DOGMA (Part 2)

LPT: Recognize dogmatic strength- gurus and always take their advice critically.

One guru said, "More than 5 reps is cardio!"

Yes, there is a little more to 5 reps than the original statement by one of the early proponents of the "5x5" set and rep- scheme.

Bill Starr said, "It sounded good."

It works well, too, but only up to a point and with a lot of time and effort.

Strength newbies "hit the wall" after a few months and often start "program hopping" because nothing really fits as well as advertised.

Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 could be the next serious program that can work for folks with a lot of time and a big fridge. 

One of world-record-holder Matt Wenning's programs could also deliver results if you like his extended warm-ups and maximum efforts.

Oh, and RTS by Mike Tuchscherer is obviously a good one...

But, wait a minute, ...

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Matt Wenning had great success with HUNDREDS of reps per training-session!

Multiple Sets of 25 reps!

I could ask:

"He did more than 5 reps!

A world record with cardio?!"

Meathead's answer:

"No, No, it's the max effort! (...)"

But Matt insists that his high-rep program was the key factor that made him (and thousands of TACTICAL personal he trained) STRONG AF!

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Dr. Michael Yessis has written about 1x20 reps and a lot of different exercises...

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"Super Squats" by Randall Strossen is one of the best programs ever! 1 set! 20 reps!

4, 5, 25 or 20... THESE ARE JUST NUMBERS!

EVERYTHING WORKS if you CONSTANTLY CHANGE THE STIMULUS, OVERLOAD PROGRESSIVELY and FIND YOUR WAY between "too easy" and "too hard"! 

5x5 reps are not always the best choice, especially when you are able to lift the same weight for 3x10 reps. It's clearly not the smartest choice for folks with limited time.

Key questions:

What are my GOALS?

Are my planned actions leading me to my goals?

Are there conflicting actions?

Will my plan be SUSTAINABLE FOR ME?

The last question cannot be answered without TRIAL AND ERROR!

Start as easy as reasonable:

1 set (fewer sets are impossible)

A very light weight.

Enough repetitions to stimulate a response from your body.

In the next training session, increase the weight and adjust the sets and repetitions.

Take notes and observe how your body responds.

Figure out which stimulus works best for your goals.

That's all you really need to do!

My method to change the stimulus is explained Here.

DOGMA (Part 1)

LPT: Recognize dogmatic teachers, influencers or "gurus" and always take their advice critically.

A few years ago, someone said something like

"Don't be stupid! Skip all those useless hours of "roadwork"! HIIT delivers the same results in a few minutes!"

No one wants to be stupid and waste time, but after decades of roadwork for solid endurance myself as a fighter and knowing that fighters in Thailand jog 20-60 km per week AND knowing how the top endurance athletes train ... I was sure there was something WRONG about this "HIIT-HYPE".

Fortunately I read "ultimate MMA conditioning" by Joel Jamieson, which deals with this subject in detail.

HIIT has its place in some top sport specific programs, but it's not the ultimate solution for every day.

RECOVERY

I always read recommended strength-training routines like

"train every other day"

"train every day"

"train every lift separated by 72 hours"

...and the list goes on.

Every recommend routine CAN work and there are people who proved it. 

The Point where most trainees mess the routines up is when they ADD OTHER ACTIVITIES.

Running, manual labour, martial arts and every other sports ADDED to "proven" routines can lead to stagnation, frustration, throwbacks or even injuries.

So, what's A GOOD ROUTINE FOR YOU to progress at all your activities?

Simplyfied:

Train > recover until ready again > train again...

This process is very individual.

You need to monitor the main body functions involved:

1. Has your heart muscle recovered sufficiently?

2. Has your nervous system recovered sufficiently?

3. Have the muscles, tendons and joints you want to train recovered sufficiently?

Check these three points every morning and decide on a daily base.

Ignoring any of these points can lead to suboptimal results or problems.

Depending on your daily effort, you can exercise every day or once a week.

Maximum effort tyres the nervous system.

Long and hard efforts fatigue your heart.

Very high volume training will cause your muscles, tendons and joints to take longer to recover.

Much better:

ADJUST YOUR EXERCISE EFFORTS AND EXERCISE MORE OFTEN!

A training-session of less than 35 minutes at low to moderate intensity and volume is a good starting point.

ADJUST TIME, INTENSITY AND VOLUME by careful trial and error until YOUR ROUTINE WORKS FOR YOU!

THE RIGHT PACE

Finding the right pace for running, swimming or cycling is easy. Wear a heart rate monitor and adjust your pace accordingly.

But how do I find my pace for juggling kettlebells, kicking the heavy bag, light sparring, or (in extreme cases) fighting without gassing out?

PACING!

Create your FLOWS!

A flow is a repeatable, short sequence of movements including breathing patterns. A good flow is well thought out and proven to work.

Examples:

kettlebell Long cycle

heavy bag training

Know your ZONES!

You need to know how many BPM your heart is beating while you can do the movements for hours, while the movements tire you out in 3-10 minutes, and of course your individual barrier to gassing out in less than a few minutes.

Find the right INTENSITY!

If you go full throttle, you'll get tired in less than a minute. The reason is that muscle tension blocks your blood flow. Without blood flow, your energy systems cannot recover. You gas out. Move fast and loose! You'll be surprised how much speed and power you can generate with this small change!

TEST!

Wear a heart rate monitor and repeat your flow with pauses between each flow. Use an interval timer with an audible signal to ensure you are moving at a set, repeatable pace. Start with longer pauses to find the right pace that you can sustain for hours. Note the flow, intensity, and time for future progress.

Reduce the breaks between each flow and find the pace you can sustain for 10 minutes. Reduce the breaks until you find the pace that gets your heart rate above your anaerobic threshold (the barrier) in less than 2 minutes.

PRACTICE!

Stay away from your barrier! Practice flow at a pace that is between your 10-minute pace and slower. Slower is better! 

IMPROVE!

Practicing flows is endurance training. Do not try to reinvent the wheel. This should be your guide.

COUNT your breaths!

You are practicing flow with an interval timer. Count your breaths to find your perfect pace. After a few training-sessions, you'll know how many breaths is just right. Check your heart rate. Reduce your breaths if you are advanced.

RESULT

The exercise of staying fast and loose in the right zone while counting breaths improves the ability to feel the right pace. Slowly the body adapts to faster tempos.

UNDER PRESSURE

In a competition or in a fight there is no timer. Especially in a real fight, you can't do the same flow 10 times in a row, but you can feel the right tempo and take breaths between the different flows by moving to the side or back.

COFFEE

I love coffee!

Dale Cooper loves coffee too!

You can't imagine how much I love coffee.

Some people can drink a lot of coffee, while others feel bad when too much Caffeine kicks in.

Unfortunately, I can't tolerate more than one cup of coffee a day.

Too much caffeine has many negative effects such as dehydration, anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, high blood pressure, prolonged QT intervals and palpitations.

Reconsider your daily dose if any of these symptoms sound familiar.

MY WARM-UP-ROUTINES

WARM-UP-ROUTINE FOR SQUAT

1 x 10 cat cow

1 x 5 goblet squats with loop-band at knees-level

1 x 10 hip side 2 side

1 x 5 single leg squats, rear foot elevated

1 x 10 airplane

WARM-UP-ROUTINE FOR DEADLIFT 

original strength resets

WARM-UP-ROUTINE FOR BENCH-PRESS

1x15 external rotation with band (hold 5 sec.)

1 x 20 prone II Y T M (raise, tempo 2-2-2) 

1 x 5-10 single arm bottom-up kettlebell-bench-press with loop-band

WARM-UP-ROUTINE FOR OVERHEAD-PRESS

1 x 15 prone T-lift

1 x 15 prone cactus-arms-lift

1 x 15 prone cactus-arms-lift with ext. Rotation

1 x 10 prone-snow-angel 

1 x 5-10 single arm bottom-up kettlebell-hold front to side