I’m beginning a new training regiment tomorrow, so it’s a mad scramble to figure out what I’m going to do. I have some good ideas, but I have a quick question:
Isn’t EDT overtraining? I thought you were only supposed to train to failure once every two weeks or so, and this has you training the same muscle to failure twice in one workout. Am I missing something?
What you’re missing is that EDT doesn’t go to failure. It doesn’t even go near failure. Read Charles Staley’s EDT articles here on T-Nation.
[quote]Staley wrote:
As the time limit approaches however, you’ll find yourself working at or near failure as you attempt to break your rep record.[/quote]
Isn’t that going to failure?
I’m really not trying to sound stupid, I’m just thinking, if I’m going for as many reps as possible, and I have 20 mins to get there, I will get to failure. If I learn that this is perfectly acceptable because I’m only working the muscle out at one workout a week, that’s fine, because I’m really interested in this program. The thing is, I’ve read other stuff that says you shouldn’t be lifting to failure very often, so naturally, I’m curious.
[quote]Staley wrote:
As the time limit approaches however, you’ll find yourself working at or near failure as you attempt to break your rep record.[/quote]
Isn’t that going to failure?
I’m really not trying to sound stupid, I’m just thinking, if I’m going for as many reps as possible, and I have 20 mins to get there, I will get to failure. If I learn that this is perfectly acceptable because I’m only working the muscle out at one workout a week, that’s fine, because I’m really interested in this program. The thing is, I’ve read other stuff that says you shouldn’t be lifting to failure very often, so naturally, I’m curious.
[quote]MikeTheBear wrote:
What you’re missing is that EDT doesn’t go to failure. It doesn’t even go near failure. Read Charles Staley’s EDT articles here on T-Nation.[/quote]
[quote]Staley wrote:
As the time limit approaches however, you’ll find yourself working at or near failure as you attempt to break your rep record.[/quote]
Isn’t that going to failure?
I’m not trying to sound stupid, I’m just trying to say, if I have 20 mins to put in as many reps as possible, I will go to failure, as Staley seems to want.
I’m really interested in the program, I’ve just read in several places that you shouldn’t go to failure very often, and it seems like Staley wants you to do so every week. Am I wrong?
From what I’ve read, Charles is very much against going to failure. I think when he writes “you will go near failure,” this is mostly a warning sign saying “Caution, failure ahead,” and that you should take the necessary steps to avoid it. For instance, if you’ve been cruising along in your PR Zone doing 5 reps, but suddenly that 5 reps is starting to get tough, that’s a signal to drop to 4 reps. By the time the 15 minutes is over, you may be doing only 1 rep. Keep in mind, too, that although you’re supposed to be racing the clock, you can take longer rests in between sets.
EDT is a very flexible system, but because it is so flexible, you also need to exercise a bit of judgment, monitor how you’re body is doing, and adjust accordingly. This is the way I work the PR Zones. Charles may come on here and say that I’m doing it totally wrong.
Bro, methinks you’re stuck in semantics. Do you already lift? What sort of program are you on? Why is it a “mad rush” to find a new program today?
It’s like this: there is no perfect program or “best” way to go. For god’s sake man, if you’re so concerned about finding a program and are thinking so much about how often to go to failure you need to lift more heavy shit more often.
If you’re joining a new gym or working out with someone new tomorrow (and that’s why you need a new program asap), you could give 'em (and you) a wakeup call by doing an OLAD week. One lift a day. Simple, brutal, and utterly lacking in bullshit and overanalysis.
Just for clarification, I’m not “against” training to failure per se, but I AM against using pain or fatigue as training goal, or as a measurement of wotkout quality. EDT is not really a beginner’s program…if your exercise technique is not completely stable and constent, you’ll tend to break down as fatigue sets in.
Hope this helps…
[quote]merlik wrote:
I’m beginning a new training regiment tomorrow, so it’s a mad scramble to figure out what I’m going to do. I have some good ideas, but I have a quick question:
Isn’t EDT overtraining? I thought you were only supposed to train to failure once every two weeks or so, and this has you training the same muscle to failure twice in one workout. Am I missing something?[/quote]
I lifted for the first time this summer using a linear periodization method. I made some gains, but since coming here, I’ve learned the linear periodization isn’t a great way to lift. So, I started shopping around, looking for other programs.
I like EDT because a) it looks like it will be fun, b) seems relatively simple, and c) it looks like it’s going to kick my ass. It’ll also fit pretty well into my schedule. The thing is, in reading about the periodization program I did, one of the things it mentioned was that you shouldn’t ever not complete a set, as this will train your CNS to fail (or something similar). This is what had me worried.
I’ve decided on EDT for Fat Loss, as I definitely need to lose some fat. I’ll be doing the T-Dawg diet too. The only reason I was in a “mad rush” was because the active rest period ended yesterday and I’m excited to be lifting again.
Is there any way to frame your EDT for Fat Loss program in a four times per week schedule?