Coach, I took the Braverman test and I am Gaba dominant with Dopamine in a close second (only 2 point difference). I see where you reference this in terms of training often. What would these results mean for me in regards to the best training approach for my type?
Thanks!
To me that is a mixed or balanced type.
Let me know if the following is correct:
If that is correct I recommend:
A higher frequency on he big lifts (each lift 2-3, or even 4x per week) but focusing more on position, technique, speed and rigidity. Methods like pauses, slow eccentrics, iso-dymamic (e.g. holding mid range position for 20 sec then doing 4-6 reps) and 1 1/4 reps will work great for your on the big basic movements.
Better to stick with the same basic lifts for 12-16 weeks (or longer) but change the method (as mentioned earlier) and means (chains, bands, weigth releasers, reverse bands, hanging band technique, thick bar, etc.) every 2 weeks.
For your assistance work do not focus on lifting heavier, focus on the mind muscle connection. Only do exercises that you feel REALLY well in the target muscles and try to make that feeling even better over time. Do not change an exercise until you start to feel like you are not getting a strong contraction anymore. But like with the main movement, you can vary the methods.
You can’t go really heavy for a long time. 2-3 weeks with weights of 90 or more is all you should do; which is why I like these people to use methods to make the big lifts after without having to use 90+ weights
You can actually handle a decent amount of assistance/isolation/pump work, but too much high intensity stuff will kill your nervous system
Wow…that couldn’t have been more accurate. Thank you. Ive been dealing with having a run down nervous system for some time woth trying to lift heavy and frequently but haven’t tried the methods mentioned above. I will definitely try this and see how it helps me progress and how my CNS recovers.
I have been using your strength skill program for the last 2 weeks, but based on your response that doesn’t seem like the correct approach for me. Do you have a program or an article on here that I could reference as a sort of tenplate to get a grasp on this? Im not concerned with looking like a bodybuilder, my goal is strength and performance with muscle gain secondary. Also I wanted to give credit where it is due, the snatch grip high pull is an amazing lift and has quickly become one of my favorites. Never would’ve given it a chance if it weren’t for you.
Hello Coach, I got
dopamin 34/11
acetylcholin 42/12
gaba 28/27
serotonin 35/16
what kind of type is that, mixed or acetylcholin?
Thanks
That is the perfect example of mixed… but the results also would seem to indicate neurological fatigue or burnout
Personally, not really a fan of the Braverman test. It just links attributes and symptoms to the neurotransmitters that they are most often associated with. IMO it is a misleading self-diagnostic tool that can lead to experimenting on yourself with false pretenses. If you have anxiety or depression issues that you think are stemming from a neurotransmitter deficiency you need to see a doctor.
Not to mention, a lot of the question are overlapping and can be due to so many issues in the brain - for example, memory issues. Memory ability can be altered from an acetylcholine deficit, anxiety issues (serotonin & its multiple receptors / GABA and even low dopamine), ADHD (low dopamine), and depression (any and all neurotransmitters, along with actual brain changes such as hippocampal volume loss, loss of neuroplasticity in pre-frontal cortex, etc).
Coach,
Im thinking I am most likely mixed as well correct? I have always gravitated to sticking with a program for about 4 months, alternating heavier 5-6 rep sets with higher rep 10-12 rep sets every other month. This is fairly optimal no?
Thanks again for all you do on these forums. I am about to try the Sipes mass/pump from your new book for a month, pretty excited to try it.
dopamine 30
acetylcholin 30
gaba 40
serotonin 26
Andy, it’s only a tool. But personally I find it to be fairly accurate when it comes to establishing somone psychjological profile. Even if it wouldn’t give you your neurological profile it does tell us about your personality which is enough for what I’m trying to use it for: design the program that fits someone’s psychological profile.
My father used to be a “head hunter” (industrial psychologist) and worked with many of these tests. I worked for him for 3 summers and worked a lot with the tests myself. They cannot replace actual medical tests BUT they can give a good idea of someone’s profile, enough to know a lot about the person’s personality and how to adapt training based on it. I will say that I use my interactions with the client at least as much as the test to evaluate his psychological profile. And I know that there are many problems with psychometric tests (for one not everybody is 100% honest and sometimes don’t even know the answer). If you use it as your be-all end-all of client evaluation that could be a problem. But as a tool I found it very valuable with hundreds of clients
Coach,
What would you recommend for someone with the following profile:
Dopamin 34/6
Acetylcholin 22/9
Gaba 21/13
Serotonin 22/10
Thanks!
Also look at your rep performance in relation to your 1rm. Someone who is dophamine dominant will burn out quicker than someone who is balanced. For instance I would now say I’m balanced as I can get around 10 reps with my 85% of my max, that’s quite high, a dophamine dominant individual would most likely get 3-5
I REALLY didn’t want this to turn into such a thread that every body post their results and ask for my interpretation. I honestly do not have time to do that, really sorry.
No problem!
Any chance there will be an article on the topic? It’s an interesting subject.
Take care.
Totally understand. Are there a couple “rules of thumb” we could go by?
Based on your earlier answer it appears that you can have a dominant type (30 or higher) and as long as the others are at least in the high 20’s its still more than likely “balanced” profile?