The Phenomenology of Barbell Training

[stef]

by Mark Rippetoe

In Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training 3rd edition I defined the term “phenomenology” by quoting the definition of the word from the Concise Dictionary of Physics (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1978, p.248): A theory which expresses mathematically the results of observed phenomena without paying detailed attention to their fundamental significance. My understanding of this concept has improved, thanks to my friend Nassim Nicholas Taleb, so I thought I'd share it with you.

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[J.D. Shipley]

I don't have a question or comment on the subject of the article, per se. But I do have a question regarding this particular line:

"Lifting the same weight does not produce the ability to lift heavier weights, and lifting lighter weight does not produce the ability to lift heavier weights. We know this because we have observed the phenomenon countless times for thousands of years, and there are no observed instances that disprove our conclusion."

According to Practical Programming, (if I've read it correctly) the volume day of the Texas Method represents the stressor from which the body recovers and adapts and the intensity day is the demonstration of that adaptation as 5lbs more on the bar than the previous week's intensity day. At the start and for quite a bit of the TM, volume day is a lower weight than the intensity day. Roughly 90% or so - I don't have the book in front of me so I'm going off memory.
Doesn't this concept contradict the line above from your article?

JD

[Mark Rippetoe]

No, it doesn't.

[AndrewLewis]

Volume day is a stressor. Intensity day is a stressor and a demonstration.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The overload event is the entire week, not one of the workouts.