Velocity Based Training & Autoregulation for Strength - #437

10/25/22 • 47 min

Beast over Burden powered by Barbell Logic

Velocity based training & autoregulation for strength sounds complex, but it's really simple - learn the secrets of this training method.

Why Try Velocity Based Training?

We like simplicity - our tagline is simple, hard, effective - so why add a seemingly complicated piece of equipment and method of autoregulation to your coaching or training?

First, this is not for novices. Novices need to add weight simply and linearly, improve technique, and experience the range of difficulties (the many flavors of heavy but doable).

Often, a lifter will finally achieve something that equates to something close to an RPE 7.5 or 8. This means, the lifter can accomplish two, maybe three more reps, and either give up on a rep or express fear that he won't be able to do another rep.

The reality is, this lifter has likely never experienced this level of intensity. If they have, it's been during a one-rep max attempt.

The middle and end of linear progression confront the lifter with hardship, and the lifter must willfully overcome the challenge. Voluntary hardship is not simply a catch phrase.

Second, velocity based autoregulation is not as complicated as it sounds. Intermediate and advanced lifters regularly use, and coaches often prescribe, programs based on percentages of their one-rep max.

The average velocity correlates linearly with percentage of one rep max, so what the lifter is doing is still using a program based on his one-rep maximum.

Third, velocity based training (VBT) is objective without requiring the lifter to complete a maximum effort set (either an AMRAP or 1RM).

Autoregulation - Subjective or Objective

Autoregulation adjust the prescribed workout based on the athlete's daily fluctuation and performance. This idea and approach comes from the reality that your athlete is not the same athlete every day, that his theoretical one-rep max changes, and that this varies and matters more and he advances as an athlete.

Subjective autoregulation methodologies exist and include rate of perceived exertion (RPE), reps in reserve (RIR), and percentage based training (where the one rep maximum is guessed, albeit in an educated way).

Conducting a daily maximum, as many reps as possible, or velocity based training are objective autoregulation approaches.

The first two approaches, however, require physically and mentally exhausting sets to accurately identify the lifter's one rep maximum that day.

Either the lifter must attempt a 1RM or the lifter has to do as many reps as possible. Only after these grueling sets does the lifter execute his prescribed work sets.

Velocity based autoregulation avoids the need for these maximum effort sets.

How Velocity Based Autoregulation Works

Velocity based training allows a lifter to accurately identify his 1RM for that day at sub-maximal (i.e. warm up) sets. How? Let's explore a bit.

Some assumptions come here, that it's important we acknowledge. The lifter's anthropometry need to remain constant, so growing lifters (children or teenagers) lose objectivity if they complete this training.

Form and technique matter, so novices or lifters consistently struggling with technique should not take on this methodology.

One important note is that this data remains the same if the lifter gets stronger. If a lifter improves his 1RM squat from 200 to 400, 50% will move at the same speed.

The device sits on the floor and connects to the bar with a wire. The athlete needs to collect five to ten data points. These lifts need to be performed with 100% effort for this data to be accurate (another reason novices should not use velocity based autoregulation).

The coach or lifter simply conducts linear regression analysis. One this is known, the lifter can come in on another day, conduct warm up lifts with 100% intention, learn his 1RM for that day, and then perform his work sets based on that knowledge.

Improve Your Coaching with VBT

Using velocity based autoregulation for your training and some of your clients provides you good feedback and data that can help you learn more about your athletes as well as your programming and coaching eye.

You can test your coaching eye. For example, what attempts should a lifter take on a 1RM attempt day or during a strengthlifting meet?

As a coach, you can make an educated guess and then, from the velocity device, actually get objective data on that athlete's 1RM for that day. This means, your athlete can take attempts based on more objective information, and you can improve your coaching eye.

You can learn both for individual athletes and your lifters aggregately t...

Velocity based training & autoregulation for strength sounds complex, but it's really simple - learn the secrets of this training method.

Why Try Velocity Based Training?

We like simplicity - our tagline is simple, hard, effective - so why add a seemingly complicated piece of equipment and method of autoregulation to your coaching or training?

First, this is not for novices. Novices need to add weight simply and linearly, improve technique, and experience the range of difficulties (the many flavors of heavy but doable).

The reality is, this lifter has likely never experienced this level of intensity. If they have, it's been during a one-rep max attempt.

The middle and end of linear progression confront the lifter with hardship, and the lifter must willfully overcome the challenge. Voluntary hardship is not simply a catch phrase.

The average velocity correlates linearly with percentage of one rep max, so what the lifter is doing is still using a program based on his one-rep maximum.

Third, velocity based training (VBT) is objective without requiring the lifter to complete a maximum effort set (either an AMRAP or 1RM).

Autoregulation - Subjective or Objective

Conducting a daily maximum, as many reps as possible, or velocity based training are objective autoregulation approaches.

The first two approaches, however, require physically and mentally exhausting sets to accurately identify the lifter's one rep maximum that day.

Either the lifter must attempt a 1RM or the lifter has to do as many reps as possible. Only after these grueling sets does the lifter execute his prescribed work sets.

Velocity based autoregulation avoids the need for these maximum effort sets.

How Velocity Based Autoregulation Works

Velocity based training allows a lifter to accurately identify his 1RM for that day at sub-maximal (i.e. warm up) sets. How? Let's explore a bit.

Form and technique matter, so novices or lifters consistently struggling with technique should not take on this methodology.

One important note is that this data remains the same if the lifter gets stronger. If a lifter improves his 1RM squat from 200 to 400, 50% will move at the same speed.

Improve Your Coaching with VBT

You can test your coaching eye. For example, what attempts should a lifter take on a 1RM attempt day or during a strengthlifting meet?

You can learn both for individual athletes and your lifters aggregately t...

Previous Episode

Stay Sane Coaching Family, Friends, & Co-Workers - #436

Stay sane while coaching family, friends, & co-workers. Successfully juggle dual relationships while getting good coaching experience.

Why Coach Family?

Before we talk about how, we must always consider why. Why would you consider coaching family, friends, and colleagues, and is it worth the risk?

For new or aspiring coaches, one major hurdles is acquiring experience and your first clients. New coaches typically get both experience and clients by coaching family, friends, and co-workers for free.

Too many aspiring coaches spend too much time considering coaching or thinking about coaching and maybe even studying the book knowledge for coaching. If you want to coach, you need to coach.

Family, friends, and co-workers can help bridge the gap from beginner coach to professional coach.

Is It Worth the Risk?

Only you can answer this question. You're balancing two relationships and two goals here.

You have the familial or friendly or professional relationship, which you hopefully want to maintain and improve.

On the other hand, you have the aspirational hobby or side hustle or even career of coaching, which requires you to coach people.

If you don't think your relationship can handle the additional risk or stress, then don't coach that person. Find someone else.

Stay Sane Coaching Family

Remember when coaching family, friends, and co-workers, that you're managing two relationships.

Different relationships may require different boundaries.

CJ discussed not talking work with his co-workers when he was in the gym. Rest time can be an indicator that too much talking is occurring.

Keep in mind what you want to get out of the session. If you're coaching for free, set a goal or intention for the session. That might involve requesting something from the lifter.

You might ask for a testimonial or take pictures. More simply, you may seek the coaching experience itself.

Be aware of emotions and work on your relationship skills. This applies for all clients, but you may be extra aware of this with your wife or boyfriend.

Try to avoid bringing life issues into the gym (or creating gym issues that go into the rest of your life).

Finally, remember that you don't have to have all the answers, you don't have to be the expert on everything, and as you would with any other client, be transparent and honest.

Coaching friends and family shouldn't and doesn't have to end with sleeping on the couch or tears.

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Next Episode

Autoregulation for Strength Training: An Overview - #438

Autoregulation adjusts to the lifter's actual, not expected, performance during a workout. Get an overview of this strength training method. Autoregulation - The Concept

The underlying concept is fairly simple: adjust the work sets to the lifter's performance during the workout.

During novice linear progression, a lifter adds typically 5 pounds each week. The lifter adapts quickly while also lacking the ability to stress himself with a heavy work set like an advanced lifter can.

If the lifter misses a rep or set, a programming change probably needs to occur. If the lifter has a bad workout but hits all the reps, then she learns about just how heavy "heavy" can be. It can be a qualitative experience in RPE 8.5+ sets.

As the lifter advances, weight is often added less frequently, though you often see a linear progression of supplemental and accessory lifts.

Without autoregulation, a lifter performs work sets based on a past one-rep max or similar maximal effort (e.g. 5RM) or her expected performance. Past performance does best predict future performance, but occasionally a lifter experiences workouts on the tails of the bell curve.

A lifter may suddenly fail to hit prescribed reps or have to perform the reps at RPE 9+ effort, whereas the intended difficulty was closer to RPE 7.

The other extreme is the unexpected easy day, when a PR might be available. Especially as a lifter progresses, these days come less and less frequently, so taking the PR may be warranted.

Subjective Autoregulation

The lifter can attempt to make a more-or-less educated guess on his 1RM from his subjective assessment using rate of perceived exertion (RPE) or reps in reserve (RIR).

Work up to a single at RPE 8. This means you assess that you can complete 2 more reps. Then, perform 1x3 @ 93% and 3x5 @ 80%.

If your RPE assessment is fairly accurate, the training stress and intensity that day will be appropriate - sufficient but not too much.

The other primary subjective autoregulation method is the coach's eye. The coach can watch your warm up sets and help pick your work set intensity based on his assessment of your performance that day.

This is an informed input, if you have an experienced coach, but it is still subjective.

Lastly, the two methods can be combined. Whether in-person or online, this method works better. You have two independently-gathered albeit subjective data points that help determine the work sets for the workout.

Online, the coach obviously cannot pick the intensity that day, but the coach can help provide feedback on the lifter's RPE assessments and notice patterns.

For example, a lifter may tend to assess RPEs fairly accurate most of the time, and especially for upper body lifts. On bad days and for squats - this hypothetical lifter's least favorite lift - he tends to rate them higher than they were. This growing awareness can inform the lifter's decisions.

Objective Autoregulation

AMRAPs or working up to a 1RM are objective, as long as the lifter gives her full effort for the set.

The problem, is maximal effort sets, whether for one rep or as many reps as possible, are physically and mentally exhausting, will negatively affect the remaining work sets, and provide an extremely high-intensity training stress that must be accounted for in the training.

Velocity-based training, therefore, offers an objective autoregulation method that doesn't require a maximal set. The lifter has to give her full effort during warm ups, but this does not come with the same difficulty or downsides as a truly maximal work set.

The downside is mainly the cost, though they've become more readily available and more accurate.

If you're an advanced lifter that is serious about chasing PRs for the long haul, you might consider investing in this for your training.

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