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tilltheend
01-17-2012, 08:06 PM
I S.A.I.D. K.I.S.S. This Author:

Mike Gossett (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/authors/mike-gossett.html)

I know - wow, what a fun title. But it was the only way I could think to incorporate two of the best principles in program design into one sentence, so sue me. I think it's about time someone addressed the topic though. A quick definition is in order for those of you who don’t already know what these two acronyms mean.


S.A.I.D. - Specific adaptation to an imposed demand.
K.I.S.S. - Keep it simple stupid.

Both are rather simple to understand, but are often forgotten when attempting to design an effective program. As an example of what I mean, just look at any natural bodybuilder (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/natural)’s plan for getting lean, and into contest shape. At a glance everything may seem fine, but when you really begin to break it down, it becomes very obvious that some things are included that go against the goal.
S.A.I.D. - Specific Adaptation to An Imposed Demand Using the example of a dieting bodybuilder (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/natural), we can assume that he/she has worked to build an appreciable level of muscle under a certain set of rules. But when it comes to getting down to the shredded level they often go for broke, and sometimes throw out the very rules and principles that helped them attain their size in the first place.
The body is like an accountant. Unless given a reason to keep muscle, it will get rid of it due to the fact that muscle is more calorically expensive to hold on to in survival mode. Obviously, under normal circumstances the body will not tear down something like the heart, because it needs the heart for survival. This is like setting a budget. If you have less money coming in than going out (you're on a diet (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/diet-and-nutrition/main.html) of reduced calories) then you must methodically cut wasteful spending, and only keep what is necessary. So if you are dieting and you suddenly change your training plan - without leaving any reason for your body to keep getting stronger - then it will start to get rid of the nonessential muscle.
Let's say that during a bulk you can bench press (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/barbell-bench-press.html) 250 pounds. Come time to cut fat, you decide to drop down to 190 pounds for 10 reps. Your body will no longer need all of that extra muscle to survive, and you will also be switching the types of muscle fibers that you are targeting. You are encouraging your body to give up hard-earned muscle mass.
Another place where natural bodybuilders (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/natural) often go wrong is in the adding of extra cardio work. This will again change the focus of what your body needs for survival - do I need to fight or flight? So again, you will begin losing muscle. Instead, it's better to methodically reduce the rest times between sets. Let's say you're using a 5x5 during the bulk, and you rest 2 minutes between set. You can actually keep the 5x5 and get leaner, but you should start dropping the rest time while using the same weights. This approach would work nicely for an 8 week cut. Let's say you worked up to 230 for 5x5 on the bench press during the bulk. Simply stay at that weight and decrease rest between sets over an 8 week period as follows:


Week 1 - 120 second rest (2min)
Week 2 - 105 second rest (1min 45sec)
Week 3 - 90 second rest (1.5min)
Week 4 - 75 second rest (1min 15sec)
Week 5 - 60 second rest (1min)
Week 6 - 45 second rest
Week 7 - 30 second rest
Week 8 - 30 second rest or add 5-10 pounds and start back at 2 minute rest

As you can see, during the 8 weeks you are forcing your body to constantly adapt, while also burning more calories. You are also allowing yourself to get stronger.
So the point I am trying to make is that you should define your goal (the adaptation that you want to happen) and then impose demands that will force your body to make the adaptations necessary.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid K.I.S.S. is a term that I have been adhering to long before I picked up my first barbell. It is applicable to almost every facet of life, and especially to training. Again, using our example of the natural bodybuilder (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/natural), I have yet to figure out why so many people think that in order to continue gaining muscle you must walk away from the principals that have allowed you to gain all of your muscle in the first place.
The old saying “if it ain't broke don’t fix it” needs to be your creed. Looking at bodybuilders, I often hear people say...don’t look at what so and so does now, look at what he did to get there. And it's true. How did he gain all that muscle? I can almost guarantee it wasn’t with the same workout he does now. I can also guarantee that he probably built it with the big basic exercises (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/main.html), and focused on progression.
You see, simple really is better 9 times out of 10. Unless you are working around an injury or something else that requires you to get creative, keep it simple. Complexity breeds overkill. The thoguht becomes, if I can get my chest to grow from just benching, I can double the growth by adding in incline presses. If that is you, please put down the barbell and go dive off a cliff. Thanks. Let's be honest. Once growth has been stimulated, anything else you do is just diminishing your recovery ability. If you can get in more growth producing workouts you will grow more. So just do enough - keep it simple - and go home and rest up.

shoestring
01-17-2012, 08:18 PM
Awesome read, I love the k.i.s.s principle. Sometimes we get caught up in all the fancy routines and forget
The basics.

tilltheend
01-17-2012, 09:58 PM
Basics are very important for sure.

STEROID
01-18-2012, 02:12 AM
Great read brother.Definitely something everyone should take to heart.