The Psychology of Training: Training to Compress the Nervous System

Exploring the psychology of systematic strength training against maximal resistance.

At Absolute, to generate high performance, we believe it is paramount that the athlete possesses the ability to consciously compress their nervous system in the briefest amount of time to generate the largest magnitudes of force at the highest attainable speeds. Possessing this ability enables the athlete to meet the strength (i.e., force generation + discharge demands) and cognitive (i.e., psychological) demands in a timely manner, at the Level of Competition, to ensure their success in sport.

This is a video of challenger Stipe Miocic rapidly compressing his nervous system when a window opens to generate the force demands needed to knock out UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum. We work with Stipe and his team of Marcus Marinelli and Bob Kaleal - thus, we have direct insights into Stipe’s training. Stipe would go on to have Matthew Effects and have the most title defenses of any heavyweight in UFC history.

Compressing the Nervous System in the Briefest Amount of Time: A Trainable Capacity

A trainable ability that is not appropriately discussed in the science of training for high performance is actually training with the intent to get the central nervous system to both physically and cognitively compress itself to generate its maximal momentary effort in the briefest amount of time.

"...you sink to the level of your training.”

A quote that is attributed to the Navy Seals is something I am always consciously aware of when programming the strength training work for athletes is:

"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion; you sink to the level of your training."

Understand: If there is no training work that is constraining the trainee to both physically and cognitively, maximally compress their nervous system in the briefest amount of time to generate their maximal momentary effort, that athlete (i.e., untrained athlete) will not possess the ability to take advantage of the brief windows of opportunity that open up at the Level of Competition.

Timing is Critical at the Level of Competition

Timing is often everything at the level of competition. It is a reality that time is associated with space. All performance in any sport, where there is a team vs. team or athlete vs. athlete, rests on the ability to manipulate time and space. Examples are endless of how critical timing is, but picture the hockey player aggressively skating toward the net with the sole intent of scoring. It is a reality of the Level of Competition that there are very brief windows of space that open up where that player must move into to receive the puck in a position to shoot whereby it has the chance of scoring. If the shot is to result in scoring a goal, once that space opens up, the player’s nervous system must instantaneously compress itself to move into that space to get to the goal before that window closes.

Untrained vs. Trained

At Absolute, we divide athletes into two distinct categories: trained and untrained. We conceptualize athletes who are at Point B to be “trained” and athletes who are not at Point B as “untrained.” Just like the Navy Seals, we believe that athletes under the pressures at the level of competition sink to the level of their training.

“Trained” = at Point B “Untrained” = not at Point B

Untrained vs. Trained Examples at The Level of Competition

Let’s reuse the hockey example, but now look at that example through the lens of strength practitioners who are able to delineate the difference between trained athletes and untrained athletes. Since there are trained and untrained athletes at the Level of Competition, there will be two different examples. In the first example is the trained hockey player, and in the second example is the untrained hockey player - both of which are at the level of competition with the intent to score on a goal.

As strength practitioners, we understand that the ability to simultaneously compress the nervous systems both physically and cognitively is a trainable capacity - meaning: a capacity that is plastic and totally dependent on training work. This reality enables us to know the trained hockey player’s nervous system has been appropriately trained to compress itself to generate its maximal momentary effort when that window opens up. In the case of the trained hockey player, there is a much higher probability they score in that brief window than the untrained, and furthermore, the trained should expect to have Matthew Effects at the level of competition, from the athlete “sinking” to that level of optimal training.

Inversely, there is a high probability the untrained, in our hockey thought experiment, cannot generate the performance needed to score on the goal in that brief window of time. The amount of lost scoring opportunities due to a sub-optimally trained/untrained nervous system is so many that it is incalculable but does end up in negative Matthew Effects.

Since timing is critical at the level of competition, and we want the athlete we are overseeing to have the highest probability of success at the level of competition, then that athlete must possess the ability to maximally simultaneously compress their nervous system both physically and cognitively.

Training to Compress the Nervous System in the Briefest Amount of Time

The most efficient way to train the nervous system to compress itself both physically and cognitively is to subtract the amount of time a lift/exercise (i.e., training input) can be performed in. Unsurprising to readers of Absolute, the simplest way to subtract the amount of time of a training input is to have the athlete train against a maximal load.

Understand: A maximal load - is an amount of resistance that permits for only 1 repetition to be performed (Naglak 1979)¹. Any load (or training input) that permits for more than 1 repetition is graded as a non-maximal load.

It is not surprising to the readers of Absolute that the only way to acquire this vital capacity of the nervous system being able to compress itself maximally both physically and psychologically in the briefest amount of time is to train overtime systematically against maximal loads (i.e., utilize max effort method).

“We grow in direct proportion to the amount of chaos we can sustain and dissipate” ― Ilya Prigogine

Biological Chaos, Neurological Order

At Absolute, we conceptualize training against maximal load as: biological chaos and neurological order. To coherently understand this concept, let’s use a real-life example of an NFL offensive lineman training against a maximal load in a deadlift. Simply, the lineman is utilizing the max effort method, and the means is the deadlift.

To successfully pull a maximal effort deadlift, the lineman must voluntarily compress his nervous system to recruit and stimulate all the large motor neurons to call upon the fastest and strongest muscle fibers to generate his maximal force output - as logically, to lift a maximal load, a maximal effort will be elicited. This maximal compression of the nervous system occurs in a very brief window of time, approx. 4-6 seconds. To neurologically perform this training, there must be a very orderly focus and mindset being generated by the nervous system.

While the nervous system is compressing in an orderly fashion where it is stimulating and recruiting the largest motor neurons to generate force in a coherent manner that leads to a successful deadlift (i.e., stimulating the neural net of absolute strength), biological elements like muscle tissues, connective tissues are being pushed to the edge of chaos. The amount of chaos these biological elements can sustain and dissipate will directly relate to how much adaption (i.e., growth) is elicited from this training work.

Lifting Maximal Against Resistance

Consider about the absolute most that you can currently deadlift at the moment. Now picture that weight on a barbell in front of you. When you attempt to lift that barbell, the barbell is going to move slowly - meaning: you are going to have to strain through the entire range of motion if you are to successfully pull that deadlift.

Metabolically the strain from this repetition is going to elicit rapid energy output in the form of force generation from the muscle tissues. Mechanically there is going to be increasing stress within the connective tissues as the nervous system rapidly drives the muscles to their momentary maximal effort. The chaotic metabolic and mechanical stress will generate afferent information flow from those biological elements into the nervous system and consciousness. If the athlete is to be successful in the lift, they must consciously focus on the training task at hand and train through the chaotic stress being generated by the biological elements.

Voluntarily continuing to drive the nervous system to higher and higher levels of force output, while being cognitive of the biological chaos that is occurring and successfully accomplishing the lift, is the ability to not just rapidly compress the nervous system both physically and consciously but is also the athlete learning how to maximally and rapidly strain. The ability to maximally and rapidly strain will no doubt lead to positive Matthew Effects at the Level of Competition.

Non-Maximal Loads Do Not Rapidly Constrain Consciousness

Logically, training against non-maximal forms of resistance, comparatively to training against a maximal resistance, is easy from the perspective of the nervous system. Easy training work does not sufficiently constrain the spotlight of consciousness of the nervous system to compress itself.

To coherently understand this concept, picture yourself in front of a barbell once again, but now half the weight from your max is on the bar. There is a high probability that if we asked you to pull that weight from a wider stance than what you normally pull from that you would be able to pull it successfully. If we asked you to go very narrow stance, heels touching, same thing - high probability to can pull that weight. Why? Because lifting non-maximal weights is easy, and there are an almost infinite movement solutions your nervous system can generate to pull that weight, and just like you can explore from a movement perspective, the athlete’s focus can also be non-maximal and still be successful.

The Psychology of Training Against Maximal Loads

At Absolute, we have focused on the physical aspects of maximal effort training; but it is imperative to understand that there are psychological effects that are acquired, which will no doubt have positive and favorable downstream effects at the level of competition. The hockey players whose nervous system can rapidly compress is going to be able to act when those windows of time open briefly open up. The lineman who can rapidly, and maximally strain against maximal loads will be able to generate optimal magnitudes of force on game day to block.

Training against a maximal form of resistance will constrain the nervous system in a manner where the spotlight of consciousness will be compressed in the moment and focused on the training task at hand. This compression of the nervous system, while maximally straining, is as much physical as it is psychological.

A.S. Medvedyev, in discussing characteristics it takes for a Russian Olympic Weightlifter to have success, states in A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting:

“The athlete needs to withstand significant physical and psychological loading to be able to achieve international level results under extreme competition conditions².”

Medvedyev came to this conclusion after his team was defeated by the Bulgarians - a massive upset. Seeing the Bulgarians have a deep psychological wells and push past the Soviet Union at the level of competition more than likely changed how the Soviets viewed the max effort method - from just purely physical to also, and possibly equally important, psychological; it changed the frequency at which it was performed. More discussion on this at a later time.

1. Kurz, Thomas. Science of Sports Training How to Plan and Control Training for Peak Performance. Stadion, 1991.

2. Medvedyev, A.S. A System of Multi-Year Training in Weightlifting. Sportivny Press, 1989.