QUALITY

Quality, Quantity or a fast Time on the Stopwatch

BY MARK TWIGHT

"You could get through workouts a lot faster if you didn't actually have to do them."

Some "fitness" folks like to quote the Henry Rollins phrase, "two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds." At Gym Jones we say that, to ensure valid measurement a yardstick must be one yard long and two hundred pounds is only that when moved through a complete range of motion -- regardless of the speed at which it moves.

Fresh from quoting the man whose music they probably hate those same folks mouth off about ideal range of movement and quality of work but unless those ideals manifest as action they are meaningless. No matter how hopeful the words if the chin does not rise significantly higher than the bar then it is not a pull-up -- kipping or otherwise -- because the weight has not been moved through its maximum possible trajectory; the potential energy has not been fully expressed.

As our training group grew during the last year we noticed that, in the quest for faster times work quality was easily sacrificed. Such may be unconscious behavior but I like to call it cheating. When movement quality declined we couldn't use the stopwatch to monitor improvements because other parameters must be fixed for the time to be relevant: if the load is fixed, and the movement is always the same then posting a faster or slower time is useful knowledge. If the load is fixed but the range of motion (ROM) is shortened a second variable has been introduced and knowing the time is no longer useful.

Some argue that movements executed quickly lead to a higher power output and that if ROM is sacrificed along the way the trade-off is worth it. Yes, power output will be greater but the athlete who cuts ROM short and finishes faster is not doing the same workout as the athlete who pulls and pushes through complete ROM. If two athletes aren't playing the same game by the same rules any comparison of the results lacks meaning. And there is no reason NOT to execute movements completely even when doing multiple reps for time. Putting a full kip on the pull-up, still not getting the head above the bar and calling it good is about as lame as it gets.

Understand that I am not arguing against kipping or wiggling or squirming to get a rep done, I am simply stating that in our gym we do not count incomplete reps no matter how good the athlete's intention. Athletes shortcut reps because it's easier to do less than it is to do more and that's cheating or at best, lazy. If we accept "chicken necking" instead of a proper pull-up (because it is 90% complete and more reps can be done faster thus increasing the power requirement) the natural conclusion is accepting speedily executed but partial squats. What we allow ourselves to settle for is largely dependent on our goals and the strength of our character. It is up to the individual to figure out why he/she is doing something and to accept responsibility for those choices and actions. Figure it out.

By nature mankind is comparative. We like to see where we fit into the scheme of things. If fitness is important then timed or scored workouts are a lens through which we may see ourselves in a larger context. For this comparison to be meaningful we all have to be doing the same thing. Track events are simple that way: run a fixed distance. In the realm of gym fitness rowing on the Concept II fills a similar role, there is no way to cheat it: 5000 meters is 5000 meters no matter how you get there. But when it comes to couplets, triplets and chippers requiring a variety of movements, the execution of which may be "interpreted" valid comparison among individuals is contingent on a fixed set of parameters. At Gym Jones we use the following rules to ensure work quality:

Pull-ups: elbows must pass behind centerline of the body, if this happens the entire head rises above the bar, active shoulder position at bottom (as opposed to full dead hang)

Push-ups: chest touches the floor first, active shoulder and full extension at the top, body held as a solid plank, the hips do not move

Squats: thighs must be parallel to floor (at minimum) in the bottom position, full extension at the top of the movement

Lunges: trailing knee must "kiss" the ground but may not support any weight

Push-Press and Thruster: arms must lock out overhead, hips displace horizontally to the rear to initiate recovery of the weight, Thruster includes all attributes of a proper squat

Kettlebell or Dumbell Swing: weight must be raised higher than the head (arms about 45 degrees)

Box Jump: once established on the box the athlete must stand up completely, whether jumping for reps or max height taking steps to gain momentum is not permitted

Ball Slam: full extension at the top with hips forward, ball must actually be slammed (imagine that), catching it on the bounce is better style, rounded back not permitted during recovery

Burpees: includes a proper push-up, explosive finish (jump), overhead clap, and feet remain together throughout movement to ensure maximum hip displacement

Wall Ball: full squat required, ball must hit target

Dips: upper arm must be parallel to the floor (at minimum) in the bottom position, arms lock out in full extension at the top

When everyone agrees on the rules the outcomes may be compared and relevant conclusions drawn. For the sake of meaningful knowledge and honest communication we only post results on the Gym Jones site that were achieved in accordance with our standards for full ROM (unless otherwise noted). From now on we will detail the types of exercises used e.g. whether push-ups were done on the floor, on parallettes, on the rings, with feet higher or lower than hands, etc. Strict standards prevent misrepresentation and the speculation that follows. I've seen "Jonesworthy" done properly and I've seen it done with partial reps, and then read both times posted on the web as if they were comparable efforts.

We train in preparation for sport-specific tests or work-related challenges, we do not train for the sake of it or because conditioning is our sport or hobby. We don't do this because we want to look a certain way or to lose weight (these are consequences). We suffer during training to improve ourselves physically and psychologically and we measure those improvements on mountains, on frozen waterfalls, in burning buildings, facing cunning adversaries, on the battlefield, on the mat and in the cage. Because these tests occur outside the gym we don't compete in the gym, we work hard, and we work together to make the sum greater than its individual parts. Cheating here won't help us get where we are going so we enforce all quality all of the time.

That's our yardstick, how long is yours?

Johnny with his entire head (and then some) above the bar

Stephane going deep between the parallettes

Stephane with his thighs parallel to the floor, holding during a Bottom-to-Bottom Tabata Squat set

Jim nearing the end of Thruster & Pull-up couplet and still going to full extension

Logan swinging a bit higher than required, which shows stronger character than if he'd swung lower than required

AJ at full extension during a Ball Slam and it's obvious that he's not just going to drop it ...

James airborne coming out of a Burpee and clapping hard

Mathieu showing good shoulder flexibility and strength ... this is proper dip depth

MFT (on the right) going about as deep as the shoulders allow

Dylan getting appropriately low though most people would try to get away with less

Ricky pushing to full extension and using the medicine ball to ensure proper squat depth