Alternatives to Olympic Weightlifting For Power Development

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This is a guest post written by Vancouver-based personal trainer and S&C coach Jason Lau of Performance Purpose. Olympic weightlifting movements in the S&C environment is a controversial topic because some coaches are quite dogmatic about it’s use in power development. There are pros and cons to using them, depending on the context. Coach Jason lays out reasons to use alternatives and in what situations they would be best utilized.

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Olympic Weightlifting for S&C

Olympic Weightlifting is a sport in which athletes attempt to lift a maximum weight overhead using the two competition lifts: Snatch and Clean & Jerk. These competition lifts and their derivatives: hang snatch/clean, push press, snatch/clean pulls, power clean/snatch/jerk, can often be seen programmed outside of the sport, in an athlete’s strength and conditioning program.

Due to the identical triple extension movement pattern (extension of ankles, knees and hips), seen commonly in weightlifting and sports, an athlete training the weightlifting movements can greatly improve the transfer of power from feet through torso to hands, as well as athletic coordination. In that sense, weightlifting can serve as a specific preparatory exercise that matches the high force and high velocity seen in sport that traditional heavy lifting cannot satisfy.

To quote Cal Dietz – “In order for an athlete to become fast, they must train fast.”

Then Why Use Alternatives?

Despite the power development that the weightlifting movements provides for athletes, there are also risks that you will have to consider as well.

Aside from aggravated joints such as knees, shoulders and hips, the lifts requires a high technical demand to perform correctly and safely. Time is required to master the technical aspect of the lifts. Time that should not be carelessly managed when an athlete is training for an upcoming game or season. Another factor to consider is the amount of training experience the athlete has in the weight-room. Mobility and injury restrictions may also interfere with the athlete’s ability in performing the lifts. Lack of ankle and overhead mobility and stability are restrictions are common and should be addressed before progressively overloading as it may lead to injury down the road.

Power development is also specific. In the world of S&C, specificity is king as game/competition date draws close. Does the athlete have to move heavy external or light loads within the sport? This will determine what type of loading scheme and stimulus is required. For example, a football linebacker will lean towards higher intensity hang cleans including prioritisation of strength due to the demands of their sport. On the other hand, the intensities a volleyball athlete’s program would see lighter intensities as external load is not needed to the same degree within the sport.

By taking into consideration of the limitations listed previously, alternatives can be performed and taught with relative ease while mimicking the classic lifts in velocity and movement pattern. Through alternatives, we can achieve the same stimulus that weightlifting movements bring while still improving strength in high-velocities.

Alternative Exercises

Trap Bar Jumps – Trap Bar Jumps is one of the go-to replacements for weightlifting. A previous study done by Timothy J. Suchomel indicates that when utilizing lighter loads (<40% of 1RM), the jumps displayed higher force output compared to a hang power clean at the same load. The learning curve of this exercise is relatively low where the majority of athletes can perform without difficulty while staying true to the natural movement pattern of jumping. With the versatility of the trap bar jump, it can be performed with a counter-movement while loaded with bands or weights.

Squat Jumps – Squat Jumps is a great transition towards power as an athlete is transferring out of their strength focused block. Aside from a smooth transition, a squat jump replicates the second pull during a clean. This can be performed from a quarter squat depth or full squat depth, all dependent on the athlete’s goals. Considering this exercise utilizes the squat movement pattern, it is different from an athlete’s natural jumping form so it may not satisfy the need of specificity.

Medicine Ball Toss – The med ball toss is a great exercise to have within one’s arsenal. Ballistics are predominantly concentric in nature allowing the athlete to focus on the acceleration phase without having to catch or decelerate at the end. The ability to reap the benefits of fast twitch muscle fibre contractions without the negative effects of eccentric forces can benefit the athlete. Tosses can be expressed throughout multiple planes of motion as well, not only vertically, that is what makes this movement so versatile.

Prowler Push – The vast majority of alternatives are bilateral in nature, but with Prowler Pushes and drags, we can achieve unilateral power with little technical demand on the athlete. This allows the athlete to drive off the ground and transfer force through the torso and into the prowler with no eccentric forces. This movement is versatile and can serve as a special developmental exercise for athletes in frequent sprinting sports.

To weightlift or not to weightlift?

That is the question. My answer? It depends.

I encourage coaches to look at the bigger picture. Does the athlete have enough time to learn the technicalities of the lifts? Are the athlete’s movement patterns proficient enough? Does the athlete have enough weight-room experience? Are there any severe mobility or stability issues that the athlete has to address beforehand? Are the alternatives sufficient for the time being? There is more than one route to achieve ideal athletic qualities. The factors that set apart good and bad S&C programs from each others are the risk to reward ratio, efficiency and specificity.

References

Suchomel, T. J., & Sole, C. J. (2017, September 1). Power-Time Curve Comparison between Weightlifting Derivatives. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5592293/

Shattock, K. (2018, February). The Use of Olympic Lifts and Their Derivatives to Enhance Athletic / Sporting Performance: A Mental Model. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322901416_The_Use_of_Olympic_Lifts_and_Their_Derivatives_to_Enhance_Athletic_Sporting_Performance_A_Mental_Model

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JASON LAU is a Strength & Conditioning / Physical Preparation coach and owner of PERFORMANCE PURPOSE based out of Richmond, BC. His passions include coaching and refining badminton, volleyball and hockey athletes, beginner to provincial level powerlifters, return-to-play rehab and general population clientele of all ages.

He aims to offer a systematic and evidence based approach to off-season and in-season training, translating the athlete’s weight room progress towards their specialized sport. His goal is to drive improvement and progress of each individual within the field of athletic performance.

Website: https://performancepurpose.ca/
Instagram: @performancepurpose

FREE EBOOK CHAPTER DOWNLOAD

Chapter 7 of the eBook, “The Sport-Specific Trap - Revisiting Dynamic Correspondence for Combat Sports” talks about key concepts to consider when selecting exercises to enhance combat sports performance and some common mistakes coaches make.

Optimizing The Warm-Up Using RAMP & Mobility Flows

Its the general consensus that a warm-up is a mandatory component of any training session, no matter what sport or athlete you’re working with. The warm-up is also a component I’ve never stopped trying to refine over the years of coaching. I continuously ask myself: how do I help my athletes reach physiological and psychological readiness in the fastest, most efficient way possible?

As a result of poor practices in the past, as well as noticing trends in the high-performance world, I remain unconvinced on the concept of needing to perform an overabundance of exercises to “activate” muscles or “mobilize” the joints prior to training. Banded distractions, foam rolling, all the bullshit that people waste their time on because “that’s how everyone else does it in the industry”.

I was unsatisfied and baffled over the fact that a warm-up could potentially take up 25% of the time out of a training session. The warm-up is the low hanging fruit in terms of programming improvements. Simple changes to the warm-up protocol afford coaches and athletes more time to put into more meaningful training that develops athletic performance.

Out of a necessity to make my personal coaching sessions run in a more smooth and efficient manner, I’ve created a mobility flow warm-up as a way to address the first 3 letters of RAMP within one series of exercises.

A few principles I utilise follows the “RAMP” acronym. 

(R)aise body temperature

(A)ctivate muscles

(M)obilize joints

(P)otentiate to reach intensities seen in the training program

In this mobility flow, I’ve sequenced multiple foundational movement patterns together such as squatting, hinging, lunges, pressing and rotating. Alongside the obvious rise in body temperature from performing this, the emphasis on large range of motion movements and anti-rotational positions addresses both the “activation” and “mobilization” aspects of a warm-up, saving time that can be put into actual, meaningful training.

While this mobility is ground-based and has a lot more potential for additional exercises, the principles I work with remain the same - achieve rise in body temperature, put muscles and joints through a large range of motion and improve proprioception as quick as possible. Modify this flow as you see it fits your training demands.

After the mobility flow, some sort of potentiating training follows in order to reach the intensities seen in the training session (whether the session is strength-based, plyometric-based or concurrent). More details about exercise order and potentiation can be found in my exercise order article.

Application

This mobility flow can be performed as a warm-up, as a cooldown, or as an active recovery protocol.

Warm Up: 1-2 sets of 3-5 minutes

Cooldown: 1-2 sets of 3-5 minutes

Active Recovery Protocol: Multiple sets of 3-5 minutes, or one long set of 15-30 minutes (Keeping HR in Training Zones 1 and 2)

Great response from my athletes so far. Will be refining this over the next few months. I hope you enjoy it.

FREE EBOOK CHAPTER DOWNLOAD

Chapter 7 of the eBook, “The Sport-Specific Trap - Revisiting Dynamic Correspondence for Combat Sports” talks about key concepts to consider when selecting exercises to enhance combat sports performance and some common mistakes coaches make.

[Published on SimpliFaster.com] Individualizing and Optimizing Performance Training For Basketball

In the world of performance training, a needs analysis of the sport is mandatory—but this only represents the first step to a fully optimized training program. A coach must also look at the playing style of the individual athlete and the demands the athlete puts on their body to be successful on the court. Not all athletes of the same position will have the same playing style, and understanding this is important for designing and coaching a training program to optimize performance and injury mitigation.

This article features a case study on Darryl Wong to show the inner workings of a performance training program for a basketball athlete. 

READ MORE @ SIMPLIFASTER [CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE LINK]

[Published on SimpliFaster.com] Plyometric Push-Ups and Progressions for Power Development

Push-ups are one of the most commonly used exercises among fitness buffs and elite-level athletes. As a closed-chained exercise that targets the chest and upper body musculature, push-ups are highly effective for improving upper body pushing strength and endurance, and can be done with no equipment. There are plenty of regressions, progressions, and variations to pick from, making push-ups useful for athletes of all types. From bodyweight push-ups to loaded isometric push-ups, there are also various ways to load and challenge the movement...

[Read More @ SimpliFaster.com - Click Here For The Link]

Powerlifting Performance - 3 Commonly Neglected Areas

GCPT Powerlifter: Wendy Yamazaki @ BCPA Provincials 2017

Having coached many competitive powerlifters for the last 4-5 years, I've noticed common areas in the realm of training and recovery that many athletes (especially beginners and intermediates) neglect. In the past, I've written about how athletes coming into powerlifting should treat it like a sport and focus on a more well-rounded approach to athletic development. This means including a wider variety of exercises into one's training program, and covering foundational bases such as work capacity and recovery capabilities before progressing onto high-frequency and highly-specific powerlifting programs.

This article will expand on few of those details by highlighting the 3 most neglected areas of training and recovery I see in athletes of all levels. Either the importance of these areas have not been stressed enough by their coaches and the environment they lift in, or the athletes fail to see the impact it plays on their powerlifting performance. These tips will benefit everyone from the beginners, to the most elite athletes.

#1 Work Capacity and General Endurance 

The number one goal of any beginner powerlifter is to improve work capacity and general endurance. Being able to handle higher volumes of work will be lead to faster technical improvements, more muscle hypertrophy and higher recovery capabilities; 3 important areas that are crucial for building maximum strength in powerlifting.

An interesting observation I've made over the last few years, is that female lifters I've coached have a higher tolerance for volume, and as a consequence, improve their powerlifting technique at a much faster rate than men. The higher capacity for recovery in between sets and the ability to perform more repetitions without fatigue means more quality time under the bar - leading to faster learning. This might be because females tend to have a different training background than men before starting powerlifting, performing more circuit-based training and more dedicated cardio sessions throughout their powerlifting programs.

Regardless of your training background, what can you do to improve work capacity and recovery capabilities in the realm of powerlifting?

1. Higher Rep Sets - the most common way is to perform higher rep sets (8-12+ reps per set) for multiple mesocycles (weeks/months). Stay calm, and don't rush through the set - this will teach you how to breathe properly and build a higher tolerance to higher heart rates and lactic acid/lactate build up.
   

2. Increase Training Density - Training density refers to the volume of work done within a certain time period. To increase training density, simply do more work in less time. You can achieve this by reducing the rest times in between sets, or set a time limit/goal for finishing your workout. Other methods include super setting your accessory exercises or performing some form of active rest in between sets. This will also take away the fluff from your training sessions: talking to your friends for too long, getting side tracked with music selection, etc. Anything that may be considered a distraction.
   

3. Active Rest Days - Most novice powerlifting programs consist of 3-4 hard training days. That leaves another 3-4 days that can be dedicated to improving other physical attributes. This is where active rest days come in. The most common forms of active rest include mobility/range of motion training and low intensity steady state cardio (go for a walk, go for a bike ride, go for a swim). The point here is to keep the blood flowing, keep the muscles and joints warm without interfering with the recovery process of powerlifting. Low impact, low intensity cardiovascular training is a great way to build a strong aerobic system responsible for your recovery capabilities between sets and between training sessions.
   

4. Prime Your Mindset For Higher Effort Work - Don't fall into the trap of "powerlifters don't do cardio". This is something I bring up time and time again: don't allow the destructive culture of demonizing cardiovascular training in strength sports to hinder your progress and athletic development. Embrace the volume, treat yourself like a well-rounded athlete.

2. Accessory Work - Attention To Detail 

Powerlifters spend A LOT of time and effort making incremental improvements to their sport-specific lifts. Grip and stance width, leverages, joint and torso angles, internal and external cues; these are all modifiable components of the powerlifts that are experimented with in order to produce the heaviest, most efficient lift possible. However, accessory work often becomes an afterthought and the technical demands of those exercises are often neglected.

My philosophy for powerlifting performance is to put the same amount of effort into the accessory work as you do the competition lifts. If an accessory exercise is supposedly prescribed to address the weaknesses of a powerlifter such as strengthening a certain range of motion on a particular competition lift, or strengthening a particular muscle, technique on the accessory work must be held to a higher standard. Powerlifting for me is not only about the squat, bench press, and deadlift, but also about building physical literacy - knowing your way around your own body. The athletes that perform pull ups, lunges, and other movement patterns with a higher proficiency get MORE out of the exercises than those who don't. Great lifters maximizing the transfer effect of accessory exercises.  4 sets of 10 reps done with a full range of motion with the right joint and muscle angles beat 4x10 done with poor form; despite the volume load being the same on paper. Accessory work done with focus and intent transfers more to powerlifting performance then accessory work performed half-asses or with poor technique.

When you're considered an intermediate athlete, that's when glaring weaknesses start to show and you have to start addressing them. Don't get lazy, search up some Youtube videos of proper form just as you would with the powerlifts. Pay attention to the details.

3. Sleep

Before supplements, ice baths, sauna sessions, and mobility routines were all the hype, there was sleep. Sleep is the greatest recovery modality and is the primary form of recovery you should be optimizing and focusing on.

I use a monitor/diary to keep track of my athlete's readiness and recovery and I've noticed a big correlation between low scores on sleep quality (2 to 3 out of 5) and poor training performance. Athlete's that consistently measure lower than 3 out of 5 on "Sleep Quality" record higher rates of perceived exertion (RPEs) per any given % of their 1RM and progress at a slower rate week to week. A lack of sleep or poor sleep quality cascades into higher stress levels throughout the day, more incidences of bad mood/irritability and can negatively affect an athlete's focus during training and everyday activities.

Here are some general recommendations to improve your sleeping quality and duration from years of experimenting and reading about sleep:

1. Aim for 7-8 hours+ of sleep (everyone probably knows this one)
   

2. Keep a consistent wake-sleep schedule
   

3. Sleep in a comfortably cold, quiet and dark room, this is an important tip for those who find themselves waking up frequently in the middle of the night
   

4. Considering using aids such as an air humidifier, ear plugs or eye mask/blindfold to improve sleep quality
   

5. Avoid drinking large volumes of liquid/water before bed if you find yourself waking up several times in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom
   

6. Turn off electronic devices 1-2 hours before bed (something I struggle with, god damn Reddit...)
   

7. An alternative is to use a screen dimming app or an app that removes the bluelight from your devices (f.lux for Windows & iOS, Twilight for Android devices)
   

8. Avoid caffeine consumption close to bed time (can affect people up to 6 hours between caffeine consumption and sleep)
   

9. Practice good napping habits - this has shown to be beneficial for recovery and future performance
   

10. Consider supplements like ZMA, Vitamin D, Melatonin and even Cannabis to improve your sleep quality (if legal in your state/province/country).
    

11. Consider using a Sleep Tracking app which can promote higher quality sleep by making you more conscious about your sleep habits.

Below is a list of articles/podcasts/infographics that may help you:

"The Importance Of Sleep Quality and How To Improve It" - Examine.com

"Can Supplemental Vitamin D Improve Sleep?" - Examine.com

"Sleep Better: Practical Evidence-Based Recommendations" - Amy Bender on Sigma Nutrition Radio

"Recovery & Performance In Sport Infographics" - YLM Sports

No intricate periodizational methods or detailed technical breakdowns here, just foundational aspects of training and nutrition that I think are crucial for the long-term success of any strength athlete. Don't be afraid of performing training modalities outside of the big 3 lifts, and when you do, approach them with the same standard you would the competition lifts. Sleep well, eat well, train hard and recover harder.

The Science of Core Training: Training Methods & Application (Part 2 of Core Training Series)

Read Part 1 Here

In part 1, I went over what the core is and the function of core stiffness in relation to sporting performance and optimal force and power output. To recap: core stiffness may refer to the core's ability to maintain stability in response to the influence of external forces, which may vary in magnitude, direction and speed.

Highly recommend reading part 1 before continuing on with this article.

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In part 1, I mentioned that improving performance via increased core stiffness will depend on multiple variables:

1. The nature of the sport and the energy systems involved (How long is the core braced for? Does the athlete need more strength? Or more endurance?)

2. The particular movement you're trying to improve by increasing core stiffness

3. The properties of the movement itself and the speed of core stiffening

4. The magnitude of core stiffening (stiffer doesn't always mean better, remember: fast and powerful athletes also need to learn how to relax at the right times - like the example of the punches and kicks we used earlier).

First off, I'd like to break this article up into 2 categories, short-term improvements in core stiffness and long-term improvements in core stiffness.

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SHORT-TERM IMPROVEMENTS

Short-term improvements or increases in core stiffness, are characterized by improvements seen within the same training session. Known and performed as "core activation" drills among personal training circles, some claim that performing core exercises prior to the main exercises of a workout "wakes up" the core and improves performance on the subsequent exercises. While terms like "wake up" are very arbitrary, it helps to look a potential mechanism by which core activation drills help with short term performance.

Post Activation Potential

Benjamin Lee and Stuart McGill carried out a study in 2017 to measure the effects of short-term isometric training on core torso stiffness and found beneficial results. For the core isometric training protocol, participants performed the plank, side plank and bird dog exercises for 5 sets of 10 seconds - with coaching cues being offered and standardized to all participants. Using both passive and active torso bending trials, the results showed that most participants had reductions in torso deflection and increased core stiffness (more details here).

While this study showed that short-term core stiffness can be increased via isometric core exercises, it doesn't tell us how that core stiffness will transfer to performance in other exercises, or how long this effect lasts. In their discussion, the authors pointed to the fact that the isometric exercises done could have elicited a post activation potential (PAP).

PAP is a physiological/neurological phenomenon where strength and rate of force development (power) is increased due to previous near-maximal muscle contractions. The most common protocols may include heavy back squats to elicit a PAP effect before sprinting and jumping, or heavy presses before performing ballistic medicine ball pushes/throws. Utilizing the PAP effect is also known as complex training. Here are some examples of exercise pairings, from the NSCA.

Taken from https://www.nsca.com/Education/Articles/Hot-Topic-Post-Activation-Potentiation-%28PAP%29/

For a concise explanation of the potential mechanisms behind PAP and how it works, visit Science For Sport.

Back to the study. While the authors pointed out the PAP mechanism, they acknowledged that their core training protocol, despite improving core stiffness, did not meet the requirements of a "potentiating exercise". In a standard PAP protocol, the potentiating exercise has to be close to max effort, with the recovery time reflecting the nature of exercise. Lee & McGill's (2017) study's core training protocol included 5 sets of non-fatiguing core exercises (only 10 seconds long - bodyweight, no added resistance), so I'd be interested to see if there could be a larger PAP effect if some core exercises are taken to near max effort. Here are some ideas:

Complex Training For Core & Power Exercises

Weighted Planks into Medicine Ball Slams (2-3 minute recovery)
(3-6 complex sets of <30sec weighted planks into 4-8 max effort slams)

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Planks are one of the most frequently prescribed core exercises in the fitness and strength training. An easy way to increase the difficulty of the plank is to add extra resistance - perform them weighted. In this complex set, the weighted planks act as the potentiating exercise, increasing the the power output of the slams. While the effort should still be high during the planks, the physiological stress is relatively low compared to for example, a set of heavy front squats; meaning the recovery time should be lower than most heavy compound movements. A recovery time of 2 minutes should be adequate before performing the medicine ball slams.

Squatted Pallof Press Into Rotational Medicine Ball Slams/Throws (1-2 minute recovery)
(3-6 complex sets of 6-8 presses into 4-8 max effort slams/throws)

Uploaded for my core stiffness article series. WEBSITE: www.gcperformancetraining.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcperformancetraining Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcptraining

In this example, I use an anti-rotation exercise to potentiate a ballistic exercise for better power transfer. I also added a small rotation component to what would normally be an anti-rotation exercise (the pallof press) to mimic some of the movements seen in the medicine ball rotation throw. Keep in mind, I still maintain tension on my obliques working and the shoulder girdle stable during the press out and rotation. Recovery time can be anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes.

Other Potential Ideas

Core Stiffness For Powerlifting

Aside from using higher effort complex sets, I have found situations where non-fatiguing core exercises can help improve the quality of a training session. For the last couple of months, I've been using bodyweight planks and shorter weighted plank sets with my powerlifters prior to the main compound lifts . Planks are a good way to emphasize whole body tension (a skill that is required for powerlifting success), to improve the lifters' perception on how active their core for the rest of the training session, and to remind them about the importance of a rigid torso during the powerlifts. Most, if not all of my powerlifters, have found this pre-lifting core work beneficial. 

With this protocol, perform several sets of planks at a low RPE (non-fatiguing) to avoid overly fatiguing the core musculature before the compound lifts. More advanced trainees can experiment with planks at higher intensities to elicit a greater PAP response. Slowly increase the intensity of these planks over time to find the sweet spot (balance of volume and intensity).

Core Stiffness For Weightlifting

Another idea I've implemented in the past is the use of higher velocity core stiffening drills to help facilitate weightlifting technique improvements. The catch position of snatches and cleans require a lifter to quickly decelerate the weight by using the prime movers and stiffening the core upon bar contact. I've found depth drop landings or plyometric regression exercises to help with this. Here's a quick example with one of my Strongman/Powerlifting athletes, who was brand new to the Olympic lifts at the time. Used in conjunction with other coaching techniques, he made some good improvements just over the span of 3 months.

Uploaded for the core stiffness article series* WEBSITE: www.gcperformancetraining.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcperformancetraining Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcptraining

Uploaded for the core stiffness article series* WEBSITE: www.gcperformancetraining.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcperformancetraining Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcptraining

Intra-abdominal Pressure (IAP)

If you've spent anytime studying strength training or have spent time in the weight room, you probably heard of the concept of intra-abdominal pressure (IAP). Also referred to as "bracing", intra-abdominal pressure is a technique by which a trainee creates 360 degree pressure in the abdominal cavity through controlled inhalation. The created pressure helps stabilize the lumbar spine, reduce the risk of back injuries as well as improve force output. The concepts of core stiffening and creating intra-abdominal pressure are complimentary and much like the core stiffening concepts discussed previously, IAP is not an all or nothing phenomenon. 

IAP happens on a continuum, and can vary in intensity and duration depending on the movement requirements of the task. Coaches around the world all stress the idea of creating IAP during strength training, however, not many of them can explain it as well as Chris Duffin (Kabuki Strength) and Stuart McGill. Kabuki Strength describes IAP as a continuum of respiration (breathing) and stabilization (max effort IAP), best represented by a dial.

To give an example, the lumbar stability needs during a 1RM compound lift is different than a sub-maximal activity like running.  Running requires just enough IAP to stabilize the torso, while still allowing for optimal breathing. Turn the knob accordingly.

““Improving your ability to select and coordinate the correct dial setting is the key for fluid movement and higher performance in any activity””

— Kabuki Strength

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long-term improvements

Long-term improvements in core stiffness are characterized by improvements seen over weeks and months of core training. This section will cover the different categories of core training, as well as general training principles that drive long term improvements.
 

Core Training Categorization

To start, it's best to differentiate between core exercises in order to better analyze their cost-to-benefit ratio. All exercises fall on a general to specific continuum, with the reference points being the movement you want to improve, or the sport/position you're playing - core exercises are no different. Dedicated core exercises can be broken down into several categories:

1. Isometric Core Exercises

Isometric exercises are exercises where force is produced without a change in muscle length. Exercises like planks and hanging L-Sit where you're maintaining your body position are examples of isometric core exercises.

2. Anti-Rotational Core Exercises

Anti-Rotational exercises also fall the "isometric" category. These exercises challenge your ability to stabilize your body to prevent from rotating to any one side, maintaining your body position against an external force or in an imbalanced position. Common exercises include the pallof press, shoulder taps in push up position and many exercises in the half kneeling position. Other great examples not many people know about could be suitcase deadlifts, and uneven farmers walks (videos below).

Website: www.gcstrcon.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/gcstrcon IG: @gcstrcon

Website: www.gcstrcon.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/gcstrcon IG: @gcstrcon

3. Isotonic Core Exercises (Sagital Plane/Transvere Plane)

Isotonic exercises are exercises that consist of an eccentric and concentric portion - exercises that are not isometric (holds). They can be further broken down into sagital/transverse plane exercises. Sagital plane exercises include standing cable crunches, sit ups and hanging leg raises, while transverse plane exercises involves any exercise that involve torso rotation like cable wood-choppers and medicine ball russian twists.

4. Ballistic and Plyometric Core Exercises

Ballistic exercises are concentric-dominant power movements with little to no eccentric muscle action, such as jump squats and explosive push ups. In the realm of core exercises, medicine ball slams, rotational throws can be considered ballistic, but keep in mind the prime movers such as the shoulders and glutes also contribute to the force output.

Plyometric exercises are exercises with a short eccentric-concentric turnover, using the elastic properties of our muscles to improve speed and repeated power output. Many movements like running, repeated jumps/hops and combination striking (in martial arts) are considered plyometric.  There are also plyometric exercises designed just to target the core musculature -  many of these being rotational. I've posted a few examples below:

Downloaded from Speed of Sport by Nick Curson, uploaded for my core stiffness article series. WEBSITE: www.gcperformancetraining.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcperformancetraining Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcptraining

Taken from Nick Curson (Speed of Sport)

http://HulseStrength.com - Elliott Hulse shows you in this quick video how to to use a tornado ball - the correct way!

Taken from Elliot Hulse

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Training principles and methods To Improve Performance

Conversations usually go south whenever the topic of "transfer to performance" is brought up; there are many complex variables to take into consideration and everyone seems to have their own definition of "functional" or what exercises will and will not help improve performance.  I'll be giving some general tips and training principles of core training that can be applied to various different sports.
 

Post-activation-potentiation, non-fatiguing core primers and intra-abdominal pressure are all acute techniques that CAN lead to long-term improvements
The research is still not conclusive on whether these are significantly beneficial, but in theory: accumulating small short-term improvements should lead to long term improvements in performance.  In other words, if these techniques are performed consistently throughout your training program, they may add up to a measurable increase in strength, power and endurance (whatever you're aiming for). I would also add that the use of PAP and core primers are optional, but in my opinion, IAP is not. I consider IAP a skill that must be learned and utilized consistently in order to effectively produce force, and stay safe doing so.
 

A combination of general and specific core exercises should be performed
Don't fall into the "functional" trap of prescribing overly-specific exercises. A general exercise that does not fully mimic the movement you're trying to improve can still be beneficial. For example, weighted planks are a great general core exercise to build core strength and endurance that will transfer over to various movements. Once a good base is built, you can start experimenting with more specific exercises. I've included some examples of specific exercises at the end of this article, mainly geared towards improving punch power, but can also be used as core training.

To learn more about the general-specific continuum and how to classify exercises for better training prescription, read my article I wrote on training variation here.
 

Principle of progressive overload
This is the premise behind improving any type of performance measure. Progressive overloading your core exercises either through a change in position, adding extra resistance, increasing the volume via sets, reps or time. In order to improve, you must progressively add stress to your physiological system, recover from it, and come back stronger.
 

Improving Core Strength (Slow-Isometric Stiffness)
Core strength, or slower-isometric type core stiffness, is primarily built using isometric and anti-rotation based exercises. Almost every core exercise listed above can be used to improve core strength, but what differentiates training core strength from core endurance is the intensity at which these exercises are performed. Reps should be done in the lower rep range (~<6 reps per set) or 80-95% of 1RM if a 1RM is applicable. Accordingly, intensity/weight progression is what you should be focused on. For example, progressively working towards heavier weighted planks (increasing intensity) instead of increasing the time of which you hold body-weight planks. Improving core strength will benefit every athlete, but strength and power athletes will see the best results. 
 

Improving Core Ballistic/Plyometric/Power Ability (Fast-Recruiment Stiffness)
Core plyometric ability, or what I like to describe as a faster-recruitment type core stiffness, is built through plyometric core exercises and have a higher skill/timing component to it. This is the type of core stiffness I discussed in part 1, that is required for high-impact athletes who perform punching, kicking and striking movements. The ability to contract-relax-contract and produce a fast eccentric-concentric turnover is what defines an athlete with good core power and plyometric ability - both deceleration and acceleration are taken into account. 

I gave examples of relatively advanced plyometric core training above (see Nick Curson and Elliot Hulse's videos). A more beginner friendly way to perform these exercises would be to reduce the range of motion on the exercises and reduce the power output until you improve your timing. A drill I found useful are short plyometric medicine ball rotation slams - timing and rhythm are paramount here so develop them before moving onto higher-intensity, higher-effort plyometrics.

Uploaded for my core stiffness article series. WEBSITE: www.gcperformancetraining.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcperformancetraining Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcptraining

Improving Core Endurance
When people think of the word "endurance" they immediately associate that with a low-intensity, long duration training protocol. Don't make the same mistake. Endurance can refer to the ability to maintain a certain power output for an extended period of time OR be able to repeatedly perform high-intensity bouts with little to no drop off in power output from start to finish. I recommend using work-to-rest ratios with your core exercises based on the energy system you want to develop.

Do you want to be able to repeat maximal high-intensity efforts? Use work rest ratios anywhere from 1:20 to 1:30+. For example, 6 seconds of maximum effort tornado ball slams with 2 minutes of complete rest in between sets, for several sets (1:20 work-rest ratio).

Looking to improve anaerobic capacity? Use work-rest ratios around 1:1. For example, 60 seconds of moderately heavy farmers walks with 60 seconds of active rest in between sets (1:1 work-rest ratio).

Looking for longer duration core endurance? Perform lower intensity core exercises for a total of 3 minutes+ at a time with a work-rest ratio of ~2:1. For example, hold a bodyweight plank for sets of 3 minutes with 1.5 minute rests in between. To add some variation to these longer sets, you can also perform 3-4 different core exercises as a circuit for 1 minute each. Over time, increase the duration of each set or the total number of sets (volume load progression at a set intensity).

Using work-to-rest ratios is another tool by which you can use to look at and utilize core training with. It can help you visualize which energy systems are at play, so you can make the adaptations you want to see. Endurance is specific.

Diminishing Returns
More core work means better performance right? Not so fast. Welcome to the principle of diminishing returns. The more you train core stiffness, the less benefits you reap in. I see core stiffness training a lot like maximal strength for sports. There comes a point where more core training  does not equate to better performance on the field, court, platform or ring. Core stiffness, much like strength, serves as a foundation on which other important physical attributes are built on - rate of force development, agility, resilience to injury to name a few. Be careful not to allocate all of your time and energy into core stiffness training, while neglecting the development of other skills and attributes.

So how much is enough?

Unfortunately, I don't have a concrete answer for you. This really depends on what sport and movement patterns you're referring to. Core training should fill the gaps of your physical development, and be used in conjunction with sport-specific skill work and strength/power/plyometric training. Being able to competently perform all the movement patterns and core exercise categories listed above is a great start.

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Biggest takeaway

If there's one thing you take away from this article, it's that core stiffness training is context-specific and should be thoughtfully prescribed and developed. Core training does not have to be boring, so don't be afraid to get creative. Below is some of my content I've put out on core training, core ballistic training and various medicine ball slam exercises. Thanks for reading!

ARTICLE: Great Core Exercises You're Not Doing

CORE TRAINING VIDEOS:

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WEBSITE: www.gcstrcon.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcstrcon Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcstron

WEBSITE: www.gcperformancetraining.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcperformancetraining Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcptraining

WEBSITE: www.gcperformancetraining.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/gcperformancetraining Instagram: www.instagram.com/gcptraining

The Science of Core Training: Core Stiffness & Performance Overview (Part 1 of Core Training Series)

Core training has been all the hype the last several years - from an aesthetic point of view (achieving 6 pack abs) to it's potential role in reducing lower back pain and related symptoms. This article won't be touching on any of those points. I'm speaking more from a performance-enhancement perspective, specifically, the role of core stiffness and it's relation to performance outcomes.

What is the "core"?

The musculature and structures between your shoulder girdle and your hip; the superficial and deep abdominal muscles.

What is the function of the "core" and what is "core stiffness"?

Ask a performance coach and they'll give you one answer. Ask a physical therapist and they might give you a different one. From a physical therapy or rehabilitation setting, core stiffness may refer to increased muscle tone that leads to lower back pain and movement restrictions. In the performance sports setting, core stiffness may refer to the core's ability to maintain stability in response to the influence of external forces, which may vary in magnitude, direction and speed. For the purpose of this write up, I'll be talking about the latter.

To my knowledge, the function of the core is to transmit force, prevent force/power leaks and maintain the position of certain joints and body segments. In the words of professional lower back and spine expert Stuart McGill, he describes the function of the core to "stiffen the torso to prevent motion, [and] enhance motion of the distal limb segments".

In the majority of sporting performances, the ability to accelerate distal limbs is the key to high power output: think about throwing a baseball, kicking a soccer ball, jumping, pushing, punching. Stiffening the torso to prevent excessive motion and enhances force production and power output because it acts as a medium for force transmission - ensuring all the force you generated is directed towards your intended direction. A floppy and weak midsection results in a weak kick, a weak throw, a weak jump and a weak landing.

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an overview, with examples.

The idea of core stiffness allowing for better force production/transfer can be applied to many different scenarios. I'll give 3 examples from 3 different sporting types, a mixed sport (Mixed martial arts/combat sports), an endurance-dominant sport (Cycling) and a strength-dominant sport (Powerlifting).

In each example, the RED highlighted area represents the "core": the superficial abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis), the deeper muscles like the transverse abdominis as well as surround muscles like the obliques (for rotation),  latissimus dorsi and rotator cuff muscles.

The GREEN highlighted areas represent the prime movers that are responsible for generating force through concentric muscle action, and/or the distal limb segments that are used to transmit force into the intended direction or to move a certain object.

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Example #1 - The Punch and Kick in Martial Arts

The straight right/left punch is one of the most basic, yet intricate techniques in martial arts. Contrary to what many think, the prime movers of the straight punch are actually the back leg, the muscles surrounding the hip and the shoulder girdle, NOT the arms. Power is generated by pushing off the back foot, contracting the glute, and directing that force into the distal limb segment (which is the fist in this scenario).

In order to effectively transmit that power from foot to fist, the core must rigid. The obliques must create enough deceleration force to prevent your torso from over-rotating (shifting you off balance), and your shoulder girdle must be sturdy enough so loosen up on impact. Additional, these types of movements (punches, kicks, hitting/impact-movements) exhibit a "double peak" in regards to muscle activity (measured through Electromyography (EMG)). In other words, whenever performing a powerful movement, the muscles will go through 3 phases: contract/stiffen, relax, and contract/stiffen once again upon impact, showing a "double" peak in activation (will be pictured below).

Stuart McGill et al. performed a study in 2010 on elite mixed martial artists (Georges St. Pierre, David Loiseau to name a few) that introduced me to this concept so I'm sure he can explain it more clearly:

“Many of the
strikes intend to create fast motion and finish with a very large
striking force, demonstrating a ‘‘double peak’’ of muscle activity.
An initial peak was timed with the initiation of motion
presumably to enhance stiffness and stability through the body
before motion. This appeared to create an inertial mass in the
large ‘‘core’’ for limb muscles to ‘‘pry’’ against to initiate limb
motion. Then, some muscles underwent a relaxation phase as
speed of limb motion increased. A second peak was observed
upon contact with the opponent (heavy bag). It was postulated
that this would increase stiffness through the body linkage,
resulting in a higher effective mass behind the strike and likely
a higher strike force.”

— McGill et al. (2010)

To further illustrate the "double peak" in activation, and to tie it back to the discussion earlier about prime movers and the core, here's a figure taken from McGill et al's 2010 study (green and red highlights made by myself).

This figure illustrates the muscle activation of the left back muscles during a left leg kick to a heavy bag.

Taken from McGill et al. 2010

#1 in green represents the initial activation of the muscle (phase 1 - contraction), where the foot pushes off the floor and the hip flexors and obliques contract in order for the leg to be lifted into the air. The prime movers are the hip, quadriceps and left back.

#2 in red represents the relaxation phase (phase 2) where the leg is in mid air and force is being transmitted through the core, to hit the intended target (shin/foot hitting the heavy bag). 

#3 in green represents the second activation of the muscle (phase 3 - contraction again), where the muscles stiffen up once again on impact.

An athlete with a weak core, or an inability to stiffen up the core will experience power leaks in #2, which subsequently results in a lower striking force upon impact in #3.

Optimal force and power production happens when an athlete has:

• Good body positioning

• The ability to show double activation during strikes/impact movements

• The ability to efficiently cycle through contract-relax-contract muscle action if repeated punches/kicks/impacts are performed

• Strong and resilient core musculature.

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Example #2 - cycling

Operating at up to 300RPM (revolutions per minute) and putting out up to 2,200 watts, track cyclists are known for their lower limb strength and power, as well as their ability to maintain extremely high power outputs for extended periods of time. 

Watch the video below, notice the rigid and stable core - supported by the shoulders and arms, and how that translates to incredibly fast distal limb segment movement (in this case, the feet).

Track bike roller rev out.

Yes, the thigh musculature are still the primary movers, but the core/torso also contribute greatly, acting like a shock absorber to negate most of the horizontal and vertical bodyweight shifting that happens during high RPMs. A strong core ensures as much of the force generated by the prime movers can be directed towards spinning the pedal.

Picture taken from TeamNater (Youtube), editted by myself.

The principles of contract-relax-contract discussed above also apply to this example. The quadricep has to relax while the hamstring is active during the (pedal) upstroke, and vice versa during the downstroke. Pair it with the fact that this is all happening at 150, 200, 250+ RPM and you'll realize the amount of motor control needed to be an elite cyclist.

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Example #3 - Powerlifting

Our last example is a strength sport - powerlifting. Powerlifting is a maximal strength sport, meaning the velocity of distal limbs and the velocity of the bar is relatively low compared to other sports such as Olympic Lifting or various throwing sports. As a result, core stiffness plays a slightly different role - a slower isometric role. Although there is no contract-relax-contract cycle in powerlifting, the core still acts as a stopper for potential force leakages. The main role of the having a rigid torso/core is to support the lumbar and thoracic spine under heavy load.

In a sport where limb length and leverages are highly influential on performance outcomes, a lifter must maintain the position of their lumbar and thoracic spine so that their chest does not collapse under the weight, and their lower back doesn't go into excessive flexion. Losing position means the lifter will not be able to lift the weight up, regardless of how strong their prime movers are.

Below is an example of one of the lifters on my Powerlifting team, Amos So, bracing for a squat at a local powerlifting meet.

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Context Specific

Throughout the article, I've used terms like "stable", "rigid", "strong" and "resilient" to describe the properties of a well-functioning core. Different coaches and trainers will use different terms to describe the core, so terminology is sometimes confusing.

However, what matters is how you apply these principles to your own training, or the training of your clients and athletes. Improving performance measures via increased core stiffness will depend on several things:

1. The nature of the sport and the energy systems involved (How long is the core braced for? Does the athlete need more strength? Or more endurance?)

2. The particular movement you're trying to improve by increasing core stiffness

3. The properties of the movement itself and the speed of core stiffening

4. The magnitude of core stiffening (stiffer doesn't always mean better, remember: fast and powerful athletes also need to learn how to relax at the right times - like the example of the punches and kicks we used earlier).

Much like the development of max strength for athletic performance, there are also most likely diminishing returns, so don't fall into the trap of "more core training = higher performance".

In part 2 of this series, I'll be explaining the different methods to improve core stiffness in the short-term and in the long-term.
Read Part 2 Here.

Thanks for reading, feel free to share this article with your peers and fellow coaches. Also, please check out my social media links and reach out to me if you have any questions or suggestions.

The Building Blocks of Powerlifting Performance

A few of the powerlifters I coach have just finished competing this month at BCPA Provincials and many are entering their so-called "off-season", so I thought I would take this time to talk about base building in powerlifting. First off, what is base building? It's a term I like to use to describe the rudimentary steps a beginner or intermediate strength athlete has to take in order to become successful 1, 3, or even 10 years down the road. Think of it as a pyramid, widening the base to support a much higher peak. It can also be applicable for lifters that may have not had the best competition cycle and need to go back to the drawing board to improve their training.

So in practice, what does it mean to build or widen your base?

It means putting conscious effort into investing in proper technique acquisition and developing the right habits and mindset for you to excel in your athletic career. In my mind, there are 3 things that must be addressed to create an environment where you reap in the most benefits from your training. Technical mastery, habits and consistency, and mindset.

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Technical Mastery In Powerlifting

“Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”

— Vince Lombardi

In a closed-skill sport like powerlifting that does not depend on anyone else except for yourself and the bar, technical perfection is more in-reach than many other sports. Unfortunately, the ego often gets in the way, causing some people to lift with brutally poor form until they get injured or hit a plateau. If injury or a high risk of plateauing doesn't scare you off, I don't know what will!

I used to be an advocate of performing the competition lifts (Squat, Pause Bench Press, Deadlift) once a week if you were a beginner. My train of thought was, save the higher frequency competition lifts for when you become stronger and enter your intermediate/advanced stages. Performing the competition lifts 1x a week was a common recommendation, but it seemed to always come from experienced, drug-enhanced lifters, who were able to fit in much more training volume within any given session and recover much faster than natural athletes.

Fast forward to today, I'm a big believer that training the competition lifts more frequently makes more sense because it is in line with the principle of specificity, and can be done when fatigue is managed.

Competition lift frequency - more is better

Exposing a beginner to the competition lifts 1x a week is just not enough practice. With my athletes, I prescribe a minimum 2x a week squatting, 2x a week benching and 1x a week deadlifting with an additional hip hinge movement on another day - preferably another barbell deadlift variation like a Romanian deadlift. While this may seem overwhelming for a beginner, it can be done if intensity and effort is controlled.

The first session will be focused on high effort work, where sets are in the 8-9 RPE range. The second competition lift session must be dialed back to a 5-7 RPE range depending on the experience level of the athlete. Any of the programming variables (sets, reps, intensity) can be rearranged, but the theme is to reduce the effort - essentially making it an "easy" day.

A higher frequency of exposure and performing more reps per week will benefit motor learning.

Technical improvements can be made in the absence of high intensity and effort, simply exposing the athlete to the competition lifts 1 more time a week, can do wonders. Squatting, benching and deadlifting once a week can still be beneficial for general strength training. However, if you're an aspiring powerlifter, consider increasing the frequency for faster learning.

Even intermediate or more experienced lifters aren't necessarily exempt from base building. If you're struggling to make technical improvements, read this write up I did on improving technique and the idea of using a technical breakdown threshold (TBT), which is more geared towards experienced lifters.

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Consistency

“First we make our habits, and then our habits make us.”

— John Dryden

You'll often hear adherence and consistency is everything. The most complex training programs will yield no results if you're not consistent with your training. Showing up to training sessions, completing training within a certain time frame, maintaining focus, good form and technique throughout the session, consistently consuming enough protein and calories.

In order to build successful lifting habits, you must create an environment where you can be consistent.

Consistency in regards to training frequency is one thing I want to talk about in particular. When deciding a training frequency (3 lifting sessions a week vs. 4x, 5x..), be conservative and pick the lowest one you're 100% sure you can maintain for the training cycle.

If you're on the edge about whether you should train 4x a week or 5x a week, pick 4x a week. Programs are designed to spread out training volume given a set training frequency. If you know your work schedule or other life commitments might get in the way of your training, missing a training session every week or other week can add up. You would be essentially missing a chunk of training load that could have been better distributed had you picked a training frequency of 4x a week. While a coach can modify training volume on the week-to-week basis, not all lifters have this luxury or access to a competent coach.

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Mindset & persistence

What brings programming variables, technical mastery and consistency together? Mindset and persistence. 

Elite-level strength acquisition takes a long time.
There will likely be someone stronger than you.
Training is not life.
Injuries are inevitable. 

That's I would tell myself 3-4 years ago If I could time-travel. As an ex-powerlifting fanatic, I completely understand what it feels like to want to get as strong as possible in the shortest time frame possible, thinking "squat bench deadlift or die".

Elite level strength takes years and years to develop naturally (even when enhanced, actually). If you have good limb and spatial awareness or previous experience with weight training, you might be able to pick up the technique fairly fast. But being able to induce the physiological changes to your nervous system and muscles to tackle 2, 3, 4x of your bodyweight on your back or in your hands, takes time and patience. The earlier you come to terms with that, the better off you'll be when it comes to making decisions about jumping on a high-frequency program when you're not ready, or trying to peak and go heavy too often in your beginner and intermediate stages.

Mental persistence also plays a big role in athletic performance and success. Great athletes are able to face adversity, come back from injury, destroy their egos and doubts in order break through plateaus and have excellent performances. Try to see the positives in each situation, but be self-aware enough to know when you're overreaching when you shouldn't be. 

Coming Back From Injury

The best tip I can give you is regarding injury, specifically coming back from an injury.

Many lifters feel the need to play "catch-up" after coming off an injury, doing more than they can handle and putting themselves in a downward spiral. I'm not an advocate of training through injuries, it does not develop mental strength nor improve your likelihood of strength success in the future. The best course of action is to wait for the pain to subside, identify how the injury came to be (accumulation of volume - overuse?, poor technique?, freak accident?), address the weakness, and allow several weeks of training before returning back to pre-injury training volumes and intensities.

This is what I like to call athletic maturity. Being able to keep your eyes on the prize, on the long term goal, and realize every injury is an opportunity to fix a missing link, or improve a weakness. 

Just like strength itself, mental strength and persistence can have an innate or "natural" component, but of course can also be developed through repetition and hard work. 

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Concurrent Training: Science and Practical Application

Concurrent Training (CT) is defined as the combination of resistance and endurance training in a periodized program to maximize all aspects of physical performance. Unless an athlete is in a pure-power sport like Olympic Weightlifting, or a pure-endurance sport like long distance cycling; a combination of both power-related and endurance-related attributes are required to excel in mixed-type sports. Mixed type sports are sports that depend on several different energy systems and different strength and speed properties. MMA, boxing, basketball, soccer, hockey and many other team-based sports fall under this category.

In the world of bodybuilding and strength sports, cardio is used as an umbrella term for all types of endurance training protocols. Often as a joke among lifting circles, cardio has been stigmatized to "steal your gains", so far to the point that some lifters see it as a badge of honor to be out of shape and possess almost no cardiovascular conditioning in return for being able to lift a massive amount of weights.

In the world of endurance sports like running and cycling, strength training can be seen as an unnecessary training method that adds unwanted muscle mass to the frame of an endurance athlete, possibly slowing them down and being detrimental to their performance. The term "meathead" might even be applied to people who lift weights.

This article will shed some light on what cardio and strength training has to offer to each training demographic/niche and how a mixed-typed athlete can best organize their training so they reap in the benefits of both training modalities with little to no interference. 

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The Science and theories behind ct

In one of the first research studies carried out on the effects of concurrent training, Hickson (1980) observed that training both strength and endurance qualities simultaneously had detrimental effects on strength development but did not negatively impact aerobic qualities. Building off of research by Hickson, more recent studies have shown a wide variation of responses in concurrent training, both positive and negative. This suggest that CT methods are still inconslusive and variables such as genetic differences, modality of endurance training, nutritional status and training time may play a role in mediating the effects.

Termed the molecular signaling theory, it has been hypothesized that the distinct molecular signaling pathways of strength and endurance exercise adaptation may be incompatible and inhibit the development of each other.

Other theories speculate that the poor management of both resistance and endurance exercise variables may expose athletes to higher incidents of overreaching and overtraining. For example, the high volume nature of endurance training paired with heavy strength training may make recovery more difficult, increasing the risk of overtraining and injury to an athlete. In conjunction with observing the effects of CT, uncovering the potential mechanisms behind the molecular signaling theory is needed to understand how strength, power and endurance can be developed simultaenously. 

Molecular signaling theory

Taken from "Molecular Responses To Strength & Endurance Training - Are They Incompatible?"

Resistance training adaptations such as muscle fibre hypertrophy, strength and power acquisition are known to be mediated by molecular signaling pathways known as the AKT and mTOR pathways. Resistance exercise that create large force outputs, mechanical tension and stretch, as well as muscle damage and swelling are activators of these hypertrophic pathways (Brad Schoenfeld talks more in depth about this in his frequently cited research article - "The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training"). Many of the compound powerlifts that recruit larger amounts of muscle mass have the capability to create large force outputs and mechanical tension, while exercises such as isolation exercises taken to failure, drop sets, supersets, giant sets, contribute more to metabolic stress and cell swelling.

In contrast, prolonged and repetitive low intensity muscle contractions activate signaling pathways involving the enzymes AMPK and CaMK, which are responsible for adaptations related to endurance training such as mitochondrial biogensis; allowing you to walk, run, swim and bike further and more efficiently.

Capturing the attention of researchers, the observed suppression of mTOR signalling pathways by increased AMPK activation has been the focus and basis behind the molecular signaling interference theory. AMPK activation downregulates and can blunt the hypertrophic response to a resistance training workout or program by inhibiting mTOR and can increase protein degradation through other pathways we won't get too deep into. mTOR can even be downregulated indepedent of AMPK activation, through a family of proteins called SIRT (more information here for the nerds). What you need to know is that when performing cardio training during a resistance program, muscle hypertrophy, strength and power can be compromised. 

So were the bros right all along? Does cardio in-fact, kill your gains?

Not so fast. It is not uncommon to see increased endurance performance or improved resistance training outcomes with CT, thus several studies have made arguments for the limitations of the interference theory. In some cases, resistance training can upregulate AMPK, and aerobic exercise can also induce increases in mTOR activity; therefore a positive transfer effect might be present when intensity, volume and frequency of each training modality are strategically manipulated.

It should also be noted that the results of research studying the acute effects of exercise and molecular signaling cannot always be predictive of future chronic adaptations. If athletes have no CT experience, the interference effect might be just occur until the athletes acclimatizes the the CT methods. It is also possible that the interference effect may not be present until later into a training cycle where there is an accumulation of resistance and endurance training fatigue due to increased training loads, or intensity. For example, the original CT study by Hickson (1980) found there were no interference effects until the 8th week of training.

Since molecular signalling has been found to be highly variable depending on the training status of the individual (strength trained vs. endurance trained vs. completely untrained), CT variables must be prescribed based on athletes' current training status and previous training experience.

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Concurrent Training Effects on Resistance Training Adaptations

Varying modality, intensity, frequency and volume of training has been shown to affect the magnitude of molecular signaling and protein synthesis. Therefore we know that the degree of interference between signaling pathways can also vary depending on programming variables. Since AMPK downreulgates mTOR signaling and NOT vice versa, its hypothesized CT can be more detrimental to resistance training (RT) related adaptations compared to endurance training (ET) related adaptations. 

Muscle Hypertrophy

Muscle size and hypertrophy is a highly sought after adaptation in the fitness world, both as a means to improve metabolic health, and a way to achieve an aesthetic physique. 

With several studies concluding that CT blunts muscle hypertrophy, excessive training volume has been predicted to be the cause of overtraining and fatigue when comparing CT groups to resistance training only groups. Based on our knowledge of exercise adaptations, we should know that RT volumes performed by an elite bodybuilder cannot be concurrently trained successfully with ET volumes performed by an elite triathlete due to nutritional and time constraints. However, to date, there is no conclusive evidence that hypertrophy is blunted when low-volume aerobic exercises is added into a training program; some studies have even shown it might mitigate muscle loss (Study #1, Study #2). High volume ET on the contrary, can be detrimental due to the factors discussed above (interference theory OR overtraining/fatigue theory OR... both). For practical recommendations on how to avoid interfering with your hypertrophic workouts, read below in the practical application section.

Strength & power

In a large scale meta-analyses of CT effect sizes, Wilson et al (2012) observed that in many studies, power was significantly lowered during CT while muscle cross sectional area and strength was maintained. This suggests that force at high velocities (think of a vertical jump, NOT a heavy squat) may be affected to a more significant degree with concurrent ET than force at lower velocities. The mechanism behind this could be attributed to motor unit and specific muscle fiber type innervation. During classical long duration endurance exercises, the majority of muscle action and force production comes from low threshold, fatigue-resistant type I muscle fibers. There may be a shift from type IIx fibers to type IIa fibers or type IIa to type I fibers to accommodate the oxygen-demanding adaptations of endurance exercise during concurrent training therefore aerobic exercise can be detrimental to athletes that require a high rate of force development rate and power when poorly programmed into a periodized plan.

To better compliment the demands of strength and power sports, prescribing lower volume - higher intensity and velocity interval type ET may be more beneficial in terms of maintenance and improvement of power. This may be because of the similarities in the motor unit/muscle fibre recruitment patterns in RT and high-intensity based ET. When viewing this from an interference theory stand point, the high energy costs and high activation of AMPK from high-intensity ET could potentially magnify the interference effect but the research does not support this claim as there has been no cases of muscle mass loss when high-intensity ET is prescribed in a low-volume fashion. Research isn't conclusive but it is clear the intensity and volume of endurance training affect muscular strength and power outcomes.

When it comes to training modality, it is hypothesized that modalities that require a lot of eccentric muscle action can cause excessive muscle damage, further impeding the muscle recovery process from a challenging RT session. Because of this, predominantly concentric movements, are favored over running (a movement that includes a lot of eccentric contractions - think of every time your foot strikes the ground), like cycling and prowler pushes. Cycling, specifically hill climbing, can also resemble resistance-like loading patterns and can induce lower body hypertrophy that may compliment RT adaptations. Following this stream of thought, other ET modalities that possess lower eccentric muscle action and lower impact stress like swimming or modalities that have similar loading patterns to resistance training such as prowler-pushes and sled drags can also be used to improve cardiovascular conditioning when training concurrently. 

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Concurrent Training Effects on Endurance Adaptations

Well-trained athletes often show different responses to exercise compared to untrained individuals, endurance athletes are no different as they may see dissimilar improvements from RT compared to untrained or already resistance-trained individuals. High volume and high frequency endurance training make it hard for endurance athletes to improve muscle size, strength and power without cutting into the recovery process of ET. Paired with the high energy expenditure and AMPK levels from ET, CT can be problematic for endurance based athletes.

Wang et al (2012) showed that resistance training following endurance training elicited greater PGC-1a actavation (a regulator of energy metabolism and endurance adaptations) and therefore more oxidation capacity improvements than endurance training alone. The increase in activation of PCG-1a was thought to be related to the high amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lactate concentrations produced during CT vs. endurance training alone. AMPK activation however, was not a plausible explanation for the improvements in oxidative capacity as AMPK was similar in both the CT and ET-only group. The researchers suggest that the RT portion of the CT group upregulated mTOR, which had a positive effect on PGC-1a. The interactions between mTOR and PGC-1a also have implications for muscle and endurance performance.

Another study concluded that resistance training has positive implications for endurance performance, mainly due to increases in type IIa muscle fibers and a greater potential for force production (Study). This means endurance athletes that concurrently resistance train can improve their average and peak power outputs, which play a big factor during races and time trials. In addition, a study looking at the effects of CT found that pairing strength circuit training along with an ET program (same workout session) improved aerobic performance more than an ET program alone where VO2max and 4km time trial performance both increased slightly more in the CT group compared to the ET only group. The beneficial effects of RT for endurance athletes cannot be overlooked!

Resistance training can also benefit endurance events of different durations. For shorter, more anaerobic dominant endurance events like the 400m/800m run, most swimming events and many team sports, performance can be improved by increasing muscular strength and neuromuscular function that can't be achieved with ET alone. For long aerobic endurance events and competitions like marathon runners, and triathletes, improvements in performance can be attributed to the higher economy of movement induced by RT (study), which simply means endurance athletes that resistance trained were able to more efficiently use their energy to travel at any given velocity, saving them energy in a long race.

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Concurrent Training Timing

(AE = Aerobic Exercise)
(RE = Resistance Exercise)
Disclaimer: This is not my chart.

If we base our training order off the molecular signaling theory of the interference effect, ET would be best performed prior to RT (within the same day). Since AMPK downregulates mTOR and not vice versa, an ET session that raises AMPK levels will not have a chance to interrupt mTOR signalling if RT is performed after. But we also need to take into account other facts to help us maximize training adaptations and minimize any interference.

The interference theory can manifest in the form of negative interactions between protein activity and molecular signalling, but coaches cannot overlook the more simple explanations as to why there might be an interference effect when training several physical attributes or modalities. Reduced training quality can also be an explanation as to why CT causes interference problems. For example, after performing a ET session, performance in the subsequent RT session may be diminished due to pre-exhaustion. This is problematic if a particular athlete needs to prioritize his/her RT session because of their personal goals, weaknesses or position on a sports team. Coaches and athletes must plan and prioritize which training sessions are more important and the introduction of rest and nutrition must be taken into account to mitigate any interference effects.

In order to minimize the fatigue and the interference effect, a 24-hour recovery period between training sessions is suggested; the longer the better. However, this suggestion is often not practical for subelite or elite athletes that want to or are required to train 2 and up to 3 times a day. Based on the time course of AMPK elevation and it's downregulation of mTOR signaling, a minimum recovery time of 3 hours is suggested between ET and RT sessions. Although 3 hours is enough to reduce the molecular signaling part of the interference theory, its also suggested that 6 hours or more is needed to reduce the muscular fatigue from the previous ET bout and retain muscular performance during a subsequent RT session. When high-intensity ET was performed prior to RT, force production was reduced for at least 6  hours, while the capacity to perform higher volume RT was also diminished for up to 8 hours. As noted by Robinuea et al (2014), technical and tactical training sessions in team sports also have an cardiovascular and endurance component to it, not scheduling adequate rest before a subsequent RT session could be detrimental to performance.

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Nutritional Protocols For Concurrent Training

Scheduling adequate recovery time in between RT and ET sessions can also allow for nutritional interventions to decrease the interference effect. Since AMPK is increased when the energy status of an athlete is low, RT in theory, is better performed in a fed-state to allow for optimal mTOR signaling post-workout. Ingesting carbohydrates and high-quality, leucine-containing protein supplements or whole foods to fuel post-exercise-induced increases in muscle glycogen and protein synthesis is crucial when training concurrently. In contrast, performing ET while in a fasted state (low-intensities) can promote PGC-1a and AMPK signaling, exemplifying ET adaptations. 

Here is my article on nutritional periodization.

Here is a research review on nutritional methods used to maximize concurrent training.

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Practical Application & Recommendations

In light of this research, endurance athletes should focus on programming moderate volume, moderate to high intensity RT around their prioritized ET, sport-specific, sessions.

Strength and power-based athletes should include low to moderate volume ET in order to attenuate the interference effect while still reaping in the benefits of ET such as improving blood flow for recovery or building some general work capacity in the off-season or restoration period.

For mixed-type and team sport athletes, the proportion of RT and ET should be strategically programmed based on the energetic and muscular demands of the sport, an athlete's strength & weaknesses, as well as their position on the team.

The Dilemma 

So when it comes to within-day training order, there is a dilemma on whether RT should come before or after ET. 

If RT comes before ET, performance during the RT session will hypothetically be higher quality due an absence of residual ET fatigue but hypertrophic signaling will be downregulated after the ET session.

If RT comes after ET, the glucose/substrate depletion and residual fatigue from ET will reduce the training quality of the RT session and may also blunt the hypertrophic response. Specifically, AMPK is upregulated by increased energy expenditure and substrate depletion, negatively affecting the mTOR pathway.

So what do you do? It really depends on your goals.

For me to offer any rigid periodization schemes or training methods would be counterproductive. Coaches and trainers need to plan their athletes' demands, circumstances, strength, weaknesses and limitations. Training should be evidence-based but there is also a lot of room to be creative in their program design. I'll give you some tips:

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If You Are training for hypertrophy...

• Endurance training after resistance training if your ET session is low to moderate volume. The ET session ideally will use different muscles than the ones emphasized in your RT session. It is still unknown whether the molecular signaling theory of the interference effect is peripherally driven - meaning muscle specific, or if it is systemic (whole body interference regardless of muscle trained) sessions. If the interference effect is peripherally driven, a viable strategy would be to perform an upper body lifting session, followed by a lower body only cardio session like cycling. 

• Endurance training before resistance training if you have 3-6 hours of recovery time in between the two sessions and are able to refuel with carbohydrates and some protein.

• Use low-impact ET modalities like prowler, cycling, sled drags, elliptical, swimming, etc... to avoid any more stress on your joints and muscles

• Use moderate-volume, low-intensity ET to improve heart health, blood flow to working muscles as a form of recovery, control energy expenditure to mediate diet/macros and calories intake.

• Use Zone 1 to warm up prior to lifting sessions.

• Use Zone 2 on off days or as a separate training session to improve the benefits discussed above (heart health, energy expenditure, etc.)

• Additionally, you can use Zones 4 and 5 as a "finisher" to hypertrophy-based workouts as a form of metabolic stress. These zones recruits similar muscle fibers and uses the same energy systems as strength training sessions.

If you are training for strength...

• Endurance training after resistance training if your ET session is low to moderate volume. The ET session ideally will use different muscles than the ones emphasized in your RT session. Same rule applies from the hypertrophy section.
  

• Endurance training before resistance training if you have 6+ hours of recovery time in between the 2 sessions and are able to refuel with carbohydrates and some protein. Since strength training emphasizes sport technique (powerlifting, weightlifting, Strongman) more so than general hypertrophy training and operates at higher intensities (as a % of 1RM), it is extra important that muscle residual fatigue is as low as possible.
  

• Use low-impact ET modalities like prowler, cycling, sled drags, elliptical, swimming, etc... to avoid any more stress on your joints and muscles.
  

• Use Zone 2 on off days or as a separate training session to improve the benefits discussed above (heart health, energy expenditure, etc.) I personally like doing Zone 2 easier, low-impact aerobic workouts with a mobility and stretching routine to promote recovery on off days.
  

• Zone 4 and 5 can be used as intervals on the prowler, sled, rower or ski-erg to increase top end cardiovascular conditioning to help you improve your work capacity for high volume lifting workouts.
  

If you are training for power...

• Endurance training session after your resistance training session if your ET session is low to moderate volume.
  

• Endurance training before resistance training is definitely not recommended. If it must be done, take as much recovery time as possible between sessions and refuel adequately and avoid working the same muscle groups. Pre-fatigued power workouts can be dangerous! Ideally rest 24+ hours.
  

• Use low-impact ET modalities like prowler, cycling, sled drags, elliptical, swimming, etc... to avoid any more stress on your joints and muscles
  

• Use Zone 2 on off days or as a separate training session to improve the benefits discussed above (heart health, energy expenditure, etc.) I personally like doing Zone 2 easier, low-impact aerobic workouts with a mobility and stretching routine to promote recovery on off days.
  

If you are an long event endurance athlete...

• In almost all situations, resistance training AFTER endurance training is the best choice. You avoid pre-fatiguing yourself before your sport-specific training sessions (endurance training) and avoid downregulating mTOR to any significant degree.
  

• Resistance training should focus on complex and compound exercises that span across several different muscles and movement types. Use weights anywhere from 70-90% of your 1RM. This is important for building a strong and healthy body that can withstand the high volumes of endurance training by building tissue resilience, tendon strength and core strength. Avoid using silly training methods like 30+ rep sets with 50% of your 1RM in hopes of building muscular endurance. Endurance will be built specifically in your sport already.
  

• Time is valuable. Don't fall into the trap of training on unstable training surfaces or overly-specific exercises that try to mimic movements from your endurance sport. Stick with the basics. Push, pull, hip hinge, squats, etc...
  

• Endurance athletes training in the off-season or restoration period can experiment with fasted training. More on this in my nutritional periodization article.
  

If you are a shorter event endurance athlete...

• In almost all situations, resistance training AFTER endurance training is the best choice. You avoid pre-fatiguing yourself before your sport-specific training sessions (endurance training) and avoid downregulating mTOR to any significant degree.
  

• Shorter event endurance athletes like 400-800m runners or track cyclists will greatly benefit from resistance training and is almost a requirement to excel in many short endurance sports. Use weights anywhere from 70-100% of your 1RM to build muscle mass and strength. Power training can be included using anywhere from 30-70% of 1RM to match the demands of the sport and can benefit endurance athletes involved in sports that require bursts of high-intensity efforts.
  

• Again, don't fall into the trap of training on unstable surfaces or overly-specific exercises. Exercise selection though, should be more carefully planned to match some of the movement patterns seen in the endurance sport. There is a bigger carry over for shorter event endurance athletes vs. longer event athletes.
  

• Endurance athletes training in the off-season or restoration period can experiment with fasted training. More on this in my nutritional periodization article.
  

If you are a mixed type athlete or team sport athlete

Mixed type sport athletes can have vastly different demands depending on the sport itself and the position played. Luckily through a needs-analysis, all sports can be plotted onto a endurance and strength attribute spectrum. Below is a figure outlining the physical demands of several sports.

Start by mapping out the specific strength and endurance demands, movement patterns, and energy demands of your position or sport and follow the principles discussed above to get the most out of your training sessions!

FREE EBOOK CHAPTER DOWNLOAD

Chapter 7 of the eBook, “The Sport-Specific Trap - Revisiting Dynamic Correspondence for Combat Sports” talks about key concepts to consider when selecting exercises to enhance combat sports performance and some common mistakes coaches make.

Better Long Term Athletic Development In Powerlifting

If you're going to powerlift, treat it like a sport. You need to be fit enough to play a sport, powerlifiting is no different. However...

Powerlifting is unique in that it revolves around performing lifts that would be otherwise used as a form of physical preparation in other sports. The squat, bench press and deadlift are all lifts that are commonly used in sports like football and hockey to increase upper body and lower body strength. As a powerlifter though, your success depends on  your strength on these big 3 exercises.

Training Variation 

Ask yourself: Are you in a position to practice the powerlifts with a high frequency? Or can you perform other exercises and round out your athletic abilities while still achieving similar progress?

Just like how athletes must be fit and strong enough to play their sport, powerlifters must be fit and mobile enough to perform the powerlifts. Many times, I see beginner powerlifters neglect all forms of general physical preparation - cardio, intervals, core work, improving overall movement quality, etc. Only until the novices have run Sheiko or Smolov, do they realize they're not cut out for highly-specific work just yet.

While I'm aware that trainees must practice the powerlifts frequently to become a better powerlifter, I'm a big believer in cross-training and including training variation when needed. The skill requirements for raw powerlifting are relatively low, compared to other strength sports such as Strongman events or Olympic weightlifting. Paired with the fact that there are many exercises that can mimic the powerlifting movement patterns, training variation can be very useful.

My clients who have had a history of playing multiple sports or clients who perform a wider variety of training (cardio, unilateral training, core training) in the off-season have been able to become more resilient to injuries, as well as be more successful when it comes to physical performance and mental health on the powerlifting platform.

Mental health and training monotony are big concerns in powerlifting as doing the same exercise over and over again can mentally bog down a trainee. If training isn't fun, why train?

In the last couple of months, I've seen powerlifters wanting to branch out and try different training modalities like Olympic weightlifting and calisthenics, its a great thing to see. Athletes almost always gain some perspective and learn a few things to apply to their own powerlifting training.

Offering some solutions

For novices and intermediate lifters: I urge you to do your fair share of general physical preparation. This means picking exercises that widen your athletic base, while keeping a degree of specificity as you want your physical attributes to transfer over to the sport of powerlifting.

These are my favorite exercises to include for overall athleticism (in no particular order):

• Occasional long-slow steady state cardio workouts - FOR RECOVERY

• Anaerobic cardio intervals on the assault bike or row ergo machine (60-90 seconds hard, 60-90 seconds easy, alternate) - FOR GENERAL WORK CAPACITY AND HIGH EFFORT TOLERANCE

• Isometric core exercises to build core stability and strength, practice bracing and breathing techniques (RKC plank, pallof press variations) - FOR CORE STRENGTH AND STABILITY

• Unilateral training (split squats, 1 legged RDLs, alternating dumbbell presses, 1 arm presses, etc) - FOR SYMMETRICAL STRENGTH AND IMBALANCES

For more advanced powerlifters: you've probably addressed general physical preparation properly, that's how you've progressed to become an experienced, advanced lifter. Variation can still be included. Aside from the powerlifting-specific variations, exercises that mimic the movement patterns of the powerlifters can still be used:

Squats - Quad dominant squat pattern
Bench Press - Horizontal Push
Deadlift - Posterior chain hip hinge pattern

Possible variations to use as accessories, during deloads, or in place of the big 3 when training around injuries.

• Squats and deadlift alternatives (Front loaded squats, trap bar deadlift, prowler pushes, squat jumps, olympic lift variations)

• Bench Press alternatives (weighted pushups, neutral grip presses).

Occasionally including these into your program can reduce the chance of over-use injuries and can be used as alternative exercises to perform around nagging hip and shoulder injuries. Exercises like the neutral grip presses can relieve shoulder stress, while trap bar deadlifts can still provide a high-intensity stimulus without taxing the lower back to the same degree as competition-style deadlifts.

Know when to specialize

Pre-competition is the best time to reduce the amount of variation you're doing, and ramp up the intensity and specificity of lifts. During this stage, the frequency of the competition lifts increase and unnecessary stressors that have already contributed to our athletic base are removed. Things like cardio, isolation exercises and most "bodybuilding" accessories start to decrease in volume in preparation for the higher intensity squats, bench presses and deadlifts.

Understanding training residuals are particularly important when it comes to peaking for a meet. We know that high volume training is required for hypertrophy, however, when it comes to maintaining that muscle mass, lower volume works - as long as intensity and effort is kept high.

This means that as you spend more time with the intensities 85% and above, performing 5 reps or less, you'll still be able to maintain that muscle mass. As a result, it is not necessary to implement "hypertrophy" days in hopes of building muscle, especially if a hypertrophy-focused phase has already been performed in the preparatory period.

If you want to learn more about programming and periodization, read more here.

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Most Effective Way To Improve Lifting Technique

MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO IMPROVE LIFTING TECHNIQUE

In strength sports, lifting technique is one of the most important traits in creating a strong, injury-free athlete. Lifters of all levels and experiences will benefit from improving technique. 

If you've ever lifted heavy, you'll notice at a certain % of your 1RM, your form starts to deteriorate. Let's call this the technical breakdown threshold (TBT).

For example, if your 1 rep max on the barbell back squat is 315lbs, and your form starts to breakdown significantly when you lift weights over 250lbs (~80%). 80% is your technical breakdown threshold.

Generally speaking, beginner and intermediate lifters will have a lower TBT compared to more advanced and experienced lifters. Case in point: Have you ever noticed that some top level lifters look relatively calm and controlled during 1 rep max attempts? While less-experienced lifters will show more form break down during 1RM attempts. 

So how do we use the TBT to help us improve technique? Here's how to do it:

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Volume Progression Right Below Your TBT

To improve technique and form over the long term, we must start right at, or right below your TBT. For most of you reading this, I recommend using a load 5% lower than your TBT and progressively overloading at that intensity by either increasing sets, or increasing reps over the span of a training cycle.

Using the same example above (315lbs 1RM), and a TBT of 250lbs (~80%), an 8-week training cycle might look like this:

Week 1: 3x5 @ 235lbs (75%)
Week 2: 3x6 @ 235lbs
Week 3: 3x7 @ 235lbs
Week 4: 3x8 @ 235lbs
Week 5: 3x5 @ 245lbs
Week 6: 4x5 @ 245lbs
Week 7: 5x5 @ 245lbs
Week 8: 1xTechnical AMRAP @ 250lbs

*technical AMRAP means performing as many reps as you can with acceptable form, be honest with yourself.

Let's Break It Down (No Pun Intended)

During Weeks 1-4, you'll be working with 5% under your TBT, which is 235lbs (75% of current 1RM). Each week you'll be adding 1 rep to each set. This slight increase in volume over the span of 4 weeks will allow you to practice and dial in your technique.

During Weeks 5-7, you'll be working with a weight JUST under your TBT (245lbs). By now, your form should have improved drastically (hopefully) enough to perform sets at 7-8 RPE at a weight thats near to your TBT. The goal here is then to be able to maintain proper form over the increasing number of sets.

On Week 8, you'll be performing a technical AMRAP @ your TBT (250lbs). Put the number of reps performed into a 1RM calculator... This will be your new max.

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INCREASING FREQUENCY

Increasing frequency is another good way to increase volume of the lift you're trying to improve. For example, if your squat needs work, I recommend increasing your frequency to up to 3 times a week. You can work at different rep ranges on each day, but keep the intensity low. The more quality reps you can perform and the more bad reps you avoid, the better.  Using the same 315lb 1RM in the examples above, 1 week of training may look like this: 

Day 1: 3x6 @ 235lbs (75%)
Day 3: 3x12 @ 190lbs (~60%) 
Day 5: 4x3 @ 235lbs (~75%) 

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The philosophy

These are only examples, as there are other strategies that can be used here. However, the overarching philosophy of this method should be:

1. Consistently working with a sub-maximal weight that you are comfortable with.
   

2. Keeping intensity relatively the same (below your TBT) and progressive overloading by increasing reps or sets, NOT intensity (weight).
   

3. Spending plenty of time performing reps at the same intensity will make you more aware of technical changes and improvements from week to week.
   

4. Use this early on in your lifting career or ASAP if form breakdown is an issue for you.
   

5. Use this in the "off-season" and not as preparation for a powerlifting meet.

Please note that the set and rep schemes listed above are specific to the % of 1RM at which technique breaks down in the example I used. 

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Amazing Feats Of Strength

We, as trainers and trainees in the fitness industry sometimes have a really biased and skewed perspective of what is considered "strong". With the rise of barbell sports like Crossfit, powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, it can be easy to forget other forms of strength, beyond the barbell, beyond just numbers.

I get it, lifting a massive amount of weight/external load is impressive and it shows how far our humans neuromuscular system can be pushed. However, one must not forget that strength is specific and involves other variables such as coordination and timing. With that said here are some amazing displays of strength, ranging from powerlifting, all the way to martial arts.
 

Powerlifting: Ray William's 1005lb Squat

Three white lights for the heaviest raw (belt + knee sleeves only) squat of all time. For any licensing requests please contact licensing@break.com

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Olympic Weightlifting: Alexey Lochev's 582lb Clean & Jerk

Strongest Weightlifter in the world: A new world record of 264 kg (582 lb) was set by Alexey Lochev of Russia at the World Weightlifting Championships 2015. This beats the old record of set by Hossein Rezazadeh 11 years ago. "I could never have done it without the support of my parents.

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Strongman: Mariusz Pudzianowski's Plane Pull

Mariusz Pudzianowski in the Plane Pull event of the 2009 World's Strongest Man competition. Click here to SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/1a7GqHc Created in 1977, The World's Strongest Man™ has become the premier event in strength athletics. For over 30 years, the strongest men on the planet have come together in a series of unique and amazing tests of strength to determine The World's Strongest Man.

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Strongman: Haftthor Bjornsson's 640kg Log Lift

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! We have been trying to get the license to our video back from #Jukin Media since December, but no luck there. Bad service, no money, and loss of income from 1 000 000 views is some of the bad things we have experienced with them. KEEP AWAY FOLKS.

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Wrestling: Aleksandr Karelin

Click for Video

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Gymnastics: Yuri Van Gelder (Rings)

Подписка на наш Youtube канал: http://youtube.com/user/shagyar1 Подписывайтесь на наш паблик: http://vk.com/mimotivation Описание: Нарезки из выступлений одного из самых сильный кольцевиков планеты Ури Ван Гельдера.

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Rock Climbing: Alex Honnold

http://www.alexhonnold.com/

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Mixed Martial Arts: Daniel Cormier

Daniel Cormier flips 6'4'' Alexander Gustafsson.

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How To Maintain Strength And Muscle Mass While Losing Weight

Many competitive strength athletes and recreational lifters are under the impression that strength and muscle loss is inevitable when losing weight or undergoing a fat-shredding phase. This is often NOT the case, as strength can be easily maintained or even improved when proper dieting and training adjustments are made. Here are 2 nutrition and 2 training tips to implement the next time you plan on losing fat:

Conservative Calorie Deficit

Whenever muscle and strength retention is of concern during periods of weight loss, a conservative calorie deficit should be used. The idea is that rapid bouts of weight loss created by large calorie-restrictions hinders our ability to perform hard training sessions and our ability to recovery from them. This may result in a loss in lean body mass and subsequently, decreased performance.

In 2011, a group of researchers studied the effects of 2 different weight-loss rates on male and female athletes' body composition and sporting performance. The slow weight loss group lost ~0.7% of their body weight per week while the fast weight loss group lost ~1.4% of their body weight per week.*  At the end of this weight loss period, it was found that the slow weight loss group retained more muscle mass and performed better on upper body strength tests compared to the fast weight loss group. This could have been from consuming more calories for muscle repair and recovery and lower mental stress from dieting more conservatively, which results in a smaller disruption to their bodies' homeostasis. 

Simply put: a slower weight loss rates helps maintain muscle and strength. 

Using the example study above (0.7% bw loss per week), most people will want to lose no more than 1lb of bodyweight per week to better maintain their fitness and performance.

*it should be noted that both weight loss groups lost the same amount of the weight. The slow weight loss group dieted for longer to achieve the same weight loss as the fast weight loss group.

Protein Timing and Distribution

Granted you're already consuming an adequate amount of protein to support recovery and muscle growth, implementing good protein timing and distribution practices is the cherry on top of the sundae. 

Effective protein timing and distribution practices revolve around the concept of the touted "anabolic window". The anabolic window concept states that there is an optimal time period where our muscles are more sensitive to protein intake, where protein consumption during this time will result in better recovery, and increased muscle growth. While the importance of the anabolic window is sometimes overhyped by the bodybuilding and supplement industry, it DOES exists. Hours following a hard training session, when our muscle's receptors are hypersensitive and there's a surge of hormones and growth factors. This hypersensitivity returns to baseline anywhere from 12-36 hours and is dependent on several variables:

• Volume and intensity of training

• Duration of the training session

• Modality of training (resistance training will induce more micro-tearing of muscle fibers and a greater hormonal response vs. endurance training)

• Training status of the individual

It's because of this anabolic window that many fitness professionals recommend drinking a protein shake immediately post-workout. While this is a good practice, many nutritionists and trainers forget or simply do not put enough emphasis on pre-workout nutrition.

Why worry about pre-workout nutrition if the anabolic window exists post-training? Protein transit and digestion time. 

A serving of protein consumed prior to training will still be in the process of digestion and absorption HOURS following a training session. In order to fully take advantage of the anabolic window, an adequate amount of protein (>25-40g, more if you're heavier or possess more muscle mass) must be consumed pre-workout in conjunction with a post-workout shake. 

Why does this matter and how does it affect muscle retention?

Our body is in a constant state of building, and destroying, anabolism and catabolism. During a calorie-deficit, its crucial to keep net positive muscle protein synthesis (where total protein synthesis > total protein degradation) in order to facilitate proper muscle repair and growth. Evenly distributing your protein intake around the clock helps increase protein synthesis. Think of it as stoking a fire, constantly feeding the fire fuel or wood. Again, none of this will be effective without consistently hitting your daily protein needs (total amount of protein per day).

Increase lifting frequency

Let's get into the the training side of things.

An unwanted side effect from losing weight (for strength athletes anyways) is a change in leverages and biomechanics. When you lose thickness in your thighs and hips, squats, cleans and lower body movements feel different. When you lose thickness in your lats or chest, bench pressing and overhead pressing feels a bit different. Whether its from an altered stretch-reflex or reduced proprioception, losing weight can negatively affect lifting technique, often resulting in a loss of strength.

To combat this problem, I recommend increasing your lifting frequency. Does your squat feel a bit different after losing 20lbs? Start squatting more frequently. Does your overhead press feel a bit iffy since your weight loss? Start overhead pressing more frequently. Much like the stoking the fire analogy used earlier, the more frequently you spend practicing a movement under your new biomechanical circumstances, the more improvements you'll make. Increased frequency and exposure to an exercise will do wonders in terms of motor learning and familiarity. 

stick to your training plan

Aside from increasing training and lift frequency, nothing else should really change.

Lifters often take unneeded preventative measures when dieting by overhauling their whole training plan. If you're losing weight via a conservative calorie-deficit, there is no good reason to significantly decrease volume or intensity of training. You should still be able to perform and progress on your training plan despite eating 200-300 calories less each day. 

For athletes looking to rapidly lose fat however, the best line of action would be to slightly reduce training volume by either reducing the total amount of sets and reps BUT maintain or even increase intensity. Lifting heavy (relative to your own strength levels) is crucial for stimulating your high-threshold muscle fibers responsible for maximal strength production. Many studies have shown that high intensity training can help maintain muscle mass and strength weeks and even months after detraining/periods of reduced volume.

Ultimately, have trust in your training plan and stay consistent. Don't let dieting stress prevent you from training and avoid the nocebo effect or any preconceived notions that you'll be weaker and smaller after your weight loss diet. Use these 4 tips, train hard, and train smart. Good luck!

Studies discussed:

"Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes." Garthe et al. (2011).

"Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window?" Aragon & Schoenfeld (2013).

"Less Is More: The Physiological Basis for Tapering in Endurance, Strength, and Power Athletes." Murach, Kevin, and James Bagley. (2015) 

"Physiological and Performance Responses to a 6-Day Taper in Middle-Distance Runners: Influence of Training Frequency." Mujika, I., A. Goya, E. Ruiz, A. Grijalba, J. Santisteban, and S. Padilla. (2002)

"The Effects of Tapering on Power-Force-Velocity Profiling and Jump Performance in Professional Rugby League Players." Lacey, James De, Matt Brughelli, Michael Mcguigan, Keir Hansen, Pierre Samozino, and Jean-Benoit Morin.(2014)

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The Stubborn Powerlifter

Powerlifters are some of the nicest, hardworking, passionate, yet stubborn athletes you’ll ever meet. Despite the bad rap that powerlifting receives for being non-functional or unsustainable, there are many fixes and ideas a powerlifter can implement to become big and strong without being mentally and physically broken down.

Problem #1: Over-Specificity
 

We all know “that guy”. You know, the one that thinks he has more muscle mass than he actually does, the one that hops on specialized programs like Sheiko or Smolov Jr. three months into lifting. I knew that guy, well... I WAS that guy. Not only am I speaking from experience, but there are several good reasons why over-specific powerlifting programs can be detrimental for new lifters.

One of the biggest mistakes new lifters can make is exclusively performing the powerlifts (squat, bench press, deadlift) and ignoring other compound and isolation exercises. Don’t get me wrong, I know practice makes perfect, an aspiring powerlifter must practice the competition lifts but including a variation of exercises in your program as a lifting nooby is the best thing you can do. I can only count on 1 hand the number of lifters I know personally that can progress by only performing the big 3 day in and day out. Most of them have had an extensive training background in track&field / football as well as experience in the weight room prior to powerlifting.

The Fix: Building The Base

Besides improving technique on the Big 3, the top priority for an new lifter is to… pack on muscle. And I believe including a good variation of exercises is the best way to do this. To developed a well-balanced, stable, and resilient body, a mixture of unilateral, bilateral, compound, and isolation exercises should be included into a training program. This is what I like to call building the base:

• Build an appreciative amount of muscle mass

• Slowly increase bone density and muscle tendon strength to reduce future injury risk

• Practice multiple movement patterns

• Develop that mind-muscle connection (important for when you decide to target lacking muscles, or want to utilize internal powerlifting technique cues)

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Problem #2: putting Too much emotional and financial investment into equipment Too early on
 

“Hey how many lbs does the new SBD sleeves give you?”

“Hey did you hear about the new lever belt?”

Equipment can definitely help and at the national and international level, it may be the difference between a podium finish and not placing at all. However, many powerlifters get too caught up with the equipment too early on in their lifting career. Obsessing over the newest knee sleeves, belts, shoes and wraps is a waste of time and money if you don’t already have a solid foundation.  Avoid making equipment a mental crutch by becoming too dependent on it and avoid overlooking potential negatives that may occur if you're always using equipment.

The Fix: Change the Mindset

Powerlifting is a poor man’s sport, if you have that much money for equipment, maybe you should go play golf or tennis instead. Kidding… KIDDING.

The fix here relates to what I said earlier. Build a solid base/foundation before depending on knee sleeves and belts. Change your mindset. You can be strong without all the equipment. See equipment as a supplement to your training, not a necessity.

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Problem #3: Constantly complaining about things and not doing anything to fix it

How many times have you seen people complain about having a #povertybenchpress? It's one thing to joke about it, it's another thing to post constantly complain on Instagram or Facebook telling your followers that your bench sucks. If you think your bench sucks, do something about it. Shut up and bench more, put some mass on your chest, put some mass on your triceps and shoulders.

The Fix: outline priorities and work on them

Using the bench press example: many people struggle to increase their bench because they have insufficient upper body muscle mass (I was and am one of those lifters). Most big benchers LOOK like they can bench a lot. Either that or they have a ridiculous arch + range of motion and they bench 5x a week. Speaking from experience, putting on muscle mass should be your first option. Leave the very high frequency training (4x a week +) for when you’re a more experienced, advanced-level lifter.

When it comes to putting on muscle mass to improve your bench press strength, periodize your training in a way so you train the bench 2-3 times a week.

2x a week might look something like this

• 1 strength focused session (1-5 rep range, long rests, focusing on bar speed and consistency)

• 1 hypertrophy focused session (5-12+ rep range, shorter rests, include lots of accessories like dumbbell bench press, incline presses, shoulder presses) don’t be afraid to bro out!

3x a week will consist of the workouts above + a low volume technique-based day that can be done in the same workout as squats or deadlifts.

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Problem #4: Too afraid of Time-off

I get it, you want to be competitive. You want to keep up with the rest of the lifters in your division. BUT… continuing to train when you’re mentally and physically exhausted is a recipe for disaster. Mental burnout and increased risk of injury are common outcomes of not spending enough time-off and can hinder your progress in the long-term. Even the veteran lifter should take some time off their normal training routine and dabble in other forms of exercise or at least include a wider variation of exercises.

The Fix: a proper deload

I’m not talking about a one-week planned deload. I’m talking about 3-4 weeks of reduced-intensity lifting. For many powerlifters, this comes in the form of “bodybuilding”, while others will play a different sport or join a recreational sports team. The key here is NOT to completely eliminate all thoughts of powerlifting, but rather shift your focus elsewhere so you’re more refreshed the next time you enter a hard training cycle.

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Interested in Powerlifting Programming and Coaching? Feel free to contact me!

A Lifter's Best Friend [PART 2]

This is PART 2 of last week's blog, READ PART 1 HERE.

3. Quality Training Partners

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together" - African Proverb

Lifting and strength sports are as much team-based as they are individual. While training partners can't help you on the platform or in competition , they can be a great asset to your training. The perfect training partners will

Offer additional external motivation  

Admit it, no matter how much internal motivation you have, there are some days where getting up to train is difficult. When you're sore and tired, it feels good to have a training partner pick you up and motivate you (granted they are also probably sore and tired)

I've written more in-depth about this topic in my article Surprising Reasons You're Not Reaching Your Fitness Goals. Specifically, how you can use partner training and other environmental cues to get out of your comfort zone and sustain a healthy exercise habit.
 

Be able to check and critique your form

Even if your training partners are less experienced than you, training together will benefit everyone. You can hone your teaching and instructional skills while they can learn via observation)
 

Keep you on track

Taking too long of a rest? Skipping out on your range of motion on certain exercises? A good training partner will probably let you know
 

Have similar goals and aspirations as you

Work together, succeed together.

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4. Training Tracker/software

This may seem obvious, but are you really tracking the right variables? While a good ol' notebook works for many athletes, utilizing a tracker or some sort of software to analyze your poundages and training data will take your training to the next level (well only if you know what to do with the data!)

Training Metrics

Since most programs are prescribed on the microcyclic level (week to week), tracking variables such as: Average Weekly Volume, Average Weekly Intensity, Peak Volume, Peak Intensity, will give you a better overview on your overall training stress and how progress in the upcoming microcycles. How do you know if you're progressively overloading or if you're peaking for your competition correctly if you don't track these variables?

Graphs and Charts

Written numbers give you a general idea of your training volume, intensity and stress, however, graphs and charts are often a better way to beautifully present and analyze your training data. Many of us are visual learners, and unless you're a tech-savy individual or Excel worksheet genius, creating your own graphs and pie charts may be too time-consuming or out of your scope of practice. Luckily, there are websites/softwares such as MyStrengthBook that do all the work for you. If you're even semi-serious about tracking your training, I recommend you check it out.

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5. Mobility Tools

Dedicated training requires dedicated recovery. The bigger and stronger you get, the more you have to pay attention to recovery modules like sleep and mobility.

Not All Strength Sports Require The Same Degree Of Mobility

While I don't believe that strength athletes should aim to be as mobile as a yogi or gymnast, I believe they should be able to maintain or reach a certain level of flexibility (and stability) in order to effectively and safely perform their sport-specific movements. The degree of flexibility and mobility required by a Powerlifter differs to that of a Strongman or Olympic Weightlifter. 

Tools For A Healthy Body

Foam rollers, lacrosse balls, thera canes, resistance bands. All of these devices and toys have been popularized over the year in the fitness industry to fix all your mobility issues, aches and nagging pains. From anecdotal evidence and personal experience, these tools have helped my clients and I manage pain and increase muscle range of motion among other benefits. However, the underlying mechanisms are still being discovered. The science behind foam rolling, the human fascia and manual therapy are still being researched and developed. For example, foam rolling is technically NOT considered myofascial release, but there are still benefits to foam rolling. I urge you not to neglect flexibility and mobility work, but I'm also not a proponent of spending too much time rolling or stretching, which can take away from your sport-specific training.

Use all these tools effectively and soon you'll be getting bigger, faster, stronger all while reducing your chance of injury. Please like and share if you found this article useful, check out my Facebook page and Instagram below!

A Lifter's Best Friend [PART 1]

Picture courtesy of Crossfit Fanatico

Whether you're a bodybuilder, powerlifter, Crossfitter, Olympic weightlifter or strongman, there are always tools to help you reach your goals more effectively. Aside from perfecting your technique and consistently training hard and smart, the following is a list of the best sidekicks/pieces of technology that can make a lifter's life easier and their training process more fun and effective.

1. A Coach

It doesn't matter if you're new to strength training, or if you're a seasoned lifter. Hiring a coach can eliminate any biases your own program may have. Even if you're well-versed in programming, having another coach adjust your programming variables or monitor your progress can add some objectivity and accountability to your training.

Benefits of working with a coach:

• Objectivity, accountability in day to day training

• Planned progression --> know when to go hard, know when to back off

• Ability to learn from your coach --> pick his/her brain, don't be afraid to ask questions!

2. Cardio/Endurance Training

I'm very well aware cardio has been a controversial and often joked-about topic within the strength training community. Specifically, many lifters believe that performing any amount of endurance training will significantly hold back their powerlifting total and steal their hard-earned muscle mass gains: to the point where any mention of cardiovascular/endurance training in a strength training program can't be taken seriously among strength training circles. I'm not sure if this stems from laziness, a social stigma in strength sports, or just a case of misinformed lifters (I'd like to think the latter).

Without getting too much into detail about endurance and concurrent training in this post, the truth is: cardio will not steal your gains when done at the correct intensity and at the right time in your microcycle. 

So how will cardio/endurance training help a lifter? Some benefits include: 

• Increased general work capacity --> which means less fatigue over the course of a training session, more sets and reps can be done in each training session over time

• Quicker recovery in between sets

• Great for promoting blood flow and recovery after training --> cooldown

• Most importantly: mental health and cardiovascular (heart/blood vessel) health --> cardio can also be a form of active meditation (it is for me)

2.1. Heart Rate Monitor

As I mentioned above, cardio will not steal your gains when done at the right intensity. Similar to how weight on the bar is used to gauge intensity in strength sports, heart rate (beats per minute - BPM) is used to gauge intensity during cardio/endurance training. For a serious strength athlete looking to optimize muscle mass, strength, and power, LOW-INTENSITY steady-state cardio will be the best for maximizing aerobic adaptations without interfering with strength adaptations. Hard 30 minute runs or multiple sets of high-intensity intervals simply detract too much energy that could be used for strength training. Also, the recovery costs are also too high when performed on top of a dedicated strength training routine.

A heart rate monitor either in a watch-form or chest-strap will be useful for helping you pace/limit your intensity during cardio. The number to aim for is 55-70% of your Maximum Heart Rate for anywhere from 30 to 180 minutes (please note these values may change slightly depending on your level of fitness or any endurance sporting aspirations). The goal here is to work well below your anaerobic/lactate threshold; in layman's terms, work at an intensity where you can hold a conversation with the person beside you, and where you don't feel the burn in your muscles, as this may cut into your strength training recovery. 

2.2. Bike/Rower

Ah, the bike and the indoor rower, the two things I like to call a lifter's best friend next to barbells and freeweights. The bike and rower are a much more favorable modality of cardio/endurance. training as they have less of an eccentric muscle action component to it compared to running. While running, the ankle, knee and hip joint take much more of a beating due to contact with the ground with every step you make. This stress from having to decelerate your whole body is potentially problematic, especially for larger lifters. Biking and rowing has less of a recovery cost compared to running and won't cut into recovery from your lifting session to a significant degree. However, if running is preferred, I recommend starting off at a slow pace for a short distance, slowly increasing distance as your running technique and joint health improves.

-- In Part 2, I will talk about :

personalized intensity charts for each of your lifts,

the value of good training partners,

as well as other tools to help track your progress and to aid in recovery --

Any questions? Comment below. While you're at it, feel free to give me a follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Random Thoughts On Training: Accessory Work

I've been noticing a couple of things watching people lift on Instagram: bodybuilders (or trainees that have spent more time doing a wider variety of exercises) who transition into powerlifting or Olympic lifting tend to 1) Have larger muscle mass 2) Have better form on their "accessory" lifts.

In the world of powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, accessory lifts are exercises done to supplement the core movements (Squat, bench press, deadlift in PL) (Snatch, Clean & jerk in OL), particularly to bring up weak/lagging muscle groups or to maintain muscle/joint health in order for the core movements to progress further. However, this is only true if the accessory lifts done CORRECTLY to begin with. I see lifters try to put size on their lats/back in order to bench press more but fail to perform a proper chin up or pull up. I see lifters attempt to increase their hamstring strength but put themselves in an unfavorable position during Romanian deadlifts, or fail to target their hamstrings to the full extent during lying hamstring curls.

So this is a reminder: Make it a goal to improve your technique on "accessory exercises", you'll see your weaknesses improve and your core lifts progress more effectively.

5 Tools To Get You Stronger

Aleksey Lovchev's 264kg World Record Clean & Jerk this past week at IWF World Championships (via All Things Gym)

~1100 words ; 5-8 minute read

Its 2015, there are lots of free resources you can use (via the internet) at your disposable to become bigger and stronger. When it comes to designing a resistance training program either for yourself, or someone else, prescribing the right amount of reps and the right amount of weight is crucial for increasing strength and preventing injuries. Monitoring your progression and adjusting your training accordingly is also crucial for long-term progress.  Here are 5 tools to get you stronger!

1. 1 RM calculator

There is no better way to find your 1 rep max other than to lift the heaviest amount of weight you can, for 1 rep. However, testing 1 rep maxes to monitor your progress is very taxing on your body. The second best way, is to estimate it using a calculator. There are many different formulas used for calculating 1RM; none of which are 100% accurate. How do you know which one to use? AllThingsGym - ATG has coded a 1RM calculator that accounts for several different formulas created by fitness authors and exercise physiologists. 

The fact that this site gives you an average of all the e1RM calculations is particularly useful. Especially for those who find that some formulas are inaccurate (usually due to lifting technique, experience, male vs. female differences, etc).  

Okay you've found your 1RM, now how do you write a program based off of that 1RM?

2. Prilepin's Table

Prilepin's Table/chart was created by an Olympic weightlifting coach and sports scientist by the name of Alexander Sergeyevitch Prilpepin. Known for producing multiple world champions, he systematically analyzed the training of hundreds/thousands of strength athletes and put together a table that includes the optimal number of reps to do given a certain % of your 1RM. 

Although this chart was created for weightlifters, it also works well for powerlifting and strength training in general. In fact, many of Boris Sheiko's Powerlifting programs are based off of this chart. 

Prilepin's Table does not account for individual differences in training age, training experience, and current training protocol, but it gives good guidelines for prescribing volume given a certain intensity.  P.S: I would include reps up to 8 per set for loads ranging from 55-70% of 1RM if this chart was used for powerlifting.

3. RPE to % Conversion Chart

Another way to regulate intensity and volume is using rate of perceived exertion (RPE) to gauge effort levels during and after cessation of exercise. In strength training (powerlifting), the use of RPE to auto-regulate training has been popularized by Mike Tuchscherer and the Reactive Training Systems. Using a scale of 1-10, a 10 RPE set would mean the lifter has put in maximal effort, no extra reps could be done and no extra weight can be added to the bar. A 9 RPE set means near-maximal effort, where 5-10 pounds can be added to the bar or the individual can execute 1 more rep. Because the values of the RPE scale are fairly arbitrary, the term "reps in reserve" (RIR) is also used in place of RPE. 1 RIR being equavilent to ~9RPE and 2 RIR being 8 RPE. This chart made by Mladen Jovanovic (@complimentarytraining), is useful in tying together the concepts of RPE, Prilepin's Table and the conventional usage of 1RM, 5RM, 8RM (as a % of 1RM) and show us how intensity, effort and volume are related.

4. Video Footage

Video footage has been my favorite, and one of my most-used tools for training and monitoring technique or muscular imbalances. Progression in technique is sometimes more effective than producing strength gains than any advanced periodized program. Utilizing various angles will help you observe different nuances in your lifting/movement, therefore it is critical to know how and when to use certain angles when filming yourself.

Side View

The side view is perhaps the best angle to judge and analyze the bar path of the big compound lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift, clean, snatch, etc). Because most strength training exercises (related to strength/lifting sports) are executed in the sagittal plane of movement (mainly flexion and extension movements), the side view gives us the most information. We can analyze how close the barbell is relative to the body, if the barbell is lined up with our midfoot during a squat, and analyze the movement of our pelvis (to see if butt-wink/rounding of the lumbar spine is present), amongst other things. 

Head-on View

Front View
BLUE DOTS indicate faulty biomechanics, in this case, right knee valgus and right foot arch collapse.
GREEN DOTS indicate proper biomechanics for squatting, knees tracking outwards with the foot, foot arch is present

The head-on view can be used to identify faulty hip or knee biomechanics that can be an indicator of instability or injury. A common example is using the head-on view to look for knee valgus during squatting or jumping movement patterns or shoulder/lat imbalances during the front rack position of a front squat. 

Rear-View

Aside from getting a booty shot for Instagram, lifting footage taken from behind a lifter is useful for identifying left-right asymmetries (in the hip, shoulders, etc) that you may not other wise see from a frontal view. One thing I look for is collapsing of either of the athlete's foot arch. A collapsed foot arch may stem from knee, hip or glute injuries/inactivity.

What angle you can capture during your training will be depend on the availability of training partners to help you film, whether you have a tripod or not, and whether you have the time or space to do so. 

5. Your Brain

Arguably THE best tool in the universe, your brain! Always think critically about what you read or hear about strength training, its beneficial to have a healthy amount of skepticism. Realize that what works for one individual might not work for another. A big mistake I spot among lifters is their inability to think about and recognize confounding variables. How will your work or school schedule mesh with your training schedule? What external stressors are you overlooking that might be impeding your progress? What are some reasons why a certain training program isn't working for you? Hows your diet? These are questions you should be asking yourself regardless of the progress you are making if you want to be the best you can be.

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