Power Factor Training

by John R. Little and Peter Sisco

Emphasizes very heavy overloading of the musculature and long rest periods between workouts, resulting in amazing gains in size and strength. This guide details the physiological principles of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809230712
• ISBN13: 9780809230716
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Length: 242 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

WOW!

It's amazing to see all the conflicting views on this book. In short, the book gave me the info I needed to finally get my body mass and lifts moving again. I've been lifting for 11 years and have tried EVERY training protocol available, trust me. This book is a true representation of the science of bodybuilding. I noticed that two of the bad reviews had flaws in them. 1. One person claims to have made no gains while following the program, then states that he trained 2 days per week for the duration of his test. Obviously he did NOT follow the protocol of the book if this is the case. 2. Another person claims that partial range training does not stimulate more muscle fibers than full range bacause of the leverage difference. On the surface this would appear true. However, if you consider training to failure this changes. Muscle fibers are recruited as needed to move a given amount of weight, if you fail at full range you can still move the same weight in partial range, thereby continuing to tax muscle fibers that are still capable of performing work. In short this would cause the use of more fibers.3. Peter Sisco and John Little only offer themselves as examples because they managed to increase their own body mass on the program. They do not make any claims about the state of their physiques as compared to top bodybuilders. Indeed for many trainees considering themselves "hardgainers" 20 pounds of muscle mass gained would be a huge accomplishment, but if that person only started from 150 pounds bodyweight, he certainly would not look like a professional bodybuilder.4. The authors completed a study incolving over 20 trainees which proved the effectiveness of their training protocol. ALL of the trainees in the study made great progress in both mass and strength. This study was completed after the book, however and hence could not be sighted in the text.Sorry to burst your bubble guys but, the training protocol works in 100% of cases, if it is followed correctly.

Essential Reading if You're Serious About Weight Training

I'm a 50 year-old man. When I found this book I'd been training with traditional methods for nine months. As is typical with those methods, I made good progress at first but leveled-off after a few months. I tried a number of different programs, and made some progress, but it was slow going. With PFT over the last two months progress has been steady, some of it dramatic. The Power Factor on my Seated Overhead Presses has gone up 133%, Bench Press up 78%, and Leg Presses up almost 180% - all in the past month. Amazingly, just before PFT I had been doing heavy, low-rep strength and powerlifting work, not light, high-volume routines, so it wasn't like all of a sudden I was trying heavy weight. This speaks to how productive the strong-range movements are which the authors advocate. The authors were also right in their advice on hooks, and I soon had to start using lifting hooks on my Deadlifts and Shrugs, as my grip could no longer handle the weights I was pulling. These have gone up 37% and 51% respectively in the past 10 days. PFT may also be of benefit to older lifters like myself because of its effect on joints, tendons and ligaments. I used to have to stretch daily to stay limber, now I only stretch on workout days and I never feel stiff anymore (anyone my age knows what I'm talking about). Even on the days I don't work out. Finally, one of the less-heralded benefits of this program is that since you have to reduce your workouts to once every 7-10 days, you are given back something most bodybuilders have forgotten they've lost -- time. PFT lets you work your body effectively, with great results, AND have a life. In my opinion, this book is essential reading if you're serious about weight training. And THIS is the one to read before you delve into the authors' specialization series. This covers it all and does so with logical arguments and an entertaining writing style.

5 Stars for Partial Reps

Before you even think of getting this book, be prepared to devote a few hours, learning the concept Sisco and Little speak of in this Power Factor title. This book is scientific, and the calculations take a lot of time to get used to. While I don't feel they are 100% legitamite, they are still a good guideline to follow. Face the facts, most bodybuilders don't keep a detailed log of their workouts. I feel the suggestions they provide are basically just to lead you in the right direction for keeping tabs on your workout.Now, as for the workout itself. All I can say is.. "Wow". Who ever thought of strong range training is a genius. Patrial reps have far become my workout of choice, mainly because I believe it yields the best results I have ever seen in my 7 years of training. I have never gotten so much bigger and stronger in such a short period of time. For example, my 1st workout, which included arms, brought my arms up 1/4", after being stuck at the same size for nearly 4-5 months. Power Factor Training makes me feel extremely strong, in and out of the gym, gives me tremendous pumps, and is helping me reach my genetic potential faster than I could ever dream of with conventional training.Sisco and Little adopted the Mentzer principles with working out once every 4-7 days, which I thought was absurd until I tried it. Every workout you come back stronger--every time. For someone who thinks you need to train 3-5 times per week to build muscle, you need to re-evaluate your current situation. I firmly believe this is one of the most valuable books ever written about training, and I would recommend it to anyone I come across. Do take into consideration that you MUST read this book thoroughly, perhaps even 2-4 times to get the grasp of the points they are trying to get across. Do this, and fully expect to gain 15-30 lbs. of muscle in a few short months.

Almost perfect: A very effective system

This system is brilliant and many of the so called experts who have written reviews to the contrary should do one of two things: 1: Try the system for themselves 2: Perform a proper study using the systemThe main criticisms of PFT are to do with the partial range of motion training system not the system of measuring the workout intensity. The only problem with the measurement system is the absence of distance in the formula. This is because it is assumed that people will choose one range of motion and stick with it and that therefore the workout intensity is always measurable. As for partial reps here are the 3 most important points:1.) If you are training in your strongest range of motion the muscle growth is phenomenally higher than full range of motion. However, training exclusively in partial ROM for extended periods, ie 3 months or more, will cause a loss of strength in full range of motion, not because of a loss of muscle mass at all but because of neuromuscular facilitation loss. That is the ability of the body to activate muscle mass. Therefore, performing a single workout once every week, or ten days i have found to be best, compiled of full range exercises for every body part, focusing on using the muscle not "building" it. Super slow reps are very good for this.2.) Many people feel that alot of the weight of partial reps are carried by the joints and ligaments rather than the muscles. Well aren't they absoulutey brilliant! Well done doctors! Of course the ligaments take the weight, just like in any other exercise or ROM. It is for this reason the partials build strength, they strengthen the tendons and ligaments that hold the limbs together. This provides a better transfer of power. 3.) One writer from "upstate NY", who appeared to have never actually tried the system for himself or conducted any studies on the system, said that the power factor and power index counteract each other. This is only if you don't get stronger. If you were to become stronger the power index would grow with the power factor but as this "expert" obviously works out with mediocre strength gains he doesn't expect to get stronger but tries to manipulate his workouts so he thinks he does.People who are unwilling to even try a new system or even recommend a sytem are the reason why bodybuilders resort to using steroids, because their are so many systems out there and nobody is willing to actually make a fair appraisal of them. It just so happens that this system is a good one and as a responsible scientist I do not merely look at a system and try to find faults without any real analysis, but I either perform legitimate studies or try the system for myself. I believe that alot of the "experts" who have reviewed this book should work alot harder and outside of their comfort zone. Get some guts and advocate a system and stick by it, only as long as it is the best not as long as it is the most popular.This is an excellent book

A Serious Training System That Actually Works

Power Factor Training and its three sequels (the Power Factor Specialization series) are excellent tools for those serious about maximizing their gains. I'm a certified personal trainer and this is the system I use. My personal results have been that Power Factor Training knocked me off a growth plateau I'd been on for six months, and despite having good muscle development already, I've had new, steady gains for more than five months.Power Factor Training is the first weight training system that allows you to quantify and plan your progress. Until now, there has been no way to truely measure whether your muscles have more, less or the same strength than on your last workout. By effectively measuring muscle output, you adjust your training to accommodate your body's stimulus, recovery and growth ability. Sisco and Little have created what's probably the best system for maximizing muscle growth efficiency, and it absolutely works. Power Factor: Measures raw power -- a "snapshot" of what your muscles can do in the short term. Power Index: Measures your muscles' abilility to maintain a Power Factor over time.You adjust your training weight, reps, sets, time and schedule so that you're constantly increasing your Power Factor and Power Index. You systematically find the set/weight/reps/time combination for each exercise so that you constantly train at the point where you move the maximum amount of weight (max intensity). This varies with the individual depending upon a muscle's white and red fiber mix, so that one individual will train with maximum intensity with higher weight and fewer reps/sets, and another with lighter weight, greater reps and sets. Power Factor training allows you to find exactly the combination that maximizes intensity for each exercise and muscle group, to adjust it as you make gains, to know when you plateau and how to readjust to break off plateaus.Power Factor training also embraces the use of Strong Range exercise, meaning that you maximize the weight and increase the reps for an exercise by limiting exercise motion to the maximum strength range (partial reps). Muscle growth stimulus results entirely from overload; once you move more than about 50% of your single rep max, you've activated more than 90% of a muscle's fibers. By working high weight/max weight/strong range, you maximize the overload and time in overload while maintaining maximum fiber activation. Done properly, strong range training also tends to reduce injury potential by keeping you out of the area with maximum joint stress.Concerns with Power Factor Training Most concerns expressed about Power Factor Training result from misunderstanding or misapplying its principles. Many concerns focus on strong range training, which is really only a component of the system -- not THE system itself.1. Concern one: The Power Factor formulas don't accurately measure force because they doesn't account for limb length, range of motion a