Customer Reviews

Power Factor Training: A Scientific Approach to Building Lean Muscle Mass

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Who would really benefit from this system?: 1/Someone who's busted their #** with full-range exercise for years , and needs something-anything to get out of a rut,(and even then, as a temporary measure). 2/Power lifters who need special training to get past a sticking point. 2/ Injured,or otherwise incapacitated trainees who can still safely/painlessly train part of their range. For the great majority of us, this is just a way of continuously, arbitrarily changing our short-attention-span workout, NOT GOOD. It does NOT convert to to full-range strength in the great majority of practitioners, and it does NOT change one's genetically limited ability to add lean mass,(if anything, very low time under tension has most of it's effect on the central nervous system ,and -less- on tissue). You'll temporarily thrill yourself with supernatural 'strength' gains,which soon end at the equipment's limitation,(unless you get their special,(dynamomometer?), machine, which I'm sure will show a readout making you the strongest man in the world in about 13 weeks), you'll be putting ten times the weight that you actually needed to put on your poor tendons and bones. The best time to use 'power factor' training is AFTER -full range- strength has been used up in a set, and you can still lift the weight a little bit, and hold it. This has two benefits:1/ The weight is a safe one. 2/You'll know you've had a full traditional workout, and are going for some TRUELY extra benefits.

I find this book, written by a follower of the late great Mike Mentzer to be the best method for producing the most muscle in the least amount of workout time. The partial rep method also prevents injuries associated with full-rep joint-stressing movements. For maximum muscle size it makes sense that you must incorporate all fibers (Fast twitch, slow twitch, med twitch), and all fibers are not recruited until the last few inches of the rep. I also think that it is counter productive to tear down a muscle before it is fully recovered, so the longer "rest" periods between workouts is most productive. You can build one heck of a Bruce Lee "2 inch punch" with this training! It is indeed scientific, as you can measure it accurately from workout to workout, and you can find your individual "sweet spot" by simply varying reps/frequency and then looking at the numbers. If you want endurance marathon training, then look elsewhere, but if you want super results, with less time in the gym, this is a great read! :)

I bought "Power Factor Training" and tried doing only partial reps for a few months. While I did add pounds on the bar faster doing partial reps, those pounds didn't translate to an equal amount of pounds added for the full-range version of those exercises. I agree with another reviewer who said by taking distance out the their power factor formula they have overstated the benefit of partial reps. Partial reps did help me get little stronger in some exercises though. Partial reps can help you get past a leveling off of progress. When I used partial reps only for the bench press for 4 months then went back to doing full range bench presses I found that I lost 25 pounds strength for that exercise! What a bummer! But the strength in my curls increased more than I thought it would. The reason I believe is because in curls I did the partial movement in the hardest range of the movement and in bench press I did the partial movement in the easiest part of the range of movement.
They do have a point when they say the stronger you get the longer it takes you body to recover for the next workout but be careful not to take off to long. I tried doing full range bench presses every other week and I just couldn't seem to get stronger then I changed it to once a week and I have been making progress again.
They also say people have a sweet spot in what number of reps bring brings about the best gains. I found this to be true.
This book has some good points but in short it's just another training program, not a breakthrough. I recommend reading "Beyond Brawn" instead. Also I recommend reading books by Clarence Bass such as "Challange Yourself" and "Ripped 3".

This book is far too complicated and obscure, it says that the number of sets and reps is going to vary from person to person and that you have to rely on your power factor to tell if your gaining.It makes working out insanely complicated with huge mathematical figures, and a novice body builder is more than likely going to give up on the programme.

I recommend buying "High intensity training" by Mike Mentzer. Mentzer and Sisco and Little have similar ideas on training short, hard, and having adequate rest. Though Mike doesn't believe you can skip full range, you really need it for complete development. I think Mike was on the right track as he used full range but ALSO substituted partial reps and even static movements into his routine. For example doing partial squats is going to stress your quads for sure, but if you want your hamstrings to get any workout you need to do full rep squats. And saying the full range movements aren't used in real life just doesn't cut it, body building is not the same as just going to work everyday so why compare the two.

The reason why I say that is because you WILL need expensive equipment that the book asks you to use. For instance, you need a... Smith Machine for the bench press, equipment for handling very heavy poundages, stopwatch.....and, most importantly, patience.

I realized I was gaining the same amount of muscle mass in my original FULL rep workouts, whereas this approach convinces you to do more reps that are PARTIAL for more intensity. Thus, I was wasting valuable time because I was doing more reps that were PARTIAL but not FULL. And, the fact that you have to use lots of mathematics and configuring in finding out the amount of weight per min, Power Factor, Power Index....this took me about a half hour! Just one workout! And yet, I was getting the same results concerning muscle mass without the Power Factor "approach".

I'm all for Power Factor's philosophy on nutrition, which is well-thought out and I agree highly on it. They say that you should not take in 350grams of protein because over half of it is wasted, excreted, or turned into fat. I followed that and I noticed that I was starting to lose saturated fat by not eating excessive amounts of protein and more definition.

All in all this book does contain good information on nutrition, but in the Power Factor "approach"--just doesn't make it because you're wasting valuable time by doing easier, partial reps instead of you're original weightlifting routine--full reps/less time...and you gain the same amount of muscle mass and definition--either way. So stick with what makes you gain mass effectively.

From the same school as the flawed H.I.T. training developed by Mike Metzler and Arthur Jones, inventor of Nautilus. This book is well written and the authors do a great job of selling you on their technique which is probably why there are actually good reviews here. However, the bottom line is that it has not proven to be an effective method on its own.

No current champion bodybuilders have solely used this technique to build their championship physiques for the simple reason that it cannot work as the authors say (for reasons described by well know exercise physiologists noted at the bottom of this review).

I went through the training religiously as described in the book doing only partial reps for exercises, and several things occurred:

1)My "strong range of motion" did indeed get stronger, but when I occasionally tested my full range of motion strength it was noticably weaker!!! This was tested on several intervals even as the "strong range" increased 150 lbs with 25 reps.

2)As I took more time off as the weights got heavier, I trained my anaerobic energy systems less, and thus, I lost my overall conditioning and anaerobic (ATP/CP energy systems)endurance. I found out that a certain level of anaerobic endurance/conditionaing is needed to sustain a long enough workout to stimulate adaptive response and growth. This conditioning phase is completely ignored.

The authors suggest that training in cycles is not needed as you get stronger and simply take more time to recover due to the amazing heavy weights you will be using. Because I was taking longer and longer to "recover" and doing nothing in between, I lost energy, gained fat and did not increase my muscle size or full rep strength as described above.

I believe the book has some limited value--partial rep training should be done as a component in training (at the end of a muscle group exercise) when you are training your "strong range" which indeed needs more weight than the full range. It is good for powerlifting when you are training your body to handle heavier weights, however, it is not effective as described in this book.

Do not waist your Money on Power Factor Training!!

The book "Serious Strength Training" by Tudor O. Bompa and DiPasquale addresses the claims by the H.I.T. crowd and explain why the authors are seriously flawed on some of their theories. I used the periodization techniques and had far better results in just two months of following their explanations and training "phase" examples.

I was encouraged to add my thoughts on this book because of the enormous range of attitudes on the Power Factor training approach. I did this program about 6 months ago when my progress was at a standstill. The Power Factor approach helped me break through the wall and progress. The book is well written and instructions are very clear. It is a VERY different approach then the conventional approaches. However, it does work if you follow the approach.

Now, let me say I do not believe one should use the Power Factor approach exclusively. It does, however, have tremendous value when used as a change of pace to traditional methods. The idea of lifting much heavier poundage then your used to in a shorter range of motion and in a short period of time does help muscles grow. I wouldn't do this approach 100% of the time, but if you try it for, say, 6 or 8 weeks, I believe most people will benefit from it. One can use traditional, full range, approaches the majority of the time, but integrating Power Factor methods into your routines will have a great benefit.

Those that have dismissed this approach because it's different have lost a valuable lesson in bodybuilding.

Weight training is discipline in which just about anyone who conscientiously follows just about any program will make progress. But if constancy generally brings results there are numerous theories expressed in a multitude of books on how to do it faster, easier, or to develop a particular quality such as bodybuilding or faster running speed. The promises tend to the grandiose but it wouldn't be the iron game if the dust jacket didn't promise to cure everything from constipation to memory lost all while making one stronger, larger, and more attractive to the opposite sex.

These two books (Power Factor Training by Peter Sisco and John Little and Power to the People - Russian Strength Secrets for every American by Pavel Tsatsouline ) are at the fringes. On the fringes, one frequently finds exaggeration and unsubstantiated claims.One can also find superior insight and wisdom, particularly if one knows what to look for. Thus, as one who is interested in new theories the advertising in Amazon seemed to warrant the modest risk of purchasing copies.

Both books contribute by laying out for the reader easy to follow systems of weight training. Each of those systems is rather at odds with the conventional wisdom in the field. The Power Factor book emphasizes lifting of much heavier loads through limited ranges of motions and doing so quickly. One measures both the total load and the time needed to lift it. The author also emphasizes the need for long rest periods between sessions to ensure complete recovery of not only muscles but also internal organs. In my short experience with this system it works. My strength is up both through limited and full ranges of motion. Also, as an older athlete (age 62) with knees that creak as they approach 90 degrees under load the limited range of motion protocol is of genuine benefit. I suspect others with similar infirmities will find comparable benefits. I am less certain that a baseball pitcher hoping to add 5mph to his fastball will achieve the results he seeks.

The Tsatsouline system is similar in its emphasis on heavier loads but recommends limiting the number of reps substantially. The author also believes two exercises and two sets per sessions is sufficient. The number of sessions can reach five in a week.
The book provides excellent descriptions of how to do the dead lift and the one armed press. Equally beneficial is his outline of three easy to follow training cycle systems. Less helpful is the lack of explanations of what causes the benefits. For example, if one is to eschew warming up, a recommendation of the author, one probably wants to know the basis for the recommendation. In most cases, the author advises his next book will provide the explanation. Good economics perhaps but not useful to the reader.

The Power Factor is the better book and will be of interest to experienced weight trainers. One puts up with more breathless prose and flamboyant claims in the Power to the People book but it too may be of benefit. Particularly if one has an experimental inclination. To those just getting started in lifting there are a number of superior volumes on the market such as A Practical Approach to Strength Training by Matt Brzycki.

This bodybuilding system by John Little and Peter Sisco is a very interesting one, and it is explained in scientific detail. The idea is to overload muscles by doing partial strong-range reps, and the effectiveness of a workout is not determined solely by reps and weight used. The time that takes to complete the workout affects on the effectiveness, as well. The authors explain that in physics, the amount of work is not derived from just the weight moved, but time has an effect also. So, if you move the same weigth two times, when the first time you use 5 seconds and the second time you require only 3 seconds, you are doing more work the second time (you are moving more pounds per minute).

To fully benefit from Power factor training (PFT), you have to keep detailed training log, and you have to review it regularily. So it takes more bookkeeping than regular trainig methods, but at the same time it is very easy to keep track of your progress. On the other hand, the inclusion of time to the equation makes is very hard to see during the workout how you are doing. On the traditional workout programs you can easily see that if you can manage certain amount of reps, you are progressing from your previous workout. On PFT, you don't know how you are improving before you make the calculations to determine your Power factor and Power index for the workout.

Using this book is not as easy to use as you might want. The contents of the book are not arranged logically, and in some cases you have to search hard to find a certain thing you are looking for. This does not make it difficult to read the book though, but if you are just looking for certain information, it can take some time to find it.

There is also some conflicting advise in the book, mainly concerning the number of reps and sets you should use. On the other hand, the authors advise that there should be no "cookie cutter" routines - preset number of sets and reps to complete in a workout. Rather, you should experiment to find your "sweet spot" - the weight and number of reps and sets which give you the biggest Power factors (the sweet spot is different from person to person). This in turn creates a new problem, because it takes commitment to start the PFT program, because you have to experiment for a while before you can fully benefit from it after finding the sweet spot. And the sweet spot doesn't stay the same, as it moves around as you became stronger. So clearly this is not a program for beginners.

The inclusion of time into the equation is totally new concept in weight training, but the theory doesn't seem to be watertight. Even the authors warn you not to look blindly at the numbers, as you could fool yourself by making one or two quick reps in couple of seconds, and get huge Power factors. Secondly, the authors advise you to utilise Preacher curls for biceps for example, even when you can get bigger Power factors by doing barbell curls. This advise doesn't seem very logical concirering that you are advised to constantly strive to improve your Power factor and Power index.

But the main thing is: Is PFT any good? Oh yes it is, as long as you keep detailed workout log, and keep on searching that elusive sweet spot. And be advised that you need a power rack, or Smith machine at the least to utilize the program. When you realize the limitations of the program, you can gain hugely from it. If nothing else, it teaches you to keep an accurate training log.

I've read other reviews and I agree mostly with what people are saying. There's alot of good principles here that people can apply to their workout. I've given up full range reps for most of my exercises, I also don't even touch free weights any more because of the overloading principle.

To start off this programme it'll be a bit tricky as in the book they state that the weight you do and the number of reps are going to vary from person to person. I also found it to much bother trying to calculate the power index, I keep track of the weight and reps though.

Just make sure you keep your workouts under an hour, you have enough days off between workouts and you keep increasing the weight over time, and you will grow, there's no hard math about it.