In an attempt to add a little more for Mark's first question, here is my basic understanding:

I think its Eric [Talmant] who points out that the greatest gains made by lifters initially are made through the development of muscular strength and condition, but significantly by increased neural efficiency. I have seen studies that note, not surprisingly, that with beginners you get a huge improvement in the first few months of training.

Many put this down to initial adaptation which results an increase in muscular strength and basic skill acquisition, but often people seem to place a great emphasis on muscle growth. The interesting thing is that when they examine changes in muscle tissue they find that they are not as significant as many would expact- it turns out that the neural pattern development and learning is actually a huge part of the improvement- often much more so that muscle growth.

The more neurologically complex a movement, the more improvement is rapidly gained through repetition, which reinforces and builds 'skill'. A crude anaology would be a kid learning to throw a ball- they'll throw it further by learning the skill, rather than just working the muscles involved. Most of us get no where close to harnessing the strength we have due to inefficiencies- repetition improves and increases efficiency. Of course improvements that lead to great power output also have a positive impact on muscular strength.

This is all basic sports science. But, the Russians researched their butts off looking at the optimal levels of adaptation/variation to build strength, as well as volume/loading. We know that in response to challnge the body adapts- it gets stronger, but we reach a point where gains decrease and fruther gains require further challenge- this is where variation comes in. How much variation is needed- it turns out not much. So the variation (reps/loads) you find in Sheiko is all about just the right amount to challenge the body to promote strength gains, with this balanced against the need for specificity to build skill.

It should be noted that, on my understanding, the various reps/loads are not simply about variation or building volume with the goal of skill acquistion, but also address a variety of needs that relate to the idea of a well rounded athlete/lifter- so this includes conditioning, hypertrophy, power, strength etc. They also found that for most lifters in the early to intermediate stages strength is most effectively built by increasing volume.

If you look at the 13 week cycle for example, you see the prep part is repeated with increasing volume- in theory a lifter would continue to build volume as they make their way up the lifter classifications. Then they often reach a stage where they may respond better to increased intensity or different forms of variation- ie a greater variety of lifts.

My understanding is that the science gives a picture of optimal strength development based on a generalised notion of a lifter. All of the programming is all about packing in the most volume in a way that will build skill and produce optimal strength gains via supercompensation- so accummulating fatigue in a way that will result in maximal adaptation.

If you look through the templates with this way of thinking- you'll see patterns- waving loads and volume- this is all based on the generalised picture that they get from the mountains of research they did. To move beyond the generalised picture you need to develop a sense of what works for you, as Dave says, but the smart starting point is the template. You then move little by little towards an understanding of what you respond to. Someone like Dave is a huge asset to us here because he has worked with so many lifters, he has developed a very good understanding of how to best address individual needs.

The question about suits and shirts relates to all this in some ways. Straps down will increase the strength related training effect, straps up will address skill related issues- if squatting in full gear is a goal. I think the answer is in what you are trying to do in a specific part of your training. With shirts- you can get a looser shirt- which will build strength related areas- or stick with the comp shirt and work on skill in that shirt.

Of course, its not that simple, and either way offers something more than this- but I think you see what I mean.

Read the full thread

Next: Which Sheiko Program?