I’ve tried to read and listen to as much BBM content as I can, I love you guys.
I don’t recall you discussing the alleged “Stimulus to Fatigue Ratio” (STF). The claim is that some exercises induce more fatigue than others relative to the stimulus they impart.
For example, say you want to grow your upper back. For that goal, some claim that deadlifts have a poor STF compared to rows, because they say that deadlifts are more fatiguing than rows. They say that for the same fatigue “cost,” you can do more rows than deadlifts, so you’re able to tolerate more row volume than deadlift volume.
Please let me share what I believe you’ve said that might relate to this:
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Lat pulldowns may sometimes be preferable to pullups because pulldowns are less fatiguing.
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OTOH, I believe Jordan has said: 1) He doesn’t find bench presses to be less fatiguing than squats or deadlifts. 2) RDL’s are not more fatiguing than good mornings.
Personally, I experience more fatigue on some exercises (e.g., squats and deadlifts) than others (e.g., bench presses or single-joint movements). My perception could be biased by psycho-social factors like expectations.
It seems that STF is used when trying to select exercises to improve weak points. For example, if you believe that your upper back is the weak point in your deadlift, you might do more rows rather than just more deadlifts. But I believe that Jordan has questioned the validity of “weak-point training,” saying:
- I don’t think that most world-class powerlifters specifically do “weak-point” training, as it’s difficult to determine the relationship for why you’re failing a lift at a certain spot.
- For example, it could be that the velocity created prior to the failure point was insufficient- making the real weak point a different spot than you assessed.
- It may also just be the point where leverage is the worst, thereby being non-modifiable.
- I think your friend is a little overconfident in his opinion and would ask him to define weak point and provide evidence that it improves performance. If you’re a powerlifter then it seems that your programming must include the competition lifts to induce an adaptation specific to those lifts. But do you think that STF is a valid or helpful consideration in programming or exercise selection?