
-That's why I don't like chippers. There's usually something in there that you suck at that slows you down. Say I suck at wallball and K2E. Instead of trashing my filthy fifty on those things, I'll do a WOD with something like 5 rounds of 10 wallball and 10 K2E. If I can manage 10, then I can do it quickly with little rest. I've gotten a good metcon workout with relatively heavy weights (because I suck at them), I've attacked my weaknesses, and I've gotten a good neuroendocrine response from a short, power-packed metcon.
-Are you referring to sets/reps in the strength training or the metcons? I'm not sure. I like rounds of 10s and 15s for metcons at whatever weight you're able to use. I may not understand the question.
-Steven, it is not the involvement of Type I that is my concern. It is the sacroplasmic hypertrophy and the resulting useless muscle mass and its effect on athletic prowess that is my concern.Basic ME and DE work do not cause this. What has happened in the past is the urge to increase the weights in a MET-CON so that they fall into that range causing a quick increase in "pump", DOMS, and growth. Example: If I want to gain 5 lbs quicky I can do this workout every few days:
For time-3 rounds:21 Squats @185/21 Press @ 95/21 Deadlift at 225/3-2-1 go!
The sets tend to get broken up and I turn into i"ron man" from the pump.in about 2 weeks viola: 5lbs heavier with no descrenable increase in maximum strength or body fat and a slow down in all running/reactive ability.This effect works into every MET-CON I go into heavy. How do I avoid it? Go light and fast to retrain retrain the Type IIAs and hybrids to move fast again. I get my heavy work in with ME workouts with <90% and have started incorporating depth jumps into this stuff as well to get the Type IIBs.So what does this have to do with Gant's RX? nothing cotradictory as far as I can tell. He just recommends a slightly higher weight but for fewer reps on the MET-CONs. Valid enough in my book, since it still does not approach 65-85% range because bar speed and mostly unbroken sets are the indicator that you are staying below that %60 range, thus away from the prime target for sarco hypertrophy.He's only talking about it in terms of very heavy weights, but it applies with attempted fast lifting speed with anything above which you can maximally generate power at that 40-50% 1 RM zone. So it it's totally true.. which it at least partially is bar speed isn't absolute in meaning as long as you are maximally developing force and speed behind the bar as you are capable which definitely applies to the 60%+ 1 RM and higher weights.