Has anyone read the book Power Factor Training by Peter and Sisco? Now I have heard that the main complaint with the book is that they advocate using there program only. I guess that’s why Mentzer endorses it on the back. Besides that one failing of the book I was wondering if it’s worth a read? Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
Save your $$$. It’s worthless. That’s the long and short of it. Do you want me to go into more detail as to why?
I think everything’s worth a read (maybe not worth the money though), whether it’s good or not. If it’s bad, I’d read it to see why, same as if it was good. It’s like when a couple breaks, naturally each person would have their own story, but someone would have to hear both sides before they decide what they think.
it’s a completely useless and very dangerous training system. partial reps can be useful sometimes, but not when taken to the extreme as in PFT…
Thanks.
A few Ironman back issues ago, Mentzer, in an interview, took back his endorsement of Power Factor style training. He said he had been led to believe that it had a lot in common with
his own views, pre-publication, but that he discovered it not to be the case, after the book came out.
fractal
In addition to the partial reps mentioned above, the authors propose a formula for measuring lbs lifted per minute, with the idea to increase your aggregate poundage every training session. In essence, it’s a volume system. Strangely enough, Mentzer spoke highly of John Little, one of the authors. Was he going to have a change of heart before his demise?
Well I’m going to do what Natey suggested and read the book and see what I agree or disagree with. I’ll post a review on here. Don’t expect it this eon as I have a ton of other books to read. Ian’s being one of them. By the way I saw one of his presentations at the symposium and he’s an amazing presenter. Lastly has anyone ordered stuff from dragondoor or amazon? I am curious about their service. Thanks for the replys.
the book is trash but that is not the point, if you think Mentzers endorsment is a “failing” than I hope one day you find the trueth
I tried this system a couple of years ago: bought a stop watch and the whole bit. I got stronger in partial movements, but they didn’t seem to carry over to full ROM. My joints got beat pretty bad, too. I think the one thing that I got from them is to caluculate poundage lifted per movement and how it relates to improvement. This is has been a tremendous help for me when planning my future workouts.
Good call, I haven’t read it myself, but you’ll have all the facts and see why someone might say it sucks.
Power Factor Training seeks to reconcile the vagueness of many training protocols by using a mathmatical equation, what they call a “power factor” or lbs lifted per minute. To get your power factor you would do the following: Barbell Curl 100 lbs for 10 reps for 5 sets. 100 x 10 x 5= 5,000 then divide that weight by the time it took you to lift it. Lets say all the sets for the biceps curl took you 5 minutes to complete (this includes rest times) So 5,000 divided by 5 would give you a power factor of 1,000. According to their system the higher the power factor the stronger you are getting… but here is the problem. Lets say the next bicep workout you did 135 lbs for 3 reps for 10 sets and it takes you 10 minutes to complete all the sets involved including rest time. You would get a power factor of 405 lbs per minute. So according to Power Factor Training the next workout you did would be LESS THAN HALF AS EFFECTIVE even though more weight was lifted. This example alone should make it obvious that bio chemical work cannot be reconciled with mechanical work and mathmatical equations. The PFT system is somewhat similar to measuring horsepower and unfortunately they end up arguing that a faster engine is a stronger one. All in all, I would say that while PTF is a noble attempt in reality it is an almost worthless guage of measuring the effectiveness of a workout.
Strong Range partial reps can be incredibly effective however in increasing both tendon, ligament & muscle strength and also increasing hypertrophy but they must be worked into SLOWLY. In some cases they can be more effective than full range reps in my opinion but again use them as a suppliment and work into them gradually. It isn't prudent to jump right into maximum partials, get injured then declare partials as worthless, they can be wonderfully effective if used in a safe manner.
I hope this helps everyone.
Take care,
Jeremy
Jeremy thanks you explained that very well. Hey this if one thread that didn’t turn into a battle ground. Also heyhey225 is that right? In my initial post I wasn’t slamming Mentzer’s training methods. I was making fun of his single mindedness. I don’t think there is anything wrong with one set to failure for a short cycle. However Mentzer’s most recent protocols advocated something stupid like one set for two exercises every 7 to 15 days and that’s it!!!
Haha! I just reread my initial post I see why heyhey225 misunderstood and thought I said that Mentzer’s endorsement was the books one failing. I ment the books one failing is that it says to only use this training method. Also learn how to spell truth. Heheh. Just kidding I could’t spell to have sex with Anna Falchi.
nkeago have you finished it yet? Lets hear your review. I remember people saying that their Static Contraction Training book was garbage, & then I found out that that sort of training was good for inhibiting the golgi tendon organs, so it wasn’t totally worthless.
Natey:
Shit I forgot about that. I’ll have to buy it soon. However I’m reading Get Buffed at the moment and I have a few other books(few is an understatement) I would like too read before Power Factor Training. Therefore it will be a while before I get to it. I don’t want to make any promises. Thanks.
Keago