A Reactive Training Manual Overview
By
Mike Tuchscherer
The
Reactive Training Manual has been available for over a year now. In that
time, Reactive Training Systems (RTS) as a business has grown and changed a lot.
A positive aspect of that growth is that more and more people are discovering
RTS and seeking knowledge on the system. It is in this regard that I realized
that there are many people who would like to know the basics of what this
training system is all about, but in the midst of website updates, much of this
information isn’t readily available. So I’d like to reintroduce RTS for
everyone, especially those who don’t know what it’s all about.
Learning to listen
If you read much about training, you’ll find that there is a ton of
information available on how to train if you’re a beginner powerlifter. And the
highly advanced lifters know how to train for their body type and individual
differences. But what if you’re an intermediate powerlifter? You grasp the
basics and you’re trying to learn how to be a better, stronger, and more
intelligent powerlifter. If you listen to guys talk, you’ll probably hear it
suggested that you “listen to your body” in some capacity or another. As an
intermediate lifter, how do you do that? If you train in conjunction with a good
coach, you might learn it, but how many of us have that luxury?
Answering this question is where the Reactive Training System (RTS) started, but
as I continue my education, I’ve learned that it’s even more important than I
originally thought. The law of individual differences states that each person
will respond somewhat differently to a training stimulus (or any stimulus for
that matter). So what works for one person may not work for another person.
Also, there are physiological differences from person to person, and it’s
important that these be accounted for as well.
But how does any of that help the intermediate lifter? RTS is a system of
tools designed specifically to help you learn how to listen to your body and
make the best training choices as a result. Although the manual itself contains
the tools to make a complete program, the tools aren’t limited to that. RTS
tools are designed to be like the scope on a rifle. You can put the “scope” of
RTS on any program you choose and it will help. At the same time, if you pair
RTS with crappy training, you will still get crappy results. RTS was originally
designed to enhance training, although there are plenty of programming tools
covered in the manual. Some of those tools are described below.
Rate of perceived exertion
Rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is a nice term for “how hard did it feel?”
It is a numerical scale ranging from 1–10 with a key part of the reading being
the lifter’s assessment of how many reps he had left in the tank. For example,
if I did a set of three, and when I rack the weight, I can honestly say, “Yeah,
I could’ve done one more rep,” that is a nine RPE.
Custom template design
Building your own template is an important process. Let’s be honest, none of
us are professional lifters who can lift weights for eight hours a day, seven
days a week. So time management is an issue. There are a huge number of stock
size templates that are available, but for many of us, those just don’t work all
the time or they fail to take something into account. The answer to this would
be to build your own template that is custom designed to fit your lifestyle and
time management restrictions.
Some things to keep in mind when building your own template are as follows:
When will I have access to certain equipment? How much time will this workout
take? How do these exercises fit together with each other? How does this workout
fit with the workouts around it? Answering these questions will keep your
template design on track, and as long as you cover all your required work, it
should be effective because it fits best with your life. I’m not saying it’s
optimal, but maybe it’s optimal for you at this moment of your life due to other
circumstances.
If you would like to learn more on template design, this is touched on in the
book and covered in much more detail in the seminar DVD.
Fatigue percents
These really help customize a program by allowing the volume to fluctuate
depending on your current state of readiness. If you are resistant to fatigue,
you would use more volume to stimulate your system. If you were susceptible to
fatigue, you will fatigue easily and thus require less volume.
Fatigue percents allow your volume to automatically adjust to what you need
that day. The way this is measured is via a drop in your ability to display
strength due to fatigue. It requires you to arrive at an “initial” or a set that
displays your strength potential that day. This could be a set of either a nine
or 10 RPE. The subsequent fatigue is measured via percentage. So if you work up
to three reps with 300 lbs at a nine RPE and then continue working until 285 lbs
for three reps is a nine RPE, you have acquired five percent fatigue. Low stress
workouts are ones that generally leave you with three percent or less fatigue.
Medium stress usually results in fatigue of five percent. High stress is
associated with fatigue of seven percent or higher.
These are just a few of the basic tools of the reactive training system. As
always, there is much more to learn including stress management, cycle planning,
execution methods, and so on. However, hopefully this article provides you with
an outline of what RTS is all about and at least allows you to start training
according to your body’s needs.
Mike Tuchscherer is the founder of Reactive Training Systems, a sports
training company dedicated to high quality, individualized athletic training (www.ReactiveTrainingSystems.com).
He also competes in powerlifting and has won numerous American and national
records. In July 2009, Mike was the first American male powerlifter to win a
gold medal at the World Games. His best lifts are a 903-lb squat, a 644-lb bench
press, an 826-lb deadlift, and a 2342-lb total, all in the 275-lb weight class
in the USAPL. He can be reached at
Mike@ReactiveTrainingSystems.com.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
