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First Published in 2019 by DrJohnRusin.com, LLC.
Copyright 2019 Dr. John Rusin
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the
publisher.
This book and accompanying fitness program is for educational purposes. It is not intended or implied
to be a substitute for professional medical advice. It is important to consult with a professional fitness
instructor before beginning training. It is also important to consult with a licensed medical provider
such as a physical therapist or physician prior to training due to the intense and strenuous nature of the
methods in this book and fitness program.
The publisher and authors of this instructional book are not responsible in any manner whatsoever for
any adverse effects arising directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided in this book. If not
practiced safety and with caution, working out can be dangerous to you and others. The reader should
always consult with his or her healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information
for his or her own situation or with any questions regarding a medical condition or treatment plan.
Reading the information in this book does not create a medical professional - patient relationship.
Cover Design: Nick Specter-Vlacic and Dr. John Rusin
Published in the USA
foreword
What is Functional Power Training
How To Schedule Your Training
How To Read The Programming
Logging Your Training Days
The 6-Phase Dynamic Warm Up Sequence
The Max Effort Method
The Dynamic Effort Method
How To Use Bands and Chains
The Reverse Band Method
The 6 Foundational Movement Patterns
Energy Systems Development
The Performance Recovery System
Performance Nutrition Programming
Recommended Resources
WARM UP SEQUENCEs - LOWER BODY
WARM UP SEQUENCEs - UPPER BODY
WARM UP SEQUENCEs - ENERGY SYSTEMS + RECOVERY WARM UP
WEEK 1 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 1 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 1 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 1 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 1 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 1 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 1 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
WEEK 2 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 2 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 2 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 2 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 2 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 2 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 2 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
WEEK 3 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 3 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 3 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 3 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 3 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
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WEEK 3 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 3 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
WEEK 4 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 4 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 4 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 4 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 4 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 4 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 4 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
WEEK 5 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 5 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 5 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 5 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 5 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 5 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 5 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
WEEK 6 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 6 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 6 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 6 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 6 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 6 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 6 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
WEEK 7 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 7 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 7 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 7 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 7 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 7 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 7 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
WEEK 8 - DAY 1 - MAX EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 8 - DAY 2 - AEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 8 - DAY 3 - MAX EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 8 - DAY 4 - ANAEROBIC ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
WEEK 8 - DAY 5 - DYNAMIC EFFORT LOWER
WEEK 8 - DAY 6 - DYNAMIC EFFORT UPPER
WEEK 8 - DAY 7 - PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
I have only written an introduction for a handful of books. And while it’s always an
honor to be asked, they are not the easiest pieces to write.
Do you write about the person? How you met? The book itself? The program? My
background? I mean, what the hell!? There are so many directions to go and do any of
them really matter?
I can’t remember the last time I ever read a foreword or intro and I am sure more than
80% of the people who open this book will never reads these words or if they do, they
will just skim it.
With this in mind (and knowing one of the underlying principles of this program is
conjugate), I will stick with this theme. Still reading?
Conjugate essentially means “to couple”; so I will write this in an easy to skim format
using the “conjugate method” of flashbacks. It’s easier for me to write this way
because there is no doubt I’ve taken out brain cells with all the heavy straining I have
done over my life.
But let’s get started with the email that kicked this all off. Just a simple thank you note
from John to me.
5
FOREWORD
December 2017 - Thank You
John Rusin
Thank You
To: Dave Tate
Hey Dave,
Just wanted to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas.
Truly appreciate you guys helping me out with the gym, looks fucking sick.
It’s been the cornerstone of our family time together since Matt installed it, and
we couldn’t be happier with it. Having the kids see my wife and I (along with our
athletes) train daily is a game changer.
Thanks again! And if I can ever do anything for you, let me know.
JR
Dave Tate
Re: Thank You
To: John Rusin
John,
Thank you for the message and I am happy the gym is working out for more than
just training!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
After the New Year, I would like to touch base with you and see if there is a way
I can hire you to help me with a shift in my training. As you can guess my health
history is a mess. I do see a PT-MAT guy every week but that’s only for PT. I have
tried to work with a couple of Physical Therapists in the past and I have either
stumped them or they really don’t know where to begin.
Anyhow, we can resume this later but I thought I would toss this out to see if
there was interest.
Dave
6
FOREWORD
There’s more background to this but I felt this was a great starting point because it
shows the power of a simple ‘Thank You’. John sent a simple ‘thank you’ note with no
expectations; just an expression of gratitude for the work he allowed us to do for him.
I highly doubt he even expected a reply or relationship to come from it. One lesson
here is that simply being nice can go a very long way!
He had NO idea what I was dealing with at the time, but would soon find out...
Here is a little look into my current training and some of the decision making that
goes through my brain.
May 2018 - No Matter What
This was the month I was going to take my heaviest spider bar squat of the year. I just
had to figure out when. I spent months training for it. However, there was a bump in
the road that I had forgotten about. But missing out on it was NOT an option. My son,
Blaine, has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and has been working with a member of
my staff as his trainer. He has made amazing progress with her. For the past few years,
it’s been a tradition for them to do the Columbus Zoo Run 5K. After the 2017 run, I was
shit talking with my kid and he called me out to do the run the following year.
I took up his offer even though I still had a cane in my hand from my second hip
replacement. At the time I had no idea how many medical curve balls awaited me
or I may have thought twice about agreeing to do it. Actually, no. I wouldn’t have. I’ve
never been wired that way. I was not under the illusion that I would beat him since I
was already under doctor’s orders not to jump or run after my first hip replacement in
2013. Now, with both of them replaced, running was definitely out of the question. My
son’s goal was to beat his old man. My goal was to simply do the race so he would
learn that if you talk shit and get called out, you back it up no matter what.
No matter what.
My training was going well and I knew I could walk 5K. Honestly, I could do that with
a cane, a walker, and flared up plantar fasciitis. The time would suck, but I would
finish. It couldn’t be more than 15,000 steps for me. The concern was whether I could
do this on Sunday and be able to squat heavy on Wednesday. Doing the walk wasn’t
the concern at all but would I recover from it? I still can’t answer that one because I
moved my squat up to Saturday, the day before the race and two days after my last
heavy squat.
I am not a big PR guy- I feel most people treat progress as “personal records”. I am
not one of them. I have about five or maybe seven strength training PRs that actually
matter. Everything else is just progress. The Spider Bar squat has become a main PR
for me. I wanted this bad and time was running out. I had it planned for the following
7
FOREWORD
Wednesday but if the “walk” screwed it up I would be pissed. The next weekend I
was leaving town for 3 weeks. Long story short I hit the PR on Saturday and was sore
as fuck but got my ass up the next day and walked 5k. This wasn’t really a big deal
to me as I just chalked it up to being the kind of shit I always do. I guess I didn’t see
the significance until John asked for the update that week and I had to explain what I
just wrote. Needless to say, he was happier than I was but he is looking at the forest
while I will always be the guy in the gym who wants to take out the trees around me.
Hence, do as I say, not as I do.
Let me rewind a few years so you can see a snippet of the injuries I’ve dealt with and
consequently, the one that led to the end of my powerlifting career and the beginning
of me training on my own terms with these new goals that I set for myself.
June 2004 - The Reality of The Situation
Dave, you have to accept the reality of the situation here. We have removed bone
spurs from your shoulder twice now. We shaved down the labrum, reattached
tendons, and cleaned up the joint as much as we could. Outside of a total joint
replacement, there is nothing else we can do. If we do this you will not be able to
train anything as you do now and we can’t say for certain you will regain the ability
to hold a barbell on your back to squat again. The way we see it you have two
choices; replace the joint and possibly regain your lost range of motion. Do nothing
and don’t let it get worse. Either way, you will never be able to do a competitive
squat again.
Thank you I would like to get a second opinion, and a third, and a fourth, and a fifth. At
some point, you have to accept the reality for what it is. So I made a plan to train for
a bench meet and if I completely destroyed the shoulder in the process, who cared.
It couldn’t get worse. Well after the meet I found out it could and did get worse but I
still didn’t get the surgery. To this day I haven’t but there is no doubt my right shoulder
is frozen and I have had to adjust my training and life around it. That meet in 2005
marked the last time I stood on a competitive platform.
From 1983-2005 that was my life and it was over and not on my terms. But looking
back I have never once asked myself “what if”.
Let’s see… what else other fucked up shit have I put my body through that I would
have to tell John about?
8
FOREWORD
December 2017 - Maybe this will work out
It didn’t take long for John to get back to me and we agreed to speak on the phone.
Before talking, he asked me to send him my health history. Since my time bouncing in
clubs to pay for college, I learned to keep a copy of my medical records on hand. So
I’m the guy that shows up to doctor’s appointments with a file that’s 2-3 inches thick
and that’s just from the past few years. I have no problem recalling my medical history
with the exception of muscle strains, pulls, and tears that didn’t require surgery. I am
not even sure I could recount those if I tried. However, I do know each and every one
that required medical treatment because not a week goes where they don’t sneak
back up on me.
Before talking to John he had reached out to a couple of my doctors, friends,
and training partners. We just moved into our new location at work and were still
dealing with phone service issues so I made sure I was in my car when we spoke.
The reception was better, I didn’t need to press a damn phone against my ear, and
nobody else could hear what I was going to say. Yes, there was also a NDA that was
part of this. We were delving into my personal medical history and I am NOT the type
of guy that posts pics on Instagram of me in the hospital. The conversation went as I
expected with him asking about my injury history. The easiest way for me to do this is
to go from feet to head. Quick recap:
1. Broken toes and feet from dropping weights on them or from having a barbell
smash my foot when someone bailed on a squat.
2. Plantar fasciitis that got so bad I had to crawl to the bathroom in the morning. I
got many cortisone shots and one did tear itself (making it way better).
3. On and off knee issues due to bone spurs.
4. Who knows how many hamstring and quad tears but only one that required
medical attention. Oh, there was also the partial groin tear that took forever to heal.
5. Both hips replaced.
6. Ribs that have popped out or broken a bit - X rays showed slight fractures.
Do I really need to continue? Should I note several of the smaller things like broken
teeth, ear surgery due to straining, or hemorrhoids (that’s always a fun one). Ever had
them lanced? Both calves torn in half and I have no idea when or how. Damn, I totally
forgot both pecs are torn and one had to be surgically reattached. If you can fuck
something up by straining too hard, I have done it.
9
FOREWORD
Side Note:
This is not to brag or impress anyone. I worked very hard on building mental strength
to push my body past its physical limits to the point where I have destroyed much of
my body in the process. While some of this is a personality trait or can be attributed
to how I grew up, I spent as much time on the mental preparation as I did on the
physical. For many years, all my training sessions were first done sitting at a desk
staring into a candle flame. Every set, every rep, every exercise, every day. After this,
I would mentally rehearse the entire meet. Years later, I can still take a step back,
picture the flame and vividly see whatever movement I want to accomplish. I strongly
believe this is why I am still able to do many of the things I can in the weight room
today that I know for a fact I am not strong enough to do. But that ability has come at
a price. The wear and tear and damage I have accumulated is far beyond my years.
Far beyond what I am capable of training through or around.
Do I have regrets? Yes, but not one of them is directly related to training. If I knew
then what I know now, or better yet, had I known then how I would feel and move and
the things I would no longer be able to do, I might have changed it. Hell, I might not
have done it at all. What I can say is I am GLAD I DIDN’T know. There are many things
I would have been happy to miss but far more things I am grateful for and will never
forget. EVER. I may always live in pain but I loved what I did. I love all the people in my
life and the memories and the future I will have. I love it all!
To quote Garth Brooks:
“And now I’m glad I didn’t know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I’d have had to miss the dance”
To recap: I have a very strong family history of degenerative joint disease. Joint
replacements are a regular part of family conversations. Add in a body weight of
over 240 pounds since the age of 17, training for powerlifting meets, and mentally
taking myself to the edge and beyond. I live with pain and always will, but could it be
lessened? Could this happen while still doing what I love to do?
All of this is usually enough for most practitioners to check out of the conversation. If
they do last this far I begin telling them about what I know works. I live in this body so
I know what helps and hurts it. I also know the risks of the dumb shit I do. I would not
do it if I were not willing to deal with the worst case consequences. And YES, I know
what they are. This is when the rest of them check out.
John was still on the phone. To be honest, I was a bit surprised. We spoke a little more
10
FOREWORD
and then I dropped a BOMB that I know he didn’t expect. It was a big reason why I
wasn’t able to recover from any training and felt like total shit for almost a year. Why I
wasn’t able to walk more than 3000 steps per day, and if I did, I would be sore as fuck
everywhere and would need two weeks to recover.
My medical team was finally figuring out the root cause but it was going to be
something that would disrupt training and my life - maybe forever.
He was still on the damn phone!
Maybe this will work out.
I’m not saying there were not pauses on the other end. There were- this is a lot to
process. But he was still on the phone. I was waiting for John to say this was beyond
his scope.
Instead, his asked when we could get together.
Are you reading this laundry list of fucked up shit and wondering how and why I
got to that point? It would probably help to bring you back to the beginning of my
powerlifting journey. To a day that I can actually say changed the trajectory of my life
and started me down the path of pushing my body beyond its limits.
Jan 1983 - Dave Tate on Deck
Sixteen weeks of training for something I had no clue what to expect from. My first
powerlifting meet. I was introduced to the sport through a small private powerlifting
gym at the age of 12. After several months of busting my ass training hard, loading
plates for the lifters, and learning basic gym etiquette, they wanted me to train for my
first meet.
Since I didn’t know what to expect, I wasn’t nervous about it; I was more excited than
anything. It provided a reason to be in the gym and purpose to train hard and learn
what the other lifters were teaching me.
The day before the meet the guy who told me all along he would take me to the
meet (which was 3 hours away) bailed on me. I spent that night calling all the guys I
knew from the gym and was told no, over and over. There was one guy in the gym
that kept to himself. He was without a doubt the strongest lifter there. I had made
small talk with him many times and would spot or give him lift outs here and there
but we never had any real dialogue. If we were both in there at the same time it was
to work. He did what he had to do and I did what I had to do. I was ready to begin
looking into bus tickets to get to the meet (I WAS going to get there one way or
another). He was the last call I made and without hesitation, he said YES. Looking
back this was a much bigger deal than I thought at the time. He worked a full-time
job plus overtime, had a family, and gave up a Saturday to drive me 3 hours to a meet,
spend all day there helping, and drive me back home the same day.
11
FOREWORD
Even today there are very few people I would do this for but this guy did it for a
13-year-old kid he barely knew - so I thought.
Here is what he did know (which I learned from him a few years later). He knew I came
into the gym a troubled kid who had been in trouble many times. Some of these
times were serious enough to involve Juvenile Court. He also happened to know
one of my elementary school teachers and had asked about me. He knew the sport
would change me. He also knew if I didn’t make it to that meet I might never do one
again. His one action may have completely changed the trajectory of my life.
People wonder why I am so passionate about the aim to Live, Learn, and Pass On?
I got to know him much better on the car ride there and back but will just say we
started training together and I learned more from him than anyone else in the sport –
right behind Louie Simmons who would enter the picture years later.
Some things I remember from the meet are that I had to follow myself on attempts.
Today they use what is called a rounds systems. Back then we used a round robin
set-up where the bar was loaded and the weight never came back down. My opener
squat was the lowest of the meet, my second was also the lowest, and my third was
also the lowest... then they added 100 pounds for one of Westside Barbell’s female
lifters.
I did better on the bench and fell in the bottom 1/3 of the pack. The deadlift was right
back to the bottom again. No awards for me and we were on the way home. I had
wanted to enter the teen division but the guy who drove and helped me would have
no part of that. “You are not entering that shit, you lift open or not at all. Maybe the
teenage state meet but that’s it”. Perhaps one of the best statements I was ever told in
the sport.
On the way home all I could talk about were the big lifts from the meet. Two of the
SHW lifters hit over 900 and a year or two later one became the first to ever squat
1000 and the other was the second or third to do so. I fell in love with the sport so
much that it leaped to the biggest priority in my life and would stay there for the next
22 years.
Hopefully these forays into my timeline give you a better idea of how fucked up I am
(mentally and physically), my goals, what my current training is like, and what we were
working with.
12
FOREWORD
January 2018 - Game Changer
After talking with John we thought it would be best if he came out to see me. This
way he could work with me in person and see what equipment I had to work with. We
worked out travel costs, his fee, and I cleared my schedule. The day before his visit I
let my media staff know I would be unavailable for the next two days. We do not have
a huge office but I do let them know when I won’t be around if they have anything
they need me to do for them.
I told them what I was up to and they looked at each other and then at me and said...
“Why are we not filming this?”
I honestly never even thought about it. I never saw this as content that would help
anyone. While I still didn’t like the idea of it (at all), I hire people for a reason and then
listen to them. They felt it would have value so I agreed to ask John. From there
they worked all the details out. I just had to show up. The content you have seen
from elitefts on this is 100% the product of my staff’s work. They took a subject that I
thought would be boring and suck and were able to edit it down into something very
special that has helped thousands of people for free. Amazing people do amazing
things!
I do have to say that as I watched the videos, I wished I drank alcohol. Because I
would have made a drinking game out of every time John said “that’s money” and
“game changer”. No doubt, even if I was used to drinking a case a day, I would have
been plastered after the first hour.
All jokes aside, I never expected these videos to help anyone and got into this as a
way to keep training the way I love (conjugate training for maximal strength) while not
beating myself into a deeper hole than I have already put myself in.
So what did this all mean for my life and training?
13
FOREWORD
December 2018 - Thank You
John,
We are closing in on one year.
There is no doubt that there have been some great ups but also some very serious
downs. As you know, I know how to cycle my max effort and dynamic effort training
very well. I also know how and what supplemental movements to do in order to
push the movements I want to excel in to the limit. Over the years, I’ve had to get
more and more creative with how I structure these and how to pivot based on the
week or day... but I know how to maneuver this very well since I have decades of
training myself and other using the Conjugate Method (STOP: I must and always will
give Louie Simmons credit for being the best coach, mentor, and training partner I
have ever had. I spent close to 14 years with him and without him, I do not believe
there would be an elitefts and nobody would care or know who Dave Tate is). I also
have even more decades training myself with serious intent.
I now know how to better integrate movement patterns into my training. There
have been some movements I don’t like and did. Others I didn’t like and didn’t do
because I felt they looked way too stupid and I would rather die than do them. LOL.
You gave me others to do instead and learned what I would and would not do.
You spent the time to learn what works for me and then integrated into my training
the things I needed to do.
That’s what a professional does.
Am I more pain-free than a year ago? No doubt.
Do I still have a long way to go? No doubt.
Will I ever be pain-free? No
Will I ever have to give up what I truly love about training? NO
I could not say that one year ago.
Looking forward to what this next year brings.
Thank you.
I truly appreciate you helping me out.
It’s been the cornerstone and turning point with my family time as well, and we
couldn’t be happier!
Dave
There you have it. The first conjugate training intro (that I know of) that’s ever been
written. While I doubt most of you will read it, I do thank those who followed along. If
you are one of those who just skips to the end, please take note. Don’t do that with this
program. Everything within it is designed with a specific sequence in mind. It won’t be
easy and you will need to work hard. But if you do, the results will speak for themselves.
14
FOREWORD
WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL POWER TRAINING?
WHAT IS
FUNCTIONAL
POWER TRAINING
Welcome to the Functional Power Training (FPT) system. My goal for you over the
course of the next 12-weeks is to become bigger, stronger and more powerful than
ever before. And more importantly, you will achieve the highest levels of human
performance while building true resilience in the process.
This pain-free performance training system is the culmination of nearly three years
of development in data driven beta-tested training scenarios on hundreds of athletes
from all walks of sports performance, fitness and beyond. Each exercise, method,
scheme and technique utilized in FPT has been battle tested over a 36-month period
in order to earn it’s way into the system based on one simple criteria, optimal pain-free
performance enhancement.
Every move you make in Functional Power Training has been calculated, creating
a unified system based on the multi-modality method of programming. Simply
put, we will be training all physical characteristics and qualities simultaneously on
FPT, prioritizing strength development as the number one physical trait to unlock
performance, resilience and pain-free longevity.
In the next 12-weeks you will build functional muscle mass, improve body composition,
develop resilient strength, improve movement capacity and mobility, and master how
to prepare and recover like a performance athlete to bulletproof your body for life.
15
WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL POWER TRAINING?
My goal for every athlete utilizing the Functional Power Training system is to become
non-dogmatic in your approach to performance training. To learn how to create
synergy with some of the most powerful methods in the world in one single unified
performance program that will unlock your physical potential while rebuilding your
body to be bigger, stronger and more resilient for life. And to never again think that you
must sacrifice your health for performance.
Utilize the Functional Power Training system to it’s fullest potential, and you’ll not only
achieve world-class results, but will change the way you view intelligent pain-free
performance training forever. Train smarter to train harder with the resources that have
been custom built for you in FPT, and watch yourself shatter your expectations of
what’s physically possible.
-Dr. John Rusin
16
WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL POWER TRAINING?
HOW TO SCHEDULE YOUR TRAINING
HOW TO SCHEDULE
YOUR TRAINING
The Functional Power Training program was designed to give you customized options
on your training schedule based not only on recoverability, but real life time availability
for training. While there are benefits for training each of the 7 available days on FPT to
help spark recovery, it’s simply not feasible for many athletes to train every single day of
the week. Aside from being athletes, we are also human beings.
That’s why I’ve outlined below the adjustments you’ll make to your schedule based
on the number of days you are able to train per week. Note that these are my best
recommendations for manipulating the schedule based on my beta-testing and real
world results with our athletes and clients. While there are different ways to customize
the schedule, these proposed training schedules below have been tested and proven
effective, even at 3 available training days per week.
When choosing your training schedule, please do not get over ambitious. I want you to
define with 110% certainty that you can execute the schedule no matter what. Define
a schedule that you can stick to and complete it for 4-weeks at a time. If something
changes which allows you to train an additional day, wait until you hit your next 4-week
block to alter the schedule as repeatability is a key to adaptation of power, strength and
hypertrophy.
From coaching over 20,000 athletes in the last 4 years, I can definitively say I’ve seen
and heard it all when it comes to scheduling training sessions. From that experience,
I first want to start off with what NOT to do with scheduling before I show how to
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How To Schedule Your Training
intelligently manipulate the schedule to make FPT the most productive power program
of all time.
Do NOT Spread FPT Over Longer Periods of Time
One of the biggest mistakes people make on their training schedule is not staying on
track from a week-to-week basis. They simply do all of the training days in order, and
spread them over a longer period of time. For example, it takes them 2 weeks to get
through one week of training where they complete Day 1 through Day 7 with a day
of rest between each day. Please do not do this. Simply put, this is a sure fire way to
getting sub par results on FPT.
Our performance results on the big lifts depend on you receiving training stimuli in
the big strength training sessions each week, and progressing on a 7-day schedule.
Frequency is key here for all desired physical and neurological adaptations like getting
brutally strong and building muscle. By butchering the program and spreading it over
a longer period of time you will not get the results you are after, as it goes against the
principles of exercise science, physiology and muscular adaptations. So this is where
you have to be blatantly honest with yourself and not try and “hope” you can get
sessions in when in reality you cannot.
Again, 7 days per week is NOT mandatory to get results on FPT. No matter if you are
training 7 days per week or 4, you will be in a prime position to achieve your strength
and hypertrophy goals as long as you train hard, train smart and stay consistent. Do not
try and do more than you are capable of, or that your schedule permits. Know yourself,
and your limitations and adjust intelligently. I cannot reiterate the importance of this
point enough.
Determine how many days you can 100% commit to, and stick to that exact schedule
for 4-weeks at a time. If something changes, make necessary schedule adjustments
up or down on days per week trained in the next 4-week block. While FPT training is an
art, it’s also a science, and we cannot defy principles in which the power, strength and
hypertrophy programming depends on for results.
Do NOT Do More Than One Lifting Session In A Day
The second mistake that people make is trying to “make up” workouts by doing
multiple lifting sessions in a day. From hundreds of athletes who have beta-tested this
program, I can definitively say that completing more than one max or dynamic effort
lifting session per day has huge repercussions on recoverability.
There is a possibility that you need to complete a lifting day and an energy systems day
on the SAME day, but this should not be routine. If it does happen, modify according to
how you are feeling on the secondary energy systems day (always lift first) and allow
4-6 hours between two-a-day training sessions for optimal nutritional refueling and
intra workout recovery.
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How To Schedule Your Training
If something happens to your schedule, you are better off skipping that day and moving
on to stay on schedule than crushing yourself into a hole of burnout that you most likely
will not bounce back from. As long as missing sessions does not become a regular
occurrence, you’ll be just fine.
Do NOT Try To ADD To FPT
Lastly, I have seen athletes try to add more and more programming on top of already
brutally challenging FPT blocks with extremely poor success. Functional Power Training
was already designed with a huge amount of intensity and volume, and with the
addition of recovery based energy systems days, you’re going to have to work your ass
off to recover just as hard as you are training.
Going back to the above mistake of training multiple sessions in a day, refrain from
jumping into exercise classes or WOD’s while using FPT. Again, if you want results
(which is why you are here in the first place) then stick to the program for 12-weeks and
you will achieve them. If you’re just digging yourself deeper and deeper into a hole that
you cannot recover from, your results will suffer, it’s as simple as that.
Now, there are ways to add in different types of training in conjunction with FPT, but
these are special circumstances. I’d recommend utilizing prioritizing the big 4 strength
training days from FPT, and monitoring other days with more recovery based activities
like biking, running, yoga, Pilates, swimming etc. NOT a session that leaves you puking
after 100 burpees and thrusters. I’ll repeat it as this is pivotal to your success, recovery
is KEY.
With that covered, here are the proposed training schedules below:
This first option is pretty self-explanatory for using all of the available training days per
week on FPT. If you find yourself using the 7-day option, ensure that you are maximizing
recovery and training according to the goals of the day, especially for energy systems
development and performance recovery days.
Remember, we are using alternate lifting days to build a big base of cardio-respiratory
support and recovery. More is not better. Better is better. The goal here is to push
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How To Schedule Your Training
the max and dynamic effort days as hard as possible, and allow the active recovery
process to hit on the alternate days where we’ll be focusing on energy systems and
performance recovery. Train more to recover faster.
With one less available day to train on the FPT, I recommend that you utilize Day 1
through Day 6 on the schedule and omit the Day 7 Performance Recovery Day. This
altered schedule allows you to prioritize all of your primary strength training days while
also allowing ample rest between heavy days with the energy systems work between.
This recommendation does not discount the importance of the Performance Recovery
System. Remember, at any time, the Performance Recovery System can be tacked on
to the tail end of a training day, or as a secondary recovery based training day to spark
recoverability. Use it wisely an additional time per week here.
If you have 5 days available per week to devote to training, the above chart showcases
the recommended schedule of choice. We will still be prioritizing the 4 major lifting
days then allowing you to choose a focus for the 5th day, which will be energy systems
work. I recommend using the aerobic ESD day if your recovery isn’t quite to 100%
between lifting days, and the anaerobic ESD day if your recovery is on point.
Many on the 5 days a week schedule are training during the week. While training 5 days
in a row can absolutely work, I recommend getting as much rest between sessions
as possible, especially the maximal effort training days, hence the recommended
schedule above using a weekend day to end the week’s training. Recovery is key, as
you can only get better from a training stimulus that you can recover from.
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How To Schedule Your Training
Similar to the 5 days per week schedule, the 4 days per week schedule will consist of
ONLY the 4 major lifting days. I highly recommend that you again try and space out the
training days to maximize recovery instead of attempting to complete all 4 days in a
row, or in a 5-day period.
But if schedule demands training during the week, a M-T-Th-F schedule will do. Ensure
that you are staying active during the day on off days, and of course the weekend if you
are down to 4x per week, as we are limiting energy systems work. When running the
truncated schedule for FPT, it’s pivotal that your nutrition during the training week is
dialed up in order to place your body into the most responsive state to spark recovery.
Please do not forget about the power of fueling your training.
The bare minimum frequency that has been shown to produce positive results for the
FPT program is 3 days per week, but when trained and programmed perfectly. Before I
get into the exact schedule here, I do want to note that I recommend everyone do their
very best to bump their frequency to 4 days per week, as hitting all 4 major strength
training days has huge advantages when compared to the 3 times per week schedule.
Make it happen, and at the end of 12-weeks you’ll be happy you did.
If this is not possible, then you will be prioritizing your max effort lifting days during the
week first with at least a day or rest between. You’ll then be ending your training week
with a mixed session, which will consist of all three of the key indicator dynamic effort
lifts in a single session. That means you’ll be squatting, benching and deadlifting (in that
order) on the third training day of the week. Yes, this will be an intense session, but with
scheduling restrictions you must rise to the challenge.
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How To Schedule Your Training
HOW TO READ THE PROGRAMMING
HOW TO READ
THE PROGRAMMING
I’ll just go ahead and say it. The Functional Power Training system is more than just a
program; it’s the ultimate pain-free performance training resource. And with ultimate
resources come loads of content, media, and of course, questions on how to best utilize
the programming and information. Before you deep dive into your next 12-weeks of
FPT, I want to recommend how best to tackle this beast to get the most out of your
body and brain gains.
FPT Training Logs and Coaching Notes
At this point, I’m sure you’ve jumped ahead to check out the 12 individual weeks of
programming, so that’s a great place for us to start. While I want to get you up to speed
and training intelligently as quickly as possible with FPT, I also want you to know what
the hell you are doing before you enter the gym that first week to get the very most out
of your training time and energies.
I highly recommend either downloading or physically printing out the training logs so
you can have quick and easy access to your programming on a daily basis without
having to scroll through the entire FPT resource. Each training log will showcase
the exercises, complete with a link to the specific exercise and exactly how I want it
executed, the scheme and areas for you to record your weights or make notes. Almost
every exercise scheme is written as:
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How To Read The Programming
RAMPS/WORKxREPS@REST
This prescription holds true with the exception of the maximal effort exercises that are
programmed with a 5/4/3/2/1+ scheme that you can read more about in the max effort
chapter of the book.
Now the training logs themselves are an awesome upgraded resource for quick looks
at the training days, as each and every day across the 12-week FPT program is unique
and never repeated, but they are NOT the complete package to get the most out of
FPT. In order to deep dive into the dense details of each movement, how I want it to be
setup, executed, modifications for equipment or restrictions, and of course, my cueing,
you will be referring to the coaching notes section of the book. This is where the real
value is gained in mastering hundreds of these unique movement variations week in
and week out.
Before a training session begins, or at the start of each new week (as again, there are 12
individual weeks programmed in sequential order to be executed on FPT) read over the
coaching notes and become highly familiar with not only the exercise, but how I want it
executed. From there, click the interactive videos on the left hand column to visualize
the movements in preparation.
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How To Read The Programming
Once you had a handle on the coaching notes and videos that honestly is the best 2-3
minute investment you can make into executing FPT to your fullest potential, refer back
to the training logs to execute the program and track your progress. After hundreds of
clients beta-testing this program, this is what I’ve seen the best results with, hammering
the details, and being fully prepared so you can focus in on execution in the gym, not
scrolling through your phone searching for content when you should be training.
FPT Warm Ups and Recovery Days
A key aspect of FPT which sets it apart from other programs out there are the
integrated 6-phase dynamic warm up sequences that we’ve programmed for each
type of training day; Upper Body Emphasis, Lower Body Emphasis and Energy Systems
Work. Review the 3 different dynamic warm up sequences and start up with the warm
up programs I’ve detailed in the training logs and coaching notes section.
Once you’ve gotten your feet wet with my 6-phase dynamic warm up system that has
revolutionized the way hundreds of thousands of people perfectly prepare for training,
it’s time to go one step further with the system and add a customized spark. For specific
weak links, achy pain points or functional focuses that you want to directly address,
skip ahead to the 6-phase dynamic warm up sequence chapter in the book that will
walk you through the power of this style of programming. From there, create your own
6-phase warm ups that are a closer fit to your exact needs and goals.
Along a similar line, you will see that Day 7 of every training week will be centered on
the Performance Recovery System (PRS). I have strategically placed in a base recovery
program that will work wonders for expediting the active recovery process, but this
is also fully customizable based on the PRS chapter of the book. Deep dive in on the
goals of each phase, and individualize this recovery training day to fit your exact needs.
Also, for all of our visual and auditory learners out there, we have featured tutorials
in each section of both the 6-phase dynamic warm up sequence and PRS for your
viewing pleasure.
Maximal and Dynamic Effort Training
While the maximal effort and dynamic effort methods are some of the most powerful
training tools in unlocking power and strength potentials while creating true resiliency
in the process, they also happen to be some of the most misused and misunderstood
training methods in the industry. I urge you to spend time reading the max and dynamic
effort chapters in order to understand not only the goals, but the proper execution of
these methods in the system.
As I reviewed in the chapters of these methods, execution is pivotal to maximizing
results while staying healthy and resilient in the process. So yes, you achieving your
goals, maximizing your strength and rebuilding your body depend on sound execution
of these methods to train heavy and to train for speed in the right manner.
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How To Read The Programming
At a bare minimum, visualize what the dynamic and maximal effort exercises look
like in the video demos and to go one step further, watch the compilation videos in
the dynamic and maximal effort book chapters which showcase different setups, and
various tools training on the same method.
Bands, Chains and More…
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make who are new to Functional Power
Training is improper or incomplete setups centered on bands, chains and slight
variations and setups of the movements and exercises. And as each week and training
day is 100% unique across the 12-weeks of FPT, you will need to ensure you become a
setup wizard and are able to master simple things like how to properly use bands.
I have put together complete chapters on the use of chains (if you have them), bands,
and reverse banding method so you can setup properly from the start, and reap all
the pain-free power and strength benefits that are accompanied by accommodating
resistances.
As I review in the accommodating resistance chapters of the book, poor setups using
bands and chains are worse than no bands and chains at all. So lets dial this in so we
can focus on the bigger ticket items of the programming, which is training hard, going
heavy and NOT having to worry about improper setups week to week.
FPT Nutritional Programming
The last, and arguably one of the most pivotal parts of reading the FPT program
properly has nothing to do with training, but rather the opposite side of the equation,
which is nutritional programming. We’ve gone above and beyond developing a fully
customizable nutritional program that not only coincides with FPT’s performance goals,
but also is extremely individualized based on your specific needs, wants and goals for
FPT.
Before you start training your ass off on FPT, it’s pivotal that you not only read through
the nutritional chapter, but take action upon it, setting up all aspects of your nutrition to
enhance your training on FPT, not deter away from it. We can only become better from
a training stimulus that is recoverable. And aside from sleep, the most important aspect
of recovery is fueling your body with strategic nutritional practices.
Do NOT discount the power of what happens in the kitchen, as I have the data to show
those who utilized this exact nutritional programming were the athletes who became
the strongest, biggest, leanest and most recovered after this grueling 12-week block of
performance programming.
Individualized FPT Nutritional Programming is also available and can also be viewed
HERE.
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How To Read The Programming
LOGGING YOUR TRAINING DAYS
LOGGING YOUR
TRAINING DAYS
One of the key features in Functional Power Training is the custom training logs that
we’ve developed to effectively track your progress on a week-to-week basis. This is
your quick and easy way to access and execute the FPT programming, but it does not
replace the programming coaching notes that detail the entire training process daily.
Though every training week of this 3-month power performance block of programming
will be unique in its own ways in terms of exercise selection, set and rep schemes, and
overall progressive goals, we do want to be tracking long term performance in order to
control as many training variables as possible in this process. To get to where you want
to be, you must definitively know where you’ve been.
When you open up the training logs, you’ll note that there are 49 pages of
programming sheets that will include everything from your three distinct 6-phase
dynamic warm up sequences, to your training days, to the performance recovery
system on the tail ends of each week. Please note that the second page of the logs
clearly indicates how to use each aspect of the training logs effectively. But let’s again
review these for perfect compliance.
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Logging Your Training Days
Each movement featured in the training logs is linked to specific custom demonstration
videos of exactly how these movements should be executed. You’ll see the clickable
links in a blue underlined text. These videos are a few reps for demonstrations
purposes only. Ensure that you are loading up according to your body and needs, not
based on the weights I’ve used in the demo videos.
From there, the schemes for each movement will be detailed in terms of the amount
of ramp up sets of each movement, the prescribed working sets, the number or
repetitions and the rest period between sets. Note that a majority of the movements
are detailed in a RAMPS/WORKxREPS@REST prescription, but those that are not can
be reviewed in the complete programming and coaching notes section of this program.
We’ve made tracking your weights and sets extremely easy in the next “weights per
set” column of the FPT training logs, no matter if you are printing out the logs to throw
in your gym bag and filling them in by hand, or have downloaded them easily to your
phone or computer. You can fill each box by tapping on the box and entering your
weights. Note that some exercises such as bodyweight and band work will NOT require
weights to be tracked, but rather number of reps or the resistance level of bands. Again,
for any questions please refer back to the coaching notes as everything is detailed
there for how to complete every set from ramps to working sets.
27
Logging Your Training Days
Finally, you’ll see the training notes section on the right hand column for each
movement. Here you can quickly write down a few notes about your experience with
that movement, any questions that you had, or key cues or modifications that were
made so you can refer back to this as FPT progresses along it’s 12 individual weeks of
programming.
While I do believe that tracking your movements, loading and progress is of pivotal
importance, I do want to be clear that training hard is the goal for earning world class
results, NOT just tracking weights in a spread sheet. Don’t get carried away with your
sheets or your phone stressing about every single set and taking the focus away from
the actual training at hand.
If your tracking of your weights is taking away from your actual training by stealing your
mental focus or making you non-adherent to your rest periods, simplify your process
and ensure that training comes first and tracking comes second.
For those of you minimalists out there who want to get after the training without deep
diving on the entries of every single set, here’s my recommendation: the bare minimum
logging for the FPT centers around the key performance indicator lifts in each training
day.
These movements are the max effort squat, deadlift and bench press variations along
with the dynamic effort derivatives of the three classic lifts we will be training each
week. We MUST log a top end set for all of these movements in order to properly
progress week to week here, especially for the dynamic effort speed work where slight
variance of loads goes a long way.
While accessory, energy systems development and recovery work can be tracked, the
goal here is not moving heavy weights ALL the time. It’s to elicit a training effect that is
targeted towards the specific goal for every single movement that shows up in FPT. If
you are ever in doubt of the “goal” of the movement that’s on the docket for the training
day, again refer back to the programming coaching notes that is your step-by-step
guide to perfectly executing this program.
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Logging Your Training Days
THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
THE
6-PHASE DYNAMIC
WARM UP SEQUENCE
By the looks of the popularity of the foam rolling station and cardio deck at any major
commercial gym, it’s clear that the average person has absolutely no idea how to
prepare for training in the form of an effective and efficient dynamic warm up. I get it, we
all aren’t exercise scientists, but guess what? You don’t have to be in order to maximize
your results in record time with your warm up. And for the record, we are not here in
FPT to be average.
It’s time to stop wasting away your precious training time on unproductive and
potentially injurious warm ups that do more for your social life than your training results.
There’s a right way to optimally prepare to train that will streamline your results with
FPT while helping you bulletproof your body against chronic aches and pains, and
there’s the wrong way that will leave you bored, fatigued and burned out before your
training even starts. Get the most out of your warm ups to ensure you never waste
another minute with my highly effective AND efficient 6-phase dynamic warm up
system.
Note: I have pre-programmed three specific 6-phase dynamic warm ups complete with
coaching notes and video demonstrations of each exercise and movement that you
can find in the first portion of the coaching notes section of this book. These warm ups
should take you 7-10 minutes to execute before each and every training session.
I recommend utilizing the lower body emphasis warm up before max and dynamic
effort lower body days, using the upper body emphasis warm up before max and
dynamic effort upper body days, and the energy systems warm up for the two
programmed aerobic and anaerobic energy systems training days.
29
THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
Phase 1 – Targeted Soft Tissue Work
Not all foam rolling is created equally, that’s for damn sure. And if you plan on actually
seeing objective benefit in your performance in the gym while also mitigating the risk of
training related injuries, you better choose the correct soft tissue technique for the goal
at hand.
The oscillatory technique is the most effective foam rolling method I’ve used for my
athletes and clients to open up their mobility potential while also being able to more
reliably transfer into the big movement patterns.
Instead of rolling across the entire muscle belly back and forth like a sloppy pizza
dough roller, you’ll be strategically placing the foam roller in contact with active trigger
points in your targeted area that you are concentrating your soft tissue work on. Identify
these spots in the tissues by “going hunting” for the areas of the tissue that simply feel
like shit.
These are neuromuscular trigger points, which can be simply defined as areas with
higher spontaneous electrical activity that causes that region to become tighter than
the others adjacent.
Fight the urge to foam roll your entire body and waste away precious training time by
overdoing the first phase of this warm up. Instead, prioritize the number one area that
you can get the most benefit out of addressing with soft tissue work, and invest 1-2
minutes total with acute trigger point work on the ball or roller.
Remember, foam rolling isn’t the goal in itself, but rather a means to an end. Avoid
becoming Gumby before training, but instead have the goal to elicit a positive response
in pain-alleviation and mobility and move the hell on to more meaningful work.
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THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
Phase 2 – Bi-Phasic Positional Stretching
Lifters and strength athletes cringe when they hear the word “stretching” in a dynamic
warm up. But contrary to popular belief, there’s actually little to no evidence that
supports the idea of stretching negatively impacting power, strength or performance in
general.
Old vampire research studies that have zero application in the real world are hard to
kill. But if you want to get the most out of improving your movement patterns before
loading them up heavy and training them hard, strategic bi-phasic positional stretching
needs to be incorporated in your warm up routine.
We are not passively holding stretches for minutes at a time here, nor are we using
sloppy compensation patterns to try to “feel” individual muscles stretching. We are
placing our body into neutral and stabilized starting positions, maximizing the use of
internal tension throughout the body to wire stability through multiple segments at
once, THEN adding a slight oscillation to enhance the stretch of the targeted tissues.
The bi-phasic part of this method comes into play when following up 30-45 seconds of
oscillating back and forth with a 15-30 second end range stretch that is controlled via
muscular tension and optimal positions. That means that this stretching phase should
take 1-3 minutes to complete.
Both soft tissue work and bi-phasic stretching have the goal of reducing neurological
tone in tissues by tapping into the power of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest
and recover) and allowing the human body to function as authentically as possible.
That means we must be working on the same tissue in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 of this
sequence for the best results.
Since starting to use this 6-phase system nearly 4-years ago, we now do NOT program
any soft tissue work without stretching, vice versa. These two come as an integrated
unit, as the synergy of results speaks for themselves.
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THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
Phase 3 – Corrective Exercise
Before we delve into the belly of the corrective exercise beast, caution to the wise;
whatever you do, whatever improvements you make via these methods, do NOT
become a corrective exercise guru. The term “corrective” is ambiguous in itself, but
it should never come with the misconception that every movement or exercise must
be perfect before adding load or intensity. Good enough is truly good enough when it
comes to enhancing performance and reducing likelihood of injuries.
While there are endless options in the corrective exercise library due to many nonlifting corrective exercise specialists spending their time theoretically correcting every
moving part in the human body instead of actually training, we need to simplify our
programming and focus in on key movements that are targeting linchpins of movement
dysfunction or pain. That means we are following up soft tissue work and stretching
with a drill that will piggy back on top of those methods, and will have as big of an
impact on as many regions as possible simultaneously.
When in doubt in programming a catch-all corrective exercise that will actually help the
transference of better movement into your big lifts in training, start with intermediary
regions of the body like the hips, core, spine and shoulders, and ensure that you are
placing an emphasis on not only the quantity of the motion being executed, but the
quality as well.
If you’re like many people and are at a loss on how to objectify these corrective
exercises (aka is this shit actually working?) you can think about the 3 S’s of sound
movement: stability, sequencing and smoothness. Simply put, quality movement
patterns or corrective movements should look effortless, smooth and coordinated. If
yours aren’t quite there yet, no worries. That’s why we are investing 1-2 minutes into this
phase 3 blocks every day before training to reap the benefits of the compound effects
of the warm up doubling as your daily maintenance program for a highly functioning
and pain-free body.
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THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
Phase 4 – Muscle & Pattern Activation
While the goal for corrective exercise is to open up a movement pattern or region into
new ranges of motion, the improvements in range of motion alone are utterly useless
(and may actually predispose lifters to more injuries) without being able to stabilize that
new range of motion. That’s where muscle and pattern activation comes into play in
Phase 4 of this dynamic warm up sequence.
A vast majority of sticking points, weak links and injuries occur at ranges of motion that
joint and/or soft tissues can move into, but cannot stabilize. That means that improving
stabilization deeper and deeper into ranges needs to be emphasized to break through
plateaus on the big lifts while also helping to bulletproof the body for injury prevention
and longevity.
Activation drills that actually produce results need to involve a high degree of mind
muscle connection (MMC) and even higher amounts of internal tension and force
generation. That means that in order to optimally activate a muscle, we must first be
able to feel the muscle contract, then be able to integrate that feeling back into more
compound based movements for a functional carryover.
Whether it’s the banded Rusin shoulder tri-set priming the upper back and shoulders
in this phase, or the notoriously butchered traditional glute bridge, we must be thinking
about squeezing the active muscles as hard as possible during this phase, peaking the
contractions and hardwiring the connections of muscles moving and stabilizing into a
new range.
With high amounts of tension and muscular recruitment, we need to ensure that we
have the goal of activating the key musculature and patterns, and not annihilating
them, which will lead to pre-fatigue of the tissues and a drop in performance. Shoot for
2-3 sets of 5-10 reps of each movement with 15-30 seconds between sets. This works
out to 1-2 minutes again of investment into priming your big stabilizers and controlling
better, more usable ranges of motion.
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THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
Phase 5 – Foundational Movement Pattern Development
I hate to say it, but the first 4 phases of this dynamic warm up sequence are all
precursors to the big movement patterns that we are not only going to be practicing,
but perfecting in the 5th phase of this system. Think of soft tissue work, stretching,
correctives and activation drills as a step-by-step approach to get you to the point
where you can execute the big foundational movement pattern of the day better than
ever before. They are important to get you to this point, but now is where your mind and
muscle needs to take over and start priming these patterns for performance.
No program is complete without training the 6 foundational movement patterns (squat,
hinge, lunge, push, pull, carry) and placing an emphasis on building, maintaining and
perfecting these over time. There’s truly no faking the foundations. And that’s exactly
why these patterns are prioritized in FPT.
In terms of prioritizing what foundational pattern to practice here, it’s simple. Choose the
pattern that you’ll be training as your big indicator movement of the day. If it’s squat day,
then squat. Bench press day? Hit the push up. Simple, easy, effective.
But these big compound movement patterns, which are the foundation of human
movement and function, need to be perfected over time. As any serious lifter knows,
it takes continuous tweaking and re-mastery of the big lifts in order to continue to see
benefits without racking up training related injuries in the process. So this phase allows
us to step back, focus on the feel and quality of the foundational movement pattern at
hand, and all without the apprehension or stress of actually having maximal loading on
the bar.
It’s damn near impossible to achieve two world class results at once. That means trying
to perfect your movement patterns cannot be simultaneously achieved during hard
and heavy training. They need to be two separate entities. That’s why we use 2-3 sets
of 3-5 slow, controlled and deliberate bodyweight reps to grease the groove of the
34
THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
foundational movement pattern in this phase while the focus is not generating a training
effect, but rather in preparation.
This is the only phase where I’m ok with you spending a bit more time, as long as it’s
utilized in focused intent on chase to perfect a movement pattern, and not time wasted
going through the motions. Spend 2-3 minutes here with laser focus on quality.
Phase 6 – Central Nervous System Potentiation
After spending some thoughtful practice of your foundational movement pattern of
the day, it’s time to cut the touchy-feely fluff and get back to being an explosive and
powerful athlete with some central nervous system stimulation work. This phase is
geared towards pulling yourself out of the parasympathetic hole that we’ve been in in
order to help improve movement quality and tap into the potential of the CNS.
There are a few key ways to potentiate the CNS in order to optimize power and strength
while improving training performances in the process. The first is maximal loading, and
not quite the ideal fit for the warm up process. But the second, high velocity based
movements, are the perfect fit for this pre-training preparation phase.
Explosive lower body drills like jumps and sprints, upper body drills like med-ball
throws and slams, and total body coordinated drills like jacks are ideal fits for this phase
as they can quickly generate a neural response in the pattern about to be trained while
also being effective and efficient in their implementation.
Similar to the foundational movement pattern prescription from the previous phase, we
are matching the type of CNS work with the big movement of the day. For squat-based
movement days, pick a vertical jump for this phase. For a deadlift day, a horizontal jump
or bound fits well. Bench press or back day? Med-ball presses or slams are ideal. You
can also implement neural primer supersets by combining jacks with jumps or throws
for the ultimate CNS priming response.
35
THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
For CNS priming, we must ensure that we dial back the total volume of work being
done in order to avoid pre-fatigue of the CNS and peaking too soon before you get to
use what you’ve worked so hard for in this phase. Stick to 2-3 sets of 2-5 reps of any of
these methods, and no more than 15 total plyometric based reps.
36
THE 6-PHASE DYNAMIC WARM UP SEQUENCE
THE MAX EFFORT METHOD
THE MAX
EFFORT METHOD
The maximal effort (ME) method is one of the single most powerful training methods for
developing brutal power and strength. This method involves lifting maximal loads at or
above 100% of one’s single repetition maximum for a given movement, and showcases
the ultimate in-training performance test for unlocking new levels of strength and
personal records across the board when trained correctly.
Popularized by legendary strength coach Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell, the
maximal effort method has transcended the way people unlock their greatest strength
and power potentials. And that’s exactly why ME is a cornerstone of the FPT system.
Now before you make the mistake in thinking that all max effort work really consists
of is going as heavy as possible at all costs on the classic barbell bench press, squat
and deadlift every week, think again. Through multiple years of beta-testing thousands
of athletes in data driven training groups, I have made some slight adjustments to the
traditional max effort method that have proven effective for not only reaching new
levels of strength, but building resilience against pain and injuries in the process.
Before you jump into your first max effort session of FPT, ensure that you are training
max effort according to these guidelines for ramp up sets, working sets, loading,
execution and many more variables that are truly make or break details for performing
optimally while staying injury free.
37
The Max Effort Method
Ramping Up With Maximal Effort
In order to gain maximal neurological, mechanical and mental benefits from the
maximal effort method, it needs to be trained utilizing single repetition bouts in chase
of a new personal record for the lift of the day. And with the FPT program, all maximal
effort work will be programmed for singles after light rep work is first completed in the
ramp up sets.
All maximal effort lifts in Functional Power Training will be accompanied by the exercise
prescription 5/4/3/2/1+ that can be read as:
•
Ramp Up Set #1 - 5 repetitions with an empty bar
•
Ramp Up Set #2 – 4 repetitions with extremely light load
•
Ramp Up Set #3 – 3 repetitions with a light load
•
Ramp Up Set #4 – 2 repetitions with a moderate load
•
Working Set #1 – 1 repetition with heavy load
•
Working Set #2 – 1 repetition with heavier load
•
Working Set #3 – 1 repetition with personal record load
*Note – all working sets are done with increasingly heavier loads until your personal
record for the day has been set
The goal for ramping up with low repetition work during maximal effort exercises is to
grease the groove of the movement pattern, allowing you to develop a keen feel for
how your body, pattern and performance feels on a day to day basis. More ramp up
sets allow more auto-regulation and self-coaching to take place, which results in higher
top end singles, and more personal records to be set.
It’s pivotal that you do NOT load the ramp up sets too heavy, as the biggest risk of
ramp ups are pre-fatiguing the pattern, limiting the performance of the top end set.
That’s why I highly recommend using your first ramp up set of 5 with an empty bar.
An empty bar allows you to set your baseline for the day with your own body, and
creates a mental checklist and auditing process that occurs before load is
introduced. From there, ALL ramp up sets should be non-fatiguing, so ensure you
don’t make this mistake of going too heavy, too fast.
For maximal effort exercises, you’ll notice that there are NO prescribed rest
periods. This is strategic, as each ramp and working set for maximal effort
movements will utilize an auto-regulated rest period.
Simply put, you’ll move onto your next set when you feel ready and rested, as we
do NOT want to be tired or fatigued when performing our key performance
indicator lifts of the day with FPT.
38
The Max Effort Method
Systematically Chasing Personal Records
Once your ramp up sets are complete, it’s time to chase your personal record for the
day with single repetitions. You’ll start out with singles at lighter weights, and work the
weights up each working set (the 1+ indicates singles all the way up to a maximal load
for the day) until you have set a new PR for the day. This could be 3 working sets or 10
working sets, all completed with a single repetition.
Make smaller and smaller jumps as you get to the top end sets. Big jumps, especially
as you are reaching your PR weights, will freak the central nervous system out, so try
and move the bar weight strategically up each set. While this is not an exact science as
it depends on your auto-regulation and feel each training day, here is an example of a
scheme for bench press that can also be utilized for deadlift or squat derivatives:
39
•
Ramp Up Set #1 – 5x45 pounds
•
Ramp Up Set #2 – 4x95 pounds
•
Ramp Up Set #3 – 3x135 pounds
•
Ramp Up Set #4 - 2x185 pounds
•
Working Set #1 – 1x225 pounds
•
Working Set #2 – 1x275 pounds
•
Working Set #3 – 1x305 pounds
•
Working Set #4 – 1x325 pounds
•
Working Set #5 – 1x340 pounds
•
Working Set #6 – 1x350 pounds
•
Working Set #7 - 1x355 pounds *PERSONAL RECORD
•
Working Set #8 – 1x360 pounds *MISSED REP
•
Working Set #9 – 1x360 pounds *MISSED REP
The Max Effort Method
Now, once a personal record is set, that does not necessarily mean the exercise for
the day is over. Position yourself in a safe and effective position that will be protective
if and when a rep is missed, because in order to push the limits on one’s power and
strength potential with maximal effort method, we need to be properly prepared for
missed repetitions. This means safety bars up in the racks to an appropriate level, and
spotters if you have them available. In order to unlock the highest levels of strength and
power, setups must be pristine in order to place full focused intent on the execution
and performance of the lift itself. Invest the time dialing in the setups each day, as this is
training time well spent.
Once you miss a repetition, you must use your best judgment on whether or not you
want to attempt the weight again. Under no circumstances do you ever exceed 3
missed repetitions in a single max effort exercise, and from my experience coaching
athletes over the years, 2 missed reps is where I’ve seen the greatest amount of
success. This means if you miss a rep, no worries go back in and get it. But if you miss it
again, you are done for the day in that lift.
But what really constitutes a missed rep? Not all misses are created equally, especially
when we are talking about integrating pain-free performance personal records into the
Functional Power Training program.
Maximal Effort Depends on Technical Reps at Maximal Loads
The single most detrimental mistake that lifters make when incorrectly utilizing the
maximal effort method is breaking form in order to lift more weights. This is a major
problem not only for developing authentic strength and power, but staying healthy and
injury free while training on FPT.
The only PR’s we are interested in achieving are those that are executed with technical
proficiency and sound form. If you have to alter your stance, your range of motion, your
spinal position, or any aspect of the lift in order to continue going up in weight, you are
no longer training with maximal effort method, you are putting your body and results
at risk and sacrificing your movement for more weight, which breaks a golden rule of
pain-free training. Personal records have to be hard earned in order to actually make
you better tomorrow, next month and a decade from now. Never lose long term vision
of performance and health for short sighted and short lived cheating reps.
So as you are working up the weights utilizing maximal effort method, a sloppy rep can
be considered the same as a missed rep. As soon as your form breaks, your range of
motion gets shorter, or any other technical aspect of the lift changes in order to make
the lift, certainly do NOT go up again in load, but rather attempt the lift again, but the
second time with better form. If you break form again, move on, as that’s your top end
set for the day.
And for the record, I’d rather see missed reps with technical proficiency with the
movement pattern than a sloppy rep made losing form. The strongest and healthiest
40
The Max Effort Method
lifters know this, and take action on this statement. Every rep needs to be respected
and executed with pristine form and technique. That’s how we rewire movement
patterns and ingrain them for life.
I’ll mention this one more time, as it’s truly the most important aspect of maximal effort
training. In order to set a new PR, you must not only make the lift, but also execute it
with technical proficiency. Functional Power Training isn’t a time to get sloppy and hurt,
it’s a time to unlock your power and strength potential.
Maximal Effort Results Depend on Authentic Straining Reps
The previous section was pretty clear on max effort depending on quality repetitions
that are technically sound. But just not cheating your reps as the weights get heavy
isn’t good enough if your goal is to get as strong as possible. The second aspect of the
maximal effort method that truly amplifies the neurological and mechanical training
effects that we are after is achieving the strain.
The “strain” can be simply thought of as hitting a sticking point or grinding aspect of
a range of motion in any lift and working through it. The speed of the bar slows as it
moves through the concentric raising portion of the range of motion, and it becomes a
tough rep to complete. Hitting the straining point means you are in the right ballpark for
loading, but also allows you to experience a challenge occurring at your weakest link or
sticking point. And as any great coach will tell you, results are dependent on eliminating
weak links by training them directly.
Many lifters have been taught to shy away from straining or sticking points, mainly
because they get nervous that they will miss a rep, resulting in compensation, poor
form and questionable tactics to “make” the lift. Learning how to be calm and collected
under the bar while you strain is a skill, and one that we will practice throughout the
FPT program. Check out this squat video below to visualize the strain:
41
The Max Effort Method
And as we’ll learn quickly, quality straining depends on having a rock solid pillar,
comprised of the hips, shoulders and core integrating together as a functional unit. The
stronger the brace, the more you can strain. These two skills also are closely related to
helping mitigate the risk of training and non-training related injuries alike.
The last point on straining; your goal for every maximal effort exercise is not only to set
a new PR for the day in the lift on the program, but also to strain at your top end set.
Without the strain, the goal of maximal effort method has not been achieved. Get in,
work hard to perfect your form and hit a heavy weight that makes you grind a bit and
work to make it. THAT is the simple method of maximal effort.
Lower Body and Upper Body Maximal Effort Exercises
You’ll note that maximal effort lower body lifts consist of squat and deadlift variations,
while upper body lifts will be derivatives of the bench press, moving from flat one week
to an angled press the week following.
Throughout the 12-weeks of FPT, we will NOT be completing the same maximal effort
lift twice. You read that correctly, in 12-weeks, you’ll be able to set PR’s for 6 different
squats, 6 different deadlifts, and 12 different bench press variations.
The power of maximal effort lies within the intermuscular and intramuscular
coordination abilities that are best challenged with slight variations. This means that
training the squat, bottom up hip hinge and open chain push variations with different
tools, setups and goals will allow us to break through the glass ceiling on our power
and strength potential.
Training various setups and positions for the squat, bench press and deadlift also allow
us to stay extremely fresh and recovered, as cumulative stress of the same exercise
week after week is avoided. This is the main reason how we can program in 2 max effort
42
The Max Effort Method
lifts every week while continuing to perform at higher levels week-to-week, month to
month.
On the last week of FPT, you’ll note that the week’s schedule and maximal effort
variations of choice will look a little different from what they had previously. This week
12 will serve as our testing week where we utilize the classic barbell squat, bench and
deadlift in order to test. Nothing better than building the big barbell lifts without having
to train them directly. Now that’s the definition of intelligent pain-free performance
training.
43
The Max Effort Method
THE DYNAMIC EFFORT METHOD
THE DYNAMIC
EFFORT METHOD
One of the biggest mistakes even the most seasoned lifters make when working to
build their power and strength numbers on the big lifts is training heavy all the time.
While maximal effort work is a powerful mechanism for developing brutal strength as
we reviewed in the previous chapter, overloading max effort work is a sure fire way to
quick hitting plateaus, neurological burn out and even injuries.
So what’s the answer to unlocking strength and power to the top of your abilities
while staying healthy and resilient in the process? Simply put, we must have a better
appreciation for the true mechanism that unlocks strength and power potential, which
is known as force development.
Maximizing The Force Equation
Force can be defined as mass multiplied by acceleration (F=MxA) and is a fundamental
equation that governs all things related to intelligent strength. There are two primary
ways to maximize force:
1. Increase the mass (or weight) you are lifting.
2. Increase the acceleration of the weight you are lifting.
44
The Dynamic Effort Method
What this essentially breaks down to is maximizing force by going as heavy as
possible (this can be thought of as the max effort method) or moving a weight as fast
as possible, which is termed the dynamic effort method. Training for maximal force
production occurs with the perfect combination of speed and loading in movement
patterns of choice. And that’s exactly the goal of dynamic effort training, moving a
specific load as fast as possible.
Speed Kills For Getting Stronger
Increased loading reaching near maximal effort attempts can be associated with higher
amounts of neural and mechanical fatigue on the body, making the maximal effort
method something that needs to be respected and dialed in using specific variations of
lifts that challenge strength and power capacity while minimizing unwanted joint and
neurological stresses. Since FPT utilizes different pain-free max effort variations each
and every week, this is something that has been avoided as long as execution and
loading remains sound.
45
The Dynamic Effort Method
But in order to maximize recoverability while also training different aspects of the force
velocity curve, the dynamic effort is used each week for our main strength and power
indicator lifts. While there are a myriad of benefits to training speed via the dynamic
effort method, a few of the focuses for FPT are:
1. Skill based practice and acquisition on big compound lifts
2. Recovering the central nervous system between max effort sessions
3. Decreasing joint stress via lighter bar weights and external loads
By coupling the max effort and dynamic effort methods together, we can double the
total exposure to big movement patterns like the squat, deadlift and bench press per
week with half of the mechanical and neurological stresses that would otherwise be
associated with going heavy twice for each lift.
Due to training the power and speed-strength side of the force velocity curve, we can
also benefit from improving setups, techniques and form adjustments from the higher
amount of total work that can be completed with the dynamic effort method without
the risk of digging into deeper holes of fatigue in the process.
Finally, the dynamic effort method is not only non-fatiguing on the neurological systems
when trained correctly, but it also acts as a spark for the recovery of the central nervous
system through stimulation and excitement via speed and acceleration, as opposed to
maximal loading, which are the two main mechanisms of achieving a heightened level
of nervous system activities.
What this all equates to is a smarter, more systematic method to train harder,
train more frequently and train more intensely while improving recoverability via
active mechanisms. This is why dynamic effort is a staple in pain-free performance
programming, and the cornerstone of secondary day training in the Functional Power
Training System.
Percentages for Dynamic Effort Work
Due to the fact that dynamic effort training requires a combination of load and velocity
to maximize force, these movements are the ONLY exercises in the entire Functional
Power Training system where I give general recommendations in a percentage-based
system for loading. Simply put, you can start conservatively around these percentages
of 1-rep maximums, and go from there based on your execution.
Each percentage represents the bar weight only. And as you’ll read in the coaching
notes section of the book and visualize in the video demonstrations, there will be a
combination of bar weight and accommodating based band or chain resistance added
into the system. Use the appropriate bands (either the blue or black JRx resistance
bands) that are designated in the coaching notes. If you have questions, always refer
back to the coaching notes.
46
The Dynamic Effort Method
Note that the dynamic effort lifts are set in 2-week waves where you’ll be completing
the same dynamic effort exercises for the squat, bench press and deadlift for 2-weeks
in a row, WITH the only difference coming in the percentage of bar weight used. Simply
put, the goal is to go up slightly from week to week for dynamic effort work. This
usually works out to an additional 5-10 pounds on the bar or a few percentages on the
recommended percentage of 1-repetition maximum.
Remember, the percentage is based on your current (not your lifetime or mythical) one
repetition. When in doubt, be conservative here. This is why the percentage system is
less than reliable, as everyone is different, and different on different training days due to
performance preparedness.
If you are a 400 pound bench presser, and the dynamic effort calls for blue bands and
a 40% of 1-repetition maximum bar weight, you’ll be using around 160 pounds of weight
on the bar, PLUS blue bands on either sides of the bar. This was found by multiplying
the max of 400 pounds by 0.4. While this is simple math, actually do the math so you
can track correctly in your training logs week to week for dynamic effort work.
Dynamic Effort Execution For The Squat, Bench and Deadlift
While the goal of dynamic effort training remains the same no matter the movement
pattern or exercise variation being trained, the execution on the Functional Power
Training program differs between our three key performance indicator lifts:
1. Squat
2. Bench Press
3. Deadlift
While there are three complete chapters that review chains, bands and reverse band
training and setups for proper execution with the dynamic effort and beyond, there are
some common executional mistakes for these big classic lift derivatives that I want to
ensure you do not make during your 12-week FPT block. When in doubt, move as fast
as you possibly can with exciting explosiveness WHILE keeping your form, technique
and locked in brace. But let’s give these lifts the respect they deserve by reviewing
them one by one:
47
The Dynamic Effort Method
Dynamic Effort Squat
The dynamic effort squat requires a “controlled free fall” of an eccentric lowering of
the movement itself, and a quick change of direction at the bottom into an intensely
explosive concentric raising portion of the lift. The most common mistake I see with
the dynamic effort squat is lowering the bar too slowly, taking away our ability to create
and store kinetic energy in the system so we can further display it during the concentric
action of the squat driving up. While I do not want you losing control and getting loose
with your brace falling into compensations and sloppy form, I want you to train this lift
by going down as quickly as possible while remaining in control.
Now the reason there are so many sets on dynamic effort work is because we are using
this to master setups and techniques. So if you are new to the rapid eccentric this will
be a great place to upgrade your skills with light loading on the bar and the ability for
speed to be your guide to executing sound reps.
The squat will be trained with dynamic effort in different positions throughout the
12-weeks of FPT, but mainly through box squat or free squat variations. For box squats,
ensure that you lower quickly to the box, deload 50% of your bodyweight into the box,
and with a slight rock at the hips (not the spine) drive straight up. For free squats, drop
down quickly under control and drive straight back up. Both of these methods will test
your ability to move fast, so ensure that you are driving up as hard as you possibly can
up into the range of motion. My go-to cue here is “throw the bar through the ceiling” so
attempt to do that every single rep.
48
The Dynamic Effort Method
Dynamic Effort Bench Press
Similar to the squat, the bench press starts out by unracking the bar and going down
through a rapid eccentric moment first before blasting the bar up off your chest as
powerfully as possible second. The goal here is to have a rapid eccentric that allows
the bar to fall to the chest while you are staying under active control of it the entire time.
What we do not want here is bouncing the bar off of the chest, or losing tightness at the
core, brace or upper back in order to move the bar down quickly.
Once the rapid eccentric lowering takes place, you’ll have a quick change of direction
of the bar (referred to as the amortization phase of action) where it changes from
lowering to raising. We want this phase of action to take place right at the chest, grazing
your shirt without getting hammered into the bench by the bar at the chest.
From there, drive up as fully through the range of motion as possible with brutally
explosive mental intent. The goal here is to move it FAST. Ensure that you are NOT
pausing between reps here on the bench press, as the rhythm should remind you of
gun shots going off one after another, POP, POP, POP.
Visualize this with the video above which showcases various setups for dynamic effort
bench press utilizing different tools and different accommodating resistances with the
same rapid eccentric to rapid concentric intent as fast as possible.
49
The Dynamic Effort Method
Dynamic Effort Deadlift
As complicated as the squat and bench press dynamic effort setups and executions
may seem, the deadlift is really quite simple. Different from the other two classic lifts,
the deadlift starts with a concentric raising of the bar, and then ends with an eccentric
lowering. This allows us to really focus on explosive concentric raising actions and
speed up the eccentric by dropping the weights down to the ground rapidly.
For dynamic effort deadlifts, get setup at the bottom of the lift and blast up against the
resistance as hard as possible, tensioning at the top of the lift for a split second then
dropping down quickly while still under control. Allow the bar and plates to come to a
dead stop and drive up again if your programming indicates rep work for that 2-week
dynamic effort wave.
There will NOT be any touch and go style deadlifts in the Functional Power Training
program, so please don’t attempt these as it negates the benefits of explosive
concentric actions from starting strength positions. Be honest with your weights, have
explosive intent mentally, train the deadlift properly and this will be the spark you’ve
been looking for in building your deadlift.
Final Notes on Dynamic Effort Training
Avoid the urge to go too heavy on dynamic effort work. As the bar slows, it negates
the mass amounts of benefits of the method itself, and turns into just another fatiguing
mechanism in the program that we are depending on to help expedite the recovery
process. If you have questions about the weight you should be using, calculate it and
error on the lighter side as you can always move up set to set.
Also, ensure that you are strategically sticking to the prescribed rest periods as
the density of work really matter for building a base of work capacity and speed-
50
The Dynamic Effort Method
endurance. Great athletes are fast; world-class athletes can repeat being fast. That’s
what we’re working on here. Some of these schemes may leave you gasping for air and
have your heart rate bumping through the roof, but remember this is strategic. We are
training multiple physical traits simultaneously in Functional Power Training.
Finally, mentally engage on every set like you are about to set a PR. More than any
other method, the dynamic effort training protocols you’ll be using are dependent on
you training it hard and explosively, as it’s extremely easy to just go through the motions
without ever receiving the training stimulus we are after. Each dynamic effort exercise
needs to be respected, as it’s a speed battle against the weights.
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The Dynamic Effort Method
HOW TO USE BANDS AND CHAINS
HOW TO USE
BANDS AND CHAINS
Chains and bands are some of the most powerful tools in the world of intelligent
strength training, hence the reason why both will be utilized in Functional Power
Training. Here is a detailed breakdown of both chains and bands including in depth
video tutorials for perfect setups on the bench press, squat and deadlift, along with
how we will be using this form of training throughout the next 12-weeks of pain-free
performance programming.
Chained Accommodating Resistance
52
How To Use Bands and Chains
Chains are a simple form of accommodating resistance that offer some unique benefits
for challenging altered loading of movement patterns, building resilient muscle, and
improving power and strength development. Before there were bands, there were
chains, so that’s exactly where we are starting in this chapter.
By simply adding chained accommodating resistance to movements and exercises,
we have the ability to alter the amount of loading that occurs in different aspects of the
movement patterns range of motion, offering some serious advantages for pain-free
performance training.
As chains deload onto the ground, the total weight or resistance offered by the barbell
is reduced, as the bar is no longer supporting the weight of those grounded chains.
But as the chains re-load and get pulled back up off the ground once again hanging
from the bar, the resistance increases on the bar, altering the total resistance in different
aspects of the range of motion. The more chains that hang at any given point during the
range of motion will offer more resistance, while the more chains that deload and lay on
the ground in a range offer less.
Proper Chain Setups
But as simple as this training tool and basic mechanisms are, the biggest downside
of chains is poor setups that actually deter away from the desired accommodating
resistance based training effect. Improperly setup chains are worse than no chains at
all. So before we get into the power potential of the chains, we must first ensure that we
are setting chains up correctly for all of the big lifts.
Here is a foolproof checklist of proper chain setup:
1. Use a light leader chain to attach the heavy chains to the barbell.
2. Hang the heavy chain doubled up from its midline, not from end to end.
3. Ensure that heavy chains remain in contact with the floor at all times.
4. Position heavy chains so 1-2 links are hanging at the bottom of the range of motion.
5. Some links must remain grounded on the floor at the top of the range.
6. Chains must pull off the ground in vertical orientation without swinging.
7. Heavy chains are NOT hung directly from the barbell collar.
That last point is one of the most common rookie mistakes I see athletes and coaches
make with chain accommodating based resistance training. By connecting the heavy
chain directly to the barbell, we limit the amount of accommodation or altering of
loading that the chains provide to the movement pattern. This essentially adds more
constant weight to the barbell, offering a small amount of deloading at the bottom of
53
How To Use Bands and Chains
the range of motion. So whatever you do, do NOT hang chains from the barbell directly
for squats and bench presses.
Now the exception to the rule is the deadlift, where chains can be directly draped over
the barbell to provide a form of accommodating resistance without the use of a leader
chain. Due to the starting position of the barbell deadlift being closer to the ground as
compared to the squat or barbell bench press, draping the chains will meet all other
criteria for proper chain training. Simply place the middle of the chain over the bar and
get to work. A similar draped chain setup can also be used for RDL variations. Note that
if you or your athletes are taller than average and the chains pull up out of contact with
the ground, leader chains may be warranted.
How Chains Work To Develop Strength and Power
One of the reasons chains are such a powerful tool is due to the fact that athletes do
not present with the same strength level throughout all various aspects of a movement
patterns range of motion. Due to biomechanical, anthropometrical and skill level
differences, athletes will be stronger in some ranges while they are weaker in others.
Take the barbell squat for example.
Traditionally, the bottom 1-3 inches of range of motion is the weakest and most
vulnerable position for the squat, while the upper aspects of the squat into lockout are
the strongest. Chains provide deloading in the weakest positions, and overloading in the
strongest positions, which train the entire strength curve more optimally.
For example, if a barbell was loaded with 135 pounds (45 pound plates on each side)
with the addition of 20-pound chains on either side of the barbell doubled up and
hung from leader chains, the loading in the different aspects of the squat would look
something like this:
Top: 175 pounds
Mid Range: 155 pounds
Bottom: 140 pounds
These are approximations, but you can clearly see the different loads determined by
the amount of chain pulled up off the ground at various aspects of the squat’s range of
motion. This principle holds true for almost every type of movement pattern.
Chains also provide powerful advantages for the development of power and force
production. Force is defined by mass multiplied by acceleration, hence why speed can
be trained at sub maximal weights to increase force.
But due to the differing strength levels throughout the range in many key lifts and
movement patterns, accelerating a barbell with straight weight through a full range
of motion is next to impossible due to the body’s natural protective mechanisms that
naturally decelerate a movement towards the terminal aspects of the range of motion
to preserve soft tissue and joint health.
54
How To Use Bands and Chains
With the addition of chains, an athlete can more naturally and safely increase the
range of motion with acceleration as the intent due to the bar weight getting heavier
and heavier as the top end range is met. The chains overload the strongest aspects
of the movement, placing a natural deceleration process on the movement while the
athlete cues stronger more explosive acceleration through all aspects of the range
in a safer more effective manner. Simply put, chains allow the athlete to train more
explosively while staying in a safer and more effective position to develop strength and
performance across the board.
While moving explosively against chains, it’s pivotal that the chains do not swing
or unevenly pull off the ground and hover weightless, as this will decrease the
effectiveness of chain training, and also pose as a potential problem for stability, which
is a cornerstone of pain-free performance training. If your chains are swinging, this
would be a time to add multiple chains per side on a barbell, or add additional bar
weight. Match the speed with the amount of chain loading needed.
How We Will Utilize Chains In FPT
We will be utilizing chain training in three distinct aspects of Functional Power Training
over the course of the next 12-weeks. First, chains will be utilized in our max effort work.
We will be chasing heavy singles with chains attached to the bar, again to alter the
strength curve and train with novel intent to challenge movement patterns and do it
pain-free. Second, chains will be used for dynamic effort days to train speed in order to
maximize force and develop proper form and technique. Finally, chains will be sprinkled
into assistance work across the board to develop resilient muscle and strength while
helping to preserve our joint health in the process.
While I highly recommend getting chains if you do not already have them, they are not
a mandatory aspect of FPT. In the next section, we will explore banded training, which
will be an easy substitution for all chained based training exercises and movements
programmed if you do not have access to chains.
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How To Use Bands and Chains
Banded Accommodating Resistance
The use of bands in training is nothing new in the fitness and sports performance
industries. That being said, the popularization of band training has created one hell
of a double-edged sword for producing results while staying healthy in the process.
Why? Coaches and athletes alike simply don’t know how to intelligently program band
training to achieve the mass amounts of benefit that this tool is truly cable of.
When strategically sprinkled into programming, bands provide an exponential upside
to build muscle, get strong and explosive and stay healthy. But if you don’t have a plan
and purpose for your band based training, this tool can be brutally tough on your joints
and tendons and may even lead to injuries.
Here’s how we are going to implement band work into Functional Power Training for
all of the gains minus the aches and pains. From strength and dynamic effort work to
warming up as effectively and efficiently as possible, I’ve got you covered.
Prehabilitation and Corrective Exercises
We quickly forget that band work was first popularized in physical therapy and
rehabilitation clinics for a quick and easy way to start “strengthening” after coming off
injury or surgery. But why were bands the original tool of choice for clinicians to load
their patients?
Well, bands are about as simple and convenient as resistance training gets. But the fact
is the form of accommodating resistance that the bands offer creates a novel training
stimulus to musculature that can be highly advantageous for this population and type
of training.
Muscles are used to working against fixed loads, hence why the novelty of banded
training is so effective. Simply put, bands have the ability to alter the strength curve as
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How To Use Bands and Chains
the resistance is increased as the band becomes more stretched. More resistance in
ranges where you are more likely to have increased strength is a good thing for people
who are not only coming off injury, but also trying to target musculature in a new way to
rebuild strength, muscle and functionality.
Another key reason why bands have created a nice niche in rehabilitation based
resistance training is due to the regulation the accommodating resistance provides
each movement. For movements that are less than polished, or require a faster
contraction, bands will decelerate the movement automatically at the tail end of the
range of motion, protecting the joints and musculature from an unstable environment,
which could potentially lead to reinjury.
While the list could go on and on of the uses and benefits of band training in rehab and
corrective exercise, these are the staple points.
The 6-Phase Dynamic Warm Up
One of the most effective ways to incorporate banded training into your routine
seamlessly is by adding some exercises directly into your 6-phase dynamic warm up.
Two specific areas that I emphasize with banded dynamic warm up training are the two
most mobile ball and socket type joints in the body, the hips and shoulders.
Bands are amazing for eliciting stability at inherently unstable joints like the shoulders
and hips. People like to refer to this as “postural activation” but in reality we are
making sure all the stabilizing musculature around these joints are active and working
synergistically around these joints to place them in a perfect position to function from.
Though accommodating resistance via bands can be of course used in corrective
exercise drills as mentioned above, they are also great for activation-based
movements. Activation of the posterior-lateral hip group consisting of the gluteal
complex through banded side steps and monster walks are one of the quickest and
easiest ways to integrate band training into the warm up for the hips specifically.
As for the shoulders, the single best dynamic warm up sequence I continue to use
with my athletes and clients is the banded shoulder tri-set consisting of band over and
backs, banded face pulls and band pull aparts paired together in sequence. A few
rounds of this with 8-12 reps per movement will have your shoulders ready to go for any
type of overhead activity, and why it’s a staple in FPT.
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How To Use Bands and Chains
Dynamic Efforts and Power Production
Maybe the most popular use of band training over the last decade has been in the
power production side of sports performance training. We’ve all seen powerlifters band
up their squat, bench and deadlift before, but why are some of the top athletes in the
world, including physique athletes and bodybuilders, starting to gravitate towards this
same training method?
When it comes to building muscle, there is a necessity for a base level of strength. And
if you want to build a base level of strength, hitting powerful sets that recruit as many
motor units as possible also enhance the strength development. You see where I’m
getting at with this? Well-rounded strength athletes need to have an eclectic approach
at programming, and bands are just another way to challenge the system.
Yes, as I mentioned before bands can be added to pretty much every loaded
movement in the gym, but some exercises are better equipped to handle
accommodating resistances than others. By first placing a priority on compound multijoint movements, you can start seeing the benefits of power and acceleration quickly.
But those results you know and love need to be taken with a grain of salt, as there is
always a price to pay for getting strong and powerful.
Bands will exponentiate the resistance at the top of a movement, but remember bands
also accelerate the lowering portion of a movement also known as the eccentric. By
accelerating an eccentric, the phase between raising and lowering, referred to as the
amortization phase, is also accelerated, which can be tough on the joints and noncontractile tissues due to the increased stress in a shorter period of time.
To ensure we stay healthy while also reaping the benefits of accommodating banded
resistance in the big lifts, we refrain for using the same banded variations of the big lifts
for any more than 2 weeks in a row. This is the main reason why our dynamic effort work
for the squat, deadlift and bench press are programmed with 2-week waves.
In any banded setup, to increase power production make sure that you are accelerating
your movement and moving as explosively as possible against the bands to yield the
best results.
Strength Development
Who doesn’t want to get stronger, am I right? The novel uses of banded training
above are all very useful to achieve a certain goal, but strength transcends all skills,
specialties and focuses. If you aren’t strong, you’re leaving performance, muscle and
resiliency on the table. And yes, bands can get you damn strong.
While the previous section on power development can be applied to strength as well,
using the bands in a traditional manor to add accommodating resistance to compound
movements focusing on speed and explosiveness of contractions, they can also be
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How To Use Bands and Chains
used in a similar fashion for strength and hypertrophy based set and rep schemes. The
only thing that changes are the intention, and the challenge of hitting many more reps
of banded resistance per set.
Now for the proper setup of bands across the board anytime you are attaching them to
the barbell, whether it’s for a dynamic effort set of rack pulls or a secondary strength
accessory movement for the bench press.
Here is a simple checklist for proper band setups:
1. Bands are anchored to a stable structure like pegs or dumbbells.
2. The bands NEVER go on slack in any aspect of a movement’s range of motion.
3. The bands are vertically oriented to the floor during the movement.
4. The bands are NOT pinched against the collar or weight plates.
The band setups can be simple once you get a little practice, but use the video tutorial
above and this checklist as your guide. Similar to chains, a poor banded setup is worse
than no bands at all, so put in the time to get this right and make it reproducible each
week.
Hypertrophy and Metabolic Stress
Eliciting a skin-tearing pump from high levels of metabolic stress may be the single
most rewarding feeling you can achieve from bands. The problem with traditional pump
based work is the ultra high volume that is needed to cause the pump effect itself. And
as every veteran lifter knows, as the volume increases, so does your risk of injury over
time.
Once again using the physical properties of accommodating resistance, we can more
safely expedite increased local blood flow into active tissues with lower levels of stress
through the joints and non-contractile tissues of the body.
Intelligently chasing the pump is about crushing your musculature while minimizing any
unwanted stress to the joint in the process. By contracting the muscle harder against
the variable resistance that the band applies to the tissues, increased localized blood
flow is shunted into the muscle.
This is the reason why internal tension and mind muscle connection is so pivotal when
it comes to muscular performance. And maybe even the reason there are new studies
out there trying to de-emphasize the need for external loading for muscle strength and
hypertrophy development. But c’mon now, who’s going to “lift” without the iron?
By decreasing the joint stress of each rep in a set of banded resistance based
movement, we can essentially increase the amount of reps that can be performed in a
single training set and break even on the overall amount of joint stress.
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How To Use Bands and Chains
Simply put, by using bands in a smart way, we can target ultra high rep ranges, yeah
I’m talking 30-50 here, with the same amount of joint stress that would otherwise be
placed on these tissues with a lower rep set, somewhere between 15-20 reps. More
muscular work with the same stress based joint repercussions sounds pretty damn
good to me.
I do have to mention that these extended ultra high rep range sets targeting the
metabolic pump effect are brutally painful. These strategies can be used for any
muscular group or movement in the body.
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How To Use Bands and Chains
THE REVERSE BAND METHOD
THE REVERSE
BAND METHOD
Bands are one of the single most underutilized tools in strength and performance
training. Simply put, athletes and lifters that have neglected the unique and powerful
benefits of banded barbell work are leaving a huge amount of performance on
the table. And that’s exactly why bands have been prioritized as a pivotal aspect of
Functional Power Training.
If you want to get strong and stay pain-free, we must stop overlooking the power of
bands. This couldn’t be any more true than the rare lightened band method aka the
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The Reverse Band Method
reverse banding method for moving supramaximal loads with more explosive and
pristine execution.
The reverse banding method starts by choking circular resistance bands to the top of
the power rack and attaching them to the bar below. While traditional banding with
anchors to the ground add additional resistance to the bar as the load is being moved
away from the ground, the reverse band method actually deloads and lightens the bar
at the bottom of the range, hence the name. This means that the external weight and
resistance on the bar will be able to be more when utilizing this method instead of less
with traditional banding.
Though this setup is pretty simple, fine-tuning the band tension takes time, practice
and patience. Ideally, the reverse bands should be nearly on slack at the top end of
the range of motion of the lift while only deloading around 10-15% of the bar’s external
weight at the bottom of the range off the floor. This means that depending on the
exercise setup and loading, different bands that vary in thickness and resistance should
be utilized to adhere to the proper deloading parameters mentioned above.
In the FPT program, we will be utilizing extra light and light bands for both the
traditional banding and reverse banding methods. These come in a 4-pack including
2 blue extra-light bands and 2 black light bands that are highly recommended as they
will be continuously referred to throughout the program’s coaching notes and videos.
Since the setup and execution of the big foundational movement patterns including the
bench press, deadlift and squat variations all present with unique characteristics and
challenges, let’s go through some of the major reverse banded exercises, how to set
them up, which bands to use and executional cues to get the most out of the reverse
band method.
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The Reverse Band Method
The Reverse Band Bench Press
The barbell bench press has gained the notorious reputation as being an injurious
shoulder killer. But while the success and longevity of this staple lift is largely
dependent on fine tuning technique and mastering the skill which is pressing, intelligent
loading tools and schemes also go a long way in bulletproofing your shoulders for the
long run.
The reverse band method is one of my favorites for placing heavy loads through
the horizontal push movement pattern at higher volumes and relative intensities. By
choking bands to the top of a squat rack (or around pins or high setting safety bars if
you have them) we can target greater muscular actions across the board due to the
unique loading benefits in which the reverse bands place on the pattern.
By deloading the bottom portion of the bench press where the bar approximates the
chest, we can help keep the shoulders in a more advantageous position to gain and
maintain tension and torque while also minimizing external load placed on the body
in this more extended and internally rotated shoulder position. This setup also allows
more natural acceleration and speed out of the hole, which can potentiate the CNS
while also helping drive heavier loading through the top of the lift into lockout.
As the bar is pressed up, external weight on the bar is ramped up as the band becomes
less stretched. This means that the heaviest part of this lift will be at lockout, where
the triceps are most active. This is one hell of a way to train at supra-maximal loads to
simultaneously develop speed of the chest and strong and stable lockouts at the top.
To ensure safety with this lift, I highly recommend using spotters, even at lower loads
and during ramp ups. Since the bar in the hooks is attached to the rack, stabilizing it out
of the hooks will be a challenge. We want to ensure that we are strong, stable and in
position to press, and this is best done initially with the assistance of a spotter.
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The Reverse Band Method
Control the eccentric lowering moment with smooth and active tension, pause for
a split second and drive up hard into the bar upon the concentric raising. As load
will be increased as the bar moves away from the chest, exploding into the bar and
accelerating maximally through the entire range of motion will provide the biggest
mechanical and neurological benefits to this setup.
The Reverse Band Deadlift
When it comes to the deadlift, most lifters are never able to intelligently explore their
loading limits through various ranges of motions and positions due to their sticking
point (weakest position in a lift) occurring with the weights still in contact with the
ground. While it’s true that lifters are only as strong as their weakest link, there are
specific methods that can help break through these sticking points while loading
stronger aspects of the lift as well. The use of the reverse band method for deadlifting
off the ground is one of these tools, and it can be an absolute game changer for those
struggling to accelerate the deadlift off the floor.
Without seeing dynamic movement of the bar moving off from the ground in the
deadlift, a load that is just a few pounds too heavy to move essentially looks and feels
the same as a load that may be a few hundred pounds too heavy. Without moving the
loaded object, an athlete is essentially creating isometric force at maximal levels, which
can be very misleading when it comes to judging and programming other movement
patterns or exercises that target varying ranges of motion during the lift.
By using the reverse band method, we can essentially lighten the load straight off the
floor, helping accelerate and power through that sticking point in the range of motion
while also loading stronger aspects of the range (closer to the top of the range) upon
lockout with heavier loads. Since we know that isometric loading irradiates into around
10-20 degrees above and below the trained isometric position in the range of motion,
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The Reverse Band Method
we can help strengthen the starting position by getting the bar moving and loading
heavier through other aspects of the lift.
If you are training in a power rack, you’ll be choking bands around the top of the rack
again to get setup. Since the starting distance from the top of the rack to the bar down
on the ground is FAR greater than in the bench press, RDL or squat, a lighter band is a
preferred tool here. As a band becomes more stretched, it offers more resistance in an
accommodating manner. This is why even hundreds of pounds moved off the ground
with the reverse band method is best done with a light band as opposed to a medium
or heavy band.
When reverse banding the deadlift, it is imperative that your intentions over the bar are
explosive. Once again, we are working on blasting through a bottom range of motion
sticking point, so explosion straight off the floor needs to be the focus. Get tight, brace
hard and accelerate the bar off the ground and continue to explode up as more and
more weight will be put through your system upon lockout.
While you can of course control the eccentric lowering aspect of this lift, we are
working on acceleration and explosion in the concentric raising, so prioritize that over
accentuating the eccentric (which the RDL would be your better reverse band hinge
based variation in that case).
The Reverse Band Romanian Deadlift (RDL)
The most authentic way to train and load the hip hinge foundational movement pattern
is through the Romanian deadlift, also known as the RDL. The RDL differentiates itself
from its counterpart, the traditional deadlift from the ground, in its starting position.
While the deadlift is trained by raising a load off the floor as the first phase of the
lift, the RDL starts by lowering the load through a hinge based movement from an
anatomically neutral starting point.
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The Reverse Band Method
Stabilizing and bracing with a top down approach with the RDL proves very effective for
training the true hip hinge through all three phases of the hinge (eccentric, concentric
and amortization) while also allowing the opportunity to implement the reverse band
method for supra-maximal loading through full range and phases of motion.
Similar to the reverse band barbell bench press, you’ll be first choking bands around
the top of the rack or on stabilized pins and attaching the bands to the collars of the
barbell on each side. While you can choose to deadlift the bar up off the floor to
position it for RDL’s, my preferred setup is off of rack hooks due to the ease of loading
weight onto the bar and again, training the true hinge with the top down approach.
Upon walk back of the bar, ensure that you move deliberately with short steps
backwards to get your feet into position for the RDL. The bands attached to the top of
the squat rack will swing you back and be very challenging to stabilize when getting
setup, so take your time and ensure that you are positioned ideally with the bands
oriented vertically to the ground. *Note that the bands will NOT be vertical when in the
rack (but rather at an angle), which is what creates the instability on the walk back.
As you lower into the RDL, drive your hips back and maintain a neutral spine. As you
lower the bar down, the bands will become more stretched and deload more and more
of the weight, making your bottom position the least amount of resistance. Control
the eccentric lowering slowly with tension throughout the chain and reach a bottom
position that is dictated by the inability to go any further WHILE maintaining a neutral
spinal position.
From the bottom position, a neutral split second pause will occur. From that pause,
drive your hips forward explosively and drive up into the hinge to lock out the
top position, which will be the heaviest loading in this range of motion. Since the
overloading is happening upon lockout, this reverse band hinge variation is an
amazing glute builder, as the glutes become highly active upon terminal lockout in this
foundational pattern. Tension hard at the top of the range on each rep, and maintain
your spinal positions at all times for pain-free success.
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The Reverse Band Method
The Reverse Band Squat
The squat is one of the toughest foundational movement patterns to both master
and maintain due to its multi-joint requisites and huge loading capacity. Once you’ve
nailed your foot and bar placement while exploring your perfect torso angle from a
biomechanical perspective, it’s time to turn up the internal tension and torque that
can support heavy external loading through this pattern. As we say, everything can be
spot on in terms of biomechanics, but if the neural-dynamics are off, you’ll continue to
struggle with a movement pattern and place a glass ceiling on your strength, power
and overall performance.
Many lifters present with a linchpin of pain and dysfunction around the bottom
aspect of the squat. Simply put, the inability to maintain braced and stable positions
throughout the shoulders, hips and spinal complex during the terminal aspects of the
squat’s range of motion cause ugly compensations that pigeon hole performance while
placing the body in a non-ideal position to repeat load in terms of injury risk. From
my experience, a vast majority of athletes and lifters begin to really compensate and
struggle to maintain optimal positions around 10-15 degrees above parallel, getting
exponentially worse as that bottom range is extended down.
But interestingly enough, taking load off of these athletes and having them execute the
squat with minimal weight in the same bar setups and positions looks radically different
than a near max effort load on their back. Why? As load increases, so do the requites to
stay tight and maintain positions of stability and contraption. Loading is one of the most
effective diagnostic tools to identify weak links in a kinetic chain or movement pattern.
But it is not acceptable to just limit the load used in a movement, or to cut the range
of motion of a movement (as we commonly see with all the half repping squatters) in
order to maintain “good form” or something of the sort. Instead, this is where the use of
reverse banding REALLY shines through as one of the most effective training tools you’ll
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The Reverse Band Method
ever use to clean up your squat pattern, extend your authentic bottom end range depth
while also loading safely and appropriately in the strength and power schemes.
Though reverse banding with the bench press, RDL and deadlift work extremely well,
the squat is the pattern where we utilize the lightening band method the most (as many
are clearly in need). The first reason we implement it is to create better stability at the
hips sequencing with the shoulders and core (referred to as the pillar complex). As the
bands anchored to the top of the rack are angled on the hooks in the rack, the walk
back is very challenging. As the athlete steps out the squat, it needs to be done slowly
and under control, or it won’t be done at all. Speed hides need, and adding instability
via reverse banding is a great way to slow down all those fast compensators.
Secondly, we use the reverse band squat to extend the bottom range of motion for our
athletes. While anyone can flop over, flex hard at the spine and dump their pelvis with
butt winking, it takes a fine tuned athlete to maintain an authentic neutral spinal position
into deeper ranges of motion. Since the loading is the least at the bottom of the range,
our athletes are able to more naturally extend their squat depth.
We also love to use this method to develop brutal power with supra-maximal loads.
Moving explosively through this movement pattern with heavier loads on the bar than
they’d be able to use without the bands is a method that when sprinkled and waved
into loading and programming can be a huge spark for neural efficiency and unlocking
potential of the CNS and mechanical systems. With all of these benefits, you can
clearly see why this reverse band squat is a staple in our programming.
Don’t just limit yourself to the barbell back squat with the reverse band method.
Implement it with the box squat, the front squat, the front squat to box and every other
bar based squat variation out there! The body thrives in slight variation, so hit it with
some bands, positions and loading schemes.
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The Reverse Band Method
THE 6 FOUNDATIONAL MOVEMENT PATTERNS
THE 6
FOUNDATIONAL
MOVEMENT PATTERNS
How long have you been force-feeding specific exercise variations with nothing to
show for it except for piss poor results and a banged up body? Sure, theoretical and
absolutist benefits to sexy and so-called staple exercises are captivating, but they can
also be a match made in hell if they do not fit your specific body type, skill level, past
orthopedic injury history and goals.
While there are no perfect one size fits all exercises that produce results for everyone,
there are absolutely perfect variations of foundational movement patterns that can be
custom fit to an individual. The future of intelligent pain-free performance training is
individualization of movement pattern variations that allow maximal trainability while
minimizing unwanted joint stress in the process.
If you plan on training for a lifetime and building longevity into your physical practices,
forget about blindly training specific exercises and instead, train custom fit movement
pattern variations. There are six foundational movement patterns that are as close to
mandatory movements as it gets:
1. Squat
2. Hinge
3. Lunge
4. Push
5. Pull
6. Carry
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The 6 Foundational Movement Patterns
The foundational movement patterns are the backbone of the Functional Power
Training program. From maximal and dynamic effort work to pattern driven accessory
lifts, FPT will challenge your patterns with novel variations of big staple lifts unlike any
program you’ve ever trained on to keep you fresh and progressing across the board.
In this chapter, we’ll be deep diving into the theory, programming and progressions of
the 6 foundational movement patterns that every person on earth needs to be training
to build resilient power, strength and longevity.
The Squat
A vast majority of lifters and non-lifters alike automatically associate the word “squat”
with a maximally loaded barbell on the back hitting ass-to-grass depth at all cost. While
the barbell back squat hitting competition depth is of course a squat pattern variation,
it is by no means the only way to squat. And for the record, you’re not less of a “man” if
you don’t squat with the bar on your back.
The squat pattern is the umbrella in which a variation like the barbell back squat falls
under. And in smart pain-free performance training, the pattern must be prioritized over
specific exercises in order to yield maximal benefits in both performance and longevity.
Does everyone need to barbell back squat? Absolutely not. But do a vast majority of
people need to display and maintain the ability to utilize synergistic muscular tension,
stability and mobility through the torso, hips, knees and ankles from a symmetrical
bilateral stance? You bet your ass they do.
The squat pattern is a key player in the maintenance of lower body synergistic
functional strength, especially in its association and utilization of proximal core stiffness
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The 6 Foundational Movement Patterns
from the spine, pelvis and musculature supporting these all-important structures. And
yes, it’s a movement pattern that transcends its use in the gym, as it’s a pattern that is
used on a daily basis throughout many routine activities and movement requirements
of daily living.
Everyone is different, therefore, everyone must squat differently, especially as it pertains
to loading this foundational pattern for power, strength and hypertrophy based training
effects. Identifying the proper squat progression is the first step in optimizing your
squat.
Squat Pattern Progressions
Identifying the squat variation that will maximize benefits while minimizing risk
of injury is all about assessing current skill levels and trainability. While there are
advanced testing procedures centered on hip anthropometrics and typing, tibial and
femoral length and angulation, and lumbo-pelvic stability and rhythm, more complex
assessment is usually not needed. What is needed is a simplified progression model
that you can experiment with, moving up the chain as you earn the right to do so.
Here is the basic squat pyramid model used to identify starting points and optimal
squat pattern fits for athletes and lifters, starting from most fundamental and moving to
the most advanced variation. This is by no means a complete listing.
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Yes, at the top of the squat pattern pyramid you will find the barbell back squat, but by
no means will this be an ideal terminal squat variation for everyone. The key to utilizing
this progression with maximal success is finding the “hardest” variation that you can
execute pristinely. From there, you’ll be able to train the squat pattern without internal
restriction, yield a heavy training effect, and minimize unwanted joint stress in the
process. The goal is to move up the pyramid over time, and progress strategically.
Once a custom squat variation is identified, fine tuning setup and execution is the next
step. Remember, once you have unlocked the ability to execute the hardest squat
variation you can do well, the rest that fall under are game for pain-free gains. In
Functional Power Training, we’ll be using a wide variety of squat patterns in a myriad
of challenging loading schemes. The use of slight variations to unlock continuous
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The 6 Foundational Movement Patterns
potential for power, strength and hypertrophy is the sign of an advanced program, and
exactly what we’ll be doing on FPT.
The Hip Hinge
The hip hinge is as foreign of a term as there is in our current western physical society
landscape. We’ve lost the ability not only to utilize our hips in a hinging pattern, but also
become ignorant to the fact that the hinge is not only a foundational movement pattern,
but also one of the most important patterns when it comes to protecting our lower
backs from chronic pain and injury.
The hip hinge is often times confused with the deadlift, which is a specific exercise
that falls under the hip hinge umbrella. While not every hip hinge is a deadlift, every
deadlift is a hip hinge pattern. The continual stigma behind the “inherent risk” of barbell
deadlifting has most likely played a key role in the fear avoidance around the entire hip
hinge pattern which has become a key functional factor in increased incidence of lower
back pain and injuries in both active and sedentary populations.
But instead of falling victim to ignorant fear avoidance as it pertains to the hip hinge
pattern, we must learn to re-introduce and re-activate this pattern in all populations. But
where many make a pivotal mistake is jumping into an advanced hip hinge variation like
the traditional barbell deadlift from the floor or kettlebell swing before ever mastering
the foundational hip hinge movement pattern.
Learning how to brace a strong core unit against hip emphasized dynamic movements
is one of the single most “functional” patterns that are used repeatedly in an eclectic
number of environments daily. How many times do you bend over a day? The correct
answer is a lot. That is why honing this pattern is so pivotal not only to lifters who
struggle to keep their lower backs healthy in the gym, but for all populations that
struggle with chronic flare ups, lower back tightness and generalized “neural-lock” of
their mobility and flexibility.
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The 6 Foundational Movement Patterns
Hinge Pattern Progressions
As mentioned above, the most common mistake that is made when training the hip
hinge pattern (behind of course not training it at all) is mismatching advanced loaded
training variations with a novice level skill set in the hinge pattern. And since a vast
majority of people don’t know what the hell a hip hinge pattern is, let alone every
trained one with any resemblance of proper execution, this pattern needs to be
implemented at lower levels slowly in order to allow motor relearning to take place.
Here are the main progressions that are used to re-activate the hip hinge pattern from
the ground up in order to create a successful step-by-step process to training and
loading the hip hinge pattern for resilient strength development:
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Moving from the most basic of hip hinge patterning all the way to the top of the
pyramid which is barbell deadlifting, one important note needs to be made. Based off
of specific spinal, pelvic, hip and other body typing anthropometrics, not every lifter
will present with the ability to pull a barbell off the floor with pristine neutral spine
mechanics. And that’s totally fine.
If you happen to be one of these lucky individuals that will never deadlift from the
floor based on God-given body structure, remember… no matter how much you foam
roll and stretch, you can never change your body anatomy, and trying to force feed
a movement into clear cut compensations, good luck trying to stay healthy. In FPT,
I recommend each athlete trains at their specific anthropometrical glass ceilings.
Therefore, if a max effort lift calls for deadlifts off the floor, and the lowest height you
can pull from is from a 1.5-inch mat, make the intelligent adjustments and train from
that range. Keep this in mind throughout the program to custom fit each lift to your own
body and needs.
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The Lunge
Single leg function is another commonly overlooked movement pattern that provides
an extremely high cost to benefit ratio in multiple aspects of physicality including
strength, hypertrophy and most notably, injury prevention. But a vast majority of lifters
devalue the lunge and it’s many variants for two main reasons; first, single leg variations
are unable to be loaded as heavy as it’s bilateral counterparts, and secondly, they
quickly bring weak links and dysfunction to the surface in a brutally challenging way.
Since the term “single leg” is more closely correlated to a damn balancing act than
a strategic emphasis placed on one lower extremity at a time in an asymmetrical
stance, this “lunge” movement pattern can also be thought of as any unilateral based
movement of the lower body. Remember that even in single leg patterning, it is
impossible to purely isolate one side from another during ground based closed kinetic
chain based movement, so there will always be an interplay between left and right
sides even out of an asymmetrically split stance.
But why is splitting your stance and training asymmetrically at the lower body so
effective for unlocking strength and movement quality potential? It comes down
to movement anatomy, biomechanics and neuromuscular patterns. Through the
developmental process, children progress sequentially, displaying a predictable
movement through supine, prone, quadruped, kneeling, half kneeling and standing
positions with more terminal locomotion based capabilities standing on two feet at the
end of the process. Though not all of these developmental positions are unilateral, the
movement in, out and between many of these is neurologically wired asymmetrically
through primitive patterning. And that primitive patterning is what single leg movement
patterns are targeting for movement re-education.
In terms of utilizing movement as a key indicator of functional performance and
injury risk, there are few movements more powerful than single leg variations for the
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identification of weak links, sticking points, and provocative pain patterns. With the
innate ability to challenge proximal core stability against posterior-lateral hip stability
with the foot in contact with the ground, single leg variations and single leg patterns
can not only be programmed to elicit strong training effects for muscular strength,
hypertrophy and endurance, but also developed as a skill to maintain functionality
through this specific protective pattern.
Single Leg Pattern Progressions
Those lifters who realize that single leg work is a glaring issue in their functional
movement library often times fall into the mistake of simply executing ONLY the
traditional forward walking lunge, and usually with little result to show for it. Not only
is the forward walking lunge less than ideal for strength athletes looking to optimize
the connection between core and lower extremity stability, but it is actually a more
advanced lunge variation that many lifters (especially those new to single leg training)
are not ready for.
Jumping progressive steps in the single leg movement development process usually
ends up resulting in flared up knees and cranky SI-Joints and lower backs. And many
times, negative associations are developed between single leg work, pain and injury.
Let’s skip this single leg saga and build up proper patterning from the ground up
using this progression that takes one from split stance all the way to dynamic lunging
variations in an intelligent, progressive manner:
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It should be mentioned that the single leg “lunge” foundational movement pattern
does include more hinge based movements such as the single leg RDL and single leg
deadlift under its umbrella. While there are overlaps between some of the foundational
movement patterns in both the lower body and upper body, this does not devalue
their importance in a properly programmed plan formulated around non-negotiable
foundational movement patterns. In the lunge pattern, be sure to include BOTH
the more knee dominant variations such as split squats, in addition to the more hip
dominant patterns such as RDL’s to cover all your bases.
You’ll quickly note that Functional Power Training will be challenging asymmetrical and
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single leg patterns from a strength and hypertrophy standpoint regularly throughout
the 12 unique weeks of programming. Train these hard, load them heavy, and watch
your strength and power potential sky rocket.
The Push
There’s no lack of upper body pushing in today’s fitness and sports performance
industries, that’s for damn sure. From the popularization of the bench press to the
polarization of bodyweight push-ups, the push is often times over emphasized and
under executed in a vast majority of programs.
We’ve all seen it far too many times, newbies jumping straight into the bench press
and its many loaded variations when never having mastered the complex stability
and dynamic action requirements of the more fundamental pushing pattern which is
the push up. From the naked eye, both the bench press and push up seem to move
through a similar horizontally directed range of motion, and target the same dynamic
movers to complete the lift. But where these two truly differentiate from one another is
the static and dynamic stability component of the shoulder complex.
Without making this section into a shoulder biomechanics 102 lesson, we must first
appreciate that movement patterns are classified as either open or closed chain
depending on the extremities contact points with the ground. If the hands and feet are
in contact with a stable surface aka the ground, the movement is considered a closed
kinematic chain. If the hands or feet are freely moving through the air and space, this
would be indicative of an open kinematic chain.
Using the example of the push up, the hands are anchored to the ground (or stable
surface when using hands elevated or other variations) that alter the way the spine,
gleno-humeral joint, scapula and acute muscular stabilizers of the region articulate.
In this closed kinematic chain, the shoulder blades are able to move freely against
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the thoracic cage placing more of a dynamic stability emphasis on the musculature
controlling this position. This skill of stability, tension and torque output in the shoulders
and upper back is something that must be foundationally mastered in order to translate
that skill into a more static stability base position such as the bench press.
Starting with the mastery of the push up progression allows the biggest bang for your
buck in full body motor learning through the pushing based movement pattern. From
integrated core and hip stability to upper back and shoulder tensional recruitment, the
push up is a key player in learning how to generate stability in order to display power
and strength through this pattern later on. Once this skill is honed in at the horizontal
plane of motion, vertical pushing will be the next challenge for both shoulder power
and strength along with integrated full body function.
Upper Body Pushing Pattern Progressions
Since upper body functional movement is lead by the shoulder, the single most mobile
ball-and-socket based joint in the human body, there is a need to conceptually break
down both the push and pull movement patterns into vertical and horizontal planes of
motion.
As mentioned above, pushing development starts in the closed kinematic chain and
horizontal plane of motion with the push up, and is progressed up through the barbell
bench press. Though the barbell bench press is the terminal functional push pattern,
mastery and execution of the push up will allow a lifter to move into the vertical
pushing patterns while continuing to progress through the horizontal patterns as well.
Below are the movement pyramids for both the horizontal and vertical push patterns
that can be used to identify an ideal movement pattern variation for a lifter based on
skill level:
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More than any other upper body foundational movement pattern, the success of a
pristine push is highly dependent on the functional stability of the pillar unit consisting
of the hips, core and shoulder working together synergistically. It would be extremely
short sighted not to have a deeper look into more isolated core and hip functional
stability, and that’s exactly what we will be looking at in the carry.
When progressing through the horizontal and vertical pulls, be cognizant of not only
the function and patterning of the shoulder and upper body, but of the entire body,
especially the core and hips and their ability to display and maintain proper positioning,
tension and control throughout the dynamic motions at the shoulders.
The horizontal push pattern will be challenged multiple times per week in the FPT
program, as building the bench press will act as one of our key indicator performance
lifts throughout this programming block. That means that we’ll be hitting the push from
many different angles and setup, and with an eclectic loading schedule to ensure we
peak power potential while staying pain-free in the process.
The Pull
The upper body pulling based foundational movement pattern may be the most
confused and misunderstood pattern of the upper body, especially as it pertains to
developing bulletproof shoulders and a resilient back. We know by now that strong
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and stable shoulders depend on pulling more than pushing, but where many athletes
miss the boat and pigeon hole their training with poor results and injuries is not
differentiating the difference between types of pulling and the planes of motion that
each pull takes place in.
The most popular “pull” across the board in our industry takes place in the vertical
plane of motion, the pull-up. From CrossFit kips to military PT testing, the pull-up has
been ingrained in our physical mentality for decades. But it’s important to remember,
not all pulling variations were created equally.
The vertical pull more closely resembles a push-based motion as it places the shoulder
into internal rotation during the dynamic action of movement itself. This biomechanical
fact can present as problematic, especially when chronic internally rotated daily
positions and internally rotated training compound to create a shit storm of front-sided
shoulder pain.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with internally rotated based movements at the
shoulders, they must be monitored closely to avoid chronic overuse and dysfunction
through the front side of the gleno-humeral joint and the shoulder complex in general.
Through the popularization of box based facilities and programming in both fitness and
sports performance, many times the majority of pulling that is completed in training is
centered around the deadlift and the pull-up, which again are both internally rotated
based movement patterns at the shoulders.
In order to create full body stability and resilience at the shoulders through the pull
movement, the horizontal pull aka the row pattern must be first implemented and
mastered before introducing the more complex vertical pull variations off the pullup bar and beyond. This single horizontal row based pattern can act as the magical
missing link to programming that has been neglecting this all important pattern with
the simple inclusion multiple days a week to even out shoulder friendly directional
training ratios.
The back and upper shoulders were designed to function as primary stabilizers of
dynamic actions that usually take place in pushing based movements. This means that
these patterns can be trained hard, and under high relative intensities while literally
being trained with daily frequency. Mastering the pull off of a strong and stable core
and posterior hip unit will help develop the strong backside that can support both
athletic and functional endeavors alike, and that’s exactly why this pattern must be a
priority in well rounded pain-free training programming.
Upper Body Pulling Pattern Progressions
Similar to the upper body push, the pattern must first be introduced and perfected
out of a full body stability based position, which is achieved in the inverted row. From
this position, the pillar is challenged to generate tension and create isometric stability
through the legs, hips, pelvis and spine, while the upper body works to generate
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dynamic force in the pulling plane. You are only as strong as what you can actively
stabilize. That’s why prioritizing this pattern is usually a very high yielding training plan
for athletes and lifters alike.
Below is the functional pyramid progression of movement patterns in the horizontal
pulling plane. This progression is based off of postural and static requirements of
the pillar during the active rowing motion. From having the spine totally stabilized in
the chest supported row, all the way up to needing to actively stabilize the hip hinge
pattern through the pillar during the barbell bent over row, it’s clear that the majority of
weak links are identified in the core, as opposed to the shoulders in the pulling plane.
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The vertical pull pattern is one that needs to be de-emphasized in actual training
sessions, and re-emphasized in evaluation of pillar function into the overhead position.
While earning the right to get back up on the pull-up bar, don’t hesitate to use the
vertical pull to evaluate overhead positions at the gleno-humeral joint, rhythm of the
scapula or stability at the core and pelvis:
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Once a lifter has mastered both the vertical and horizontal pulling patterns, strategic
programming around these two planes of motion needs to be addressed. A majority
of athletes and recreational lifters alike will do well with a 2:1 ratio between horizontal
to vertical pulling. Keep this in mind in terms of total reps completed over a weekly
workload.
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Additionally, pain-free programming ratios for pull to push is generally recommended
at a 3:1 ratio. Both of these performance ratios are reflected in the total amount of reps,
work and volume across the 12-weeks of Functional Power Training. So before you start
counting reps, know I have done the work for you to optimize your ratios!
The Carry
Moving ones body through space with smooth stability and control has become a
lost art in our fitness industry. While the carry pattern can absolutely include staple
loaded variations like the Farmer’s Walk, this pattern is more broadly associated with
generalized locomotion of the body. From walking to running, sprinting to reactionary
agility, a resilient athlete must display the ability to control their body through space
and under a multitude of challenges.
There is something simple, yet truly powerful about the gait pattern that needs to
be tapped into in order to truly maximize performance while maintaining movement
abilities over time in a protective way. Due to the reciprocation of the lower and upper
extremities during walking and running, the core is authentically targeted to function as
it was originally designed to function, and that is the transference of forces in and out of
the extremities.
When the pillar and core are viewed as primary isometrically functioning force
transferring regions, it becomes more clear that this region must be challenged in
terms of proximal stability with distal mobility and load when looking to progress
athletic performance or getting out of pain. This is why walking in addition to sprint
work, loaded carries and sled pushes/drags are stable foundational movements in a
vast majority of smart programming.
But again, in order to reap maximal benefit while minimizing risk of training related
injuries, there must be a proper progression to implementing the carry as a
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foundational loaded movement pattern. We simply cannot start our athletes out at the
top of the pyramid with sprints and max effort loaded carries. We first must learn to
walk before we can have longevity and continued success running.
Carry and Locomotion Pattern Progressions
Similar to ground based work out of the quadruped and half kneeling position exposing
glaring weaknesses in terms of developmental stability and function, the same
could be said for the ambulation cycle. Simply put, many people have developed
dysfunctional gait patterns over time, which can place a low glass ceiling on long term
health and function as this movement pattern is one that is literally used for hours a day.
Here’s the golden rule about carries… If you are going to train the carry movement
pattern (which by now you should realize is damn near mandatory) you must assess,
coach and perfect the basic walking pattern first no different than the squat or hinge.
Never load dysfunction, even if it’s walking. From walking on up, here is the loaded
progression of carries:
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The carry allows some of the most authentic core stabilization requirements of
any movement pattern out there. This is a reason why carry patterning is primarily
programmed as “core emphasized” training in both primers and finishers in many
popular programs out there. While staple variations like the Farmer’s Walk, Front
Loaded Carry and Overhead Carry should be trained, open your mind to specific
combinations of hand positions, tempos of walks and duration of time under tension,
just as you could any other loaded movement.
In Functional Power Training, we will be utilizing a wide array of locomotion challenges.
From sprints to heavy carries, moving the body through space with a focus on
reciprocation will be a staple in conditioning, cardio and energy systems focused days
to help build a cardiovascular base while also enhancing recoverability.
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One Last Note On Rotation
One question I continually get asked regarding the 6 foundational movement patterns
is the reason for the exclusion of rotation. There’s no doubt that rotation and functioning
in the transverse and oblique planes is of pivotal importance, but I view rotation as a
combined skill of many movement patterns synergizing together.
Rotation is predominantly programmed in the 6-phase dynamic warm up sequences,
sport specific skill sets, power blocks or neural recovery training on secondary days.
In my opinion, rotation is not programmed, trained or executed the same as the
other foundational movement patterns due to the limiting factor which is long term
progressive overload in specific patterns, which is of course attainable in the squat,
hinge, lunge, push, pull and carry.
This does NOT give athletes the excuse to skip over rotational training, but rather
should be in a deeper classification of its own that is more dependent on specific
neural needs and individualized abilities of athletes and lifters alike.
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ENERGY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY
SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
When your primary goal is to develop strength and functional power, it’s easy to think
that the aerobic system is of little importance. You’re trying to become more explosive,
run a marathon or compete in the Tour de France.
More than a few “experts” have even gone so far as to make it sound as if doing any
level of aerobic training will quickly suck the strength, power, and testosterone right
out of you. You’ve probably seen the pictures comparing the physiques of marathon
runners to sprinters to support this common argument.
Is This True?
Will including aerobic training in your program really destroy your power, slow you
down and give you the feeble-looking physique of an endurance athlete? The answer is
yes...if you stop lifting weights completely and start putting in 2-3 hours a day, 5-6 days
a week of endurance work.
The truth is that if you train like an aerobic athlete, then your body will ultimately adapt
to this type of training and you’ll start to look, feel and perform like one. The problem is
looking at what happens at this extreme end of the spectrum, doing hours upon hours
of aerobic work, and thinking that you’ll see the same effects from a fraction of that
amount.
This is the same as an endurance athlete being afraid to lift any weights for fear that he
will quickly turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger. This would sound silly to to most.
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Yet the fear of losing muscle, strength, and power from doing any aerobic training has
kept many athletes and lifters away from doing anything other than lifting weights. This
might seem like a good idea If you’re a strength and power athlete, but there are two
big reasons why it’s actually a mistake.
Before I tell you about what those reasons are, we need to take a minute to talk about
what the aerobic energy system really does and how it works.
Going Under the Hood of the Aerobic Engine
To get an idea of what the aerobic system does, try holding your breath for as long as
you can and see how long you last. Chances are, it won’t be long.
You can survive without water for several days and go weeks without food, but most
people will be dead within roughly 6 minutes without oxygen. This is because all 37.2
trillion cells need a constant, unending supply of oxygen to turn the food you eat into
the energy you need to survive.
This is why the aerobic energy system—and the oxygen it works to deliver throughout
your body—is at the very heart of life itself. It’s responsible for taking the air you breathe
in and delivering it to every cell and tissue throughout your body so it can be used to
create energy.
Without the aerobic system, life as we know it would be impossible.
To truly appreciate what it takes to deliver oxygen to all your cells and keep you alive,
consider that if you removed all the blood vessels from an average adult and laid them
end to end, it would stretch to around 100,000 miles long.
At the same time, by the time you’ve made it to 70 years old, your heart will have
beaten over 2 billion times and you’ll have taken well over half a billion breaths of air.
These impressive numbers reflect that the aerobic system is doing its job of distributing
oxygen and creating energy from the moment you’re born until the very end. To do
this, it relies on many different components within the body. Your heart, lungs, vascular
network, mitochondria (the energy-producing power plants within cells), and many
other tissues all work together as part of the aerobic engine.
Because there are so many different pieces, this also makes the aerobic system highly
adaptable through training. With an effective training program, you can:
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•
● Double the amount of blood and oxygen your heart can pump out with each beat
•
● Increase the number of mitochondria in your muscles by 50% or more
•
● Boost your maximum oxygen capacity (VO2 max) by 75% or more
energy systems development
It’s through all these changes and more that you can dramatically improve the fitness of
your aerobic energy system. The real question, though, is whether or not you need to if
your only goal is to develop more functional power...
Why Everyone Needs to Develop an Aerobic Engine
I mentioned earlier that there were two big reasons why it’s a mistake to completely
neglect aerobic training. Now that we’ve looked at how vitally important the aerobic
system is to life, those reasons should start to become more clear.
The first and most obvious of these reasons is your overall health and wellness. By now,
there are virtually endless studies showing a powerful and direct correlation between
aerobic fitness and your risk of many different diseases.
A 2012 meta-analysis on the connection between physical activity and life expectancy
found that, on average, aerobic endurance athletes live between 4 and 8 years longer
than the norm. Strength athletes, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well and generally
showed little-to-no increase in life expectancy at all.
The research leaves no doubt that developing your aerobic energy system—at least to
a moderate level—will help you stay healthier and potentially even live longer. It’s not a
guarantee by any means, but it’s the best insurance against disease that we have at the
moment.
If you’re over 40 and/or have run into any health problems already, then this probably
means something to you. If you’re young and healthy, on the other hand, then you’re
probably more worried about how much you can lift than how long you’re going to live.
Fair Enough.
So, let’s talk about the second reason why you need to include some aerobic training
in your program: recovery. While it’s perfectly reasonable to think that training itself is
what primarily drives results, this misses the big picture of how the body actually works.
What I mean is that you don’t get bigger, stronger, faster, or more explosive when you’re
training. The changes in your body that cause these things to happen only occur when
you’re recovering. This is when your body is in an anabolic state and protein synthesis
increases.
Training is the stimulus that signals the body that it’s not strong enough and needs to
improve. Recovery is where the magic actually happens and we reap the rewards of all
our hard work. This simple fact is the number one reason why performance-enhancing
drugs work so well—they make the body more anabolic and dramatically enhance
recovery.
How can we improve recovery without resorting to the extreme of using drugs?
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Simple: we can develop and maintain a reasonable foundation of aerobic fitness. Notice
that I said reasonable. This was intentional. A strength and power athlete does not need
the aerobic fitness of a triathlete any more than a triathlete needs the strength of a
powerlifter.
Developing a base level of aerobic fitness means training just enough to support your
health and accelerate your recovery. No more, no less.
The biggest reason aerobic fitness is an important part of recovery is because recovery
itself is aerobic. Virtually all of the energy that goes into building bigger and stronger
muscles, tendons, bones, etc., comes from the aerobic side of the metabolism.
Even more than that, research has linked aerobic fitness to the ability to protect against
chronic inflammation. Whether you realize it or not, lifting heavy weights over and over
again produces a lot of inflammation.
As long as your body can shut it off, it’s no big deal. In fact, inflammation is an important
part of what signals the body to adapt in the first place. The real problem is when your
body can’t shut it off.
You know the best way to get as strong and powerful as possible?
Stay healthy and injury-free so you keep training. This is what FUNCTIONAL POWER
TRAINING is all about. It’s also why spending time completing the prescribed aerobic
energy system work is a good investment in your training future.
Now, let’s look at the other side of the energy system coin: the anaerobic energy
systems…
The Anaerobic Afterburner
If you’ve seen any of the Fast and Furious movies, you’ve no doubt seen them show a
scene where a car is losing a race and it’s all but over until the driver reaches over and
hits the Nitrous button. The car suddenly explodes forward as flames shoot out of the
engine and it races past the finish line first.
The good guys win and the bad guys lose.
This may just be Hollywood fiction designed to sell movie tickets, but it’s actually a
fairly good way to understand how the two anaerobic energy systems work. Your
body could never run on them any more than a car could run on pure Nitrous instead
of gasoline, but when a sudden burst of force and power are needed, they kick in and
help you get the job done.
To give you a better idea of how they work, let’s look at both anaerobic pathways: the
anaerobic-alactic (also known as the ATP-PC system) and the anaerobic-lactic system.
Both of them are considered anaerobic because they don’t require oxygen to produce
energy, but they work in fundamentally different ways that are important to understand.
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First, let’s look at the anaerobic-alactic system system. Although the mechanisms of
how it works may be different, it’s truly the closest thing to nitrous that your body has
and the way it creates energy is incredibly simple.
Instead of going through the time-consuming process of using oxygen to break down
things like glycogen, stored fat and even protein into energy (like the aerobic system
does), the anaerobic-alactic system skips all that. Instead, it relies on small amounts of
ATP and phosphocreatine stored within your muscle tissues.
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the high-energy chemical that’s the last step in all
energy-producing processes. When ATP is broken apart through a chemical reaction,
energy is released. You can think of each ATP molecule as a tiny battery that holds
some energy which can power cellular functions.
Just like a battery, once ATP is broken down, it needs to be recharged. The fastest way
to do that is with the help of creatine phosphate. You’re no doubt familiar with creatine
as one of the most popular and well-researched supplements of all time.
The primary way that it works is by increasing how much creatine phosphate can be
stored in your muscles. In turn, this makes it more available to quickly recharge ATP and
give you an extra boost of energy.
This boost is always short-lived, however, because the anaerobic alactic system is truly
like Nitrous in that you can’t use it for very long before it runs out. At maximum intensity,
the anaerobic-alactic system will run out of its energy-making potential within 10-12
seconds and you’ll be forced to slow down or stop to reduce power output.
If you slow down enough or stop completely, the aerobic system will begin its job of
restocking your muscles with more creatine phosphate and ATP. If you don’t, then you’ll
start relying more and more on what’s called the anaerobic-lactic system.
The anaerobic-lactic system is most often associated with lactate, or what people
commonly think of as lactic acid. That’s because lactate gets produced anytime
carbohydrates (glucose) are broken down, and the lactic system only runs on carbs.
When you’re deep in a heavy set, grinding out rep after rep and you’re feeling the burn,
that’s an obvious sign that the anaerobic-lactic system is producing a lot of energy.
Because of this, it means you’ll also accumulate a lot of lactate in the bloodstream at
the same time.
Contrary to popular belief, it’s not lactate itself that’s causing that feeling, but the end
result is the same. The more you rely on the anaerobic-lactic system for energy, the
faster you fatigue.
This system is only designed to produce energy for up to 1-2 minutes before it
ultimately leads to so much fatigue that you’re forced to slow down or stop to recover.
Although there are limits to how much you can improve this, incorporating specific
anaerobic energy systems training is the key to developing more power with less
fatigue.
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The Energy of Training for Power
Functional Power Training requires lifting both heavy and fast...over and over and over
again. You can’t get stronger or more powerful without forcing your body to adapt to
the stress of this type of training.
Where does all the energy you need for this come from?
If you’ve been following along, you can probably guess that it comes from all three
energy systems. The aerobic, anaerobic-alactic and anaerobic-lactic all contribute
in different ways and do their part to provide the fuel your cells need for training and
adapting.
When you’re grinding it out under the bar, your two anaerobic systems are doing
everything they can to give you the extra shot of nitrous you need to crank out each
rep. When your resting, whether it’s in between reps or at home on the couch, your
aerobic system is hard at work to create the energy necessary for recovery and
adaptation.
It’s only through all three systems working together that you’ll reach new heights of
functional power. This is what makes energy system training such a vital part of this
program. Getting bigger, stronger, faster and more explosive doesn’t happen by itself
and it doesn’t happen without energy.
Energy system development might not be as fun, or seem as important, as getting
under the bar. Let’s be honest, very few lifters wake up in the morning and say, “I can’t
wait to go get on the treadmill and then do some sprints on the Airdyne.”
But just because something isn’t fun or exciting, doesn’t mean it’s not effective.
Reaching your goals is rarely about only doing the things you love to do. Most often,
it’s about finding a way to make yourself do the things you need to do, regardless of
whether or not you want to.
Being able to produce more energy is at the very core of being able to generate more
power. If you’re serious about improving your functional power, then you have to train
your body to get better at producing the energy it needs to develop it. Incorporating
the energy system development into your training as laid out in this program might not
be the most fun, but it is one of the most effective ways to do exactly that.
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THE PERFORMANCE RECOVERY SYSTEM
THE PERFORMANCE
RECOVERY SYSTEM
You can only get better from a training stimulus that you can recover from. In order to
optimize power, strength and hypertrophy results in a pain-free manner, it’s imperative
that an athlete’s recoverability is prioritized. We not only perform like beasts in
Functional Power Training, we recover like them as well.
Now contrary to popular belief, recovery is NOT a passive process. It’s a highly active
process that we have more control over than previously thought. If you want to recover
in record time to train harder, lift heavier and perform at the brink of your abilities, you
must work as hard to recover as you to do in your actual training. But more is not always
better. Better is better.
That’s exactly why I designed the performance recovery system that is now a pivotal
aspect of performance programming for an impressively wide array of athletes from
professionals in the NFL and MLB to elite level barbell sport athletes to high performing
executives, military personnel and fitness die hards looking for the edge.
Since you are here in Functional Power Training for a reason, your goals are very clear.
But in order to build your body along with your big lifts as effectively as possible,
we must expedite the recovery process with a results based process that is not only
effective but repeatable. Enter the 5-Step Performance Recovery System, which is your
ticket to success. Here are the 5 steps that create the synergistic recovery system:
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The Performance Recovery System
1. Global Soft Tissue & Self Myofascial Release Techniques
2. Extended Bi-Phasic Positional Stretching
3. Flow Based Mobility Sequence
4. Low Intensity-Impact Steady State Energy Systems Development
5. Positional Parasympathetic Breathing
Over the course of the next few sections, I’ll detail the use of each of these modalities
including video tutorials, programming recommendations and executional performance
keys to success. Here’s how to utilize each step in this recovery process and start
recovering as strategically as you’re training to reap maximal results based benefit in
the gym and beyond.
Phase 1 – Global Soft Tissue Techniques
There’s an obvious time and place to utilize an acute focus with your SMR work in order
to yield a more objective and transferable mobility or functional movement based
response, but tapping into systemic regeneration during active recovery protocols isn’t
one of those times.
I’ve written countless articles on the topic of how to intelligently program stealth
and strategic SMR techniques into a general pre-training preparation routine like the
6-Phase Dynamic Warm Up Sequence, but let’s be clear that this is a totally separate
way in which to utilize the roller, or any other soft tissue directed tool for that matter.
Instead of precisely locating and treating neuromuscular trigger points in soft tissues to
normalize the tone (via increased acute spontaneous electrical activity) of these regions
with small and targeted oscillatory perturbations, we are going to course the entire
tissue of some of the biggest muscles in the body and go after the “pizza dough roller”
effect. Using larger passes anywhere from 6-12 inches at a time (or relative foam roller
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movement on the floor) you’ll be able to cover more area, and eventually come into
contact with all major aspects of each superficial region you’ll be targeting.
I never thought I’d see the day where I was preaching rolling up and down on the quads
and lats with reckless abandon, but after seeing marked success in the expedition of
recovery with my athletes and clients using this global SMR method, I guess hell does
eventually freeze over. Let’s review some key points on how to reap the most benefit
out of this global SMR technique:
1. First, it’s important to prioritize the largest tissues in the body, which will have the
ability to give you the best bang for your systemic recovery buck. The quadriceps,
glutes, hamstrings, pectoralis group and lats are the five key areas each and every
athlete will include in their recovery programming. Forget about majoring in the
minor tissues, stick with the big boys here.
2. Since we are programming these global SMR techniques in a portion of the
training session, recovery session, or stand alone recovery training day itself that
is predicated on recovery, it’s essential that you spend some serious time on each
of these tissues. Since the big five mentioned above are the largest, broadest
and thickest muscles in the body, more than a half assed 30 seconds is needed
to fully cover the surface area of some of these heavy hitters. Spend 2-3 minutes
on each tissue, coursing from the most distal aspect of the muscle to the most
proximal over that time period. Hell, spend as much time as you need, as there is
no overdoing this aspect of recovery.
3. As you’ll be spending some serious time down on the floor, ensure that the rest
of your body remains in a relaxed state, and you are incorporating deep breathing
techniques (covered in depth in step 5 of this recovery system) into your practice.
Some of the most efficient ways to maximize recovery is by synergizing mechanics
and systemic mechanisms together in a simple yet effective model.
This is the time and place to extend your soft tissue practice in terms of both depth
and duration. Use as much time as you have available here and focus on coursing
the big superficial muscles and allowing lymphatic fluid to move back up into central
circulation for excretion from the body while also trying to actively contract some of the
key muscles to place pressure down over the venous system, which again comes in
direct contact with many of these superficial movers.
Feel it out, and remember, recovery and parasympathetic response is the goal, so
make sure you aren’t putting yourself into worlds of pain on the roller, as pain is one of
the most sympathetic responses known to man. If an elicited pain response is strong
enough to stimulate a threat into the system, aka a sympathetic response, you negated
any benefits from this modality in the performance recovery system, so ensure that you
are strategic with your soft tissue skills, while modulating your system’s excitability with
the most effective tool we have available to us, our breathe tempo and rhythm. With
any parasympathetic directed technique, slow, controlled deep breathing strategies
should be incorporated.
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The Performance Recovery System
Key Action Steps:
•
Target big superficial musculature
•
Spend 2-3 minutes on each muscle
•
Use global techniques with 6-12 inches of motion on roller
•
Utilize parasympathetic breathing throughout
Phase 2 – Extended Bi-Phasic Positional Stretching
Stretching used to be the most notoriously devalued technique in all of strength and
conditioning. But thankfully coaches and athletes are getting smarter (again), making
stretching a reemerging factor brought back into programming strategies and methods
for some of the top athletes in the world because of one reason only; it simply works.
The re-popularization of this age-old recovery method begs the question, are coaches
and athletes just riding a cyclic band wagon on stretching, or have there been some
marked improvements to a pretty straight forward technique? Both, but the innovation
is more captivating.
Simply put, people have been stretching “tight” muscles with the wrong intention, and
seeing some pretty notable benefit not from the mobility and flexibility enhancement,
but rather the regenerative mechanisms that take place by putting soft-tissues and
joints through full ranges of motions strategically. Realizing that the incorporation of
stretching into active recovery days to boost tissue regeneration is the first step, but the
second step is actually improving the system of “stretching” for recovery.
A staple recovery based stretching protocol that I program for my athletes is referred
to as bi-phasic stretching. By utilizing both active dynamic oscillatory stretching
with active static stretching in synergy together, you have the ability to expedite the
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The Performance Recovery System
recovery process which is largely dependent on lymphatic drainage and the clearance
of byproducts and wastes from contractile tissue back into central circulation, similar
to the mechanical and systemic properties of global foam rolling techniques covered
above. But as anyone who has used this method will attest, the term “stretching” is truly
relative to the execution at hand.
Here’s how Bi-Phasic Stretching works:
1. Choosing a position to achieve an end range stretch of a targeted tissue, you will
start the protocol off by oscillating in and out of end range for 30-60 seconds.
These are small and strategic back and forth motions to extend the neural tone
and resistance of the tissues being stretched to achieve a more authentic and
extended end range.
2. Without taking stretch off the system after the oscillation period has ended, you’ll
hold an end range static stretch for 60-120 seconds, using the range you opened
up with the dynamics.
Placing a priority on the anterior chain musculature that are susceptible to chronic
posturally oriented tightness such as the pectoralis group and hip flexors, among many
more, will produce the best results long term, but note that this technique can be used
for all regions and muscle groups. As the goal of bi-phasic stretching is to actively
mobilize the tissues and regions in a pain-free manner that sparks parasympathetic
recovery, we must ensure that authentic range of motion, postural control and internal
tension is placed through the chain to avoid force leaks, compensation patterns and
unwanted movements during the stretching process.
More than anything, this type of stretching technique doubles down as isometric and
low amplitude dynamic stability work of the entire body syncing up as an integrated
unit tied together by internal spiral tension, torque and control. That’s why this type of
stretching has such an amazing dynamic transference into foundational and compound
movement patterning when utilized in the dynamic warm up sequence and beyond. As
data is collected through micro movements and positional motor skills are enhanced, it
becomes easier to transfer the stability from these new and novel positions into more
gross global movements.
Since many of these bi-phasic stretching positions are postural oriented and dependent
on pillar (shoulders, hips and core integrating together as a functional unit) control,
we must utilize minimum viable internal tension levels to stay in control of authentic
positions while also being able to move smoothly and sequentially through the
oscillations on the targeted region. Positional mastery can also be seen at the highest
levels by maintaining controlled parasympathetic respiration in novel positions where
a stretch is on targeted tissues. Where breathing is altered, positional mastery and
control has not yet been met. And where breathing is altered, we are also at an
increased risk of sparking up the sympathetic response, again negating any gains from
this step in the performance recovery system.
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The Performance Recovery System
Key Action Steps:
•
Target large superficial muscles
•
Incorporate extended oscillations and end range holds
•
Maintain postural integrity and control
•
Utilize parasympathetic breathing strategies
Phase 3 – Flow Based Mobility
It should be noted that active recovery protocols and the performance recovery
program system should start with global SMR and smoothly transition to bi-phasic
stretching through the major prime muscular movers in the body. These two modalities
go hand in hand, as they create a synergy that is stronger than either of these
modalities being used as stand alone techniques.
But remember, both SMR work and stretching are more largely passive in nature with
not a whole lot of motor control enhancement or functional carryover, due to the goal
of attempting to quickly blunt the truth sympathetic response to training. This leaves us
with the necessity to piggy pack on top of the roller and stretches in an active way to
remediate movement patterns and further enhance the neural inter and intra muscular
coordination of the components in the kinetic chain.
If you’re like many of the athletes I work with, the last thing that you want to do after
a training session or on an off day from strength training is mentally check out and go
through your corrective exercises and mobility drills from the last week’s programming.
This has led me to gravitate my mobility based active recovery programming to larger
catch-all movements and programming them in a “flow” type fashion.
Catch-all flow based movements are exercises and patterns that target multiple
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The Performance Recovery System
areas of the body in one sequence, placing an emphasis on full body motor control
recruitment as opposed to a more specific or targeted drill such as glute or lat
activation for example. These catch-all movements also have the ability to be improved
with locomotion and flowing through multiple reps of the same drill in alternating
fashion. The best flow based patterns allow each joint and region of the body to
express a full range of motion spiraling through smooth and articulate movements in
order to unlock the inherent potential of the human body to sit ideally on the mobilitystability continuum. Devote 5-10 minutes of constant movement to this block.
The art and functionality of the flow based movement session fits perfectly into my
idea of prioritizing what is important for active recovery protocols, training sessions and
training days. Not only are we hard wiring functional movement capacity, but we are
elevating the heart rate slightly and stimulating the active muscle pump of the body to
aid in recovery as well.
If you haven’t bought into the flow sequences quite yet, and are more analytical and
results based oriented with your programming, there is another option for this step in
the performance recovery system protocol.
Choosing 3-4 catch-all movements using 8-10 reps per side and cycling through this
“circuit” a few times that targets your weakest functional areas and rolling through
a continuous progression of reps and sets for 5-10 minutes beats the hell out of just
another boring corrective exercise, and also provides a low level cardiovascular benefit.
Keep these fresh, as catch-all movements were meant to stimulate neural learning
in new positions and stabilization patterns. Novelty is king when re-educating your
movement patterns, keep that in mind when you want to mentally check out of your
next training session.
It should be reiterated that during each step in the performance recovery system,
we must place a key emphasis on avoiding elevation of any of the key vital metrics
in a sympathetic based response. This includes flow based mobility sequencing as
well. The heart rate must stay within a true recovery zone, and never spike in order to
maintain and optimize recoverability. As we’ll touch upon in the end energy systems
development section, each individual should have a customized recovery zone heart
rate that can be easily calculated using Maffetone’s formula (180-age).
Though each athlete and client will have individual zones and needs based on obvious
differentiation in cardiovascular abilities, body types, skill sets and a host of endless
variables, we can simply ensure that relative fatigue in the system is down by passing a
“talking test” throughout any steps in this process. If you can talk freely without huffing,
puffing or staggering your words, you’ve passed. Keep this in mind as you get the urge
to make your recovery a competition.
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The Performance Recovery System
Key Action Steps:
•
Goal of moving as many joints through full range of motion as possible
•
Spend 5-10 minutes in constant movement
•
Focus on slow, deliberate controlled movements
•
When in doubt, use your corrective exercises on repeat
Phase 3X – Neural Re-Charge Training Techniques
You may be wondering why the next step in the recovery protocol has a “3X” in front
of it. Simply put, this is the ONLY step in the sequence that is optional according to
when you are utilizing this system in your training for the enhancement of recovery.
As we’ll review below, there are three major ways to benefit from this system in terms
of ideal times to program for maximal benefits, but if you are choosing to program a
“cool down” recovery strategy directly post-training, you can skip this step and move
straight into Step 4, which focuses on energy systems development. But for secondary
recovery workouts and off day recovery based programming, this step will be an
absolute staple.
Before you discount this step, you must know that neurological re-charge training is
maybe the single most powerful mechanism to spark neurological recovery of the
CNS and beyond via a strategic active training protocol. Since utilizing it regularly with
athletes in secondary and off day training has never been more effective, period.
While there are many in depth resources on the topic of stimulating neurological
recovery via active agents the basis of the method is centered around the utilization of
explosive and excitatory training methods to replenish neurotransmitter balance that
are usually decreased via hard, heavy and intense training bouts.
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The Performance Recovery System
Through the utilization of explosive barbell lifts, medicine ball throws, tosses and slams,
plyometrics, jumps and literally an endless possibilities of tools and training exercises,
the central nervous system can literally re-charge itself back to optimal levels in order
to become better prepared for a future training bout or competition.
When in doubt for exercise selection using this method, place a focus on concentric
only or concentric emphasized movement training methods that limit mechanical
fatigue of tissues due to the lack of an eccentric lengthening phase, but also are able
to tap into higher threshold motor unit coupling for the most benefit possible. But the
biggest struggle with this method is that it’s almost TOO effective, which may be the
reason why this amazing technique has not yet become mainstreamed.
In our Western society, the notion of “if some is great, more is better” also creeps into
the fitness and sports performance spaces. But a key tenet of effective explosive based
recovery drills is a low total training volume needs to be utilized in order to re-charge
the neuromuscular and central nervous systems without adding to any further fatigue.
Keeping training volumes low here regulated by total rep counts between 25-50 highly
focused explosive reps with full rest between bouts and a total time of training in this
block under 20 minutes will ensure that we actually spark recovery, not pigeon hole it.
It’s also pivotal that vital metrics are not spiked here, as you’ll be at the greatest risk to
leave the recovery zone due to the explosive compound nature of these movements.
This is the reason that I recommend COT methods that are programmed for single
repetitions with maximal rest between bouts so stress and fatigue does not accumulate
over the course of this recovery step in the system.
Mental imagery and focus can also play a key role in the ability for an athlete to remain
in the recovery zone during even explosive bouts that take full advantage of the force
equation to recalibrate the central nervous system’s neurotransmitter balance. That
means a relaxed mental rehearsal of explosive based movements and an instant
downshift after each rep is necessary to yield maximal benefit from this technique.
While training on the nerve has been shown to increase excitability in the nervous
system to over perform in power, strength and even endurance competition we must
again fight the urge to become sympathetic.
Remember, when the goal is recovery, more is not better, better is better. And that
comes with pristinely dialed in prescriptions that are in line with the overall goal of
expediting the recovery process in order to be able to train harder, longer and heavier
in the days to come.
Key Action Steps:
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•
Explosive concentric only (or emphasized) movements
•
Low total volume of work under 50 reps and 20 minutes duration
•
Full recovery between training sets
•
Extremely high focus on intensity and execution
The Performance Recovery System
Phase 4 – Low Impact-Intensity Steady State Cardio
High level athletes and lifters scoff at the idea of doing any form of steady state
cardiovascular training, let alone the lowest level activities such as walking, biking and
counting down the seconds on pretty much every other type of exercise machine on
the cardio deck.
It’s true that cardio isn’t sexy, and doesn’t directly make you sexy. I get that. But from
a regeneration and recovery perspective, low-level steady state cardio can minimize
joint stress, improving daily activity levels on a day away from the gym, and still tapping
into your cardiorespiratory system to aid in central systemic based recovery. The low
hanging fruit should never be overlooked, especially when ones ability to recover
becomes the determining factor for overall results.
There are a multitude of benefits from treating your active recovery programming as
ways to hit the light switch on your central nervous system to start recovering right
away. Nutrition can also play a key role in recovery here as well. While there are many
different options in terms of post-workout nutrition, utilizing well timed carbohydrates
and easily digestible protein sources during more extended LIISS bouts will aid to spark
the recovery process and fuel the next day’s training. This is a technique that I’ve been
using with my athletes for years with great success.
By placing this active recovery day into the post-workout window or the otherwise
“off” days from training, we have the ability to burn more calories on an otherwise
sedentary day, but also doing so with very low central nervous system or mechanical
fatigue to the body. But that being said, to ensure that this active recovery day doesn’t
place highly tuned athletes into a caloric hole for the day, and maybe even the week.
It doesn’t seem like much, but placing an additional 30-90 minutes of LIISS energy
systems development will most likely necessitate an increase in calories over the
course of the week.
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This is especially important if you choose to extend the aerobic based energy systems
training for more than 30-45 minutes, as many of us do on off days. The last thing we
want to do during a strategically programmed active recovery day is to cause fatigue,
and the proper nutrition and variations of aerobic work will keep this from happening.
More than just enhancing cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory health, low intensity
steady state cardio has the ability to strengthen and solidify a base of cardio function
that every athlete depends on in order to enhance the recovery process not between
training days, but also between repeat training bouts in a single session. When the
foundations are set on the CV base, the advantages of continuing a locomotive practice
which incorporates reciprocal patterning of the lower and upper extremities working in
unison together around a dynamically stable core unit are clear.
The work of Dr. Stu McGill has shown the power of walking on mitigating lower back
pain and symptomology in as little as 10 minutes a day. This has become a main driver
in our recommendations that our athletes walk 10 minutes a day as a non-negotiable
way to spark recovery, protect against lower back pain and enhance cardiovascular
function. No, it’s not sexy, but it’s effective, and one of the only “non-negotiables” that
actually will continue to stand the test of time in our industry.
Aside from base walking, my go to activities to elicit a heart rate in the recovery or zone
1 range (customized to the athlete or individual via the Maffetone’s formula 180-age
referenced above) of 100-125 bmp are hiking, biking, and even the dreaded elliptical.
The goal here is to keep joint stress to a minimum, burn a few calories, fuel up, and
prepare for the workout ahead. Turn your switch down to low, and just know, the more
strategic you are with your recovery efforts, the better you can let it rip in your training
in the days to come.
Key Action Steps:
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•
Prioritize low impact methods such as walking
•
Stay in a recovery or zone 1 heart rate under approximately 120 bpm
•
Make part of non-negotiable daily routine to get 10+ minutes of walking in
The Performance Recovery System
Phase 5 – Positional Parasympathetic Breathing
Optimizing training, no matter if your goal is to get as big as possible, as strong as
possible, or just to have a more high performing physique, is all about monitoring your
training loads and ensuring proper recovery between sessions. But many times, our
focus lies solely on training, forgetting about the all-important process of recovery in
order to actually regenerate from the training stress itself.
So how do we recover quicker to train harder and train at higher frequencies? Sure,
nutrition, hydration, and stress all play an obvious role, but what about the time it takes
us to shift from a sympathetic based CNS response in training to a parasympathetic
based response that allows the recovery process to start doing its work?
That intermediary period between your last set and the time where your CNS comes
down off the sympathetic bender it’s currently been on for hours in the gym needs to
be minimized. And one of the most effective methods to do that is by implementing
recovery breathing as the last “exercise” in the sequence of the day before you ever
leave the gym.
And for those of you who do not have an extra 5-15 minutes to devote to this entire
system, I’d highly recommend that parasympathetic positional breathing be your
modality of choice to quickly reduce the sympathetic drive that is riding high after
training as evidence has shown that in as little as 13 minutes of mindful breathing
drastically improves recoverability via the parasympathetic response.
If you find yourself jacked up for hours after training followed by a huge crash, this
recovery breathing strategy is going to be a game-changer for your ability to recovery
along with living a more normal existence away from the gym that doesn’t involve the
continual shakes.
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And in the worlds of legendary powerlifter Dave Tate of EliteFTS,
“Post-training parasympathetic breathing is literally the most effective method I’ve
ever used to instantly aid in recovery. Better than any supplement or recovery tool
on the market and it’s FREE.”
What happens to people, especially those who train in the mornings is that they spark
a sympathetic response in their training, and never come back down from it. They stay
highly heightened all day until their system finally fails and they crash hard. While this
can be limiting to recovery, it can also be a huge limiting factor to strength, muscle,
and performance plateaus as well from the glass ceiling this neurological and systemic
state places your body into routinely.
In a matter of 3-5 minutes after training in this last block, we can avoid punching the
gas on your CNS for hours after your training session has ended. Sure, you’ll initially feel
a bit fluffy at first lying on the ground alone with your thoughts with your eyes closed
while others pound away at the iron. But when you turn around in record time with
higher energy and more dynamic capabilities under the bar, you’ll quickly see that 3
minutes is some of the best time you’ll ever invest in the gym.
I picked up the positional recovery breathing from legendary strength and conditioning
coach Buddy Morris years ago, who has championed this simple yet highly effective
technique throughout the NFL and other high performance sports. Want a buy in?
If it’s good enough for pro athletes who make a living based on the performance of
their bodies, it’s probably good enough for you. Here’s the basics of how to simply
execute recovery based breathing without having to check yourself into a meditation or
yoga class.
The foundation of the sympathetic recovery breathing technique has a large focus on
the position and setup. We want to position your body to make it as easy as possible for
a few key things to happen to help spark recovery in multiple facets of physiology.
First, we need passive positioning of the arms and legs to ensure proper centralized
drainage of lymphatic fluid. Second, we need to ensure that the spine remains in a
relatively neutral position to reduce the threat response to the body. And lastly, we want
to make these positions as comfortable as possible, again all for the goal of reversing
the CNS response from training.
Here’s exactly how I setup my athletes for recovery breathing after each and every
training session to spark the recovery process before they ever leave my watch:
1. Lay on your back with the head resting on the ground.
2. Elevate the legs to above heart level with knees slightly bent.
3. Elevate the arms up overhead.
4. Close eyes and relax the body reducing any tension of stress.
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*A quiet area of the gym away from music or noise is preferable
From this position, you should be able to relax every single muscle in your body to
allow a fully passive response to take place. From here, we will focus in on only one
single movement, that of your breath.
Start off by using this set parasympathetic breath rhythm and tempo:
•
Inhale 3-4 seconds
•
Hold at Top 2-3 seconds
•
Exhale 6-8 seconds
•
Hold at Bottom 2 seconds
The main focus with the tempo of breath is about slowly inhaling and exhaling under
control. Since most athletes and lifters have trouble slowing down, especially while
in the presence of the iron, using specific tempos can be very useful when initially
adopting this recovery breathing strategy.
Inhale for 3-4 seconds fully, hold for a few seconds at the top of the breath, and then
really focus on extending the exhalation to around 8 seconds. We want this tempo to
be slow and controlled, but also habitual to the point of being passive. The last thing
we want to do during recovery breathing is to stress about exact numbers of the breath
counts, so you have an excuse to chill and zone out a bit on this one.
The time of recovery breathing is about turning off the sympathetic switch before
we leave the gym, so techniques such as positive mental imagery can absolutely be
synergized together out of this position to really get the most out of these few minutes.
Set your iPhone timer for your prescribed duration in order to avoid checking the clock,
and just enjoy your time on the floor in celebration of the ball busting work you just put
into the weights.
How do you know it’s working? You should feel an instant calming sensation throughout
your body after you are done with a round of this.
Key Action Steps:
•
Position the body for success on back or stomach
•
Focus on slow and deliberate tempo of breath
•
Prioritize a calm and quiet environment
When To Utilize The Performance Recovery System
Unlike power, strength and hypertrophy training, recovery based training protocols
cannot be over trained. For a majority of athletes, the more dialed in active based
recovery that takes place, the better. But since the effectiveness of the performance
recovery system depends on consistently investing focused time and energy into your
daily routines, we must define the most optimal times to use this system in order to
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maximize recoverability while minimizing time invested in the actual process itself.
There are three main ways to effectively and efficiently program the performance
recovery system to yield maximal results in recoverability:
1. Post-Workout Window
2. Secondary Daily Recovery Training Sessions
3. “Off Day” Active Recovery Training
Over the years, implementing this system into the post-workout window has shown to
not only have the greatest carry over to blunt the sympathetic response of training in
record time, but also the best adherence due to programming these strategies under
the eye of a coach, trainer or rehab pro.
After the last set of the day, simply devote 5-30 minutes (depending on the time
available) to programming parasympathetic directed modalities in strategic order of
the 5-Step Performance Recovery System. If you only have a few minutes to invest into
parasympathetic recovery, breathing should be prioritized above all other modalities
due to the quickest centralized benefits. For our athletes, positional parasympathetic
breathing has become a non-negotiable due to the sheer effectiveness of this protocol.
The second way to program the performance recovery system sequence is to
implement secondary daily recovery sessions. If your athletes or clients are training
in the morning, place an active recovery based protocol into their daily routine during
mid-day or at night. Ensure that this sequence is programmed at least 4-6 hours
after the primary training has ended. If your athletes are training in the afternoon, this
protocol is extremely effective to use as a pre-bedtime routine in order to bring down
the CNS response to double up on recovery via these active modalities plus better
quality sleep cycles.
Finally, there should truly be no off days when an athlete or client has a goal in mind.
Whether the goal is fat-loss, hypertrophy, sports performance or general fitness,
enhancing these physical metrics are dependent on optimizing recovery. That means
that at a bare minimum, athletes should be utilizing this performance recovery system
once during their off days with 10+ minutes of low impact-intensity steady state cardio
placed into the 4th energy systems development step. For those who have more time
or want to draw out their ESD a bit, up to 45 minutes of recovery zone or zone 1 heart
rate work can still aid in sparking the recovery process.
If you are like me and want to derive as much data as physically possible on yourself
and your athletes to ensure that you’re seeing notable and objective benefits from
the performance recovery system, I highly recommend Joel Jamieson’s heart rate
variability systems Morpheus which I’ve personally and professionally used with a great
deal of success.
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PERFORMANCE NUTRITION PROGRAMMING
PERFORMANCE
NUTRITION PROGRAMMING
Performance + Recovery = 
Performance
Everyone knows it, but it still takes only the elite to put it into practice. Nutrition is the
lynchpin of your training efforts in the gym. Without proper nutrition, you will only go so
far, or sometimes not get anywhere at all. We have all heard “you can’t out train a bad
diet”, well, the same goes with performance and power training.
This program is not your run of the mill quick fat loss gimmick, or a “put on slabs
of muscle underneath bigger slabs of fat” dirty bulk program. No, this program is a
performance-based program. To improve and maximize your performance you need to
eat and recover like an athlete. The success of the program relies on two things:
•
Pushing Yourself In The Gym
•
Nailing Your Nutrition
You cannot get away with only doing one of these things. Without hard training your
body will not get the stimulus to grow. Without proper nutrition your body will not
even get the ability to grow. If all you do is train hard, and eat like shit – you will get
suboptimal results. Because you signed up for this program, I find it hard to believe that
you are a suboptimal kind of person.
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Performance Nutrition Programming
While you likely will see some awesome body composition changes over the course
of the next 12 weeks, our primary goal is to get stronger, more powerful, and push your
body to places it’s never been in the gym.
When it comes to training for gains in performance, this cannot be possible without
putting a strong emphasis on what occurs outside of the gym. For the purpose of this
section, we are talking about nutrition. As unsexy as it sounds, the truth is that your
training gains and performance will only be as good as your nutrition. You can’t run a
high powered sports car on low grade crap fuel.
If you want your body to run like a high-powered sports performance machine, you will
need the right amounts of fuel, and the right kinds of fuel. This is the way you need to
look at your nutrition – as fuel for performance. What you put in your body in certain
quantities and qualities will have a direct effect on how you perform and grow as an
athlete over these next 12 weeks.
The training in this program will beat your body down and push you to your limits. That
is what is supposed to happen in the gym. The growth, recovery and physiological
improvements are sparked outside of the gym – thus the equation:
Performance + Recovery =
Performance
Before we dive into the application of the materials, some education is required.
Starting from the top, the most important aspect of performance training is calories.
Your caloric intake MUST be enough to support your training. If it isn’t, you will find
yourself burning out, feeling sluggish, and potentially injured.
For this program, I recommend using the most accurate calculation for establishing
your baseline calorie intake; the Mifflin St. Jeor equation.
The equation looks like this:
Men
10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5
Women
10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) – 161
(1kg = 2.2 pounds, 1 inch = 2.54 cm)
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Performance Nutrition Programming
Using this equation, you will establish your estimated RMR – Resting Metabolic Rate.
This is the number of calories you would burn if you just laid in bed all day.
Obviously, this program is much more than lying in bed all day, so we are going to
take your RMR, and multiply it by an activity factor of 1.55 which is commonly used for
activity 3-5 days per week.
This number is your FPT Baseline Caloric Goal.
Men
10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) + 5
John Rusin (6’ 190 lb, 31 y/o) = 1855 RMR
Women
10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x age (y) – 161
Strong Suzy (5’4 140 lb 30y/o) = 1340 RMR
FPT Maintenance Performance Calories (1.55 multiplier)
John Rusin = 1855 x 1.55 = 2875 cals
Strong Suzy = 1340 x 1.55 = 2077 cals
To do this simply, use this
Free Calorie Calculator Here
and set the Activity Bar to
“Moderately Active – exercise/sports 3-5x/week”
Because of the intensity of this program, we are going to take it one step further and
apply some calorie and carb cycling to make sure we are making the most of your
training days, especially the most demanding ones. The reason we are doing this is
to match our fueling procedures to our effort output. This will also aid in the recovery
process from the more intense training sessions. This will help on two levels, nervous
system recovery and muscular glycogen replenishment.
The added carbs on more intense days will help blunt the cortisol response sooner,
especially post workout, sending your body into a stronger recovery mode. They
will also aid in refilling your depleted glycogen stores from the longer, more intense
sessions, thus fueling you up to continue your quest for improved performance
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throughout the program.
Remember, this is a power performance program. The following guidelines for calories
and macro nutrients are based on you doing the FULL program, and hitting it with
everything you’ve got. If you do this program half assed, but still hit these calorie levels
you might find yourself gaining some unwanted weight. To eat like and athlete, you’ve
got to train like an athlete – and vice versa.
To figure out your training day modifiers, you will simply multiply your FTP Maintenance
by the following:
Max Effort Days = MPC x 1.2
Dynamic Effort Days = MPC x 1.1
Cardio Days = MPC
Recovery Day = See below
Examples:
2 Max Effort Days (1.2 x MPC)
John Rusin = 2875 x 1.2 =3450 cals
Strong Suzy = 2077 x 1.2 = 2492 cals
2 Dynamic Effort Days (1.1 x MPC)
John Rusin = 2875 x 1.1=3162 cals
Strong Suzy = 2077 x 1.1 = 2285 cals
2 Cardio Conditioning Days (MPC)
John Rusin = 2875
Strong Suzy = 2077
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For your goals on the recovery day, we are going to take more of an intuitive approach
based on how you are feeling.
Recovery Day
If feeling beat up, sluggish, tired – match Max Effort (MPC x 1.2)
If feeling good, normal, energetic – match Dynamic Effort
(MPC x 1.1)
If feeling puffy, bloated, fat – match Cardio Conditioning (MPC)
Now that we have the calories established it is crucial to figure where they come from.
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Macronutrient Levels
Protein
Arguably the most important macronutrient for performance from a strength and
muscular standpoint, the goal for protein intake is relatively simple. Your goal will be to
hit 1 gram/pound of body weight.
This number continues to show up year after year, in all the latest research, and the
science is there to back it up. The reason for hitting this goal is simple – we want to
create and nourish an anabolic state. By getting enough protein, you will assure that
your body is hitting maximum potential for muscle protein synthesis. The main driver
of MPS is the amino acid leucine. When hitting this 1g/lb target from various protein
sources, you are nearly guaranteed to be getting the optimal dose of leucine to hit the
MPS threshold.
Protein Sources
Your protein sources should come from high quality meats as much as possible.
Examples of good protein sources include the following:
•
Lean cuts of red meat – flank, sirloin
•
Poultry (chicken/turkey being the most common)
•
Fish (tuna, salmon and most white fish)
•
Eggs and egg whites
•
Cottage cheese
•
High Quality Protein Powders – 100% Whey Isolate is recommended
The quantities of protein in these sources differ slightly, but overall it comes down to
this:
•
4 ounces of raw poultry, beef and fish = 25-35 grams of protein
•
1 egg = 6 grams of protein
•
1 egg white = 4 grams of protein
•
1 cup of cottage cheese = 25 grams of protein
•
Most protein powders = 20-25 grams per scoop
Once you figure out your protein goal, you should first divide it by the number of meals/
snacks you have in a day. Let’s consider 3 meals, 2 snacks and 1 post workout shake.
You would take your protein goal and divide it by 6.
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Examples:
John Rusin = 190 lbs/6 = 31.6 grams/feeding time
Strong Suzy = 140lbs/6 = 23.3 grams/feeding time
Taking the numbers above, and the info provided on portion sizes, you should be able
to figure out what you will need to eat to reach these numbers. Full examples will be
provided at the end of this segment.
Fats
Dietary fat is essential for many things in the body – including cellular health, hormonal
health, and creating a satiating effect in your diet. Just like your overall calorie intake
needs to come from high quality sources, so does your fat.
The essentials to know about fat are:
•
Fat contains 9 calories per gram.
•
Fats come in various forms – saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and
trans fats.
•
You will want to get most of your fats from monounsaturated and omega-3
polyunsaturated fats.
Sources of 5 grams monounsaturated fats:
•
Olive oil = 1 teaspoon
•
Avocado = 2 Tablespoons
•
Mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts) = 6-8 nuts
Sources of 5 grams of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fats:
•
Salmon = 4 oz
•
Walnuts = 5-6 nuts
To calculate your total fat intake, we recommend that you consume between 20 and
30% of your total calories from fat. You will take your calorie goal, multiply it by 0.2-0.3
and then divide it by 9 (because fat is 9 calories per gram).
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Examples:
John Rusin = 2875 cals x .2 to .3 = 575 to 862/9 = 64 to 96 grams of fat
Strong Suzy = 2077 cals x .2 to .3 = 415 to 623/9 = 46 to 69 grams of fat
Use these ranges and your personal preference to determine how much fat you will eat
in a day. If you already know that you enjoy a slightly higher fat intake, then go with 30%,
or vice versa if you are more of a carb person.
Which brings us to the last macronutrient…
Carbohydrates
Carbs are your friend. Repeat that out loud. This is a high intensity performance
program and carbs will be essential to breaking PR’s and optimizing recovery. Carbs
are your jet fuel. They will propel performance and accelerate the recovery process
optimally.
Your carb sources should come from mostly a variety of whole food options including
oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, fruits and vegetables.
Post training carbs should be of the more simple variety. Not necessarily to spike insulin
as once thought, but to help keep the catabolic stress hormone cortisol low. These
options can be white rice, white potatoes, or a carb powder such as Highly Branched
Cyclic Dextrin.
Often not discussed is also the importance of fiber. Fiber is not only important for bowel
and digestive health but plays a role in keeping the rest of your insides healthy. You will
want 10% of carbs to come from fiber.
To figure out your goal for carbs it is rather simple. Take your total caloric needs, and
subtract your protein and fat, and you are left with carbs. Make sure you subtract the
calories from protein (4 cals per gram) and fat (9 cals per gram), and not the grams.
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Examples:
John Rusin
2875 cals. 190 lbs = 190 grams of protein (x4) = 760 cals from protein
80 grams of fat (right in the middle of the previously mentioned range) (x9) = 720 cals
from fat.
2875 – 760 – 720 = 1395 cals from carbs (divided by 4 cals per gram) = 348 grams of
carbs – with about 35 grams coming in the form of fiber.
Strong Suzy
2077 cals, 140 lbs = 140 grams of protein (x4) = 560 cals from protein
58 grams of fat (right in the middle of the previously mentioned range) (x9) = 522 cals
from fat.
2077 – 560 – 522 = 995 cals from carbs (divided by 4 cals per gram) = 249 grams of
carbs – with about 25 grams coming in the form of fiber.
A Final Note on Nutrition Quality
Yes – quantity matters most when it comes to creating muscle, losing fat, building
strength, etc. However, quality matters more for the long run. Yes, you can get all your
carbs from pop tarts and still lose fat. Yes, you can get all your protein from shakes and
bars and still hit your numbers.
No one is denying that.
Your QUALITY of life though, is directly related to your QUALITY of food. Eating mostly
unprocessed, high quality foods will improve so much more than a number on a scale
or a 1RM on the bench press. Your digestion and guts will feel better, your skin will look
healthier, your sleep will be better, your sex drive will be better, your overall wellbeing
and feeling of health will be improved, and when this is the case your mental mood will
improve. If you don’t care about all these things, then continue eating like a child and
bragging about it to your social media “friends”.
Eating is very psychological. When you are in the right mindset of knowing that you
are nurturing your body with quality foods, it can be a major mental boost. Instead of
thinking “oh, broccoli again…” think “I am eating these awesome foods to support my
entirely optimized body – inside and out.”
For the sake of this program – the training is hard. It will challenge your body, and beat
you down. Only those who are willing to go all in on the nutrition AND training will reap
the maximal results. Eating quality food while training hard is not only recommended,
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it is pivotal. Quality, whole food sources are less inflammatory. This program will
challenge your recovery, and if you are constantly eating high inflammatory foods, well,
good luck.
Your food choices will aid in optimal recovery, so you can prepare for your next training
session. Getting the right sources of foods at the right time can give you the extra 10%
boost that you need to break through a plateau, or get one more rep. More on that
shortly.
It doesn’t ALWAYS have to be unprocessed, whole food options – but the more choices
you make that align with these criteria, I can guarantee the better you will feel inside
and out.
Now that you have your baseline macros established, it’s time to figure out adjustments
for lifting days.
Carb Cycling For Performance
Max Effort Days = 1.2 x MPC
Using the info from before, this is actually fairly simple. Because these are the most
demanding days, you will want most of your increase in calories to come from carbs.
Taking the difference in calories between Max Effort and Maintenance, and dividing it by
4 will give you the number of additional grams of carbs you should eat on these days.
Examples:
John Rusin = 2875 cals MPC (x1.2) = 3450 cals. Difference of 575/4 = 143 extra grams of
carbs. (491 grams total)
Strong Suzy = 2077 cals MPC (x1.2) = 2492 cals. Difference of 415/4 = 104 extra grams of
carbs (353 grams total)
Dynamic Effort Days = 1.1 x MPC
Taking the difference in calories between Dynamic Effort and Maintenance, and dividing
it by 4 will give you the number of additional grams of carbs you should eat on these
days.
Examples:
John Rusin = 2875 cals MPC (x1.1) = 3163 cals. Difference of 287/4 = 72 extra grams of
carbs. (420 grams total)
Strong Suzy = 2077 cals MPC (x1.1) = 2285 cals. Difference of 208/4 = 52 extra grams of
carbs (301 grams total)
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Once you have your quantities and quality nutrition dialed in, it’s time to take it to the
next level – to maximize performance, nutrient timing becomes key.
Nutrient Timing
The single most important window for maximal performance is your peri-workout
nutrition. This is the window about 2 hours before training, during training, and 2 hours
post training.
Old school thought was this “anabolic window” was only 30 minutes after your training
session, and if you didn’t get your protein and carbs in within that window all gains were
lost.
However, recent research has come to show this larger, different window is still
important when it comes to maximizing energy production for training and recovery
purposes.
2 Hours Pre-Training
This is the first area to modify your nutrition. From the carb calculations that you came
up with for your different training days, you should put about 25% of your additional
(not total) carbs here. These should be in the form of easily digestible, low fiber carbs
such as white rice, cream of rice, white potatoes or highly branched cyclic dextrin. You
will also want to get some lean protein here. Shoot for about 20% of your daily goal. It
is important here to scale your intake based on preference and timing as well. If it is 2
hours until you train, you should be okay hitting 20% of your protein intake, however if it
is closer to 30 minute pre-training, you should scale back the protein intake and focus
more on the carbs.
Intra Workout
The second opportunity you have to ingest more of your added carbs from max effort
or dynamic effort days is in your intra-workout shake. Again, think about 25% of your
additional carbs for the day, and about 10% of your protein – in the form of a high quality
highly branched cyclic dextrin and a high-quality Whey Isolate powder or Essential
Amino Acids. Sip on this shake throughout the training. If you are a heavy sweater,
consider adding a small pinch of salt to your drink to help replenish some of your
electrolytes. Just a pinch though. If your drink tastes salty, you likely added too much.
Within 1-2 Hours Post Workout
You don’t have to slam a shake immediately post workout, especially if you are feeling
trashed from a session – the last thing we want to do is throw more food into your GI
tract when you are all hyped up. Again, look to get in that final 50% of your additional
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carbs for the day, and another 20% of your total daily protein intake.
If you are eating a solid meal post training, make sure you combine these numbers with
that meal, and go heavy on the easily digestible carbs (white rice, white potatoes) and
lean proteins.
The Rest of the Day
Everyone is different, and this is where you can play with your intakes. Some people
respond well to some carbs before bed, and studies show that this can help with
better sleep and thus better recovery. Some people have the opposite effect. It is most
important to listen to your body and do what feels and works best for your schedule
and lifestyle.
One thing to note is having a large, moderately fasted window before you train if you
find yourself feeling sluggish, gassy or bloated while training. The nutrients outlined in
the peri-workout window will be used in the session and shouldn’t cause GI stress.
If you are someone who tends to get an upset stomach while training hard, make sure
that you haven’t had any large, heavy meals within 6-8 hours pre-training. This might
mean going the route of several smaller meals leading up to training, or if you train first
thing in the morning, this might mean having a slightly smaller dinner the night before.
Listen to your body and do what feels best for you.
Adjusting Your Nutrition
Based on a few variables, it is encouraged to adjust your nutrition as you go. The
following recommendations are in place to maximize performance, while also being
conscious of body composition. Remember, it’s one thing to get strong AF, but another
to do it AND stay lean.
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START
WEEK 4
WEEK 8
WEEK 11
WEEK 4
If your performance is improving, and body comp is at a good point – stay the course.
If your performance is improving, but body comp is declining (gaining visible fat) –
adjust your training day nutrition DOWN one level to:
•
Max Effort Days – MPC x 1.1
•
Dynamic Effort Days – MPC
•
Cardio and Recovery Days – MPC – 100 calories/25 grams of carbs
If your performance is NOT improving, and body comp is good, OR improving – adjust
your training day nutrition UP one level to:
•
Max Effort Days – MPC x 1.3
•
Dynamic Effort Days – MPC x 1.2
•
Cardio and Recovery Days – MPC + 100 calories/25 grams carbs or 10 grams of fat
(depending on personal preference)
WEEK 8
Make the same reassessments and adjustments
WEEK 11
This is your recovery week before the big push to new PR’s. Even though the sessions
may seem easier, the last thing we want to do is decrease nutrition. The goal here is
to super-compensate for the recovery week, to prepare the body for next week’s max
effort work.
I recommend that no matter what, if you goal is to crush new PR’s next week, adjust
your intakes as such:
•
Max Effort Days – MPC x 1.3
•
Dynamic Effort Days – MPC x 1.2
•
Cardio and Recovery Days – MPC + 100 calories/25 grams carbs or 10 grams of fat
(depending on personal preference)
WEEK 12
It’s time to peak. Keep nutrition the same as Week 11 and focus on crushing your lifts in
the gym. Train hard, recover harder.
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Closing Thoughts on Nutrition
You can dive deep into the numbers game, the macros game or the supplement
game – but the truth is, without basic, fundamental, repeatable habits centered around
foundational nutrition, you will only go so far. While we have laid out macro goals, and
fancy calculations here, the ultimate goal is to reach a more intuitive approach. Tracking
and counting are great tools, but only a few tools.
They provide a way to learn, and to dive deeper into the “what” of nutrition. Once you
establish consistent habits and learn about what 5 oz. of chicken looks like, or how
many carbs are in a cup of rice, the simplest thing to do is shift into a more habit-based
approach.
Keep things as consistent as possible. Eat relatively the same things a majority of the
time. When you go out with friends for a special occasion – enjoy it. The bigger picture
still matters and getting fixated on looking at food as just numbers is not the ideal
bigger picture.
Hit the nutrition goals hard and see what your body is truly capable of when training
like a beast, and eating like one too – but also enjoy the process and don’t obsess over
it.
Supplements
As just stated, if your nutrition is not on point, supplements will matter very little.
However, when your nutrition is on, supplements can give you that slight edge –
performance, recovery and overall wellness can benefit from the right supplements.
Gender Specific Multi- A good multivitamin is very beneficial to help provide a “safety
net” for your micro nutrition. While a multi cannot replace the benefits of fruits and
veggies, it does give you a little extra boost to make sure you are getting enough
micros. Gender specific is important because women need more iron.
Omega-3’s – Unless you eat fatty fish 2-3 times per week, you likely don’t get enough
omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA), as we live in a world of omega-6’s. When this ratio
is skewed, our bodies can be more prone to inflammation, and suboptimal heart health.
Optimal dosage would be 1g of Omega-3’s (1000mg of DHA+EPA) per 100 pounds of
bodyweight, spread throughout the day.
Creatine Monohydrate – creatine is the backbone of our ATP power system. When
ATP is broken down into ADP+P, creatine phosphate helps replenish ATP by donating
a phosphate to ADP. Long story short – creatine helps with power production and
recovery. Take 5g/day post workout.
Caffeine – caffeine is the most researched ergogenic aid. It can give you a great boost
pre-workout and help fire up your training. Look to get a dosage around 3-4mg/kg of
body weight for optimal performance results. Look to cap your intake at no more than
500mg/day, and start smaller than you think if you usually don’t use caffeine. Also, try
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to avoid taking it within 6 hours of bedtime if possible.
Whey Isolate – since it is food based, many people don’t really consider whey protein
to be a supplement. Whey Isolate is one of the best forms of whey you can get, and
provides highly bioavailable protein. Use it as part of a snack, post workout or intra
workout shake.
Essential Amino Acids (EAA’s) – These can come in handy DURING your training
sessions, especially if you have trouble sipping on whey during training. They will still
provide the anabolic stimulus, without the potential for GI issues what some people
might encounter during training. I recommend 5 to 10 grams during your training.
Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin - Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin provides a source of
energy for the body. This provides benefits before, during and after exercise as higher
energy levels enable us to train harder, for longer and to recover faster.
All carbohydrates provide a source of energy, but highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin is
gradually broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream, ensuring that blood sugar
levels remain constant, while having a faster GI transit time (meaning it doesn’t sit in
your gut long).
Exclusive Functional Power Training
Custom Nutritional Coaching is
Available HERE
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John Rusin - 190 lbs. - Training time 7AM
Goal Intakes For MPC: 2875 calories
CARBS
FAT
PROTEIN
BASELINE
348
80
190
DE
420
80
190
ME
491
80
190
BASELINE AND CARDIO DAYS
DYNAMIC DAYS
MAX EFFORT DAYS
1/2 Bagel
Large Banana
Large Banana
1/2 scoop Whey Iso
1/2 scoop Whey Iso
6.30AM
Caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine
INTRA
-
1 scoop HBCD
2scoop HBCD
POST
1 scoop Whey Iso
1 scoop HBCD
5g Creatine
1 scoop Whey Iso
1 scoop HBCD
5g Creatine
1 scoop Whey Iso
1 scoop HBCD
5g Creatine
9AM
1/2 cup egg whites
1/2 cup cream of rice
(dry)
1 cup unsweetened
almond milk
12
1/2 cup white rice (dry)
5 oz. tuna
1 cup mixed veggies
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3PM
200g sweet potato
5 oz. 93% ground beef
1 apple
6PM
2 oz. spaghetti noodles
12 Meatballs (golf ball
size)
1/2 cup marinara
1/4 cup almonds
1 cup mixed veggies
5AM
Large Banana
1/2 scoop Whey Iso
If having a meal post workout, you don’t need to add so much HBCD. You could get
your fast carbs from white rice or white potatoes.
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Strong Suzy - 140 lbs. - Training time 5:30PM
Goal Intakes For MPC: 2077 calories
CARBS
FAT
PROTEIN
BASELINE
249
58
140
DE
301
58
190
ME
353
58
190
BASELINE AND CARDIO DAYS
DYNAMIC DAYS
MAX EFFORT DAYS
1/2 cup dry oats
7AM
1 cup mixed berries
2 eggs
1/4 cup egg whites
10AM
12
NOON
1 serving low fat Greek
Yogurt
1/2 oz/ walnuts
1/2 cup briwn rice (dry)
4 oz. pork tenderloin
1 cup steamed
vegetables
3PM
1 large banana
Onnit Oat Bar
5PM
(Caffeine NOT
recommended at this
time of day)
INTRA
none
1 scoop HBCD
1 scoop HBCD
POST
1 scoop whey iso
1 scoop HBCD
5g creatine
1 scoop whey iso
2 scoop HBCD
5g creatine
1 scoop whey iso
3 scoop HBCD
5g creatine
7:30PM
5 oz. salmon
200g red potatoes
1 cup steamed green
veggies
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 bagel
If having a meal post workout, you don’t need to add so much HBCD. You could get
your fast carbs from white rice or white potatoes.
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RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
RECOMMENDED
RESOURCES
Equipment
Throughout the Functional Power Training program, you have been exposed to different
setups, techniques, methods, programming strategies, and of course, equipment. While
specialty equipment is NOT necessary to complete FPT and elicit maximal power,
strength and aesthetic benefits, I do get countless emails, messages and comments
regarding the equipment I personally use and recommend. So below I’ve created a
resource for these pieces of equipment for your reference:
Bands – Dr. John Rusin’s Light-Medium Resistance 4-Pack
Barbell – Onnit Multipurpose Barbell
Weight Belt – EliteFTS 13mm Power Belt
Kettlebells – Onnit Kettlebells
Suspension Trainer – Ring Suspension Trainer
Neutral Grip Bar – American Press Bar
Chains – EliteFTS Complete Chain Pack
Safety Squat Bar – SS Yoke Bar
Trap Bar – Trap Bar
Fat Bar – El Gordo Fat Bar
Bench – EliteFTS Collegiate 0-90 Bench
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Recommended Resources
Squat Rack – EliteFTS 3x3 Collegiate Power Rack
Gute Ham Raise – EliteFTS Glute Ham Raise
Lat Pulldown – EliteFTS Lat Pulldown
Airdyne Bike – Schwinn Airdyne AD7
Technology
While I am as far from a technology based strength coach as there is, over the last
decade I’ve found huge value in heart rate variability monitoring to ensure proper
recovery while maximizing performance. One of the highest recommended products
to help quantify your daily preparedness and recoverability is the Morpheus heart rate
variability monitoring system. While there are many on the market, I personally use
Morpheus along with a vast majority of my athletes due to its simplicity and instant
usability for both monitoring and training.
Heart Rate Variability Monitor – Morpheus HRV
Supplements and Food
The performance nutrition chapter of Functional Power training laid out your complete
and customized nutritional schedule and plan for amplifying your strength, power
and performance results on FPT. Throughout this chapter, we referred to specific
recommended products, supplements and foods that can be used in conjunction with
the dialed in nutritional programming.
As I am a firm believer in food first, supplementation second, the following resources
will be limited to only the products and supplements that we have recommended in
the nutritional chapter. This is by no means a mandatory list of supplements to take
during FPT, nor a complete list of supplements of foods that can be taken.
Whey Protein - Onnit Whey Protein
Fish Oil - Onnit Krill Oil
Creatine – Onnit Creatine
Oat Bar – Onnit Oatmega Bar
Multi-Vitamin Daily/Nightly – Onnit Total Human Pack
Intra Workout Carbohydrate - Gaspari Glycofuse
BCAA - Bodybuilding.com Signature BCAA
Whey Protein – Bodybuilding.com Signature Whey Protein
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Recommended Resources
warm up sequences
WARM UP
SEQUENCEs
1. Oscillatory Foam Roll Quadriceps
PLAY DEMO
45-seconds (per side)
Lying down on your stomach with the foam roller under one leg at a
time, locate tender areas along the front side of the thigh and oscillate
over them for 15-20 seconds a piece with small micro movements of
1-2 inches of total movement of the roller under the body. Address
2-3 points per leg for a grand total of 90-seconds of pre-training foam
rolling.
2. Bi-Phasic Rear Foot Elevated Hip Flexor Stretch 45-seconds (per side)
PLAY DEMO
Achieve a half kneeling position with your rear foot elevated on a box
or bench. Ensure that you are maintaining spinal and pelvic neutral
position co-contracting the glutes and adductors and the pecs and lats
before a core brace is taken. Once this position is achieved, place your
hands on the front knee and oscillate back and forth for 30-seconds,
followed by an authentic terminal end range stretch for 15-additional
seconds. Do this for both sides.
3. Quadruped Bird Dog
PLAY DEMO
125
2x5 (per side)
Start down in an all-fours quadruped position on the ground. The hands
and elbows should be positioned directly under the shoulders, and
the knees under the hips. Grip the ground with the hands, activate the
glutes and adductors and smoothly reach the right arm and left leg
out, trying to maximize distance between fingertips and toes. Ensure
that you are not over extending at the lower back. Complete 5 reps
on one side, and switch to complete an additional 5 reps on the other.
Complete two rounds of this in a slow and controlled manner.
lower body warm up
4. Banded Glute Bridge
PLAY DEMO
2x10
Place a blue JRx band around your heels and pull the band over your
thighs so that it’s positioned half way between the hip and knee. With
the feet in a narrower hip width position and the upper arms driving
down into the ground with strong fists at the hands, brace the core and
pre-tension the glutes. Smoothly drive up, peaking the contraction at
the glutes, and accentuate the eccentric down. Complete two round of
10 pristine reps with heavy mind muscle connection.
5. Dumbbell Goblet Squat + RDL
PLAY DEMO
3x3 (per side)
Using a dumbbell or a kettlebell, we are super setting the foundational
squat and hip hinge patterns. Start by doing 3 slow and controlled
goblet squats, reaching depth with a neutral spinal position, and then
move into 3 reps of RDL’s feeling a stretch at the hamstrings, and
building tension in the top position. These reps should be extremely
light, with maximal tension to grease the groove of these patterns.
6. Jumping Jacks + Depth Vertical Jump
PLAY DEMO
126
3x5+ 1 Jump
End the lower body emphasis dynamic warm up with another super set,
which combined a twitchy movement with an explosive jump. Complete
3 rounds of the superset, starting with 5 jumping jacks executed fast,
and then off a bench, depth jump straight into an explosive vertical
jump, catching the landing with pristine mechanics. Note, there will be
only one jump per set.
lower body warm up
warm up sequences
WARM UP
SEQUENCEs
1. 3-Way T-Spine Foam Roll
PLAY DEMO
45-seconds (per side)
Place the foam roller perpendicular to the body starting between the
shoulder blades. The first position will bring your butt off the floor and
have the arms and head extending to mobilize the t-spine into extension
with a slight oscillation. From there, move to a flexed position at the
mid-back and head with the arms hugging in front of the body and
oscillate. This will expose some intrinsic muscles of the upper back to
the roller. Finally, and most importantly, keep the butt on the ground
and control of your core while actively extending over the foam roller,
using an auditory breath out exhaling as you reach back. Come back
to neutral position each breath. Spend approximately 45-seconds per
position.
2. Bi-Phasic Hinged Back Lat Stretch
PLAY DEMO
Grab a suspension trainer, rings or side of a power rack and place your
feet in a hip width power stance. With a neutral spinal position, hinge
your hips back, allowing your arms and hands to remain anchored to
the rings or rack. This will allow stretching of the lats and also extension
of the thoracic spine. Once you achieve full range, sit back and oscillate,
leading with your hips for 30-seconds. From there, hold a static end
range stretch for an additional 15-seconds.
3. Quadruped T-Spine Rotation
PLAY DEMO
127
45-seconds
2x10 (per side)
Get down into an all-fours quadruped position on the ground. Root
your hands into the ground, and contract your glutes and adductors
to control the hips and shoulders with active stability. Take one hand
and lightly contact the fingers on the back of the head. Move your
elbows together rotating down to start the movement, then rotate up
leading with your head and neck. Ensure that you are breathing out and
exhaling as you reach top end range of motion. Do not compensate
from the lower back here, keep control of your hips and core at all
times.
upper body warm up
4. Rusin Banded Shoulder Tri-Set 3x10 (per side)
PLAY DEMO
Here’s a true staple shoulder saver warm up protocol consisting of 10
reps a piece of the band over and back, banded face pull and the band
pull apart. Smoothly bring your arms up over your head then back down
your back with your hands loosely in contact with the band before
bringing it back around to the waist. Control your rib cage at all times.
Next, position a band up on a rack just above head height. Drive your
elbows back pulling the band to your face with a double overhand grip
with 3-4 inches of band between your hands. Lastly, the band pull apart
will place hands shoulder width apart directly in front of your chest.
Pull the hands apart as far as possible, and peak the contraction of the
upper back. Move through these 3 movements in a series, and then rest
between rounds. Complete 3 total rounds.
5. Inverted Row + Push Up
PLAY DEMO
3x3 (per side)
With a suspension trainer, rings or a barbell positioned in the rack to hip
height when standing, complete 3 reps of inverted rows, allowing the
hands to move freely. Make sure to tension up the entire body leading
with the glutes and core. From there, move directly into a push up with
an accentuated eccentric down and explosive concentric back up for 3
reps. Complete 3 rounds of this resting minimally between rounds.
6. Seal Jack + Overhead Med-Ball Slam
PLAY DEMO
128
3x5 + 3x2
With the hands out in front of the body, execute 5 explosive seal jacks
that put the pecs through a stretched range of motion while reciprocally
working with the lower body. Move directly into an overhead medicine
ball slam. Ensure that your focus is on achieving triple extension of the
hips, knees and ankles when the ball is up overhead, and you throw
the ball through the ground as hard and fast as possible. You’ll be
completing 2 slams per set. Total 3 total super sets here.
upper body warm up
warm up sequences
WARM UP
SEQUENCEs
1. Oscillatory Foam Roll Adductors 45-seconds (per side)
PLAY DEMO
Start by positioning your body face down on the ground. The foam
roller will be placed parallel next to your body. Bring your leg up above
a 90-degree hip angle and contact the roller with your medial upper leg
and adductors. Now, rotate your body away from the roller to achieve a
stretch through the adductor group. Once there, oscillate on 2-3 trigger
points each leg for a grand total of 90-seconds and control of your core
while actively extending over the foam roller, using an auditory breath
out exhaling as you reach back. Come back to neutral position each
breath. Spend approximately 45-seconds per position.
2. Bi-Phasic Single Leg Adductor Rock Back Stretch 45-seconds (per side)
PLAY DEMO
Place your body into a quadruped position, then extend out one leg to
the side. Grip the ground with your hands, contract the glutes and the
adductors and maintain a neutral spinal and pelvic position. From there,
push your hips back using your arms and rock in and out of an authentic
end range position for 30-seconds, followed by a 15-second static end
range hold. It’s pivotal that you do not lose your spinal or pelvic position
here, as control of this region is the GOAL.
3. Alternating World’s Greatest Stretch
PLAY DEMO
129
2x5 (per side)
Make sure to watch the video on this multi-step stretch. Lunge forward
with your left leg and bring your hands inside of the foot rounding your
back over into flexion lead by the head position. From there, neutralize
the spine and rotate the left arm up, again leading with the head. Come
back down to the starting position and place the left hand outside of
the left foot. From there, push up into a single leg hamstring stretch.
Then stand back up and reciprocate sides for 5 reps per side per set.
Energy Systems + Recovery Warm Up
4. Standing Single Leg Fire Hydrants
PLAY DEMO
Place a mini band just above your knees and start the feet out in a hip
width power stance with the hip hinged back and neutral spine. Lift up
the right leg and bend the knee to 90-degrees. Drive with the glutes
lifting your right leg out and back with a focus on contraction quality not
only from the dynamic right side moving, but also the left leg stabilizing
side that remains in contact with the ground. Complete 2 sets of 5 reps
per side with strong mind muscle connection.
5. Non-Alternating Lateral Lunge
PLAY DEMO
2x5 (per side)
3x3 (per side)
Starting in a neutral standing position, lunge directly to the side
allowing the hips to push back into a hinge and knees to bend, allowing
stretching of the lag side adductor and hamstring group. Powerfully
push back up into starting position and complete 3 reps in nonalternating fashion before moving to the opposite side. You’ll be doing
3 rounds of 3 reps per side, and getting deeper into the hip’s range of
motion each set.
6. Forward Skip + Depth Jump LandSlam 3x10 + 1 Jump
PLAY DEMO
130
Reciprocally use the arms and legs into a powerful skip hitting down
hard at the feet to increase ground reaction forces for 10 steps per side.
Don’t forget to lead with the arms and pump them like you are sprinting.
Then, stand up on a bench, depth jump off and explosively jump out
horizontally extending the hips powerfully. You’ll be completing 3
rounds of this power priming super set with the focus on quality and
twitchy based movement.
Energy Systems + Recovery Warm Up
week 1
WEEK 1
DAY 1
1. Front Squat w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Choose a front squat setup of your choice, traditional front rack, straps
or the cross-armed position. Start ramping with the bar plus 1-2 chains
on each side of the barbell hung properly with a leader chain and in
contact with the ground for 5 reps. If you do not have chains, simply
use blue JRx bands on each side of the barbell. Progressively chase
heavier loading in bar weight as you decrease reps all the way down to
singles. Note that you do NOT want to pre-fatigue here, but rather get
in some more pain-free volume and work to groove the pattern with
this type of descending rep ramping scheme. There will be no grinding
ramp up sets, ensuring explosiveness on every light ramp rep. Once you
get to the top sets for singles it’s time to chase a pure 1RM for the day.
Keep getting singles until you grind out a slow rep or lose the ability to
maintain proper technique and form. At that point you are DONE.
2. BARBELL RDL
PLAY DEMO
131
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x6@90
Position your feet hip width apart with a slight toe out in your athletic
power stance. With the hands outside of the knees, grip the barbell
maximally with a double overhand grip activating the lats, core and hips
before you ever move out of the neutral standing position. Push your
hips back with a neutrally braced spine and hinge. Flex the top of each
rep hard at the glutes and adductors, and lead the eccentric lowering
with huge amounts of tension through the hamstrings. We’ll be using
more of an extended ramp up scheme to again build pain-free volume
over 4 ramp up sets, so start with the bar and get heavier every set. Get
to a top end set of 6 reps then add a little bit more load each and every
working set to truly challenge the movement pattern in this strength
scheme and get the most out of this strength stimulus. Note, if your grip
is the limiting factor, use straps with a double overhand grip for heavy
working sets.
week 1 - day 1
3. Non-Alternating Safety Bar Reverse Lunges
PLAY DEMO
Get a safety squat bar (or a traditional barbell) on your back and hit
reverse lunges in non-alternating form lunging backwards with your
left for all 8 reps, then alternating to your right. Control your hamstrings
and glutes stabilizing the movement with posterior chain tension and
explode back up into a neutral position between every rep with cocontractions happening at the core and lower body. The goal is to load
this single leg pattern extremely heavy to challenge the balance of
the load placed on the back. The load in a safety bar reverse lunge is
further away from the center of mass and stability as compared to a
dumbbell setup, to create an “anti” core training effect as well as lower
body emphasized strength scheme work. When loaded correctly and
executed pristinely, alternating sets of 8 over the 3 top end sets should
leave you with a devastating lower body pump and your heart rate sky
high.
4. Physioball Hamstring Curl
PLAY DEMO
132
2/3x8@75
2/3xAMRAP@60
Due to the hamstring curl being a bodyweight movement, you’ll be
ramping up with 5 reps then 10 reps over the 2 ramp up sets, THEN
getting ready to push hard with some seriously painfully challenging
reps. You’ll be doing 3 top end sets of as many reps as possible, trying to
beat your previous set rep count. It’s pivotal that each rep incorporates
a peak contraction at the top with the knees flexing as the hips extend
smoothly, while controlling a full range of motion back down, especially
as the rep count compounds. Stay pristine on form even through the
pumptastic fire that will be lit on your hamstrings and glutes. Push your
mental limits in this simple, yet sinister movement. Note, if you do not
have a physioball, you can substitute hamstring slides with weights on a
carpet or floor, or any type of hamstring curl machine.
week 1 - day 1
5. Loaded Back Extensions
PLAY DEMO
133
0/3x10@60
Get yourself set up on a glute ham raise, roman chair or any type of
setup where you can purely hinge at the hips with loads to challenge
strength scheming. If all you have is a rack, place a safety pin up at hip
height, attach a band to your neck from the bottom of the opposite side
of the rack and extend from this position. Extension should be lead by
the glutes flexing extremely hard and finishing off with the hamstrings
and lower back. Ensure you are leading with the strongest muscles, and
accentuating the tension with the secondary lower back musculature,
NOT the other way around. Peak each contraction and drive blood flow
into the area, and control through a full range of motion. In order not to
compensate by flexing and extending the lumbar spine, bring the chin
to the chest, round your upper back and cue your pelvis to tuck and
posteriorly pelvic tilt as you extend up.
week 1 - day 1
week 1
WEEK 1
DAY 2
1. AirDyne Bike
PLAY DEMO
5 miles
Jump on the airdyne or ANY other bike, including exercise bikes or
outdoor bikes (climate permitting), and get yourself in some timed work
for 5-miles. I want you to push a progressive pace here, starting a bit
slower, and ending that distance at the top end speed to build your
heart rate up as we go. Get your breath back and recover before you
move into the walking portion of the training day.
2. Incline Treadmill Walking
15 minutes
Nothing too crazy here, as you should have just busted your ass
on the bike and hit some high heart rates. Get your heart rate to a
“conversational” level where you can talk and maintain composure
along with a smooth and sequenced gait cycle. Stay here for 15 minutes
and cruise on home to the end of this training day.
PLAY DEMO
3. Bodyweight Calf Raise
PLAY DEMO
134
100 reps AFAP
Using a stair to elevate the toes, complete 100 reps of full range of
motion calf raises, peaking each contraction for a full second and
resting 10 seconds between bouts to failure. Ensure that you are
working out of a full stretch at the bottom position and also using
fingertip assist to help balance. Each and every rep should be pristine,
so utilize your rest periods to accumulate a nasty pump into the lower
legs while working through a full range of motion in aid of ankle mobility
maintenance.
week 1 - day 2
week 1
WEEK 1
DAY 3
1. Fat Bar Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
Get your fat bar working, or if you don’t have a fat bar place fat grips on
the bar to achieve a similar position and setup. If you don’t have either
of these, strongest grip on the barbell with a FALSE grip is the best
alternative. Using a progressive loading ramp scheme as we decrease
reps, chase the ramps all the way up and get to the point where you
can throw down some quality singles and set a new 1RM personal
record on this lift. Ensure that you are utilizing a full and repeatable
range of motion and making this bench press variation a full body lift
with optimal leg drive, core bracing and upper back and lat recruitment
for the stabilization of the back side of the body.
2. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
135
4/3x6@90
Set the incline bench up to approximately 30-45 degrees (usually 1-2
notches up on a traditional adjustable weight bench) and get those
palms facing down towards your feet with a traditional pronated grip.
Work through a full range of motion driving up as hard as you can and
controlling an eccentric moment down with high levels of tension and
stability from the backside of the body. I want these to be loaded as
a performance lift in a strength scheme here, so push your limits with
explosive intent and heavy loading. Each working set should be slightly
heavier than the previous, trying to set some rep records for this lift, so if
you miss a rep or two by the last set, that’s fine.
week 1 - day 3
3. Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
2/3x8@60
With more pressing comes the need for MORE upper back and
posterior chain pulling volume. Get your hands in a wider grip on a
straight lat pulldown bar and angle your torso back to keep control of
the lats and shoulders throughout this range of motion bringing your
sternum up to the sky and core remaining fully braced. If you do not
have a lat pulldown machine, you can complete traditional wide grip
pull ups (as long as you can execute 8 pristine bodyweight reps) or
setup a band over a pull up bar and pull down from that position to
match the line of pull. Drive down, flex hard at the bottom and ride it
up with a controlled eccentric moment. Do NOT lose tension at the top,
ensuring that your shoulder blades, lats and shoulders stay engaged
with optimal stability throughout. While I want heavy loading here, I also
want you to feel this quality contraction happening at the lats and not
having to alter your technique in order to pack on more weight to the
movement.
4. Dual Handle Low Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
We are keeping the pulling extremely spine and shoulder friendly here
with a ton of reps out of the horizontal pull plane. Place two handles on
the low cable machine to let your hands rotate naturally and flex each
and every rep with a neutralized and stabilized spinal position. If you do
not have a cable setup, simply sit on the ground using a low anchored
band in each hand matching the line of pull and goal of the movement.
For either setup, these should test your very limits of pain-tolerance as
I want these strict 75-seconds on the rest periods. You will NOT be fully
recovered between sets, so mentally push through the painful pump to
get all your reps.
5. Tall Kneeling Cable Face Pull
PLAY DEMO
136
3/4x15@75
0/3x30@60
Lets kill two birds with one stone getting your knees on the ground in
a tall kneeling developmental position while we go to town on some
serious volume for the upper back with face pulls. If you do not have
a cable setup, simply use bands positioned at head height while your
knees are on the ground. Keep constant tension in the cable or band
and knock out 30 reps per set with another strict minute rest period
peaking each contraction hard and pulling your hands apart as you pull
back. If you piss out on the reps, rest pause and finish your sets. You
don’t leave until you have 90 reps under your belt, period.
week 1 - day 3
week 1
WEEK 1
DAY 4
1. Loaded Seated Vertical Jump
PLAY DEMO
Lets prime the central nervous system before we get in and perform
all out sprints. Start in a seated position with dumbbells in your hand
and rock back, smash those feet down into the floor to increase ground
reaction forces and go straight into a vertical jump pushing the ankles,
knees and hips into a powerful triple extension moment resetting
between each rep of the 3 in each of the 10 sets. Get full recovery
over that minute period before jumping into the next set. We are using
loading that is between 10-20% of your back squat 1RM with speed in
mind, not loading.
2. Incline Treadmill Sprint
PLAY DEMO
137
15 rounds 15s/45s work/rest ratio
I want these fast, and I want them tight on form. Get outside if you
can, climate permitting, or get on a higher incline really hammering
the speed up on the treadmill. Work hard to get the heart rate down
between sets by controlling a slow breath pace in order to focus on
quality volume with the explosive gait cycle. Treat these sprints as
opportunity to recover like a boss between bouts.
3. Dumbbell Farmer’s Carry
PLAY DEMO
2/10x3@60
10 rounds 15s/60s work/rest ratio
Get the heaviest dumbbells you can find and walk with them slowly for
15 seconds and rest a minute between sets. I want full body tension
with the grip maximized into the dumbbells, the pecs and lats cocontracted for a strong and stable shoulder girdle, and 360 degrees
of tension and expansion at the core. Again, focus on your heart
rate, breath and mental muscle here, staying pristine and recovered
between sets. The slower and smoother the better for carries. There will
absolutely be no sloppy losses of position with these walks.
week 1 - day 4
4. Russian Block Side Plank
PLAY DEMO
138
4 rounds (each) 15s/15s work/rest ratio
On the theme of peaking the heart rate and bringing it back down in
record time, we’ll be using a Russian (not RUSIN) block for side planks to
get a well-rounded core emphasis over the course of this training week.
Squeeze as HARD as you can for 15 seconds on one side recruiting
head to toe tension, rest 15 seconds, then go to the opposite side, rest
15 seconds etc. You’ll be completing 4 rounds for each side for a total of
8. The goal is NOT time or volume here, but rather intensity. The goal is
to peak full body contractions harder and harder to progress.
week 1 - day 4
week 1
WEEK 1
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Safety Squat Bar Box Squat w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
2/8x3@30
Speed kills, especially in power, strength and muscle development.
Lets get in and train some speed endurance with this challenging block
that will spike heart rate and also prime that CNS to recharge your
system before going in heavy again next week. Use a safety squat bar
if you have one. And if not, use a barbell on your back. Start at 40% of
your 1RM in bar weight for squat and hammer 3 reps per set with a strict
30-second rest period. You will be adding blue or black JRx resistance
bands to each side of the bar ensuring full tension is maintained and
the band NEVER go on slack and stay vertical to the ground at all times.
I want a speedier eccentric (controlled, but allowing the bands to pull
you down on the box), a slight rock with great core and pillar control,
and an EXPLOSIVE concentric up. Turn your mental focus WAY up for
these. The key here is driving hard and accelerating through the entire
ROM all the way up as the bands tension and add more resistance as
they are stretched. Be vicious and aggressive on these.
2. Dynamic Effort Hybrid Stance Barbell Rack Pull w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
139
2/8x3@30
Just when you thought you were done, we are going back in! Get setup
with the safety pins set 2-4 inches below your tibial tuberosity, and your
stance wider in a hybrid sumo with hands between your knees. Load
up around 40% of your deadlift 1RM in bar weight and focus on SPEED.
Get the bands set on the bottom of the rack, OR around your feet and
on the bar, either one works as long as there’s banded accommodating
resistance to accelerate into. Do NOT bring these back down slow. Rather,
drop them down to the rack under control between reps with more of
a concentric only style of pull to really stimulate the central nervous
system. Don’t forget that we are training the brain with dynamic effort.
week 1 - day 5
3. Front Foot Elevated Dumbbell Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
These look simple enough on paper, but I want you to make these split
squats the most painfully awesome sets of the training week. Get 2
plates elevating the front foot to accentuate the range of motion and
load these extremely heavy with dumbbells strapped up in your hands.
Ten reps should bring you to about 30 seconds total time under tension
per side, just enough to build muscle, strength and create a metabolic
pump effect in the tissues. Re-stabilize between sides. Stay in control
and fight the urge to quit. Use a controlled tempo and full range of
motion focusing on smooth balance and coordination.
4. Barbell Hip Thrust
PLAY DEMO
0/4x12@75
Bringing these bad boys back in with a progressive loading scheme.
PLEASE use big plates on your first set and keep loading heavier over
4 total sets with 12 reps. On the last set, you should BARELY be able
to get that 12th rep. Flex everything (neck, back, and pelvic posterior
tilting) to really tap into the potential contraction quality at the glutes.
Your spine should not extend, rather flex the chin to the chest, round
the upper back and cue your pelvis to tilt back into a posterior position
to activate the glutes fully. Do not over extend your back here, and keep
your vision out in front of you, not up towards the ceiling.
5. Kneeling Cable Crunch
PLAY DEMO
140
2/3x10@75work/rest ratio
0/3xAMRAP@60
Get down on two knees and get a cable/rope attachment or band over
your shoulders. I want a vast majority of this “crunch” range of motion
happening from the thoracic spine, NOT the lumbar spine, but a little is
ok. Control down into the crunch, peak the contraction hard for TWO full
seconds and come back up under control to a neutral position. I’m only
interested in clean reps here, so get as many GOOD reps as possible,
take a minute rest period and do this for 3 total sets.
week 1 - day 5
week 1
WEEK 1
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Neutral Grip Bench Press w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
This scheme should look similar as we’ll be using it across the board
for dynamic effort work this week and next. Get a neutral grip bar with
blue JRx bands on it. If you don’t have a neutral bar, place your grip a
bit narrower on a traditional barbell. You’ll start out with a bar weight of
40% of bench press 1RM. This is a RAPID eccentric, aka controlling the
free falling decent of the bar to chest and accelerating it back up as
explosively as possible. Think to yourself, “pop, pop, pop” for 3 reps per
set here. Strict rest period for speed endurance needs to be adhered to.
When you get tired, explode harder.
2. Slight Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
141
2/8x3@30
3/4x8@75
We are going back in with dumbbells at the tail end of this week and
hammering pure strength schemes. The slight decline angle should
place your pecs in a position for a slight stretch, but I still want you to
treat this as a performance lift, chasing some big weights. Strong and
stable positions throughout is a requisite of this accessory movement.
Control down, achieve a stretch and drive up explosively flexing each
rep hard at the top. I prefer the feet placed up on the bench, OR
positioning plates under the feet to elevate up the ground to avoid over
extending the arch from the taller bench positions.
week 1 - day 6
3. Split Stance Single Arm Dumbbell Row
PLAY DEMO
Get your stance split and your hand on the rack or a bench to stabilize.
Turn those hips and core on to FIGHT anti-rotation. Drive up 10 reps
on one side focusing on arcing the row back towards your hip and
flexing the lats and upper back hard, take a few seconds to recompose yourself and then go back in on the opposite side. Get some
great reps in here and contract the lats HARD to feel them in the rib
cage attachments if pristinely executed. This needs to be a full body
movement with the core controlled and the lower body supporting this
asymmetrically loaded position. Don’t get lazy, these need to be strict
controlled reps that target your back as well as your core and energy
systems.
4. Plate Loaded Neutral Grip Pull Up
PLAY DEMO
142
5/0x6@60
Let’s use a progressive scheme here for loading the vertical pulls.
Neutral grip hand position to start with through a full range of motion.
Ensure that you are positioning the core and hips under tension and
control BEFORE you pull up. Get heavier and heavier until you can no
longer pull for reps with a weight belt and plates attached to them. In
order to accentuate core and pelvic control, pin the hanging weights
between your knees pulling in with the adductors while the pulls are
being executed. This will make a huge difference. Never lose the bottom
position in terms of shoulder stability. Maintain tension at all times.
5. Prone Y-T-I Complex
PLAY DEMO
2/3x10@60
2/3x10@75
Light a fire on your shoulders and build into that pain-free shoulder
training volume with a huge amount of reps. Knock out 10 reps in the Y
position keeping the palms in the down position, then straight into the
T position, again with the palms down towards the floor at the top, then
back with hands to the side for the I position. Yes, that’s 30 reps per set
and 5 total sets FOR 150 reps. A little bit of loading goes a long way
here. What we don’t want is swinging of the weights or compensations.
Put your ego aside, torch your shoulders, and have fun with the pump of
your life with only a few pounds in each hand.
week 1 - day 6
week 1
WEEK 1
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
143
week 1 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover. *Need to mention the rotational part of it.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
144
week 1 - day 7
week 2
WEEK 2
DAY 1
1. Conventional Barbell Rack Pull
PLAY DEMO
Lets fine tune this rack pull setup for max effort day. You’ll be setting the
safety pins in the power rack 3-4 inches below the bottom kneecap to
achieve a rack pull position. You can alternately elevate the plates up
off the ground by placing them on blocks, steps or other weight plates
to achieve this position. Use a double overhand grip, and as the weights
gets extremely heavy use straps. With a conventional stance, work
the weight up over a descending rep ramp, and then go for a true 1RM
effort to set a PR for this variation. Remember, max effort work isn’t only
about making the lift, but doing it with technical proficiency.
Barbell Front Squat
PLAY DEMO
145
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x6@90
Getting back in the rack and working the front squat variation this week
with with a pure strength scheme. Again, ensure that you are squatting
with proficiency using your preferred hand position on the barbell that
allows you to maximize authentic range of motion while incorporating a
strong and stable shoulder girdle. Goal is to use pristine technique using
max weights for a few sets of 6’s at the top. No nasty grinding here, just
strength loading and sound execution.
week 2 - day 1
Safety Squat Bar Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
If you don’t have a safety squat bar, use a barbell in the back rack
position. Unrack the bar from the power rack, step the rear foot back,
then complete 6 controlled split squats with the top of your knee
grazing the ground to ensure sound repeatable depth and range of
motion between reps before moving to the opposite leg for 6 additional
reps. Between sides, take a few breaths, restabilize your core and
pillar position and ensure quality reps. I want these loaded as heavy as
possible while still being able to execute the movement well, so brace
hard and fire your quads while keeping huge tension through the glutes
and hamstrings on the back side of the movement. As you’ll notice
quickly, this will be as much of a core training movement as it will be
lower body. Link these segments together.
4. Glute-Ham Raise
PLAY DEMO
146
2/3x6@75
1/3x8@60
Any hamstring curl variation will do here, but I prefer you use a glute
ham raise if you have one. If not, prioritizing hamstring curl variations
that also allow the hips to move into extension to incorporate the glutes
firing together with the hamstrings are preferred such as heel slides and
physioball leg curls. Get one ramp up set to feel out the position, ensure
proper setup and grease the groove of the motor pattern, THEN go in
and load up for sets of 8 over the 3 working sets at the top. Link the core
with the hips here and work those hams. Remember, the hamstrings
and glutes must work from a stable core and spinal position so cue
flexion at the neck and mid back and tucking your tailbone under your
body to really place stability through the entire lower body and pelvis.
week 2 - day 1
5. Banded Reverse Hyper 0/3xAMRAP@60
PLAY DEMO
147
Setup on a physioball positioned on top of a bench, or if you have a
reverse hyper machine or glute ham raise, now’s the time to utilize
these machines. Place a light blue JRx band around your heels and
connect it to the bottom of the bench or machine setup. Ensure that
it’s anchored to the ground by placing a dumbbell over the band to
stabilize its anchor point. Starting from a down position with the legs
straight at the knees and together, control the spine and hips into
rhythmical extension, contracting the glutes and lower back hard at the
top of each rep and allowing the spine to extend while the chest and
head raise slightly. The band will pull you back down into position along
with gravity, but smoothly control the decent reversing the position into
flexion of the neck and lower back under control. Get your upper body
involved with max grip and shoulder stability, again altering neck and
chest position slightly throughout the concentric and eccentric actions
of these reps.
week 2 - day 1
week 2
WEEK 2
DAY 2
1. Treadmill Run 2-miles AFAP
PLAY DEMO
This is not a Sunday recovery jog through the park. This is a balls to the
wall run for 2-miles to be completed as fast as possible. Lets be honest,
athletes need to be able to run, period. But we are using running as a
form of testing aerobic conditioning in short time periods, not qualifying
for the Boston marathon. I recommend building up your speed over this
distance to end in an all out sprint. Ensure that you record your time, as
we’ll be re-testing this as we build cardiovascular capacities along with
your big lifts with this approach.
AirDyne Recovery Bike
PLAY DEMO
We aren’t training anything too crazy here in terms of intensity, as you
should have just pushed your absolute limits with the run. Get your
heart rate to a “conversational” level where you can talk and maintain
composure while you pedal and use your arms preferably if you are
on an air bike. This is usually between 120-140 beats per minute for
reference. Stay in this heart rate zone for 15 minutes and cruise on home
to the end of the training day.
3. Loaded Calf Raises
PLAY DEMO
148
15 minutes
0/5x10@10
Using a weight belt around your waist with 10-45 pounds of loading
and step up on an elevated surface to accentuate the full range of
motion of the ankle. Start at the bottom stretched position and hold for
a second, then dynamically come up flexing as hard as you can with a
strong mind muscle connection for a split second before accentuating
the eccentric and coming back down. You’ll be completing 5 sets of 10
perfect reps with 10 seconds of rest between sets to target a metabolic
stress effect in the lower legs. After you complete all 50, stretch both
lower legs for 1-2 minutes.
week 2 - day 2
week 2
WEEK 2
DAY 3
1. Incline Barbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
Get on a traditional incline bench, which is usually about 45-degrees
of an inclined angle, and get to work chasing your true 1RM for this
lift from the bar up. Remember to ramp slowly through the multiple
rep sets in order to not pre fatigue the system before you start hitting
singles on your way to a PR. I recommend using a false (thumbless)
grip here in order to really maximize shoulder position and upper back
tension. The false grip still requires maximal grip on the barbell in order
to stabilize the shoulders and tap into the all powerful irradiation effect
of tension traveling up chain through the body. Push this hard and set a
standard for your incline bench performance.
2. Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
149
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x6@90
We will be training the traditional flat dumbbell bench here with a bit
more total volume and a pure strength scheme of 6 reps per set. I want
you to push these hard, set some multi-rep PR’s with this movement as
a secondary pressing performance lift of the day. Ensure that you are
using leg drive, a full range of motion and controlling the lats and upper
back on the posterior chain to stabilize this lift. Crush the dumbbells in
your hands as hard as you can to help the transfer of torque and tension
up chain. On each working set, get heavier and heavier if you can,
pushing this lift to it’s limits with small jumps to find your true limits.
week 2 - day 3
3. Bent Over Trap Bar Row
PLAY DEMO
3/4x8@75
One of my favorite pain-free bent over row variations utilizes the trap bar
instead of the barbell. If you do not have a barbell, simply substitute the
barbell with a double overhand grip or dumbbells using a neutral grip
to match the hand position of a trap bar. Hinge your hips back under
the trap bar and create huge amounts of stability in the hamstrings,
glutes and core in this isometric position. From this hinge hold, execute
pristine bent over rows driving the elbows up and back towards your
hips in an arcing motion to flex the lats and upper back as hard as
possible while accentuating the eccentric lower under control in order
to not lose base hip hinged spinal position. It is extremely important that
you do NOT get sloppy here with the use of momentum of incomplete
range of motion reps. The goal should be to brace as hard as you do
during max effort deadlifts, and row over that brace through full range
with heavy mind muscle connection.
4. Close Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
150
2/3x12@60
Get the close grip v-bar attachment on the lat pulldown machine and
get to work. If you do not have access to the lat pulldown or cables, I
highly recommend setting up bands over a pull up bar keeping hands in
a close neutral grip position and pulling down while sitting on the floor.
For you freaks out there who can execute sets of 12 reps of pull ups out
of this hand position, go for it. No matter your modification of choice, get
a nice stretch at the top of the movement (this hand position will pull
your shoulder blades through a terminal top end range) and flex hard
on the pull. Ideally, I’d like to see a small hinge back at the hips as you
pull down, and a small hinge forward as you accentuate the eccentric
up. Lead your body and spinal position with your head. Make sure to
load these up so they create a pump that feels like your lats are ripping
apart, in a good way, of course.
week 2 - day 3
5. Seated High Angle Cable Face Pull
PLAY DEMO
151
2/3x30@60
Sit on a bench or the floor and place the cable or band in a high angle
position in order to target the depression and downward rotation of the
shoulder blades while the elbows are driving back. Move some heavier
loading here, flexing hard for a half second before accentuating the
eccentric back out. No cheating with the core, stay strong and stable.
Note, if you are using the band, place 3-5 inches between your double
overhand grip on the band and pull it apart as you pull back to your
face. This will really help increase contraction quality of the posterior
delt, upper back and scapular muscles.
week 2 - day 3
week 2
WEEK 2
DAY 4
1. Explosive Bodyweight Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat Jump
PLAY DEMO
We are starting out at the bottom of a rear foot elevated position with
the hands reciprocating with the legs like you are running. It’s pivotal
that you use your arms here to drive up accentuating the action of the
lower body. Make this a violently explosive execution reaching maximal
distance up and catching the bottom position under control with tension
through the glutes and hamstrings. Ramp up with one jump per side
to gain proper setup and execution. For working sets you’ll complete 2
reps on the right, setup for 2 additional reps on the left to finish off the
first set. This is training the nervous system to prime recovery, so keep
all efforts high and focus in on staying fast.
2. AirDyne Bike Sprints
PLAY DEMO
152
2/8x2@60
15 rounds 15s/45s work/rest ratio
If you do not have an air bike, place in an exercise bike, spin bike, or hell,
any cardio equipment will work, prioritizing minimal joint stress. Push
as hard as physically possible on those 15 second working sets for 15
seconds at a time, then close your eyes, breathe deep and expedite
recovery with the heart rate dropping back down at record rates within
that 45 second rest period. These will get brutally tough, but that’s
exactly what they were designed to do!
week 2 - day 4
3. Loaded Controlled Crawl
PLAY DEMO
Place a weight plate on your lower back and get into a quadruped
crawling position, hovering you knees just an inch off the ground with
a neutral spinal position and knees and hands under the base of pillar
support. Reciprocate your steps with arms and legs moving opposite of
one another and keep full body tension, crawling smoothly forward for
15 seconds. Rest 45 seconds between sets. Think of this as a crawling
full tension plank with movement. Note, these are NOT bear crawls,
but a method of training controlled synergistic locomotion out of the
developmental quadruped position.
4. Side Plank Off Bench
PLAY DEMO
153
10 rounds 15s/45s work/rest ratio
0/6x15@30
Get setup with your glute ham raise, back extension machine, or
traditional bench here and hold a side plank position OFF the bench for
15 seconds per side, THEN rest for 30 seconds going through 6 rounds
for direct anti-side bending core work. The goal here is to tension down
the entire body from head to toe and fight gravity trying to rip your body
down into side bending. While the focus should be placed at the hips,
don’t forget about the shoulders and core as well.
week 2 - day 4
week 2
WEEK 2
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Safety Squat Bar Box Squat w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
2/8x3@30
Speed kills, especially in power, strength and muscle development.
Lets get in and train some speed endurance with this challenging block
that will spike heart rate and also prime that CNS to recharge your
system before going in heavy again next week. Use a safety squat bar
if you have one. And if not, use a barbell on your back. Start at 40% of
your 1RM in bar weight for squat and hammer 3 reps per set with a strict
30-second rest period. You will be adding blue or black JRx resistance
bands to each side of the bar ensuring full tension is maintained and the
bands NEVER go on slack and stay vertical to the ground at all times.
I want a speedier eccentric (controlled, but allowing the bands to pull
you down on the box), a slight rock with great core and pillar control,
and an EXPLOSIVE concentric up. Turn your mental focus WAY up for
these. The key here is driving hard and accelerating through the entire
ROM all the way up as the bands tension and add more resistance as
they are stretched. Be vicious and aggressive on these.
2. Dynamic Effort Hybrid Stance Barbell Rack Pull w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
154
2/8x3@30
Just when you thought you were done, we are going back in! Get setup
with the safety pins set 2-4 inches below your tibial tuberosity, and your
stance wider in a hybrid sumo with hands between your knees. Load
up around 40% of your deadlift 1RM in bar weight and focus on SPEED.
Get the bands set on the bottom of the rack, OR around your feet and
on the bar, either one works as long as there’s banded accommodating
resistance to accelerate into. Do NOT bring these back down slow. Rather,
drop them down to the rack under control between reps with more of
a concentric only style of pull to really stimulate the central nervous
system. Don’t forget that we are training the brain with dynamic effort.
week 2 - day 5
3. Non-Alternating 45-Degree Reverse Lunge
PLAY DEMO
Dumbbells are placed in the hands down to the sides to load up this
movement. Lunge back at a 45-degree angle to open up the hips and
adductors, then forcefully contract and get back into starting position.
Note, this is NOT a reverse lunge, but a wider variation targeting more
glutes and adductors at this 45-degree angle that will be extremely
novel to the system for stabilization and activation of contractions.
Complete 8 reps on the right, then 8 reps on the left, THEN take your
rest period over 75 seconds. Due to the 3D aspects of this lift, being
trained half way between the lateral lunge and reverse lunge, loading
will be unpredictable, so ramp up intelligently ensuring you’re hitting all
your reps per set with quality and repeatable range of motion.
4. Barbell Glute Bridge w/ Band
PLAY DEMO
2/3x8@75
0/4x12@75
Lying on the floor in a supine position, place the barbell on your hips
with a bar pad or mat between you and the barbell for comfort’s sake.
Position your feet flat on the ground with 3 points of contact at the heel,
big toe and little toe that are gripping into the ground. Your feet will be
in a narrower stance allowing your knees to drive out and centrate the
hips. You can also place a mini-band around the knees to accentuate
the glute feel and activation. Drive your hips up with a neutral spine,
squeeze for a full second at the top and come back down under control.
Ensure that you think, “pull the tail bone under” in order to not over
extend at the lower back.
5. Physioball Stir The Pot 0/3xALAP@60
PLAY DEMO
155
Get your forearms positioned on the physioball with your hands
grasping together maximally to generate tension, and your hips and
core locked into a straight-line neutral position with maximal tightness
and tension throughout. Stir your arms clockwise all the way around
in a full circle, then counter clockwise all the way back. Use a range
of motion that challenges your core position, but also allows you to
remain in neutral. Do this for as long as possible with pristine form
each of the 3 sets. These should be brutal when executed slowly and
under control. Make it a game to see how hard you can brace your
entire body with tension.
week 2 - day 5
week 2
WEEK 2
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Neutral Grip Bench Press w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
This scheme should look similar as we’ll be using it across the board
for dynamic effort work this week and next. Get a neutral grip bar with
blue JRx bands on it. If you don’t have a neutral bar, place your grip a
bit narrower on a traditional barbell. You’ll start out with a bar weight of
40% of bench press 1RM. This is a RAPID eccentric, aka controlling the
free falling decent of the bar to chest and accelerating it back up as
explosively as possible. Think to yourself, “pop, pop, pop” for 3 reps per
set here. Strict rest period for speed endurance needs to be adhered to.
When you get tired, explode harder.
2. Slight Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
156
2/8x3@30
3/4x6@75
We are going back in with dumbbells at the tail end of this week and
hammering pure strength schemes. The slight decline angle should
place your pecs in a position for a slight stretch, but I still want you to
treat this as a performance lift, chasing some big weights. Strong and
stable positions throughout is a requisite of this accessory movement.
Control down, achieve a stretch and drive up explosively flexing each
rep hard at the top. I prefer the feet placed up on the bench, OR
positioning plates under the feet to elevate up the ground to avoid over
extending the arch from the taller bench positions.
week 2 - day 6
3. Medium Neutral Grip Low Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
Use a medium neutral grip attachment and row a heavier weight for
sets of 8, placing some strain through the system while building our
horizontal pulling volume. This attachment is a little wider than the
v-bar, but not as wide as a traditional wide grip pulldown. If you do not
have this attachment, any neutral grip attachment will work. And for
those of you without low row setups, the preferred modification is a
close neutral grip low row off the ground for 8+ reps with heavy black
JRx bands. No matter your horizontal pull variation of choice, it’s pivotal
that you flex each rep hard, move through a full range of motion, and
elicit a strong training effect from this plane of motion.
4. Loaded Chin Up
PLAY DEMO
0/5x6@60
Let’s chase some numbers here again altering the hand position into a
fully supinated grip. Get your hands in chin up position, add some load
around your waist if you can in the form of a weight belt and plates, and
get to work. Remember, pre-fatigue is in the system already from the
rows, but don’t let that stop you. We are going to learn how to perform
under metabolic stress and fatigue while improving our abilities to
recruit the core and hips to make a stiffer pillar unit to train from. Focus
on stability, and your numbers will sky rocket.
5A. Bent Over Dumbbell Lateral Raise
PLAY DEMO
157
2/3x8@60
4/0x15@30
Hinge your hips back and hold a strong isometric position to complete
15 rear delt raises with a peak flex at the top moving through a full
range of motion at the bottom. Move up in weight each of the 4 sets
and take 30 seconds break before moving on in this superset pairing. It’s
important to note that a little loading goes a long way here, so refrain
from getting sloppy with momentum and losses at base positions. We
want strict reps that target the muscles and spare the joints.
week 2 - day 6
5B. Seated Dumbbell Lateral Raise
PLAY DEMO
158
4/0x10@30
Sit down to keep you from cheating this staple shoulder movement with
momentum. Drive up the dumbbells keeping the palms facing down,
flex hard at the top of the movement around parallel position with the
ground, and control them back down. Ensure that you are keeping
a slight bend at the elbows and letting the activation and feel of the
delts lead the motion, not an arbitrary cue or position that goes against
your body. Take 30 seconds and repeat back up to the rear delts in this
superset that should quickly light a fire over your shoulders.
week 2 - day 6
week 2
WEEK 2
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
159
week 2 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
160
week 2 - day 7
week 3
WEEK 3
DAY 1
1. Barbell Box Squat
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
Set the box to the lowest height that you can maintain great spinal
position with. Also, place the point of the box between your knees to
maximize butt to box surface area contact. Focus on pushing the hips
back and unlocking the movement posteriorly, sitting back and hitting
the box, deloading 50% of your bodyweight into the box while still
under full body tension and control. Add a slight rock from the hips at
the bottom position, then aggressively drive straight up through the
concentric. Do not go tough and go just hammering your butt into the
box, and do not lose control on the box. This movement needs to be
executed pristinely, again with controlled rock and explosion up. Chase
some big weights here and set some PR’s for this squat variation taking
away the stretch reflex from the bottom.
2. Reverse Band Hybrid Sumo Barbell RDL 4/3x5@90
PLAY DEMO
161
Place bands around the collars of the barbell on both sides hung from
the top of the power rack in the reverse band position that will deload
the bottom of the lift and reload the top based on the expansion of
the bands. The bands must be vertical to the ground while hinging.
If you cannot setup properly, do not use reverse bands. Instead, just
use bar weight instead of a poor reverse banded setup. In a wider and
more toed out hybrid sumo stance that positions your hands inside
your knees, hinge your hips back into an RDL with a neutral spine. This
variation will target more glutes and adductors, so that’s where the first
line of tension should hit. From an authentic full range bottom position,
drive up forcing the hips forward and tension hard at the top from the
glutes and adductors under a huge brace and neutral spine. These
should be extremely heavy, as you’ll be using the reverse bands to
support the bar weight.
week 3 - day 1
3. Safety Squat Bar Rear Foot Elevated Split
Squat w/ Hand Assist 2/3x6@90
PLAY DEMO
Using a safety squat bar on your back with your hands free, we’ll be
training the rear foot elevated split squat with added hand support.
Using a bench behind you with the top of your foot in contact with
the bench, a pad under your knee and a band on the floor to make
your setup repeatable from set to set, grab the sides of the rack with
your hand while allowing the safety squat bar to balance on your back
support. If you do NOT have a safety squat bar, execute barbell rear
foot elevated split squats WITHOUT hand assist. Whatever you do, do
NOT attempt to balance a barbell on your back. This is not the circus.
This is functional power training. No matter your setup, chase some
big weights for 6 reps and push your limits of loading in this advanced
single leg variation.
4. Loaded Single Leg Back Extension 2/3x8@60
PLAY DEMO
162
In a glute ham raise or roman chair back extension machine setup, get
one leg set in the pads and the opposite leg OUT to bias the single
leg setup. I still want the opposite leg active, but pushing down into
the pad from the outside to help stabilize the lower extremity and
pelvis. Execute the back extension per usual, driving at the glutes
first, and finishing off the movement with the hamstrings and lower
back and flexing hard at the top. Execute all 8 reps on the right, then
directly into 8 reps for the left and take a minute of rest between sets.
Note, if this variation does not allow you to complete 8 reps from a
strength standpoint, modify and use double leg back extensions out
of any setup. The goal here is to hit a total time under tension around
15-seconds per set per side, and that cannot be achieved by just a few
single leg reps.
week 3 - day 1
week 3
WEEK 3
DAY 2
1. AirDyne Bike
PLAY DEMO
Go as hard and fast as possible for 3-miles pushing your limits and
red lining your heart rate. This one should make your lungs feel like
they are bleeding, in a good way of course. Really challenge yourself
and get far outside of your comfort zone. Fully recover after this ride
before heading to the treadmill for your run. We want to focus on supine
supported 90-90 parasympathetic breathing here in order to best
recover between exercises.
2. Fartlek Run
PLAY DEMO
3-miles AFAP
15-minutes 6/8/5/9/7/10/4/6/8/5/10/7/8/10/12
We will be changing speeds every MINUTE on the minute on the
treadmill for this run. Follow the following breakdown (above) written
in miles per hour. If you are outside, don’t worry about following these
numbers to a T, but rather, run at different speeds every minute, fast,
slow, medium, a few sprints and everywhere in between. Since we will
be running at 15 different speeds over 15 minutes, I highly recommend
writing down on a piece of paper the speed recommendations 5
numbers at a time, with 3 total lines so you can monitor your time and
speed accordingly with minimal effort of flipping through a phone or
remembering. Make it easy on yourself, as this will again be a challenge
by the end.
3. Incline Treadmill Walk 15-minutes
PLAY DEMO
163
Since you just busted your ass on the bike followed by a challenging
conditioning zone run, we are bring the heart rate back down one more
time before we end this training session with a slight incline treadmill walk
for 15 minutes. I want this slow, in a recovery zone heart rate between
100-120 beats per minute. Just stay moving and focus on extending your
breath and decreasing respiratory rate. As you walk, feel victorious.
week 3 - day 2
4. Loaded Calf Raise Death Set
PLAY DEMO
164
100 reps AFAP
With a 25 pound or 45 pound plate around your waist, get ready for
a lower leg challenge like no other. We call this the death set as it’s
devastating. With a strict tempo of slow constant tension up and down
through a full range of motion with toes elevated on a surface to allow
maximal dorsiflexion, complete sets to complete technical failure, then
rest 10-seconds between bouts in cluster fashion. Keep hitting failure
until you total 100 total reps. You are going to want to quit half way
through, but don’t. Push your mental limits and push the largest pump
you’ve ever experienced into your calves here in record time.
week 3 - day 2
week 3
WEEK 3
DAY 3
1. Neutral Grip Bar Floor Press
PLAY DEMO
Get into your strongest grip position on the neutral grip bar (or a slightly
narrow position on the barbell if you don’t have one) and hit the floor!
In order to get the most out of this partial range of motion press from
an upper body only performance, I want the legs laying FLAT on the
ground, NOT bent at the knees and hips. This means the heels, backs
of the knees and glutes will remain driving down into the ground and
fully braced before the bar is unracked, and until the bar is replaced. No
squirming around under load. Control the bar down so that your upper
arms come into contact with the ground for a split second and drive
straight up. Do not bump your elbows off the ground, and certainly do
not rest the elbows on the ground in a dead stop position. This lift will
be humbling when executed without leg drive and the stretch reflex.
Get in and set an authentic PR here, and whatever you do, refrain from
cheating this variation.
2. Loaded Stretch Push Up
PLAY DEMO
165
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x8@75
Setup on this push up variation is pivotal. Place two elevated surfaces
approximately shoulder width away from each other. Then, bring
another elevated surface in to place your feet on. Place a weight plate
on the lower back while working through an extended range of motion
out of the stretch position at the pecs. It’s pivotal that the hands grip
into the boxes or benches, your shoulders stay in active and stabilized
control throughout the range of motion, and the slight stretch does
not turn into a passive vulnerable position at the shoulders. Control the
stretch for a split second at the bottom aspect of the range of motion,
then drive up hard and tension the top position for a second at the
pecs and anterior shoulders to maintain stability between reps. At all
times, the core must be engaged and locked in with neutral spinal
and hip positions. If you are not able to complete 8 quality reps with
bodyweight, position your feet on the ground for a hands elevated
stretched push up.
week 3 - day 3
3. Half Kneeling Single Arm Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
Kneel on the knee that is on the side that you are rowing with at the
upper body. The opposite arm placed out to the side, extended at the
elbow, making a fist with HUGE tension traveling up through the kinetic
chain. Also, from the half kneeling position your glutes, adductors and
core must be bracing maximally to maintain position from a solid base
to row from. Stay tight and row back tensioning the back as hard as you
can every rep. This will blast your core AND your back simultaneously.
After you hit all your working sets on single arm rows, you’ll be going in
for one last finisher challenge set from the horizontal pull pattern. Sit on
the floor with BOTH hands on the cable and knock out a set of as many
reps as possible with that same single arm weight, shooting for 50+ reps
before you stop. Keep pumping.
4. Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
4/3x8@60 + Challenge Set
2/3x20/15/10@60 + Loaded Stretch
Nothing too fancy on the setup here with the traditional lat pulldown.
Get the straight bar with a wider grip just outside of shoulder width.
Drive down towards the top of your sternal notch, flex the lats hard at
the bottom and ride up the eccentric range of motion under tension.
The working set rep counts are relative here, as I’ve given general
recommendations. What I want you to do is go to absolute failure
around 20 reps on the first set. Add weight then do it again to absolute
failure, then add one more time and go to absolute failure with a loaded
stretch tacked on for as long as possible, again keeping active control
of that top position, NOT passive hanging. This will look like 3 brutally
tough sets all to failure climbing in weight each time. Easy enough on
paper, not so much in training.
5. Chest Supported Dumbbell Rear Delt Raise
PLAY DEMO
166
2/4x20@60
Get your chest supported on an incline bench with your feet flat on the
ground and lower body and core bracing maximally. You’ll be getting
some work in for the upper back with dumbbell rear delt raises. Flex
the top every rep and control on down through a full range of motion
keeping tension in the system throughout all aspects of these sets. This
is a ton of volume, so use it to accumulate blood flow and stress into
these tissues. Remember that a little bit of loading goes a long way here
to target the intrinsics of the upper back. For an even stronger mind
muscle connection, allow the hands to relax around the dumbbells.
week 3 - day 3
week 3
WEEK 3
DAY 4
1. Single Leg Box Jump Into Double Leg Depth Drop
PLAY DEMO
2/8x1(per)@60
Lets get explosive on these jumps. I recommend using a small height
for the single leg box jumps, like a low step or a bench. Execute a single
leg jump to a bench and catch the position with a great athletic stance
and full body tension, then turn around and do a depth jump landing off
the bench focusing again on a strict high-tension position on the landing.
Repeat for the opposite leg and that’s considered one set. We must keep
the quality high here and have a full minute between explosive bouts in
order to not pre-fatigue the system with plyometrics, which goes against
my pain-free principles of strength and power training.
2. Incline Treadmill Sprints 15 rounds 10s/50s work/rest ratio
PLAY DEMO
167
Get the incline UP on the treadmill with a top end speed (the average
treadmill goes up to 12 miles per hour so maximize that) and sprint
hard pulling with the hamstrings at a top end speed. Remember this is
only 10 seconds so you should be riding the treadmill at max speed. It’s
imperative that you get on and off of the treadmill safely at these high
speeds and inclines. Since the treadmill will remain running the entire
time, you’ll spend your rest periods on the side rails resting. Hop on and
start off with your first 2-3 steps with your hand on the supports then
start running. Jump off the same way you got on, once again using the
hand supports to the side of the treadmill.
week 3 - day 4
3. Double Kettlebell Overhead Lateral Walk
10 rounds 15s per side/60s work/rest ratio
PLAY DEMO
Get two kettlebells (or dumbbells if you do not have KB’s) into an
overhead position with the palms facing forwards and your elbows fully
extended. Your biceps should be next to your ears with a fully stabilized
active shoulder position. From this base, side step under control for 15
seconds to the left taking slow and deliberate steps that allow you to
maintain a pelvis that is parallel to the floor, and then 15 seconds back
towards the right with the same executional quality. Take a minute of
rest between bouts, as the high tension required to laterally walk under
loading overhead should elevate the heart rate substantially.
4. Back Plank Off Bench
PLAY DEMO
168
0/4x30s@30
Set up on a glute ham raise, a roman chair back extension, or a flat
bench, locking your feet into place with your chest facing up towards
the ceiling. Get into a full body brace and hold the plank position for 30
seconds and rest 30 seconds between the 4 working sets. Position the
arms crossing in front of the body hugging the chest to generate upper
quadrant tension, and ensure the posterior chain of the lower body
and quads are firing on all cylinders. This should not just be a six-pack
movement, but a full body plank.
week 3 - day 4
week 3
WEEK 3
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Safety Squat Bar Squat w/CHAINS
PLAY DEMO
We are shifting our dynamic effort methods for another 2-week wave
starting with the safety squat bar with accommodating chain resistance.
If you do not have chains, simply use JRx bands on the barbell. If you
do not have a safety squat bar, the modification of choice is a higher
bar positioned back squat. Remember, we are NOT using a box here for
dynamic effort work this block. Use a rapid eccentric lowering utilizing
the change of direction and stretch reflex and explosively drive up
through the concentric portion of the lift using 50% of your 1RM back
squat for doubles with a strict 30 seconds of rest between sets. While
using chains (or bands) on the bar, the focus need so be to drive harder
into accommodating resistances all the way up through the range of
motion to maximize force output. No resetting between reps, pop off
doubles and get to the rest periods.
2. Dynamic Effort Trap Bar Deadlift w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
169
2/10x2@30
2/10x2@30
Get your trap bar (or hybrid sumo stance deadlift if you do not have a
trap bar) ready to work some explosive dynamic effort repeat bouts.
You’ll be using 50% of your 1RM barbell deadlift in bar weight with the
addition chains (or bands if you do not have chains) and knock out
explosive doubles using rapid eccentrics with 30-second rest periods.
My preferred method for chains on the trap bar is to hang from the front
and back of the bar, not the collars where the weights are added. This
adds a nice grounding mechanism to the trap bar, which can notoriously
get unstable at the top of the range of motion free floating over the
center of mass. If you are using bands, hook them around the collars
and under your feet to achieve the proper setup. We will be training
this lift in a concentric only technique, meaning you’ll be essentially
dropping the weight under control between reps, NOT lowering slowly.
No matter your bar or form of accommodating resistance, make it a
game on how fast you can move this weight. Speed kills.
week 3 - day 5
3. Landmine Reverse Lunge
PLAY DEMO
2/3x8@75
Get the barbell placed in a landmine setup, or if you do not have a
landmine base, simply position the barbell in a corner of a room, or with
one end down into the hole in the middle of a plate on the ground to
stabilize the position. Place the landmine barbell setup in the hand on
the side you are lunging backwards with. Note that you will want to use
straps here to avoid limiting the lower body loading due to grip around
the thick collar of the barbell in this setup. Tension the entire body as
this setup is going to want to pull you down into a side bending position.
Smoothly reverse lunge back and complete 8 reps on the right side,
then reset and complete 8 reps on the left. The slower and smoother
you coordinate the core and lunging steps, the more weight you’ll be
able to handle. Push your limits.
4. Barbell Hip Thrust w/ Banded Abduction
PLAY DEMO
With a bench setup and a bar pad over the midline of the barbell in
contact with your hips, stabilize your shoulders and upper back on the
bench with your feet in an athletic hip width stance flat on the ground.
Flex your neck and upper back to avoid over extending this position at
the top. Also, put a band around your knees in order to resist the driving
out between your knees in the hip abduction position. Extend the hips
up with the bar on your lap with bands around your knees. At the top of
each rep you’ll be controlling a strong isometric hold of the hip position
up towards the ceiling, in addition to doing 3 slow and controlled hip
abductions driving your knees out away from one another into the
banded resistance, then bringing the bar back down into a dead stop
position. This is considered one rep. Do 6 reps like this per set, climbing
in weight every set until you can barely complete 6 quality reps on the
last set.
5. Physioball Hamstring Curl
PLAY DEMO
170
4/0x12@75
5/10/15/20/25/30 reps @30
This is a rep pyramid scheme that looks easy enough, but will smoke your
entire posterior chain quickly, effectively and safely to end the training
session. Start with 5 reps on your first set, and continue adding 5 reps
until you can no longer make jumps necessary with strict 30 second rest
periods. Flex hard at the top of the motion with the hamstrings and glutes
working together as a functional unit, control the eccentric lengthening
of the hamstrings back down and FIGHT the urge to quit as these are
going to hurt, in a good way of course. Quality reps are the only ones we
are interested in here. If you start to get sloppy, call it there.
week 3 - day 5
week 3
WEEK 3
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Fat Bar Bench Press w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Get your fat bar, fat grips on a barbell, or barbell itself ready with
chains (or bands) with 50% of your 1RM bench press in bar loading
and hammer doubles with 30 seconds of rest between the 10 sets.
Remember, proper execution of this dynamic effort method requires a
rapid eccentric into explosive concentric with zero pauses at the top or
bottom. Over these 10 sets, work hard to perfect your setups, unracking
of the bar and control of the posterior chain comprised of the leg drive,
hips, core and posterior shoulder girdle. We are training the brain here
to repeat powerful and explosive motor patterns through the horizontal
push plane of motion.
2. Slight INcline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
171
2/10x2@30
3/4x5@75
Achieve the slight incline position between 10-20 degrees by placing
3 plates under the head of a flat bench. I do not want you using an
adjustable bench here, as I want the leg position and drive to look and
feel similar as your traditional bench press setup. Get to work with
some heavy dumbbell pressing here with sets of 5 with a performance
mindset. Ramp with lighter weights for 3 sets, then really push your
limits making slight jumps hitting 5 reps per set over the 4 working sets.
Since we are getting heavier with two loads in the form of dumbbells,
instead of one like a barbell, we need to ensure upper back position
and tension to control sound positions at the shoulder complex. You are
only as strong as you are stable.
week 3 - day 6
3. Landmine T-Bar Row 2/3x8@60
PLAY DEMO
Hinge your hips over the landmine setup with a stabilized neutral spinal
position and strong isometric full body tension and recruitment. Grab
the v-bar attachment, or if you do not have one, interlock the fingers at
the top of the barbell handle right next to the collar. Row back flexing
your entire backside lead by the lats and upper backs being the first
line driving force of tension and muscular recruitment. I want this to be
heavy, but not too heavy that it jeopardizes your spinal position forcing
the use momentum. Strict form goes a long way on all exercises, but
especially those that are posturally dependent on strong and stable
isometrically held spinal positions.
4. Loaded Neutral Grip Pull Up
PLAY DEMO
Let’s load up the vertical pull pattern as a performance lift once
again and chase sets of 4 with progressive weights out of the neutral
grip hand position. Start off positioning for success by stepping off
of a bench into the full range of motion bottom position with sound
stabilization of the shoulders, core and hips working together to
function in the pillar complex. Drive up hard leading with the lats and
come down through a full range of motion never losing tension or
control of any aspect of the pillar at the bottom. You will be highly
fatigued by this point in the training day, but don’t let that stop you from
chasing heavier loading and pushing your potential.
5. Dumbbell Lateral Raise
PLAY DEMO
172
5/0x4@60
2/4x15@30
From an athletic stance with a slight hip hinge back and the rib cage
down with a 360 degree core brace, tension the entire body, but keep a
loose grip on the dumbbells in your hands. Drive up and flex the top of
every rep hard at the shoulders keeping the palms in the down position
for 15 reps per set. Stay strict here on the 30-second rest periods to
accumulate metabolic stress around the shoulder musculature and
ensure that you are using a load that you can feel the deltoid contracting
hard with optimal activation. More is not better in terms of direct shoulder
training. Mind muscle connection is pivotal, so load accordingly.
week 3 - day 6
6. Band Pull Apart
PLAY DEMO
173
100 reps AFAP
Get your stopwatches ready, as you are going to complete 100 quality
band pull apart reps as fast as you can. Pull the hands APART from one
another against the banded accommodating resistance, flexing the
upper back every rep for 100 total reps rest pause. Hit failure, and take
10 seconds break in cluster format. Do this until you hit 100 total reps.
For the best quality contractions of the posterior delt and upper back
intrinsic muscles, maximize the distance of the hands moving away from
one another, but also externally rotate your hands and shoulders slightly
as you pull. Your palms should be starting in front of you shoulder height
off the ground and at shoulder width. By the time you reach the end
range flexed position, the palms should be rotated and facing forward.
week 3 - day 6
week 3
WEEK 3
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
174
week 3 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
175
week 3 - day 7
week 4
WEEK 4
DAY 1
1. Hybrid Barbell Deadlift w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Ramp up starting from the bar plus big plates (for stronger lifters,
use 45’s and for others, try and locate some bumper plates with big
diameter and less load) while NOT fatiguing yourself until you start
chasing 1’s at the top until you hit technical/pure failure. It’s important
to note that IF you do not have smaller plates or bumpers, do LESS
reps per ramp up set starting at 2 or singles in order to not pre-fatigue,
this is important. Now let’s get setup correctly, get your feet wider with
a toe out position (also called squat stance deadlifts) and hands inside
your knees for this setup. Drape chains or black bands on the bar to
add accommodating resistance into this max effort mix. If you’re using
chains, place them over the midline of the barbell. For bands, step on
them and keep them to the outsides of your hands to stabilize them
against the bar. No matter the setup, keep chasing singles until you find
your true 1RM for the day. Quality counts, technically sound maxes.
2. Barbell Box Squat
PLAY DEMO
176
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x5@90
Get the box set at its lowest height while keeping neutral spinal position
and control. You will be using your perfect back squat bar positioning
that allows you to take full advantage of your levers and body type
here. Ensure that you are sitting back to the box, deloading 50% of your
bodyweight into the box then rocking slightly to come straight up into
a powerful concentric. Drive up sets of 5 off the box adding a LITTLE
more load each of the 3 working sets to push your limits and get more
precise on a top end load for the day. Pristine form here, no brutally
hard grinders.
week 4 - day 1
3. Barbell Front Racked Reverse Lunge
PLAY DEMO
Get the barbell in a front-racked position, with fingers or straps (or with
a safety squat bar turned backwards) whatever your setup of choice
with anteriorly driven loading. Complete 8 reps stepping back on the
right leg, then take a breath, re-stabilize and complete 8 reps on the left.
Ensure that your depths of reverse lunges are constant and continuous,
working through a full authentic range of motion. Get as heavy as
possible here while still being able to move smoothly and authentically
with balance and control.
4. Bodyweight Back Extension
PLAY DEMO
177
2/3x8@90
2/3xAMRAP@60
Ramp up with LESS reps that are non-fatiguing to get your setup
and positions ready to work into failure. I recommend a set of 2 and
another ramp up set of 5 solely to master the setup and prepare for
a battle against the next few sets of brutality. On all 3 working sets,
you’ll be completing as many reps as possible with pristine form and
control. It’s pivotal that the range of motion here comes from the hips,
NOT the lower back. So whatever setup you choose, glute ham raise,
back extension machine, over a rack, etc, ensure the glutes lead the
movement and you finish it off with the lower back and hamstrings, not
the other way around. Take a strict 60-second rest period between to
allow cumulative fatigue into the system.
week 4 - day 1
week 4
WEEK 4
DAY 2
1. Airdyne Bike Intervals
PLAY DEMO
Jump on the air bike or any other exercise bike variation (of cardio
machine for that matter) and ride as hard as you can for a minute, while
recovering for a minute. While this again looks simple on paper, this will
be a devastating challenge to your aerobic energy systems, so push it
hard to get the most out of this conditioning. Do this 1:1 ratio scheme 15
times to polarize the heart rates and work into shorter aerobic energy
systems this week for some challenging intervals. The goal here is to hit
overload on the heart rate into a red zone after each working set, and
bring it back down into a recovery zone within 60 seconds. You have
your work cut out for you.
2. Incline Treadmill Walk
PLAY DEMO
15 rounds 60s/60s
15 minutes
This is RECOVERY work so keep your heart rate down and walk it out
on a treadmill at a pedestrian pace with minimal incline, or even outside
for this day weather and climate permitting. It’s pivotal that you keep
your heart rate in a recovery zone, which are usually sub 125 beats per
minute for most people. Focus on your breathing, and enjoy the fact
that you just slayed the bike intervals before this.
3. Single Leg Accentuated Eccentric Calf Raise
PLAY DEMO
178
0/8x8(per)@30
Using bodyweight only as loading positioned on an elevated surface
like a step or stair, get into a single leg stance. With minimal finger tip
hand assist off of a stable surface, drive up a calf raise rep, flex hard
at the top and come down extremely slow, over 4-6 seconds (though
I do NOT want you counting but rather thinking about tension and
contraction quality). Do this 8 times per side then take a 30 second rest
period. Control and tension is the key here, so ensure that you don’t get
sloppy into the last few sets.
week 4 - day 2
week 4
WEEK 4
DAY 3
1. Barbell Overhead Press
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
With a symmetrical stance at the feet, hips and core locked in with
stabilized posture, we are going to chase some strict overhead press
max numbers as our key performance upper body lift of the week.
I want you using a false grip on the barbell here to help position the
shoulders for success in centration. Drive straight up over your head
upon full lock out, and bring it back down under control. While you
can take the bar out of the j-hooks in the squat rack and walk it back,
I prefer using the safety pins high so you can really solidify your lower
body base and lift straight up to position for pre lift. Whatever you do,
do NOT use momentum from the lower body, and refrain the temptation
to cheat, as it’s easy to do with this lift. The harder and more stable the
brace, the bigger the overhead press. We are chasing a pure 1RM here
for overhead press, NOT the push press, so set your ego aside and see
what you’re capable of.
2. Close Grip Fat Bar Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
179
4/3x8@75
Get the fat bar (or fat grips on the bar) in a close false grip position
to bias the triceps. Note that close grip indicates a grip width that is
3-4 inches closer than your strongest grip position on the bench, and
does NOT mean you hands will be next to one another. So a little grip
variation goes a long way here. On a flat bench setup, control each rep
down and drive it straight up, squeezing hard at the top with the triceps
and pausing the flex to accentuate the feel of the movement. I want a
strong mind-muscle connection here, so push big weights, but don’t get
sloppy on rhythm or tempo.
week 4 - day 3
3. Loaded Inverted Row
PLAY DEMO
4/3x10@60 + BW Challenge Set
With rings, TRX or any other suspension trainer, get your feet elevated
on a low box or a bench and load over the waist in chains, sandbags,
plates, bands, whatever you have available. This loading position will
make you lock in the hips and lower body to accentuate the stable
brace. Once you find maximal stiffness, drive up 10 reps flexing hard at
the back and moving down through a full range. Allow your hands to
rotate naturally into degrees of pronation and supination, as we ideally
function for strength and performance in oblique planes. In order to not
pre-fatigue the system, ramp up with bodyweight only using 2/4/6/8
reps. Once you finish your final working set of 10 loaded reps, take a
rest period as you’ll need it to go ham on this last challenge set. With
bodyweight only and your feet on the ground get as many reps as
humanly possible. Push yourself.
4. Supinated Close Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
2/3x16/12/8@60 + Loaded Stretch
Using a straight bar lat pulldown, or bands overhead in a vertical pull
position, get ready for a serious pump. With your hands placed in a
supinated chin up position, you’ll be ramping with 16 reps with lighter
weight to grease the overhead groove and work the top end range
of motion. From there, all 3 of the working sets are to pure failure,
sticking around the relative recommendations of 16ish, 12ish and 8ish
reps. I want you to add more load each set to challenge the patterns
differently and really exhaust everything you have in this pattern. Don’t
worry about the exact rep count on working sets, only pushing yourself
to the limits and go to pure mechanical and technical failure.
5. Alternating Star Pattern Pull Apart
x100 reps (each direction) - REST/PAUSE STYLE
PLAY DEMO
180
Grab your blue JRx band singled up with a strong athletic stance and
full body tensioned position. Starting with your hands on the band with
palms facing down and shoulder width apart at the grip, alternate the
star pattern pull apart with one hand moving up overhead, while the
opposite side moves down. Slow and controlled on execution keeping
constant tension in the back the entire time. The best executions will
incorporate slight degrees of external rotation of the shoulder on the
high side, and slight degrees of internal shoulder rotation on the low
side. When you hit failure, take 10 seconds rest and go back in cluster
style. Do this until you accumulate 100 reps in each position (meaning
200 total pull aparts).
week 4 - day 3
week 4
WEEK 4
DAY 4
1. Trap Bar Plyo Jump
PLAY DEMO
2/8x2@60
Get yourself inside the trap bar and jump as high as you can explosively.
If you do not have a trap bar, use dumbbells to your sides in a hanging
position. No matter your tool of choice, reset after your first jump and
hit a second rep just as explosively. You’ll notice that often times, your
second rep will be more explosive than the first, hence the reason for
programming doubles. Depending on the weight of your trap bar, you
may NOT have to add any additional loading in plates. If you do, it needs
to be light, thinking anywhere between 45-135 pounds depending on
your strength level, as we want to place the emphasis on speed, not
load. For example a 400-pound squatter will use approximately 95
pounds total on the trap bar, respectively. Gage it by speed throughout
your sets.
2. Incline Treadmill Sprint
PLAY DEMO
181
15 rounds 10s/50s work/rest ratio
Get the incline UP on the treadmill and sprint hard pulling with the
hamstrings at a top end speed. Remember this is only 10 seconds so
you should be riding the treadmill at max speed, jumping on and off
safely using the handrails on the treadmill. If you are outside, build up
your speed slowly to de-emphasize the acceleration phase of sprinting.
A nice modification here is sprinting against a sled or prowler at lighter
weights if you do not have a treadmill.
week 4 - day 4
3. Barbell Overhead Hanging Band Walk 10 rounds 30s/60s work/rest ratio
PLAY DEMO
Get a barbell with blue JRx bands hanging weights plates of kettlebells
off of the side so they bounce and swing to increase the amount of
variability there is in positions as you walk with the hanging band
technique. Don’t be afraid to use multiple bands per side. Position
5 or 10 pound plates on each band. Any heavier gets the bands too
stretched and we lose the ability for slight instability. In an overhead
position, walk slowly backwards for 15 seconds and then forward 15
seconds into a re-rack of the bar. If you cannot walk around the gym
here, simply march in place, alternating the knees going slowly up and
down. This will actually be tougher, but the goal will still be met.
4. Half Kneeling Swinging Band Pallof Press
PLAY DEMO
182
0/4x30s@30s (per side)
Get the band set on the rack shoulder height from the half kneeling
position on the ground. Place a 5-pound weight plate on the band, so
that it hangs between your hands and the rack at an equidistant point.
Complete 30-seconds of constant tension pallof press pushing your
hands out in front of the chest slowly, peaking the chest contraction,
then pulling them back in under control, then take 30 seconds break.
Switch sides and complete 30 seconds, with another 30 seconds rest.
Do this for 4 sets per side. I recommend interlocking the fingers here
and using maximal grip as a means of stabilizing the shoulder girdle and
pillar complex.
week 4 - day 4
week 4
WEEK 4
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Safety Squat Bar Squat w/ chains
PLAY DEMO
2/10x2@30
We are shifting our dynamic effort methods for another 2-week wave
starting with the safety squat bar with accommodating chain resistance.
If you do not have chains, simply use JRx bands on the barbell. If you
do not have a safety squat bar, the modification of choice is a higher
bar positioned back squat. Remember, we are NOT using a box here for
dynamic effort work this block. Use a rapid eccentric lowering utilizing
the change of direction and stretch reflex and explosively drive up
through the concentric portion of the lift using 55% of your 1RM back
squat for doubles with a strict 30 seconds of rest between sets. While
using chains (or bands) on the bar, the focus need so be to drive harder
into accommodating resistances all the way up through the range of
motion to maximize force output. No resetting between reps, pop off
doubles and get to the rest periods.
2. Dynamic Effort Trap Bar Deadlift w/ Chains 2/10x2@30
PLAY DEMO
183
Get your trap bar (or hybrid sumo stance deadlift if you do not have a
trap bar) ready to work some explosive dynamic effort repeat bouts.
You’ll be using 55% of your 1RM barbell deadlift in bar weight with
the additional chains (or bands if you do not have chains) and knock
out explosive doubles using rapid eccentrics with 30-second rest
periods. My preferred method for chains on the trap bar is to hang from
them front and back of the bar, not the collars where the weights are
added. This adds a nice grounding mechanism to the trap bar, which
can notoriously get unstable at the top of the range of motion free
floating over the center of mass. If you are using bands, hook them
around the collars and under your feet to achieve the proper setup.
We will be training this lift in a concentric only technique, meaning
you’ll be essentially dropping the weight under control between reps,
NOT lowering slowly. No matter your bar or form of accommodating
resistance, make it a game on how fast you can move this weight.
Speed kills.
week 4 - day 5
3. Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat 2/3x12@75
PLAY DEMO
Back to dumbbell for the loading tool of choice here for hypertrophy
sets of 12 reps. Yes, you read that correctly, brutal constant tension sets
of 12 reps at a time per leg. Ensure perfect setups of your foot on the
bench, a pad under your back knee to monitor repeatable depth and a
band in front of your toes so you aren’t guessing on foot placement and
stance. Control the tension on the backside of the body with the glutes
and hamstrings being the key drivers here. Allow your torso to angle
forward slightly and keep control of the core throughout. The goal here
is to be a smooth beast for this torture test. Push your limits, as this one
is going to hurt.
4. Glute Ham Raise
PLAY DEMO
184
2/3x10@60
Use ANY hamstring curl variation here, but if you have access to a glute
ham raise I prefer it, or any other variation that trains the glutes and
hamstrings together functioning as a unit. Use two ramp up sets of 2
and 5 reps to get you going on a sound setup before you get to a top
end weight if you are using machines, or a weight plate on the chest
if you are on a glute ham raise. With any setup you choose, make sure
you are hitting failure a few times in a row on the hamstrings to add in
meaningful posterior chain training volume. We want to be around 10
reps at failure, but effort is more important than exact rep schemes.
week 4 - day 5
week 4
WEEK 4
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Fat Bar Bench Press w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Get your fat bar, fat grips on a barbell, or barbell itself ready with
chains (or bands) with 55% of your 1RM bench press in bar loading
and hammer doubles with 30 seconds of rest between the 10 sets.
Remember, proper execution of this dynamic effort method requires a
rapid eccentric into explosive concentric with zero pauses at the top or
bottom. Over these 10 sets, work hard to perfect your setups, unracking
of the bar and control of the posterior chain comprised of the leg drive,
hips, core and posterior shoulder girdle. We are training the brain here
to repeat powerful and explosive motor patterns through the horizontal
push plane of motion.
2. Incline Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
185
2/10x2@30
3/4x6per side@75
Setup on a traditional 45-degree incline bench. Bring the dumbbells
up to the chest and press both simultaneously into the starting position
with both dumbbells extended up top. Bring one dumbbell down and
press it back into position, while the other stays locked into an isometric
position in extension. Then, alternate the dynamic pressing side. Press
each dumbbell 6 times for a total of 12 reps per set. It’s pivotal that the
opposite arm needs to stay strong and stable here as well as the side
that is pressing. You’ll quickly realize that this variation takes far more
core and shoulder stabilization and control than it’s bilateral pressing
counterpart. Stay strict and use your brace to fuel these reps.
week 4 - day 6
3. Loaded Medium Grip Pull Up
PLAY DEMO
5/0x3@60
Get your hands in a fully pronated grip on the pull up bar in medium
distance away from one another. We are loading these up for
performance with a weight belt and plates hanging, so climb in load
every single set here for 3 reps. I recommend that you pin the plates
between your legs using your adductors to help stabilize the pelvis and
core positions to stabilize a strong base to dynamically pull from. When
you can no longer complete 3 perfect reps you are done. Record your
3RM performance for the pull up.
4. Dual Handle Low Cable Row 2/3x20@60 + Challenge Set
PLAY DEMO
Pump work coming in the horizontal pulling plane of motion. These
should hurt so good. Place two handles on the low cable row setup,
or sit on the floor with black JRx bands in each hand allowing natural
rotation to occur. Knock out sets of 20 for ramps (with a blue JRx band if
you’re using bands) and work sets. THEN, I want you to drop the load by
50% (or back to a blue band) and do one last challenge set for as many
reps as physically possible. When you want to mentally quit, just keep
the arms driving and your core stable. Shatter your expectations.
5. Cable Face Pull
PLAY DEMO
186
3/4x15@60
With a rope attachment on the cable machine placed parallel to the
floor (or band setup will do the trick as well using a blue JRx band) drive
back 15 reps flexing the backside of the movement and controlling the
eccentric moment. Accumulate a ton of volume here on the posterior
aspect of the shoulders before we end the lifting for the week. As we
get this much volume into one movement, we need to ensure that your
posturing and setup positions do not deteriorate as the set and rep
counts climb. Work hard to execute pristinely.
week 4 - day 6
week 4
WEEK 4
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
187
week 4 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
188
week 4 - day 7
week 5
WEEK 5
DAY 1
1. Barbell Back Squat From Pins
PLAY DEMO
Set the safety pins or bars of the rack AT about parallel squat depth
range of motion while in a braced neutral spine position. Note, you will
NOT be taking the bar out of the j-hooks and squatting down first, you
will be utilizing the reverse method with the bar resting on the pins
upon setup and starting position and drive concentrically up first. It’s
pivotal that you get up under the bar, position the feet perfectly and in
a fully braced position, DRIVE straight up. Start with the bar and move
up over your ramps until you get to your performance singles to chase
some serious numbers. Control the squat back down to the pins, but do
NOT accentuate the eccentric. Drop it fast, but under control so we do
not pre-fatigue the system with this concentric emphasis method. Find
your true 1RM here chasing progressively heavier loads until you literally
cannot budge the bar from the pins with pristine form.
2. Banded Trap Bar RDL
PLAY DEMO
189
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x6@90
Place a blue band around each side collar on the trap bar with the
bands under your feet, and with low handle hand position. Deadlift it
up into starting position at the top before knocking out 6 pristine RDL’s
stretching the bottom and driving up through the top into a strong and
stable position. Use the low handles and/or smaller plates on the bar to
ensure the plates do NOT touch the floor between reps, as it will break
the constant tension training effect we are looking at eliciting with this
movement. Ensure that you are not squatting this movement, but rather
leading with the hips driving back upon eccentric lowering, and forward
on concentric raising. The bands should add in stabilization, but also
increase top end load in the top of the movement itself.
week 5 - day 1
3. Safety Squat Bar Split Squat 2/3x8@90
PLAY DEMO
Get a safety squat bar or barbell on your back and get ready for some
heavy traditional split squats with both feet on level ground in a double
closed kinematic chain. To get into position, unrack the bar from the
rack and step one leg back into position (so that your knees and hips
achieve a 90-90 at the bottom aspect of the range of motion) and
knock out 8 reps on a side with pristine form and control. The more
you treat this single leg accessory as a full body lift with great control
of the shoulders, core and hips integrated together as a functional unit,
the better your performance will be. Go heavy here and really push
your limits.
4. Banded Back Extension 0/4xAMRAP
PLAY DEMO
190
Get on a back extension, glute ham raise, home rig, or whatever your
setup of choice is (or what you have at your disposal), and knock out
some back extensions using banded resistance around the shoulders or
neck. Let’s set your feet in a position to bias a stronger glute activation
pattern by putting the toes out slightly into external rotation of the hip
to hammer the glutes harder. Flex each rep hard and move through
controlled full range of motion on the way down. Remember, we want
chin tucked and spine rounded over into flexion to bias the glutes, and
also to avoid over extending this one with the lower back. Go for broke
on effort, not on poor setups.
week 5 - day 1
week 5
WEEK 5
DAY 2
1. Run-Walk Intervals
PLAY DEMO
15 rounds 60s/60s work/rest ratio
Whether you are working on a treadmill or enjoying some outdoor
training, the interval goals stay the same. This should be a FAST run
that spikes the heart rate into the upper conditioning zone, or even
touching into the overload red zone for working intervals. This should
be achieved with a minute of fast running, directly followed by a
minute long recovery period where you are going to have to find a
mental zone using breath and imagery to bring that heart rate back
down again as you are walking slowly. Make it a mental game, how
fast can you decrease your heart rate to repeat bout at a high level?
Do 15 rounds like this, and you’ll be able to increase the amount of
quality gait work that is done while receiving polarizing energy system
zone benefits as well.
2. Incline Treadmill Walking
15 minutes
The intervals should have been a mental and physical challenge, so we
are going to cruise out with a recovery zone heart rate for 15 minutes on
the treadmill or an outside walk. Remember, we want the heart rate to
fall below 120 beats per minute in a conversational pace, not add more
stress into the system.
PLAY DEMO
3. Loaded Calf Raise
PLAY DEMO
191
0/4x20@30
Placing your toes up on an elevated surface, drive your heels up and
flex the top aspect of this range of motion hard peaking the contraction
before coming down with constant tension in the lower legs through a
full range. Different from the last few weeks of direct lower leg work, I
want these executed with constant tension, so do NOT pause at the top
or the bottom. A little bit of loading here for 20 reps goes a long way, so
ensure you hit your reps with quality control and range. Rest 30 strict
seconds between 4 rounds of 20 reps.
week 5 - day 2
week 5
WEEK 5
DAY 3
1. Light Hanging Band Barbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
We will be adding a form of instability training in here for the bench
press max effort variation this week! We’ll be hanging a LIGHT plate
(thinking 5 or 10 pounds per hanging band) or KB from blue bands
on each end. For heavier weights like the 10 pound plates feel free
to double up the blue bands and hang as we don’t want too much
bounce, and we absolutely do not want the hanging weights touching
the ground as you reach the bottom aspect of the bench press range of
motion. Once you have your bands set on each side of the barbell, ramp
up starting with the bar and hanging bands ONLY and find your true
1RM here pushing your limits increasing load each set and ensuring you
do NOT pre-fatigue yourself before you get into hitting meaningful top
end singles. Spotters recommended, safety pins up, let’s grind some
out and really shatter some expectations.
2. Loaded Push Up 4/3x6@90
PLAY DEMO
192
Don’t be shy on the loading here. The push up is the king of all
horizontal pushing patterns, and needs to be loaded aggressively for
full body functional strength development. If you have chains, put
them on your lower back. If you have plates, throw those on your back,
ensuring that they are evenly placed left to right on the lower aspect
of the back so they don’t slide around. Also, you can use band loaded
in your hands and around your back if need be. Whatever your loaded
setup, we are looking for a true 6RM here for the push up, meaning you
should barely be able to execute 6 pristine reps per working set. Keep
pristine form, and remember, the push up is a FULL body movement, so
involve the lower body, core, glutes and a strong braced position.
week 5 - day 3
3. Pronated Low Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
4/3x12@60 + Triple Drop Set
Get your hands in a pronated medium grip position on an attachment or
straight bar and knock out some serious volume through the horizontal
row pattern. If you do not have a cable setup, I like the band on dowel
setup out of the seated position on the ground to utilize the same line
of pull and hand position with simpler equipment like the JRx bands.
On your last working set, knock out 12 reps, THEN drop the weight
down around 25% and go back in to failure, THEN drop back down
another 25% and hit failure once again. This is called a triple drop set,
and it’s going to be brutally awesome. Any time we incorporate intensity
techniques like this one it’s pivotal that form stays clean the entire time,
and the body remains stabilized. Note that this seated row would be a
great example of a pain-free position to train intensity from, as opposed
to something like a bent over row. Never want the first weak link to
present to be located at the core or pillar control.
4. Loaded Neutral Grip Chin Up
PLAY DEMO
5/0x3@75
You are going to be fried moving into this vertical pull variation after
intensity techniques in the low row, so not looking for HUGE numbers,
but rather you working hard in a pre-fatigued state focusing in
technique and brace control. With your hands positioned in a strong
neutral grip, drive up sets of 3 with progressively heavier sets loaded
onto a weight belt for triples all the way up until you can no longer get
three reps. You will need every second of the 75 second rest periods to
recover and regenerate, so sit down between sets and relax. As you’ve
seen, we are ramping up the intensity of the vertical pull here making
the focus purely performing with advanced schemes and variations
coming up.
5. Alternating Dumbbell Bent Over Y-T Raises
PLAY DEMO
193
1/3x12@60
Hinge your hips back into a strong isometrically braced position and
complete ALTERNATING lateral raises in the Y and T positions at the
shoulders with dumbbells in your hands with a loose grip. Flex each
rep hard and accentuate the eccentric on the way down to maximize
localized blood flow into the tissues via metabolic stress effects. The
weights you use here should humble you, so ensure that you are not
going too heavy and losing the mind-muscle connection of the two
various aspects of the deltoids and upper back being trained directly
with this exercise.
week 5 - day 3
week 5
WEEK 5
DAY 4
1. Single Arm Barbell Snatch
PLAY DEMO
Go light here with a tough variation to coordinate and stabilize using the
barbell, but I want you to be explosive and powerful. Power stance at
the lower body with the feet right under you hips like you are jumping to
dunk a basketball to drive into triple extension of the ankles, knees and
hips simultaneously. Catch this snatch high as I want to keep very low
weights here to keep speed up. Note, I do NOT want you catching this
clean in the bottom of the squat, but rather a powerful quarter squat.
Hit a good rep on each side then take your rest period to heighten the
CNS before sprint work. For those of you who will be working at lighter
weights under the traditional 45 pound barbell, please use either a
women’s barbell, OR dumbbells as we want these NOT to be too heavy,
but rather speedy and explosive.
2. Airdyne Bike Sprints
PLAY DEMO
194
0/10x1(per)@45
15 rounds 15s/45s work/rest ratio
Using an air bike, exercise bike or any other type of cardiovascular
equipment, crank as HARD as you can for 15 seconds with full effort
then cruise for 45 seconds working to get the heart rate down into
a recovery zone. The heart rate should be repeatedly spiked and
dropped, polarizing this interval scheme and work on base conditioning
and energy system capacity. The goal here is to work as hard pedaling
in working sets as you do recovering between bouts with mindful
breathing.
week 5 - day 4
3A. Dumbbell Farmer’s CarrIES 8x30s@0
PLAY DEMO
Get some heavy ass dumbbells in your hands and down to the sides
of your body and carry them for 30 seconds per set. Ensure that you
are picking these up off the ground with proper form and technique. I
prefer a split stance between the dumbbells as they get heavier and
split squat them up into a starting position. Whatever you do, don’t bend
over the dumbbells and hike them up with your lower back. After each
set of carries, go straight into the RKC plank without any rest between
exercises.
3B. RKC Plank
PLAY DEMO
195
8x15@60
Squeeze your ENTIRE body hard to maximize tension positioning the
forearms down on the ground and the hands with maximal tension
and grip. THEN take 60 seconds rest period and go back to carries. 8
total rounds of this superset. This sets us up for a really nice superset
of dynamic stability plus static stability in order to really target the core
and pillar complex while training the heart rate zones simultaneously.
week 5 - day 4
week 5
WEEK 5
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Safety Bar Box Squat w/ Bands
2/15x1@30 + Challenge Set
PLAY DEMO
Get the black JRx bands on the bar with the addition of 60% 1RM in bar
weight. Get the box set to as low as possible height off the ground and
really work the range of motion with great spine and hip positions from
the bottom up. Squat down to the box unlocking first at the hips and
pushing the butt back, and deload 50% of your weight into the box with
a slight rock. Please, SIT on the box, don’t just hit it with your ass. Once
you are seated, rock slightly and fire up SINGLES straight up against the
bands here for 15 total working sets with 30 seconds between. Every
rep should get faster and faster as the neuromuscular system gets
primed. On your last set, you’ll be doing as many fast reps as possible.
Push yourself to keep speed up. As soon as it slows (you’ll know right
away) you will rerack the bar and gulp some air as this scheme is a
tough one ended with a cherry on top with the challenge set.
2. Dynamic Effort Barbell Rack Pulls w/Bands
2/15x1@30 + Challenge Set
PLAY DEMO
196
Get the bands on the barbell and feet in a conventional pulling stance
with 60% 1RM on the bar in bar weight. If you want to pull from the floor,
DO IT if you have the capabilities to get to that range of motion with a
neutral spinal position. If not, rack or blocks work to set yourself at a
great pulling height to fit your body, getting anywhere from 2-5 inches
off the floor with bar elevation. Drive up the rep, tension HARD at the top
and let it down fast in order to not pre-fatigue the system with too much
eccentric stress over these 15 sets. On your last set, hit as many reps as
possible, coming to a DEAD stop each rep. No bouncing or touch and
go reps allowed. Rep out until you lose speed.
week 5 - day 5
3. Front Foot Elevated KB Double Front Racked Reverse 2/3x8@75
PLAY DEMO
Get two kettlebells in the front-racked position (or barbell in the front
rack position if you do not have access to KB’s or heavy enough
loading of KB’s) and elevate the front foot up on 2-weight plates on
the ground. Start with both feet up on the weight plates, and step
back and control the lunge for 8 reps on the right followed by 8 on the
left. These should be brutal due to the double front racked load and
dynamic stability of the lower body with huge balance components,
so push up the loading enough to challenge your muscular system
while keeping technique on point.
4. Lying Hamstring Curl Machine
PLAY DEMO
197
2/4x20/16/12/8@60
Any hamstring curl variation works here as long as you work your ass
off on the chosen variation. This week, I prefer modifications made
that isolate the hamstrings from the glutes, so machines are preferred,
OR seated or lying banded hamstring curls with black JRx bands.
Ensure that you are keeping your spine in a neutral position, and not
losing control into degrees of flexion and extension, compensating
the hamstring curl. Hit failure 4 times in a row putting more resistance
through your chosen setup each set and call it a day. Your hamstrings
should HATE you if you push these to the limits, but that’s exactly where
we want to place more training volume, through the posterior chain of
the body. Again, you can only be as strong as you are stable.
week 5 - day 5
week 5
WEEK 5
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Slight Incline Neutral Grip Bench w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Get the neutral bar (or strongest barbell grip) banded up with double
blue JRx bands and get ready for some serious action. To achieve the
slight incline angle, place 2 weight plates under the head of the flat
bench. Going to be training this dynamic effort variation a bit heavier
with 60% 1RM here with RAPID eccentric into a rapid concentric for 15
sets of singles. No challenge set here as we want to acclimate to the
load plus speed at this volume first.
2. Close Grip FaT Bar Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
198
2/15x1@30
4/3x6@90
Push these heavy with a close false grip on the bar. Remember, your
close grip should only be 2-4 inches closer than your strongest grip
on the barbell bench press. Really focus on driving with the triceps
and maintain a full body brace throughout in order to not lose your
positioning. Treat this as a progressive performance lift where loading
matters, but also never lose the high level of mind muscle connection
that is necessary to place more emphasis on the triceps with this press.
week 5 - day 6
3. Kneeling Single Arm Dumbbell Row
PLAY DEMO
2/3x15@75
Time to drive volume into the backsides of the shoulders and back.
Kneeling on the bench with the opposite leg extended out to the side
with full tension placed through the glutes and adductors against a
strong core, keep constant tension on the lats and knock out 15 reps
per side with dumbbells working through a full range of motion with
authentic movement of the shoulder blade. Nothing fancy here, just
good ole hard work that should have you gasping for air. As much of a
back builder that this is, when executed properly this should hammer
your core into anti-rotation and flexion while sky rocketing the heart rate.
4. Straight Bar Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
1/4x15@60
Going back to the basics with lat pulldowns with only a single ramp
up set to master your setup and then 4 brutal sets at the top hitting
close to failure each time through a great controlled range of motion.
Allow the head to lead the body into slight extension on the pull, and
back to vertical neutral spine position on the way back up to get the
best of both positional worlds, the contraction quality at the bottom
and the stretch at the top. Flex each rep as hard as you can and keep
your rhythm over a strong and stable brace. Avoid making the common
mistake of losing shoulder blade control at the top. Every aspect of this
exercise and range of motion needs to be dynamically stabilized with
focused constant tension.
5. High Angle Cable Face Pull 0/3x30@60
PLAY DEMO
199
From a high angle setup with a rope (or a band) on the cable machine,
chase the posterior chain pump to end the training week with 30 reps
(yes, THIRTY) per set with constant tension execution. Mind over muscle
here, when you feel like quitting get some more. Push it as your brain
will want to shut down and limit you far before your muscular system
will. When using cables or bands, drive harder into them as you get
tired. Keep moving at all costs, and don’t forget to breathe.
week 5 - day 6
week 5
WEEK 5
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
200
week 5 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
201
week 5 - day 7
week 6
WEEK 6
DAY 1
1. Trap Bar Deadlift
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
We are getting inside the high handle trap bar and taking it for a max
effort ride this week. Note, if you do not have a trap bar, the preferred
modification is slight elevated barbell hybrid stance deadlift from
blocks or a rack. The key emphasis is bring in a little more anterior chain
in the bottom’s up hip hinge pattern, so load it up, and pull some PR
numbers no matter the lift you choose. Remember, even though you
are using a trap bar for deadlifting here or a hybrid stance, we still need
to execute with key emphasis placed on the hips being the main driver
of the movement. Refrain from squatting the trap bar deadlift up with
too much anterior knee translation or too vertical of a torso angle upon
pulling. Get into a strong hybrid hinged position and go.
2. Barbell Back Squat
PLAY DEMO
202
4/3x4@90
Get the straight bar on your back in your strongest bar position and get
some volume in here with heavy loads for 3 sets of 4 reps at the top.
Because we are using the barbell back squat as a strength accessory
lift after max effort pulling, I want you to add load little by little to
the working sets to find a true (pre-fatigued) 4RM for the day that is
dependent on perfect form, pristine control and some quality straining
through the concentric range of motion. Though a little bit of grinding is
going to be expected here, ensure that the core position is not lost, and
your tempo and control at the bottom of the movement is maintained.
Work harder and chase perfect execution.
week 6 - day 1
3. Safety Squat Bar Bulgarian Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
Love them or hate them, the rear foot elevated split squat (aka
Bulgarians) are some of the most effective movements on the face of
the earth for maximizing trainability while minimizing spinal stress. Let’s
chase some tough sets with a safety squat bar on your back (or barbell
in the back racked position if you do not have access to the safety squat
bar) for 6 quality reps per set. Really push the loading here as I want
you to get to the point where you’re hitting SLOW reps to finish off the
legs on the tail end of this session. Ensure that your foot position, rear
knee depth and torso angle remain consistent throughout all reps here,
working on fine tuning asymmetrical stance control and strength.
4. Loaded Back Extension
PLAY DEMO
203
2/3x6@90
0/5x10
Get on a back extension, glute ham raise, home rig, or whatever other
setup you have at your disposal and knock out some back extensions
using banded resistance around the shoulders or neck. Toe out slightly
into external rotation of the hip to hammer the glutes harder while
finishing off this movement with the hamstrings and lower back aiding in
the process. Flex each rep hard and move through controlled full range
of motion on the way back down. As you get fatigued deep into these
sets, do not compensate by speeding up the movements. All reps need
to be slow and controlled incorporating heavy mind muscle connection
and staying away from hyperextension at the lower back.
week 6 - day 1
week 6
WEEK 6
DAY 2
1. AirDyne Bike Intervals
PLAY DEMO
15 rounds 30s/90s work/rest ratios
I want you to make your lungs bleed on the bike as HARD as you can
for 30 seconds, followed by a deathly slow pedal working on controlling
your breath and heart rate. While the air bike is preferred here to
incorporate both the lower and upper extremities working in reciprocal
patterning, any bike will do. If you do not have access to a bike, modify
with any piece of cardio machinery, placing preference on machines
working arm and leg motion simultaneously. And for those of you with
no machines, sled, run, or low impact heart rate work in these exact
intervals will work. Push yourself to sky rocket that heart rate.
2. Incline Treadmill Walk
15 minutes
It’s important that we do not continue to significantly elevate the
heart rate on this recovery walk, as the hard work should have been
completed on the bike. Cruise on out with a recovery zone heart rate
below 120 beats per minute for 15 minutes and move into calf raises.
PLAY DEMO
3. Bodyweight Calf Raise
PLAY DEMO
204
100 reps AFAP
Using a stair to elevate the toes, complete 100 reps of full range of
motion calf raises, peaking each contraction for a full second and
resting 10 seconds between bouts to failure. Ensure that you are
working out of a full stretch at the bottom position and also using
fingertip assist to help balance. Each and every rep should be pristine,
so utilize your rest periods to accumulate a nasty pump into the lower
legs while working through a full range of motion in aid of ankle mobility
maintenance.
week 6 - day 2
week 6
WEEK 6
DAY 3
1. Light Reverse Band Decline Barbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
Get your blue JRx bands placed on the top of the power rack hanging
the barbell in in suspension. Note, we want the bands to remain on
stretch throughout the entire range of motion of the bench press, so
no slack in the bands here. To achieve the slight decline angle of the
bench, place 3 plates under the foot of the flat bench and hands in your
strongest position. I do not want you using a decline bench here, but
rather the flat with slight declined angles for more optimal positioning
of the shoulder complex. Once you get setup with vertical hanging
bands and a stable slight declined bench position, you’ll be chasing
a pure 1RM here with this novel setup, ensuring that you start with
extremely light loading and do NOT pre-fatigue with the ramping rep
work before you get to your singles. Really push your limits here and
allow the reverse bands to support this lift, which should be one of the
heaviest presses you’ve ever executed in your life.
2. Slight Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
205
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x8@90 + Triceps Challenge Set
Place those 3 plates you were just using for the decline bench and
get them under the HEAD of the bench for a slight incline and grab
some dumbbells. Squeeze those hands hard as you can to tap into
the irradiation effect and drive up 8 reps per set treating these as a
performance lift. See how heavy you can push those dumbbells,
increasing slightly each and every working set. After your last working
set, move over to the triceps extension cable or band setup and knock
out as many reps as you can until you can no longer move an inch. Then
you’re done. Triceps Challenge Set Video
week 6 - day 3
3. Landmine Meadow’s Row
PLAY DEMO
Use straps here on the thick collar of the barbell so your grip does
not become the limiting factor. With an athletic split stance AND your
opposite forearm down on the thigh to support a neutral spinal position,
drive your rows up hard against the altering strength curve that the
landmine setup provides and stretch the bottom position slightly while
still maintaining full control. To accentuate range of motion, utilize small
plates here instead of big 45-pounders. After you complete all working
sets of Meadow’s rows, take your minute long rest period THEN go back
in with traditional T-bar row landmine setup and get as many reps as
you can with that same working weight from Meadow’s rows. I want you
to push this challenge set to the limits and elicit the pump of your life.
T-Bar Challenge Set Video
4. Loaded Chin Up
PLAY DEMO
2/4x12@60 + T-Bar Challenge Set
5/0x3@75 + Loaded Stretch
Nothing fancy here, just a fully supinated chin up grip with weight
hanging from the waist with a dip belt. Ensure that your core and hips
are braced fully allowing a strong and stable base to chin up from. In
order to bring in the stability component from the adductors, cross the
legs behind you and driving your legs together to stabilize the plates
between them. Pull some big weights here even under pre-fatigue from
the rows as we are working performance sets of 3 reps, climbing in load
each and every set until you cannot complete another rep. Upon hitting
failure at a top end load, hold the “stretched” position at the bottom for
as long as possible with a loaded stretch. It’s pivotal that this position is
actively supported, NOT just hanging out on your ligaments.
5. Chest Supported Rear Delt Raises
PLAY DEMO
206
1/3x25@60 + BW Challenge
Get face down on an incline bench and let’s get to work with some
upper back posterior chain building. We are training 25 rep sets here,
which will be brutal, so ramp once with bodyweight only with the goal
of getting into a sound position and greasing the groove a bit. After your
last working set you’re going back in right away with bodyweight only
for as many reps as humanly possible. As long as your arms can still
move keep going. Take partials all the way to pure mechanical failure.
Last thing of the day, make it hurt in a good way.
week 6 - day 3
week 6
WEEK 6
DAY 4
1. Light Banded Barbell Power Clean From Pins
PLAY DEMO
Place the pins up in rack to just below knee height and rest the barbell.
Place LIGHT bands around the collar of the each side of the barbell. I
prefer the ultra-skinny bands for this on tension, but the blue JRx bands
rigged as loose as possible will also work. For the stronger athletes,
blues will be just fine. For the smaller athletes, or if you do not have
ultra-mini bands go WITHOUT BANDS as too much band tension will
ruin the CNS aspect of this lift and create too much resistance higher
up through the range of motion. Place your feet into a power stance hip
width apart and catch the clean high focusing on the triple extension
moment of the hips and torso. These need to be fast and explosive to
achieve the goal. Add weight every set over 10 sets until you slow. And
for all you Olympic lifters out there, please refrain from turning this into
a max effort clean attempt with heavy weights and catching low. This is
an energy systems recovery day, not another grueling lifting day.
2. INCLINE Treadmill Sprint
PLAY DEMO
207
10/0x1@30
15 rounds 15s/45s work/rest ratio
With the treadmill on a steep incline with the speed ramped up to
as fast as it will go (usually around 12 miles per hour on the average
machine) sprint for 15 second jumping on the track and hitting full
speed instantly, then jumping back off to take your 45 second rest
periods on the side rails. If you do not have a treadmill, get outside
for build up sprints using the same work rest ratios. The goal here
is to keep the heart rate on the lower end while maximizing neural
recoverability.
week 6 - day 4
3A. Forward-Backwards Dumbbell Carries
PLAY DEMO
Get some heavy ass dumbbells in your hands and carry them for
60 seconds switching directions every 15. So it should look like a
backwards carry for 15 seconds, forward for 15, backwards for 15 then
forwards for 15, THEN go straight into the RKC plank without any rest
between exercises. It’s pivotal that you move slowly and under control
of the loads in the hands. Carries are the ultimate form of static meeting
dynamic stability with full body recruitment and tension. Treat them
with respect.
3B. Side Plank
PLAY DEMO
208
8x60@0
8x10(per)@60
Full body tension on the right for 10 seconds, then right to the left for
10 seconds, THEN take a minute rest period before going back to the
top for carries. I prefer to position the feet right on top of one another
to maintain symmetry and tension in the targeted plane of motion.
Place the topside hand on the hip pushing down and bring the shoulder
complex into this movement. Finally, make a fist with your down side
shoulder position to irradiate torque and tension up chain into the core
and pillar complex.
week 6 - day 4
week 6
WEEK 6
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Safety Bar Box Squat w/ Bands 2/15x1@30 + Challenge Set
PLAY DEMO
Get the black JRx bands on the bar with the addition of 65% 1RM in bar
weight. Get the box set to as low as possible height off the ground and
really work the range of motion with great spine and hip positions from
the bottom up. Squat down to the box unlocking first at the hips and
pushing the butt back, and deload 50% of your weight into the box with
a slight rock. Please, SIT on the box, don’t just hit it with your ass. Once
you are seated, rock slightly and fire up SINGLES straight up against the
bands here for 15 total working sets with 30 seconds between. Every
rep should get faster and faster as the neuromuscular system gets
primed. On your last set, you’ll be doing as many fast reps as possible.
Push yourself to keep speed up. As soon as it slows (you’ll know right
away) you will rerack the bar and gulp some air as this scheme is a
tough one ended with a cherry on top with the challenge set.
2. Dynamic Effort Barbell Rack Pulls w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
209
2/15x1@30 + Challenge Set
Get the bands on the barbell and feet in a conventional pulling stance
with 65% 1RM on the bar in bar weight. If you want to pull from the floor,
DO IT if you have the capabilities to get to that range of motion with a
neutral spinal position. If not, rack or blocks work to set yourself at a
great pulling height to fit your body, getting anywhere from 2-5 inches
off the floor with bar elevation. Drive up the rep, tension HARD at the top
and let it down fast in order to not pre-fatigue the system with too much
eccentric stress over these 15 sets. On your last set, hit as many reps as
possible, coming to a DEAD stop each rep. No bouncing or touch and
go reps allowed. Rep out until you lose speed.
week 6 - day 5
3. Non-Alternating Dumbbell Forward Lunge 2/3x12@75
PLAY DEMO
With dumbbells in both hands placed down to the side, knock
out 12 pristine lunges with the right leg leading into the forward
direction followed by 12 on the left side. Emphasis needs to be taken
to powerfully return back to neutral on every single step making
the forward lunge a complete eccentric to concentric movement
pattern. Ensure that your forward lunge maintains a taller torso angle
as compared to the reverse lunging variations to accentuate the
quadriceps. Move slowly and stay under control through the glutes and
hamstrings stabilizing the posterior chain. As you tire, do not sacrifice
tempo or technique.
4. Hip Thrust Death Set
PLAY DEMO
210
5/1x15@75
We will be adding weight to every set of 15 here until you hit your 6th
and final set, then we are going to go absolutely nuts. On this last death
set, you will rest-pause 10 seconds after failing in cluster fashion. So
here’s how it will look… go to pure failure, then put the bar down, breathe
for 10 seconds, THEN go back in and go to failure again etc. You’ll do
this until you can only get a single pristine full range of motion rep. Get
the lungs ready. No sloppy stuff here, control your hips, stabilize that
core and activate that backside with a nasty pump.
week 6 - day 5
week 6
WEEK 6
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Slight Incline Neutral Grip Bench w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Get the neutral bar (or strongest barbell grip) banded up with double
blue JRx bands and get ready for some serious action. To achieve the
slight incline angle, place 2 weight plates under the head of the flat
bench. Going to be training this dynamic effort variation a bit heavier
with 65% 1RM here with RAPID eccentric into a rapid concentric for 15
sets of singles. No challenge set here as we want to acclimate to the
load plus speed at this volume first.
2. Incline Close Grip Fat Bar Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
211
2/15x1@30
4/3x10@90
Push these heavy with a close false grip on the bar that should
represent 3-4 inches closer in hand position than your strongest
traditional bench press grip. Really drive with the triceps and maintain a
full body brace throughout. At 10 reps with a bar in your hand, we must
work hard to maintain control of the posterior shoulder and lats while
keeping constant tension on the pecs, anterior deltoids and triceps
to keep the movement smooth with a hypertrophy emphasis in mind.
While loading matters, we want to elicit a metabolic stress effect in the
tissues where the pump procedes performance.
week 6 - day 6
3. Close Neutral Grip Low Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
Get a traditional close neutral grip on the cable (or band) setup and
get to some serious volume through the all powerful horizontal pulling
plane of motion. Maintain constant tension on the back throughout the
entire extended set of 20 reps. I want these to hurt, like really bad, but in
a pumptastic way. Push yourself past your limits mentally on those last
few working sets where your mind is telling you to quit. Keep pristine
form, stabilize that core and shock yourself with your performance.
4. Straight Bar Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
212
1/4x15@60
Going back to the basics with the traditional straight bar wide grip lat
pulldowns with only a single ramp up set and then 4 brutal sets at the
top hitting close to failure each time through a great controlled range of
motion. Flex each rep as hard as you can and keep your rhythm as you
accumulate stress in the tissues. Brace the core and lead the movement
with slight extension of the head and torso while pulling down, and
slight flexion returning back to a vertical neutral spinal position with
hands up overhead on the eccentric phase. Control is king.
5. Suspension Trainer Face Pull
PLAY DEMO
2/3x20@75
0/3x20@60
Get your hands on a TRX or rings with your hips, core and shoulders
linked up as a functional unit in a straight stabilized line. Kick your heels
into the ground to tension up the kinetic chain for optimal maintenance
of recruitment of tension. Drive back your hands into a face pull pattern,
squeezing the upper back hard and allowing the shoulder blades to
move authentically. Make sure to use physics to your advantage here
and place your feet and body at an angle to complete 20 reps per set
(barely). Fight the urge to use compensation and speed, as we want
slow and controlled reps on the concentric and eccentric to keep
constant stress on these tissues, but also the posturally dependent
muscles in play like the core and glutes. These should light you up to
end the week strong.
week 6 - day 6
week 6
WEEK 6
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
213
week 6 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
214
week 6 - day 7
week 7
WEEK 7
DAY 1
1. Safety Bar Squat
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
If you don’t have a safety squat bar, you are going with a higher bar
position on your back, slightly up (maybe 1 inch in total) from your
normal bar position to work that aspect of the bar slightly more anterior
over your center of mass. Ramp up intelligently focusing on brace and
not pre-fatiguing with the rep work, and then chase a BIG personal
record here with singles until you can no longer go up. Remember,
TECHNICAL failure is where we call it with intelligent max effort work.
Perfect form is mandatory, but don’t be afraid to fight for your PRs.
2. Conventional Barbell RDL w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
215
4/3x5@90
Get your hands outside of your knees in a conventional athletic stance
and hinge the hips back for heavy sets of RDL’s in a pure strength
scheme. Attach chains to the outsides of your hand position on the
barbell in order to add accommodating based resistance to the bar
while also offering a grounding mechanism to help increase stability
though this heavy hip hinge pattern. If you don’t have chains use bands
over the bar and under the feet for the same reasons. I want these
heavy, and challenging the pattern through full range of motion with a
huge squeeze of the glutes and adductors at the top of the motion, and
an authentic stretch of the hamstrings secondary to a neutralized spinal
position at the bottom. These should be tough, but feel great.
week 7 - day 1
3. Single Arm Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
Holding the dumbbell on the side of the rear leg that is elevated
up on the bench and a properly setup position with foot stance and
depth indicator under the back knee, let’s get to work. This will be a
HUGE challenge at your core to stabilize with the asymmetrical load
challenging the opposite side lateral hip and also the core from an anti
side bending position. Get that opposite arm out to the side building
tension and grip from the hand. Drop the dumbbell down and reset
between sides here, ensuring perfect setup so you can work as hard as
possible out of sound positions. I prefer to place a band in front of the
toes on the ground to make the foot position repeatable, and of course
something under the knee which you can graze each rep reaching full
depth with a neutral spinal position.
4. Med-Ball Loaded Glute Ham Raise
PLAY DEMO
216
2/3x8@60
1/4x8@60
Use a medicine ball positioned against the chest flexing forward at the
chin and upper back to stay away from over extending the lower back.
This is one place where rounding of the thoracic spine is preferred. This
will help with lower back alignment and glute/hamstring activation
throughout the concentric and eccentric actions of this movement. If
you do not have a glute ham raise simply use up any hamstring curl
variation (single leg physioball or lying machine preferred) to work more
posterior chain volume into this training day.
week 7 - day 1
week 7
WEEK 7
DAY 2
1. run
PLAY DEMO
2-miles afap
I want you to really push this run hard as a performance indicator of our
aerobic energy systems work to this point. Get this short distance in as
quickly as possible as a TEST. If you are outside build it up quickly and
push the pace for record time completion. And on a treadmill, ensure
that you are starting out with a brisk pace and building up speed as
you go, peaking the last few minutes of this run to sky rocket the heart
rate and set a PR. After this run, I want you to take 3-5 minutes and
recover; you’re going to need it. Chalk up your time and don’t let mental
limitations keep you from beating your all time best time.
2. Incline Treadmill Walk
PLAY DEMO
Cruise on out with a recovery zone heart rate for 30 minutes and really
work on your deep breathing as your body is going to still be in shock
mode from that run. You can increase the speed OR the incline slightly
every 2-3 minutes as long as you remain in the recovery zone with a heart
rate that is sub 120 beats per minute allowing you to keep a conversational
exertion level.
3. Loaded Calf Raises
PLAY DEMO
217
30 minutes
0/5x10@10
Using a weight belt around your waist with 10-45 pounds of loading and
step up on an elevated surface to accentuate the full range of motion of
the ankle. Start at the bottom stretched position and hold for a second,
then dynamically come up flexing as hard as you can with a strong mind
muscle connection for a split second before accentuating the eccentric
and coming back down. You’ll be completing 5 sets of 10 perfect reps
with 10 seconds of rest between sets to target a metabolic stress effect
in the lower legs. After you complete all 50, stretch both lower legs for
1-2 minutes.
week 7 - day 2
week 7
WEEK 7
DAY 3
1. Barbell Floor Press
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
Position yourself flat on the floor with your legs fully extended placing
your heels, backs of your knees, ass and shoulders all in contact with
the ground. Using your strongest grip on the barbell, you’ll be chasing a
barbell floor press PR after ramping up conservatively with descending
schemed rep work until you reach non pre-fatigued singles all the way
up until you cannot move another pound with pristine form. Ensure
that you are not bumping your upper arms off the ground, nor pausing
passively on the ground with the floor press. Your range should be
controlled down until the upper arms contact the floor, then powerfully
press straight up into the lift. Full body tension is a requisite to a big
press here, so everything needs to drive into the ground. Recruit
tension, and make it work for you.
2. Hanging Band Tempo Press
PLAY DEMO
218
0/1x180s@0
After your last set of bench strip the bar and get your bands ready. We’ll
be using a hanging band technique with iso-holds at the top aspect
of this range of motion up on a flat bench and with a barbell. Use as
many bands as you have with around 30% of your bench press 1RM on
the bar in hanging weight. Set the timer for 3 minutes and HOLD. Full
body tension here focusing on the lats and upper back contracting hard
and maintaining a stable brace throughout the entire set. There will be
only ONE set of these, so hold on and fight the urge to quit. If you’re
struggling to keep that top position stabilized, slowly let the bar come
down on your chest and press it back up into position to reset, but do
NOT rerack the weight until 3-minutes has been achieved.
week 7 - day 3
3. Slight Incline Close Grip Fat Bar Bench Press 4/3x5@75
PLAY DEMO
Get 3 plates under the head of a flat bench and get ready to push some
heavier weights with the hands placed in a closer grip position without
thumbs wrapping around the bar. Drive up and really tension hard at
the shoulders and triceps and stay smooth and controlled on each rep,
working against significant loading in the pure strength scheme for
secondary pressing emphasis. Just because you’re in a false grip does
not mean you can let your hands relax. With this grip more than any
other, it’s pivotal that your hands squeeze and neutralize the wrists while
working the press.
4. Chest Supported Straight Bar Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
If you have a chest supported row machine, or a chest support T-bar
row, use it. If not, check out this setup off the low cable row machine
with an incline bench facing it, utilizing a straight lat pulldown bar. If
none of these work, dumbbell chest supported row works great, but
ensure that you keep a fully pronated grip to match the muscular
emphasis that we’re looking to achieve with this accessory movement.
I want a little higher of an elbow position so really get above that
45-degree humeral carrying angle to prioritize retraction and downward
depression of the shoulder blade. Think of this elbow position as half
way between your traditional row and your face pull. This will be exactly
the line of pull we are looking for.
5. Neutral Grip Chin Up
PLAY DEMO
219
2/3x12@60
5/0x3@75
We will be ramping here adding weight every set until you can no
longer get another rep with pristine control and range of motion on
the top aspect of the lift. I do NOT want people trying to get their chins
over the bar, faking range of motion or trying to self-justify pull up
performances. Neutral neck position, as the head leads the body. The
harder you brace the core, the more stable (and better performance)
you will be. This is a vertical pull performance lift, so treat it as such with
full mental focus and intensity. Set some multiple rep records here.
week 7 - day 3
6. Handless Cable Face Pull
PLAY DEMO
220
2/3x10@60
Get your hands and wrists INSIDE of two black JRx bands attached to
the cable unit so the hands remain free, open and not needing to grip
through this exercise. This will help with targeting by taking out the grip
aspect of this staple lift. Drive the cable (or band) back to your face
and squeeze hard, tensioning the peak contraction hard and allowing
a slower accentuated eccentric out through a full range of motion. I
want these trained heavier this week, so keep your body in a great
position and work to NOT compensate or cheat the reps. Note that
you will not be able to accelerate against this banded cable setup, as
the bands will pull prematurely. This will require you to slow down and
own your positions at the pillar bracing, but also the dynamic actions of
the shoulders. Be honest, and these will blow up your upper back like
nothing you’ve ever experienced.
week 7 - day 3
week 7
WEEK 7
DAY 4
1. Seated Barbell Vertical Jumps 2/8x1@30
PLAY DEMO
With a safety squat bar or traditional barbell on your back, start in a
seated position on a weight bench with an athletic stance width like
you were going to jump up and dunk a basketball. Rock back with
the hips (spine remaining in neutral), drive the feet down into the
floor stamping to increase ground reaction forces and jump up as
explosively as you can straight into the air reaching triple extension
of the ankles, knees and hips simultaneously. Catch yourself in an
athletic position and reset between each rep. You MAY want to do this
facing a squat rack so you can re-rack between each rep without an
awkward re-positioning each bout.
2. Dynamic Kettlebell Swing
PLAY DEMO
I want these swings light and FAST. Think about snapping the hips
through explosively and letting the kettlebell float at the top aspect of
the range of motion. Ensure that you are starting the kettlebell out in
front of you with the handle angled back. Generate full body tension
hinging the hips back with tight lats and a neutral spinal and head
position. Hike the KB back and drive it back up for 3 reps, returning the
KB back to the starting position between sets.
3. Airdyne Bike Sprints
PLAY DEMO
221
2/6x3@30
15 rounds 20s/40s work/rest ratio
Crank as hard as possible on those pedals for 20 seconds and work
your ass off to breathe deep and get the heart rate back down in that
40s rest period. While I prefer the air bike, any reciprocating arm and
leg cardio machine will work. If you do not have machines, work for 20
seconds against the sled getting the heart rate up and recovering in the
same interval prescriptions.
week 7 - day 4
4. 3-Way Plank
PLAY DEMO
222
0/3x15s(each)@60
Side plank, opposite side plank, then RKC plank all for 15 seconds
apiece and then REST for 60 seconds between rounds. If you have a
glute ham raise or a roman chair back extension setup, you can feel
free to do planks off the side of this machine for increased difficulty. No
matter your setup, tension hard and recruit as many motor units head to
toe as humanly possible.
week 7 - day 4
week 7
WEEK 7
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Box Squat w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Ensure that you set the chains up correctly here with leaders and chains
in contact with the ground to start, and deloading almost fully at the
bottom aspect of the squat range of motion. If you do NOT have chains,
bands per usual on tension through the entire range of motion will work
perfectly for dynamic effort. You’ll be completing doubles here off the
lowest box you can manage with with a neutral spinal position utilizing
45-second rest periods. Remember, we want a rapid eccentric sitting
back to the box, deloading into the box with a slight rock and drive all
the way up hard in a straight line. I want these at approximately 40% of
1RM allowing maximal speed development.
2. Dynamic Effort Barbell Deadlift w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
223
2/12x2@45
2/15x1@30
We are hitting singles here for speed work to really focus on starting
strength with a concentric emphasis. Stay strict to the 30-second rest
period to accumulate some serious work in a shorter period of time
doubling up on energy systems development as well. If you cannot
deadlift from the ground with a conventional stance, then take it off
the rack or from blocks of minimal height. Chains will be set outside of
your hands in a conventional stance draped over the bar or attached to
chain holders. If you do not have chains, use bands under the feet on
the barbell. Use 50% of 1RM and fire it up, allowing the bar to drop back
down quickly with a fast eccentric in order to not pre-fatigue our system
with this many sets.
week 7 - day 5
3. Safety Squat Bar Split Squat w/ Hand Assist
PLAY DEMO
Time to get really heavy with targeted single leg work. If you do NOT
have a safety squat bar simply put the barbell on your back and do NOT
use hand assist, rather keep your hands on the barbell at all times. If
you are using a safety squat bar, position it on your back so it’s stabilized
without hand support, and place your hands on the rack with a light grip
in order to help reduce the amount of balance needed to split squat
from this position. This will drastically increase your loading capacity, so
chase some heavy sets here at the top for 6 reps. Ensure that you are
not hammering your back knee into the ground repeatedly with a few
hundred pounds on your back. Just graze the knee on the ground, or if
you’d like, place a pad under your knee to avoid this impact. Work a full
range of motion and control that core.
4. Loaded Back Extensions
PLAY DEMO
224
2/3x6@75
0/6x10@60
Get a plate pinned to the chest and work through a full range of motion,
cueing the head, neck and mid-back to flex while activating the glutes
to be the prime mover of this exercise. We are working up the total
volume here so get the work in even when the last few sets get brutal.
If you cannot hit all 10 reps per set, drop the weight and finish off with
bodyweight, as completing the rep count is more important here than
the additional external load.
week 7 - day 5
week 7
WEEK 7
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Bench w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Alright, are you ready for a challenge? We are using sets of 5 on
dynamic effort bench press with a rapid eccentric, rapid concentric
execution for the first time in programming. Yeah, that’s a lot of fast reps,
but we are up for it. I want this light, starting at 40% of 1RM. For those
of you who have 40% feeling heavy and slow, don’t hesitate from going
down in bar loading, as speed is king. Attach chains to each side of the
bar properly with leader chains and hammer away at these sets that
should leave you winded. If you do not have chains, use bands. Perfect
every setup, every set and every rep.
2. Slight Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
225
2/6x5@45
4/3x8@90
Get 2 plates under the foot of a flat bench and get your feet up on
the bench (or build the floor up under your feet) to stay away from
hyperextension of the lower back. Work through an extended range
of motion at the shoulders getting a slight stretch on the pecs at the
bottom and drive up, tensioning for a split second at the top and
accentuating the eccentric. Allow your hands to rotate slightly, but
attempt to stay close to a fully pronated position as this will help
achieve the stretch through the extended range that we are looking for.
Go heavy here, as physics is working to your advantage on this slight
decline angle.
week 7 - day 6
3. Single Arm Low Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
2/3x12@75
Anti-rotation will kill the core here as we train the lats and back directly
this week with the single arm cable row setup. Attach one handle onto
the cable unit and row with the opposite hand positioned out to the side
generating loads of tension. Allow the shoulder blade to protract and
stretch slightly then drive back and peak the flex on each rep. If you do
not have cables, simply use a black JRx band from a seated position
on the ground. Place your emphasis on quality over load here with the
muscular response and stress we are looking to strategically elicit.
4. Dual Handle Rotating Lat Pulldown 2/3x12@60
PLAY DEMO
You’ll be rotating here in and out of pronation and supination to bring
a stretch into the movement at the top via a dual handle placement
on the lat pulldown cable setup. If you do not have a lat pulldown,
sit on the floor with bands up and over a pull up bar and pull down
with rotation. No matter your setup, peak the flex at the biceps at the
bottom of this range, and control up with tension and stability moving
through the shoulder blade and intrinsic muscular areas of the posterior
shoulder complex. Control the top aspect, and allow the hands to rotate
naturally as tension and quality of contraction as your gauge.
5. Lying Cable Lateral Raise
PLAY DEMO
226
2/3x15@60
Check out the video for this as it will do far more justice than the
coaching notes. Start lying on a bench and position the cable units
down so you can lateral raise up with both arms simultaneously. If you
have no cables, light blue band setup here will work perfectly. Peak
the contraction at the top of every rep, and slowly lower under tension.
Ensure that you are not coming all the way back down to the sides with
the arms, but coming short of full bottom end range of motion in order
to keep constant tension on the deltoids instead of picking up tension at
the rotator cuff. Drive blood flow into the shoulders to end this training
week with a massive regenerative pump.
week 7 - day 6
week 7
WEEK 7
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
227
week 7 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
228
week 7 - day 7
week 8
WEEK 8
DAY 1
1. Conventional Rack Pull Pin Lockout 5/4/3/2/1+
PLAY DEMO
You will be placing the bar at a height just ABOVE your knees on pins
or safety bars in the power rack for these conventional pulls. If you do
not have a power rack, build up the floor and pull off blocks or plates
stacked on the ground. There will be NO mixed grip here, double
overhand for all ramp up and working sets. When weight gets heavy,
don’t be afraid to strap up. Ensure that you are locking in the top of the
rep, holding for a second at the top and controlling back down to the
pins to create a massive amount of full body tension with some heavy
weights in your hands. Should be the heaviest pull you’ve done so far
here in FPT for a 1RM so get after it and stay pristine with your form.
2. Safety Bar Back Squat w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
229
4/3x5@90
Using a safety squat bar you’ll be working in the pure strength scheme
for 5 reps for this accessory movement. If you do NOT have a safety
squat bar, use that same higher bar position that you used for max effort
work last week. Attach chains to each side of the bar hung properly
with leaders and fully deloading onto the ground at the bottom of each
rep. Remember, we want these heavy, BUT form and technique is first.
No long pauses between reps or bouncing out of the bottom. Get tight,
stay tight and drive it up with every rep under control.
week 8 - day 1
3. Barbell Front Racked Bulgarian Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
Get a barbell front racked in any position (traditional, straps, safety squat
bar turned around in reverse) and work hard to position your setup
correctly with the bench, feet and pad all locked in. You’ll be loading
heavy here, getting some nice sets of 6 in to bring up the single leg work.
Ensure that you are hitting repeatable depth with your back knee grazing
the ground or a pad, and working hard to maintain control and balance at
the core and pillar complex throughout the lift. Between sides, take a few
breaths and restabilize everything before going back in.
4. Med-Ball Loaded Glute Ham Raise
PLAY DEMO
230
2/3x6@60
1/4x10@60
Use a medicine ball loaded against the chest here. I want you to flex
your chin to your chest and round over your upper back and thoracic
spine. This will help with lower back alignment and glute/hamstring
activation. If you do not have a glute ham raise simply use up any
hamstring variation (single leg physioball or lying machine preferred)
and train this hard for sets of 10 pumping a huge amount of blood into
the tissues with high amounts of neural activation. Lock in that core,
allow the hips to work, and finish this session off strong.
week 8 - day 1
week 8
WEEK 8
DAY 2
1. AirDyne Bike
PLAY DEMO
10-mins AFAP
Instead of going for a distance on the bike this week, we are shifting
your mental state and chasing a timed set. Use 10 minutes wisely,
meaning go HARD and get as far as you possibly can for maximal
distance. I want this one to hurt a little, testing your cardiovascular
limits along with your mental resilience. Ensure that you are
recovered enough to move into incline treadmill walking with a
repeatable gait pattern.
2. Incline Treadmill Walking
30 minutes
Cruise on out with a recovery zone heart rate under around 125 beats
per minute for 30 minutes. You can increase the speed OR the incline
slightly every 2-3 minutes as long as you remain in the recovery zone.
Focus in on breathing and being mindful with your steps. If you can get
outside here that would be preferred.
PLAY DEMO
3. Loaded Calf Raise Death Set
PLAY DEMO
231
100 reps AFAP
With a 25 pound or 45 pound plate around your waist, get ready for
a lower leg challenge like no other. We call this the death set as it’s
devastating. With a strict tempo of slow constant tension up and down
through a full range of motion with toes elevated on a surface to allow
maximal dorsiflexion, complete sets to complete technical failure, then
rest 10-seconds between bouts in cluster fashion. Keep hitting failure
until you total 100 total reps. You are going to want to quit half way
through, but don’t. Push your mental limits and push the largest pump
you’ve ever experienced into your calves here in record time.
week 8 - day 2
week 8
WEEK 8
DAY 3
1. Incline Fat Bar Bench press
PLAY DEMO
Incline the adjustable bench to around 45-degrees and utilize the fat
bar (or fat grips on) working with your strongest grip width position. With
this inclined angle, a false grip may feel more optimal, so choose a grip
and stay with it for the entirety of this exercise. Chase your heaviest
loading with a pure 1RM scheme ensuring there is no pre-fatiguing in
the system with the ramping rep work before you get to your singles.
These are “practice” and cannot add to cumulative fatigue if you plan
on breaking some PRs. As you get to the top, keep adding slightly until
you set a PR.
2. Hanging Band Tempo Press
PLAY DEMO
232
5/4/3/2/1+
0/1x180s@0
After your last set of bench strip the bar and get your bands ready. We’ll
be using a hanging band technique with iso-holds at the top aspect
of this range of motion up on a flat bench and with a barbell. Use as
many bands as you have with around 30% of your bench press 1RM on
the bar in hanging weight. Set the timer for 3 minutes and HOLD. Full
body tension here focusing on the lats and upper back contracting hard
and maintaining a stable brace throughout the entire set. There will be
only ONE set of these, so hold on and fight the urge to quit. If you’re
struggling to keep that top position stabilized, slowly let the bar come
down on your chest and press it back up into position to reset, but do
NOT rerack the weight until 3-minutes has been achieved.
week 8 - day 3
3. Slight Decline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
Get 3 plates under the foot of the bench to achieve the slight declined
angle (and place a band the long way on the bench to avoid slipping).
I prefer the feet to be up on the bench with the declined angle, but if
this is not in the cards simply build up the ground with boxes or plates
under your feet. Achieve a deeper stretched position at the shoulders
with the dumbbells and hands placed in a fully pronated position and
drive up out of the bottom under control. I want pure control with high
mind muscle connection for 8 reps, hitting ALL reps per set. Remember,
this angle should allow for some heavier loads to be used, but stay
cognizant of quality reps, not just increased loading in this rep scheme.
4. Chest Supported Rope Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
233
2/3x15@60
Get an incline bench facing the cable stack similar to last week in
positioning of the bench and low cable row machine (or band anchored
closer to the ground). Place the rope on the cable stack in a low
position. Row back with HIGHER elbows keeping your hands in a palms
down pronated grip the entire time. Think of this elbow position as half
way between a traditional row and a face pull so we can target upper
back and lats simultaneously. Go heavy here but ensure control and all
reps being hit in this extended hypertrophy scheme. A little extra load
goes a long way here and will be humbling, especially at 15 reps per
set.
5. Chin Up
PLAY DEMO
4/3x8@75
5/0x2@75
Get into your strongest grip width in a fully supinated chin up position
and chase some heavy doubles here with performance PR’s in mind.
Ensure that you are starting from the bottom of the range of motion
on the first rep under perfect stability and control of the core and hips
pulling in on the loading off the belt with the adductors, and working
through full range of motion all the way up to the top. ABSOLUTELY
no half repping here, ego set aside. We want to be pushing our
actual physical limits here with loading the vertical pull pattern for
performance, not faking it. Be honest with yourself, and scrap for every
last inch here on the pulls.
week 8 - day 3
6. Handless Cable Face Pull
PLAY DEMO
234
2/3x8@60
Get your hands and wrists INSIDE of two black JRx bands attached to
the cable unit so the hands remain free, open and not needing to grip
through this exercise. This will help with targeting by taking out the grip
aspect of this staple lift. Drive the cable (or band) back to your face
and squeeze hard, tensioning the peak contraction hard and allowing
a slower accentuated eccentric out through a full range of motion. I
want these trained heavier this week, so keep your body in a great
position and work to NOT compensate or cheat the reps. Note that
you will not be able to accelerate against this banded cable setup, as
the bands will pull prematurely. This will require you to slow down and
own your positions at the pillar bracing, but also the dynamic actions of
the shoulders. Be honest, and these will blow up your upper back like
nothing you’ve ever experienced.
week 8 - day 3
week 8
WEEK 8
DAY 4
1. Single Leg Repeat Hop Jumps
PLAY DEMO
2/4x4(per)@30
Make sure you watch the video on this one to clarify setup and
execution. I want you to set a few bands, dumbbells, or whatever on the
ground to give you targets to jump over having 4 hits per side for each
set. I want these quick and explosive off the ground and working hard
to catch the last hit and stabilize on single leg stance for a few seconds
before moving on to the opposite side. Simply think bang bang bang
and STICK the last one.
2. Single Arm Dumbbell Snatch
PLAY DEMO
8/1x1(per side)@30
Position your feet in a power stance hip width apart to start with a
dumbbell hung between the legs with a single arm. With a slight drop
to reverse the explosive direction, scrape it up the front side of your
body powering it with your legs and catch it HIGH at the top. Work your
loads up being explosive for a rep on each side catching the dumbbell
high. Remember, we are working on triple extension moments at the
lower body here and restabilizing out of an isometric position at the
shoulders, so technique and form matter.
3. Incline Treadmill Sprints
15 rounds 10s/50s work/rest ratio
Push the incline up between 4-10 on the treadmill and speed at the
max for 10 seconds of quick hits to peak the CNS without crushing your
heart rate in the process. Each and every step you take here should
be meaningful and perfect, giving high speed running the respect it
deserves as a power activity.
PLAY DEMO
235
week 8 - day 4
4. Hanging Leg Raise
PLAY DEMO
236
0/4x10@60
Grab the pull up bar with a wide double overhand grip and with a
pulse (dare I say KIP!?) crunch your abs and bring your legs up in front
of you. Use smaller leg actions to get your body going with strategic
momentum until you can get to full range of motion. Control them
back down and complete 10 reps on repeat per set. Do NOT get out of
control here, but rather coordinate this motor skill that will be a huge
challenge for your entire pillar complex consisting of the shoulders, hips
and core working together as a functional unit.
week 8 - day 4
week 8
WEEK 8
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Box Squat w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Ensure that you set the chains up correctly here with leaders and chains
in contact with the ground to start, and deloading almost fully at the
bottom aspect of the squat range of motion. If you do NOT have chains,
bands per usual on tension through the entire range of motion will work
perfectly for dynamic effort. You’ll be completing doubles here off the
lowest box you can manage with with a neutral spinal position utilizing
45-second rest periods. Remember, we want a rapid eccentric sitting
back to the box, deloading into the box with a slight rock and drive all
the way up hard in a straight line. I want these at approximately 45% of
1RM allowing maximal speed development.
2. Dynamic Effort Barbell Deadlift w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
237
2/12x2@45
2/15x1@30
We are hitting singles here for speed work to really focus on starting
strength with a concentric emphasis. Stay strict to the 30-second rest
period to accumulate some serious work in a shorter period of time
doubling up on energy systems development as well. If you cannot
deadlift from the ground with a conventional stance, then take it off
the rack or from blocks of minimal height. Chains will be set outside of
your hands in a conventional stance draped over the bar or attached to
chain holders. If you do not have chains, use bands under the feet on
the barbell. Use 55% of 1RM and fire it up, allowing the bar to drop back
down quickly with a fast eccentric in order to not pre-fatigue our system
with this many sets.
week 8 - day 5
3. Front Foot Elevated Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
PLAY DEMO
Place 2 plates down on the ground to achieve the front foot elevated
position that will increase the range of motion that this reverse lunge
is trained through. With heavy dumbbells in both hands, reverse lunge
back through that extended range of motion in non-alternating fashion
completing all 8 reps on the right before moving directly into 8 reps on
the left. Position the chest slightly downward facing and vision down
towards the ground with your head to kick on that posterior chain to a
greater degree. As the weights get heavy in those top end working sets,
take a few breaths between sides to recharge your focus.
4. Loaded Back Extensions
PLAY DEMO
238
2/3x8@75
0/6x10@60
Get a plate pinned to the chest and work through a full range of motion,
cueing the head, neck and mid-back to flex while activating the glutes
to be the prime mover of this exercise. We are working up the total
volume here so get the work in even when the last few sets get brutal. If
you can no longer complete 10 reps per set, simply get as many quality
reps as possible with a total of 6 sets completed for this exercise.
week 8 - day 5
week 8
WEEK 8
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Bench w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
Alright, are you ready for a challenge? We are using sets of 5 on
dynamic effort bench press with a rapid eccentric, rapid concentric
execution for the first time in programming. Yeah, that’s a lot of fast reps,
but we are up for it. I want this light, starting at 45% of 1RM. For those
of you who have 45% feeling heavy and slow, don’t hesitate from going
down in bar loading, as speed is king. Attach chains to each side of the
bar properly with leader chains and hammer away at these sets that
should leave you winded. If you do not have chains, use bands. Perfect
every setup, every set and every rep.
2. Loaded Push Up
PLAY DEMO
239
2/6x5@45
4/3x12@90
Chains, bands, plates, you have your pick, lets do it! Get some loading
on the body and cue that core to be rock solid. Remember, the push up
is a full body lift that requires tension and recruitment head to toe, so
train it with the respect it deserves here. I want an explosive drive, pause
at the top and controlled eccentric back down. PRISTINE reps here
fighting gravity and added load every step of the way.
week 8 - day 6
3. Decline Arcing Single Arm Dumbbell Row
PLAY DEMO
Get your stance split and your hand on the rack or a bench to
stabilize. Turn those hips and core on to FIGHT anti-rotation. Drive up
10 reps on one side focusing on arcing the row back towards your
hip and flexing the lats and upper back hard, take a few seconds to
re-compose yourself and then go back in on the opposite side. Get
some great reps in here and contract the lats HARD to feel them in
the rib cage attachments if pristinely executed. This needs to be a
full body movement with the core controlled and the lower body
supporting this asymmetrically loaded position. Don’t get lazy, these
need to be strict controlled reps that target your back as well as your
core and energy systems.
4. Kneeling Dual Cable Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
240
2/3x20@60
Get between cables (or hook bands to either side of the squat rack) and
pull down from a “Y” position tension for a second and let back up through
an eccentric moment. It’s pivotal that you position your body so that the
pulls occur in the direct overhead plane of motion. If you setup correctly
and execute with technical precision, these should burn you up, so tap
into the quality. As you get tired, your glutes and core will be the first
regions that will give up their position, so fight to keep posture, as your lat
activation and optimal trainability depends on it.
5. Lying Scare Crow ER Raise
PLAY DEMO
2/3x10@75
2/3x12@60
Light a fire on your shoulders and build into that pain-free shoulder
training volume with a huge amount of reps. Knock out 10 reps in the Y
position keeping the palms in the down position, then straight into the
T position, again with the palms down towards the floor at the top, then
back with hands to the side for the I position. Yes, that’s 30 reps per set
and 5 total sets FOR 150 reps. A little bit of loading goes a long way here.
What we don’t want is swinging of the weights or compensations. Put
your ego aside, torch your shoulders, and have fun with the pump of your
life with only a few pounds in each hand.
week 8 - day 6
week 8
WEEK 8
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
241
week 8 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
242
week 8 - day 7
week 9
WEEK 9
DAY 1
1. Front Squat From Pins
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
Set the pins or safety bars in the squat rack so your hips are at maximal
depth (parallel if you can get there) ensuring a full range of motion
is used from the bottom up. Using a front-racked position of your
choice, traditional, strapped, reversed safety bar, place the bar on the
pins and position your feet under the bar finding a maximal brace out
of the bottom position of the lift. Once there, drive the bar straight
up with explosive power ramping up with rep work, and then hitting
singles all the way up to a 1RM that you cannot budge from the pins.
We are training concentric only here so let the bar back down to the
pins quickly in order to not pre-fatigue the system. This does not mean
dropping the bar, but controlling it’s decent with minimal energy utilized
to bring it back down to the starting position.
2. Reverse Band Barbell RDL 4/3x5@90
PLAY DEMO
243
Place the black JRx bands on the top of the rack and around the collars
of the barbell to achieve the reverse band setup. Add additional bar
weight over 4 extended ramp up sets and right into 3 working sets that
should be climbing little by little in load until you hit your true strength
potential. Don’t be afraid to get heavy here, pushing your limits through
a full range of motion with quality reps and a controlled and stable
brace. Work hard to drive your hips back as you go down and keep
tight on the brace. The top of each rep should be tensioned in for a
split second with emphasis placed on the glutes and adductors with a
locked in spinal position.
week 9 - day 1
3. Safety Squat Bar Bulgarian Split
PLAY DEMO
Get the barbell or safety squat bar on your back and knock out HEAVY
sets of 5 reps for Bulgarians in a traditional setup off the bench and
with a pad under the back knee to monitor depth. You should be able
to set a PR here for 5 reps, as this loading tool across your back will be
favorable for high performance. Know very well that you are going to
grind slowly through some of these reps, especially on the second leg.
That’s fine as long as the spine remains in sound and stabilized positions
and form is not altered or compensated. Set some records here and
push yourself out of your comfort zone.
4. Med-Ball Loaded GHR
PLAY DEMO
244
2/3x5@60
1/4x12@60
Use a medicine ball pinned to the chest here as added loading. I want
you to flex your chin to your chest and round over your upper back
and thoracic spine. This will help with lower back alignment and glute/
hamstring activation. If you do not have a glute ham raise simply hit
up any hamstring variation (single leg physioball or lying machine
preferred). And if you want to get fancy, you can set up the safety pins
to hip height and extend over the side of it against a band anchored
on the opposite side of the rack. The goal here is to train the posterior
chain with some higher reps, so whatever your method, push the limits
and elicit a nasty pump.
week 9 - day 1
week 9
WEEK 9
DAY 2
1. RUN
PLAY DEMO
8-mins AFAP
We are testing your aerobic systems here with a timed run that
should be extremely high intensity in nature. Push yourself to run as
far as possible, maximizing your distance in 8-minutes. If you’re on
the treadmill, push that speed up and end in an all out sprint. If you’re
running outside, push your pace progressively over the course of the
time frame. Record your distance for future reference here and ensure
that you take a few minutes to bring the heart and respiratory rates
down before moving on to some meaningful recovery walking.
2. Incline Treadmill Walking
30 minutes
Cruise on out with a recovery zone heart rate for 30 minutes. You can
increase the speed OR the incline slightly every 2-3 minutes as long
as you remain in the recovery zone that keeps your heart rate under
approximately 120 beats per minutes and your respiratory rate in a
conversational tone.
PLAY DEMO
3. Loaded Calf Raises
PLAY DEMO
245
50 reps AFAP
Elevate your toes up on a surface and place a load around your waist
in a belt where you can complete around 20 perfect reps through a full
range of motion, peak flex and slight stretch with. Complete as many
reps as you can, then rest a few seconds after hitting failure. Go back in
and continue to do this until you accumulate 50 total reps, all executed
with pristine quality and control.
week 9 - day 2
week 9
WEEK 9
DAY 3
1. Neutral Bar Bench Press w/ Chains 5/4/3/2/1+
PLAY DEMO
Use a neutral grip shoulder width hand position here on the neutral grip
bar. If you do not have access to this bar, simply use a false grip on a
traditional barbell in your strongest grip width. If you have chains drape
them on the bar properly using leaders and making sure the chain
STAY on the ground at all times, deloading at the bottom of the range
of motion properly. If you don’t have chains, use light banding on each
side of the barbell with blue JRx bands. Chase a flat press 1RM against
accommodating resistance of your choice after ramping up with rep
work. Ensure that the upper back and core stay strong and braced while
using maximal leg drive of your feet into the ground. Treat this lift as the
full body strength builder that it truly is.
2. Hanging Band Tempo Press
PLAY DEMO
246
0/1x200s@0
After your last set of bench strip the bar and get your bands ready.
We’ll be using a hanging band technique with iso-holds at the top
aspect of this range of motion up on a flat bench and with a barbell.
Use as many bands as you have with around 30% of your bench press
1RM on the bar in hanging weight. Set the timer for 3:20 and HOLD. Full
body tension here focusing on the lats and upper back contracting
hard and maintaining a stable brace throughout the entire set. There
will be only ONE set of these, so hold on and fight the urge to quit. If
you’re struggling to keep that top position stabilized, slowly let the bar
come down on your chest and press it back up into position to reset,
but do NOT rerack the weight until 3 minutes and 20 seconds has been
achieved.
week 9 - day 3
3. 45-Degree Dumbbell Floor Press
PLAY DEMO
Get down on the ground and position the dumbbells in a 45-degree
hand and shoulder position for perfect shoulder centration and control.
Once you drive the dumbbells up into the starting position, ensure that
your legs remain flat and driving down into the floor at the heels, backs
of the knees and glutes. Drive up 12 reps keeping constant tension
in the muscles throughout the full range, not pausing extensively at
the top or the bottom of the movement. These are lighter with 12reps (relative to a 3-6 reps in a more traditional strength scheme) so
positioning should be no problem to get the dumbbells into the starting
position. As you start to fatigue, ensure sound stability by crushing the
handle of the dumbbell harder and harder with your grip.
4. Chest Supported Rope Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
247
2/3x12@60
Get an incline bench facing the cable stack similar to last week
in positioning of the bench and low cable row machine (or band
anchored closer to the ground). Place the rope on the cable stack in a
low position. Row back with HIGHER elbows keeping your hands in a
palms down pronated grip the entire time. Think of this elbow position
as half way between a traditional row and a face pull so we can target
upper back and lats simultaneously. Go heavy here but ensure control
and all reps being hit in this extended hypertrophy scheme. A little
extra load goes a long way here and will be humbling, especially at 12
reps per set.
5. Neutral Grip Chin Up
PLAY DEMO
2/3x12@75
5/0x3@75
Chase triples with heavy loading until you can no longer get 3 reps
utilizing a strong neutral grip position just shy of shoulder width grip. As
we continue to work down into the performance power schemes on the
vertical pull pattern, it should be known that we are in preparation for
1RM’s in a few weeks, so keep pushing this performance lift and work
on finding sound stability at the core and hips that will support bigger
performance numbers to come. Make this a full body lift and hit some
PR’s for triples this week.
week 9 - day 3
6. Suspension Trainer Face Pull
PLAY DEMO
248
100 reps AFAP
Get your hands on a TRX or rings with your hips, core and shoulders
linked up as a functional unit in a straight stabilized line. Kick your heels
into the ground to tension up the kinetic chain for optimal maintenance
of recruitment of tension. Drive back your hands into a face pull pattern,
squeezing the upper back hard and allowing the shoulder blades
to move authentically. Make sure to use physics to your advantage
here and place your feet and body at angle that you can complete
around 20 sound reps with, then complete 100 reps as fast as possible
in rest-pause fashion between failed bouts. Fight the urge to use
compensation and speed, as we want slow and controlled reps on the
concentric and eccentric to keep constant stress on these tissues, but
also the posturally dependent muscles in play like the core and glutes.
These should light you up to end the week strong.
week 9 - day 3
week 9
WEEK 9
DAY 4
1. A-Skip
PLAY DEMO
0/6x6(per)@30
Check out the video here that will show the rhythm and execution on
this style of skip. We are skipping with explosive rhythm here driving
down into the ground with rapid pulsing of the feet producing ground
reaction forces and propelling the body forward. Make sure that you
are using your upper body and lower body together to be an athlete in
reciprocating fashion. Remember, this is a form of explosive training so
think fast and keep an extremely high quality of hits here for each set of
6 hits per side.
2. Dumbbell Vertical Jumps
PLAY DEMO
Grab two dumbbells and place them to your sides. Hinge the hips back
slowly to generate tension in the posterior chain. Explode up into a
vertical jump and repeat instantly for a second rep. Catch your second
rep rapidly maintaining your power position then come up and rest for
30 seconds between bouts. You should be jumping with lighter weights
here, anywhere from 10-40 pounds depending on strength levels to
ensure that we keep this fast.
3. Bike Sprint
PLAY DEMO
249
2/8x2@30
15 rounds 10s/50s work/rest ratio
Crank this air bike hard for 10 seconds with the high resistance method
of aerobic conditioning. Work your asses off to get the heart rate back
down in the 50 second rest period which is enough time to get into the
recovery zone again. If you do not have an air bike, simply use any piece
of cardio machinery, sled or even easy build up sprint work outside if
the weather and climate is permitting.
week 9 - day 4
4. 90-90 Med-Ball Crunches
PLAY DEMO
250
0/4x20@60
Lying on your back with your knees and hips positioned at 90-degrees,
grab a plate or med ball and press it STRIAGHT up towards the
ceiling leading the motion from the thoracic spine moving in and out
of flexion and returning to neutral positions. The lower back stays in
neutral contact with the floor the entire time, so again, ensure that
the movement is coming from the thoracic spine. Gaze your eyes
up towards the ceiling with slight extension at the head and neck to
keep the chest tall throughout this ab crunch. Slow and controlled
movements at all costs, peaking the top of each rep and accentuating
the eccentric back down.
week 9 - day 4
week 9
WEEK 9
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Front Box Squat w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Using the front squat hand position of your choice (either the traditional
front rack, straps or cross arms) place a box under your butt angled with
the point between your knees positioned to a maximal depth where you
can keep full spinal control in a neutral position. Bands will be added
to either side of the barbell to create accommodating based resistance
and aid in an over speed eccentric. The bar should have approximately
45% if your back squat 1RM in plate loading. Over the course of 12
sets of doubles, use a rapid eccentric moment sitting on the box with
a slight rock and driving straight up. Think fast here, maximizing the
neuromuscular response to speed. Ensure that you are keeping strict
45-second rest periods.
2. Dynamic Effort Hybrid Barbell Deadlift w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
251
2/12x2@45
2/15x1@30
Place the barbell down on the ground with chains attached or draped
over the midline of the bar between the feet and hands. If you do not
have chains, simply add banded accommodating resistance to the
bar. We will be training pulling speed work out of the hybrid sumo
“squat stance” deadlift with wider foot positioning and more toes out.
Remember, in order to keep these pulls pain-free at higher volume of
15 total sets here, we are training singles with a concentric only action
around 60% of 1RM. So drop the bar down quickly after exploding up
and leading the motion with violent hip action. Let’s get in a ton of work
here and increase that training density with just 30-second rest periods.
week 9 - day 5
3. Dumbbell Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
The simplest, yet the most sinister of ALL split squat variations, the
traditional dumbbell split squat. Position dumbbells in both hands and
achieve a split stance foot position where you’ll reach a 90-90 degree
hip and knee position on both legs at the terminal end range bottom
aspect of this lift. Move under control up and down through a full range
of motion here with constant tension placed on the hamstrings and
glutes on the front side leg to make this movement smooth. The 12 rep
sets should be punishing, but don’t forget that a strong and stable base
position lead by the core and shoulders will aid in potentiating the lower
body to perform at the highest levels under loading. Get uncomfortable
here and push yourself past your limits.
4. Loaded Back Extensions
PLAY DEMO
252
2/3x12@75
0/7x10@60
Get a plate pinned to the chest and work through a full range of motion,
cueing the head, neck and mid-back to flex while activating the glutes
to be the prime mover of this exercise. We are working up the total
volume here so get the work in even when the last few sets get brutal. If
you can no longer complete 10 reps per set, simply get as many quality
reps as possible with a total of 7 sets completed for this exercise.
week 9 - day 5
week 9
WEEK 9
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Fat Bar Bench w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Using a fat bar (or fat grips on the traditional barbell) place blue JRx
bands doubled up on either side of the barbell collars. You read this
scheme correctly, we are doing FIVE reps of rapid eccentric into explosive
concentric reps on repeat. Again, think POP POP POP… We need to be
starting at a very low bar weight percentage here so play with around
35% and ensure that you can maintain speed for all of the sets of 5
reps that are programmed. Remember, these percentages are general
recommendations, you’ll have to find your perfect speed where you can
get as heavy as possible while still moving weights fast for all reps. Stay
strict here with the 45-second rest periods.
2. Loaded Stretch Push Up
PLAY DEMO
253
2/6x5@45
2/3x15@90
Elevate the hands up on boxes or benches (and for stronger lifters the
feet as well). Achieve a stretched position at the shoulders that are
still under full control actively, and drive up out of it keeping constant
tension on the pecs and lats at all times. Ensure that you are getting all
15 reps here in working sets, so don’t load too aggressively. Don’t forget
about the use of the full body irradiation effect here maintaining proper
spinal alignment stabilized by active lower body, core and recruitment
of tension head to toe. If and when you hit failure, do NOT push up from
the position with poor form, but rather just bring your knees down to the
ground to get up.
week 9 - day 6
3. Symmetrical Stance Single Arm Dumbbell Row
PLAY DEMO
Get your feet in a symmetrical position. Hinge your hips over a bench
with the opposite arm extended and get to rowing with the dumbbell.
A wider stance at the feet allows the dumbbell to be rowed inside the
knee, or a narrower stance to the outside. Pick your positional poison
based on the quality of contraction at the lats and upper back with the
row. Just don’t go between these two recommended positions, as your
knees will restrict range of motion. Tension each rep at the top flexing
as hard as you can, maintaining a table top spinal position and nothing
else moving in the entire body, as it should be locked down to stabilize
and potentiate the dynamic action of the row.
4. Straight Bar Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
254
2/3x20@60
We are again training traditional lat pulldowns here off of the cable
stack. If you do not have cables, you need to rig a band setup over a
pull up bar while sitting on the ground, keeping hands fully pronated
at all times during the pull. Extend your neck back slightly as you pull,
and really drive your chest up, similar to the upper back braced position
in the bench press. This will ensure proper shoulder packing and a
centrated position throughout. Stay smooth and fight the urge to quit
for these brutal 20 rep sets. Ensure that you are not losing your position
getting your shoulders pulled up between every rep at the top. Strong
and stable at all times.
5. Lying Rear Delt Raise
PLAY DEMO
2/3x10@75
2/3x20@60 + BW AMRAP Finisher
Place yourself face down on the incline bench and grab some light
dumbbells in your hands. Get through a full range of motion and flex
each rep at the top, accentuating the eccentrics on the way down while
utilizing your glutes and core to stabilize the positions. After all your
working sets that should be pushed damn close to failure at 20 reps a
piece, get in ONE MORE set with just bodyweight and go until you can
no longer budge your arms. That means you’ll be knocking out partial
reps to pure mechanical failure until your hands don’t move an inch.
This is the last exercise of the week, so test yourself.
week 9 - day 6
week 9
WEEK 9
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
255
week 9 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
256
week 9 - day 7
week 10
WEEK 10
DAY 1
1. Low Handle Trap Bar Deadlift
PLAY DEMO
Flip that trap bar over to the low handle side and get to work with this
max effort deadlift variation! If you do not have a trap bar, you’re taking
the barbell from the floor with a hybrid sumo stance placing your hands
inside of your knees and feet wider and toed out in a semi squat stance.
It’s essential that you use bumper or big diameter 45-pound plates from
the first ramp on. No altering range of motion with ramp up sets here
with smaller plates. Chase a pure 1RM here focusing on quality bracing
and positions, and set some records from this full range of motion
deadlift position.
2. Front Squat
PLAY DEMO
257
5/4/3/2/1+
4/3x4@90
Using your preferred hand position and setup on the bar (traditional
front rack or straps) knock out some heavy top end sets of front squats
chasing incremental jumps each and every working set for sets of 4.
Since this accessory squat pattern is using straight weight in a pure
strength scheme, this is your chance to really dial in your form and
technique, placing your body in sound positions to perform from.
Though I want pristine reps through the extended 4 ramp up sets with
lower end loading, this needs to be pushed as a performance lift on the
3 working sets at the top. Never sacrifice form for more load, but there’s
nothing wrong with a little straining and grinding here at the top.
week 10 - day 1
3. Landmine Reverse Lunge
PLAY DEMO
2/3x8@60
Make sure to strap up your opposite hand to the collar of the barbell
setup in the landmine to ensure that your grip is not the limiting factor
to loading this lower body emphasized movement. The opposite arm
should be out to the side maximizing the grip at the hand and building
stability at the pecs and lats. Reverse lunge keeping constant tension
through your hips and core, as you’re going to need it as the load is off
set to one side. Note that the front leg stabilization in multiple planes
will be a huge challenge, requiring a strong and stable core position and
smooth steps back each and every rep. You are only as strong as you
are stable in this position.
4. Bodyweight Glute Ham Raise 1/4xAMRAP@60
PLAY DEMO
258
Get one ramp up set in consisting of a few reps to ensure your setup
and technique is on point after the thrashing you just took on the
reverse lunges. From there, it’s time to go ham on the hamstrings and
glutes. Get as many quality reps as you can on 4 straight sets with a
strict minute of rest between. We want the cumulative effects of this
higher rep scheme without loading to be the focus this week. If you do
not have a glute ham raise machine, choose your modification based on
the equipment you have available. Heel slides and physioball hamstring
curls are the preferred modifications due to training the knees into
flexion simultaneously with hips moving into extension.
week 10 - day 1
week 10
WEEK 10
DAY 2
1. AirDyne Bike
PLAY DEMO
10-mins AFAP
If you’re recovered and ready to go, push this as HARD as humanly
possible for maximal distance in a 10-minute duration. If the previous
max effort day kicked your ass a little more than usual and you’re
dragging a bit, keep the heart rate in higher aspects of the conditioning
zone and work smarter here, not harder to add to the fatigue in the
system. Either way, the legs should get pumped to the gills to add low
intensity low impact regeneration to the lower body and CNS. If you do
not have an air bike, make the necessary modifications using any form
of cardio equipment prioritizing the sparing of your joints, and training of
your cardiovascular systems.
2. Incline Treadmill Walk
PLAY DEMO
We have a 30-minute walking block in the recovery zone to again
help aid in the recovery process after a tough start to the week with
max effort work on the lower body. Use the speed and incline of the
treadmill intelligently here to stay within the recovery zone heart rate,
and keep your respiratory rate at conversational paces. The goal is to
build a base here, not test your limits. If you can, get outside here and
breathe in some fresh air.
3. Bodyweight Calf Raise
PLAY DEMO
259
30 minutes
100 reps AFAP
We are going in with 100 total bodyweight reps as fast as possible here
with the toes positioned up on an elevated surface. Hit failure and take a
few seconds between bouts before you go back in. As you get fatigued
and your lower legs begin to burn up, do not sacrifice sound form,
contractions and tempos of this movement to just get it done. Keep
quality high throughout all hundred reps.
week 10 - day 2
week 10
WEEK 10
DAY 3
1. Slight Incline Close Grip Barbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
Position 3 plates under the head of the bench to achieve a slight
inclined angle. Using a close false grip (pinkie fingers should be around
the knurling on the average bar here) chase a 1RM after ramping up
with your non-fatiguing rep work. Remember, this will be a weaker lift
due to the incline and hand position, but do NOT let your ego drive this
max effort work, stick in your close grip position and be honest with
your setups. This is the type of stimulus that we want this week placing
a greater degree of emphasis on the triceps and anterior deltoid and
some away from the pectoralis group.
2. Hanging Band Tempo Press
PLAY DEMO
260
5/4/3/2/1+
0/1x220s@0
After your last set of bench strip the bar and get your bands ready.
We’ll be using a hanging band technique with iso-holds at the top
aspect of this range of motion up on a flat bench and with a barbell.
Use as many bands as you have with around 30% of your bench press
1RM on the bar in hanging weight. Set the timer for 3:40 and HOLD. Full
body tension here focusing on the lats and upper back contracting
hard and maintaining a stable brace throughout the entire set. There
will be only ONE set of these, so hold on and fight the urge to quit. If
you’re struggling to keep that top position stabilized, slowly let the bar
come down on your chest and press it back up into position to reset,
but do NOT rerack the weight until 3 minutes and 40 seconds has been
achieved.
week 10 - day 3
3. Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
2/3x15@75
You read this set and rep scheme correctly; we are chasing working sets
of 15 reps, which will be absolute burners by the time you get through 5
total sets. Throughout this extended scheme, keep tension and control
of the lats and upper back and stay smooth on the concentric and
eccentric phases of the lift with no pauses or instability. The core and
lower body need to remain locked into position to support the work at
the shoulders and chest, and grip needs to be maximized to again help
the stability of the entire chain. Work up the loading on the 3 working
sets slightly to get to a pure 15RM that you cannot get another rep with
by the time you’re done.
4. Chest Supported Rope Cable Row
2/3x10@60 + Seated Band Row Challenge
PLAY DEMO
Get an incline bench facing the cable stack. Place the rope on the cable
stack in a low position. Position your body on the bench so that your
spine remains in a neutral position and your feet are secured on the
ground aided by glute and adductor tension and stability. Row back
with HIGHER elbows keeping your hands in a palms down pronated
grip the entire time. Think of this as half way between your normal row
pattern and a higher elbow face pull. Go heavy here but ensure control
and all reps being hit in this extended hypertrophy scheme. After your
last rep, sit down on the floor, attach a black JRx band to the rack
and pump out as many reps as possible to pump the lats hard before
moving on. Shoot for 50+ reps here with a mind over muscle mentality
Seated Band Row Challenge Set Video
5. Medium Grip Pull Up
PLAY DEMO
261
5/0x2@75
Position your hands a medium width apart with a full pronated
traditional pull up grip on the bar. Chase doubles with heavier loading
each set until you can no longer complete 2 reps. Ensure that you are
controlling the core and hips, pinning the weights between your legs
with the adductors while pulling up through a full range of motion.
Avoid reaching with the chin, and remain in control of the shoulders at
all times, including the bottom of each rep.
week 10 - day 3
6. Lying Foam Roller Handless Cable Face Pull w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
262
1/4x25@60
Lying on your back with a foam roller going vertically down your spine,
set your hands inside two doubled up black JRx bands for a handless
grip on the cable unit. Note, this setup uses the cable as the load AND
bands as the attachment. If you do not have cables, simply connect a
blue band for the handless attachment to the black band as your key
resisting force anchored to a rack or stable point. No matter your setup,
drive your hands back towards your face and get 25 quality constant
tension reps in pumping back and forth. These will be absolute burners,
but finish this training day strong with a pump.
week 10 - day 3
week 10
WEEK 10
DAY 4
1. Dumbbell Loaded March
PLAY DEMO
With heavy dumbbells in both hands, slowly step to 90-degree hip
and knee front side position and powerfully stomp down on each step
alternating right and left leg while walking forward slowly. Keep the
dumbbells secured and stabilized with maximal grip and shoulder
engagement. This should help the core irradiate tension and stability
up and down chain. The single leg nature will light up your glutes and
legs while escalating the heart rate significantly in just a few seconds.
Repeat for 10 seconds then take a 30 second rest period, and do this for
10 rounds.
2. Trap Bar Vertical Jumps
PLAY DEMO
263
0/10x10s@30
2/10x3@45
Get inside the trap bar and hit repeat triple jumps for 10 rounds. Do NOT
bounce the weights off the floor between reps, but there’s also no need
to come to a dead stop either. Touch down under control and rebound
back up explosively extending at the ankles, knees and the hips
simultaneously into triple extension. Load should be light here, around
20-30% 1RM back squat. But above all else, ensure that you are staying
twitchy and explosive with these jumps to train the brain via this velocity
based training mechanism.
week 10 - day 4
3. Incline Treadmill Sprint
PLAY DEMO
15 rounds 15s/45s work/rest ratio
Get the treadmill up on an incline and at a top speed and crank out
15 rounds of 15 second sprints, working your ass off to recover in the
45-second rest periods between bouts and get back into a recovery
zone each time. Ensure that you are staying safe jumping on and off
of the treadmill using the handrails. If you can get outside here, go for
15 second build up runs and keep a focus on quality of gait stride and
staying healthy above all else.
4. Banded Single Arm Barbell Iso-Holds
PLAY DEMO
264
0/4x10s(per)@60
Set the pins in the rack up JUST below hand height when arm is down
to the side. Band the barbell with black JRx bands on both collars with
equal tension and the bands positioned vertically. Standing in your
power stance at the feet approximately hip width apart and toes straight
forward, drive up the bar an inch or two with a deadlift pattern and hold
an isometric full body contraction for 10 seconds at the top with all
aspects of the body in neutral. Take a breath or two and switch sides
for another 10-seconds. This should feel like lightning running through
your veins via the tension elicited by the hands, the core and the lower
body rooting down into the ground. See how heavy you can get for the
10-seconds and push your limits of what’s possible. Do this for 4 rounds.
week 10 - day 4
week 10
WEEK 10
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Front Box Squat w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Using the front squat hand position of your choice (either the traditional
front rack, straps or cross arms) place a box under your butt angled with
the point between your knees positioned to a maximal depth where you
can keep full spinal control in a neutral position. Bands will be added
to either side of the barbell to create accommodating based resistance
and aid in an over speed eccentric. The bar should have approximately
50% if your back squat 1RM in plate loading. Over the course of 12
sets of doubles, use a rapid eccentric moment sitting on the box with
a slight rock and driving straight up. Think fast here, maximizing the
neuromuscular response to speed. Ensure that you are keeping strict
45-second rest periods.
2. Dynamic Effort Hybrid Barbell Deadlift w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
265
2/12x2@45
2/15x1@30
Place the barbell down on the ground with chains attached or draped
over the midline of the bar between the feet and hands. If you do not
have chains, simply add banded accommodating resistance to the
bar. We will be training pulling speed work out of the hybrid sumo
“squat stance” deadlift with wider foot positioning and more toes out.
Remember, in order to keep these pulls pain-free at higher volume
of 15 total sets here, we are training singles with a concentric only
action at approximately 65% of 1RM. So drop the bar down quickly after
exploding up and leading the motion with violent hip action. Lets get in
a ton of work here and increase that training density with just 30-second
rest periods.
week 10 - day 5
3. Dumbbell Goblet Squat 5/1x10@60 + Goblet Squat Challenge
PLAY DEMO
Start ramping up slowly with light weights for 10 reps, and jump in
loading over 6 total sets until you hammer a challenging 10 reps with
the heaviest weights possible. Stay strict on the minute long rest
periods here to build up some volume in this pain-free squat staple.
Take your time after the last top end set of 10 reps, and prepare yourself
mentally for the goblet squat challenge, 50% of your bodyweight in
dumbbell form and doing it for as many reps as possible, shooting
for 25+ dominance. While this is a test, it is also training. Don’t limit
yourself to the 25 reps, but rather set a standard for yourself to break
in the future. Just when you thin you’re tough, I have athletes routinely
hitting 50+ reps in pre-fatigued states, now that’s the real definition of a
mastered squat pattern and extremely high relative strength.
4. Loaded Back Extensions
PLAY DEMO
266
0/8x10@60
Get a plate pinned to the chest and work through a full range of motion
on up, cueing the head, neck and mid-back to flex while activating the
glutes to be the prime mover of this exercise. Finish this movement
off at the top with the hamstrings and lower back, and elicit a nice
contraction quality on every rep, peaking and squeezing. We are
working up the total volume here so get the work in even when the last
few sets get brutal. If you need to, use more sets to total 80 total reps
here to end this training day.
week 10 - day 5
week 10
WEEK 10
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Fat Bar Bench w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Using a fat bar (or fat grips on the traditional barbell) place blue JRx
bands doubled up on either side of the barbell collars. You read this
scheme correctly, we are doing FIVE reps of rapid eccentric into
explosive concentric reps on repeat. Again, think POP POP POP… We
need to be starting at a very low bar weight percentage here so play
with around 40-45% and ensure that you can maintain speed for all of
the sets of 5 reps that are programmed. Remember, these percentages
are general recommendations, you’ll have to find your perfect speed
where you can get as heavy as possible while still moving weights fast
for all reps. Stay strict here with the 45-second rest periods.
2. Barbell Floor Press
PLAY DEMO
267
2/6x5@45
2/3x5@90
Position your body down on the floor with legs flat and your heels,
backs of knees and glutes remaining in contact with the ground at
all times. Load these heavy with the barbell off the floor utilizing your
strongest hand position, but also stay in control of your stability and
contraction quality at the shoulders and the triceps. I want these to
be smooth reps with the floor as your determining range of motion.
Contact the floor smoothly with the upper arms and drive up instantly
without a pause or losing tension. Squeeze the reps in hard at the top
and move slowly through the eccentric in order to stay in control.
week 10 - day 6
3. Half Kneeling Push-Pull Combo
PLAY DEMO
Check out the video for these as the setup is pretty novel. We are
moving into a half kneeling position between two cables (or bands
setup in the same way). The knee in contact with the ground will be the
pushing arm side with the cable coming from behind you, and the knee
up (front knee) will be the pulling arm side pulling from in front of your
body. You’ll be pushing and pulling simultaneously over a strong core.
Be smooth and powerful here, and know that the stronger your pillar
positioning and bracing, the more load you’ll be able to move.
4. Multi Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
268
2/4x12@60
Ramp up over 2 sets with your strongest grip position using that
specific attachment. THEN find 4 different attachments for 4 working
sets around 12 reps for each (trying to hit mechanical and fatigue
failure on each working set). Take a minute of rest between each
round, but add some novelty to the loading. If you do not have 4
different attachments, simply use different hand positions on the
attachments you do have, like altering grip width on a straight bar. If
you do not have a lat pulldown station, complete banded pulldowns
from a seated position one in neutral grip, one in pronated grip, one
with a supinated grip and the last with a rotating grip. Always a way to
train smarter no matter your tool set.
5. Lying Y-T-I Raise
PLAY DEMO
2/3x10(per)@75
1/3x15(per)@60
Position your chest down on an incline bench and knock out 15 reps in
the Y position, 15 reps in the T position, and 15 reps with the hands back
towards the side of your body in an I position, which will be considered
one set. Do 3 working sets, knowing very well that you’ll be using
EXTREMELY light weights here with 45 total reps per set. Ensure that
you are moving slow and controlled through all aspects of the range
of motions and peaking the top of each rep with a strong contraction
to elicit a mind muscle connection. As you begin to fatigue, do not
execute sloppy reps, but brace down deeper and mentally fight through
as quality needs to remain sky high with direct shoulder work, and
honestly anything else you do in the gym.
week 10 - day 6
week 10
WEEK 10
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
269
week 10 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
270
week 10 - day 7
week 11
WEEK 11
DAY 1
1. Barbell Box Squat w/ Chains
PLAY DEMO
5/4/3/2/1+
Transitioning our max effort squat work off of the box squat work from
dynamic effort days we’ve completed these last few weeks. This week,
we want to place the box at a height that allows you to achieve parallel
depth in the bottom portion of the squat. We are going in and chasing
a HEAVY ass single here ramping up with rep work and going up with
singles until you fail a rep or lose form and technique. If you have
chains, place ONE on a each side of the barbell, if no chains, go with
straight bar weight here as the modification. Practice perfect technique
and mental intensity here to prepare optimally for a big testing week up
ahead. The CNS should be firing on all cylinders here.
2. Landmine RDL 4/3x6@90
PLAY DEMO
271
This week we’ll focus on joint friendly accessory variations of the
hinge allowing more natural recovery and limited joint stress. With the
landmine setup anchored to the attachment or a traditional barbell
positioned in the corner of a room to gain stability, get ready to work
up the loads and get a few big sets in here at the top. The landmine
allows us to grease the hip hinge groove pushing the hips back as the
bar gets closer to your body at the bottom range of motion while also
limiting the amount of balance and coordination for the hinge due
to the increased ground contact of the load. Make sure that you are
interlocking your fingers under the bar so grip does NOT become the
limiting factor of this movement. Strong and stable hinges here with a
neutral spine and heavy mind muscle connection at the core and glute
complexes.
week 11 - day 1
3. Dumbbell Reverse Lunge
PLAY DEMO
Complete the reverse lunges in non-alternating fashion. I want these
smooth this week with a bigger hinge forward with the chest in the
down position while keeping the loading lower with a higher emphasis
on controlled and deliberate movement patterns. Limit the amount
of forward knee positions here and try to keep a more vertical shin
position. If your knees do NOT get to the ground at the bottom end
range of motion during this movement, that’s absolutely fine. Again,
the focus needs to be quality movement, neutral spine and building
maximal tension in the chain.
4. Bodyweight Glute Ham Raise
PLAY DEMO
272
2/3x10@60
1/4xAMRAP@60
Get one ramp up set in consisting of a few reps to ensure your setup
and technique is on point after the thrashing you just took on the
reverse lunges. From there, it’s time to go ham on the hamstrings and
glutes. Get as many quality reps as you can on 4 straight sets with a
strict minute of rest between. We want the cumulative effects of this
higher rep scheme without loading to be the focus this week. If you do
not have a glute ham raise machine, choose your modification based on
the equipment you have available. Heel slides and physioball hamstring
curls are the preferred modifications due to training the knees into
flexion simultaneously with hips moving into extension.
week 11 - day 1
week 11
WEEK 11
DAY 2
1. AirDyne Bike
PLAY DEMO
4-mins AFAP + 10-min Conditioning Zone
I want you to CRUSH a 4-minute ride as hard and far as possible and
then recover, getting up off the bike and walking around slowly until
your heart rate comes back down into a recovery zone. THEN get back
on the bike and go at a moderate aerobic conditioning zone with a heart
rate between 130-150ish beats per minute for 10 additional minutes.
If you do not have an air bike, any cardio equipment will do with an
emphasis placed on low joint stress.
2. Incline Treadmill Walk
PLAY DEMO
273
30 minutes
We have a 30-minute walking block in the recovery zone to again
help aid in the recovery process after a tough start to the week with
max effort work on the lower body. Use the speed and incline of the
treadmill intelligently here to stay within the recovery zone heart rate,
and keep your respiratory rate at conversational paces. The goal is to
build a base here, not test your limits. If you can, get outside here and
breathe in some fresh air.
week 11 - day 2
week 11
WEEK 11
DAY 3
1. Barbell Bench Press OFF of Foam Roller
PLAY DEMO
OK, listen up here, as the setup is pivotal to elicit the electric training
stimulus that will translate into big PR lifts next week on the traditional
bench press. Take your blue JRx band and put it around your waist like
a belt. Some of you will double it up, others (smaller lifters) will triple
the band up. From here, you are banding a foam roller to your chest,
with the foam roller right under the level of your chin. Make sure this
is secured and laying flat on your chest against the sternum. Control
the bar down, hit the pad and drive up explosively through this partial
range of motion lift. The foam roller will limit the ROM of the lift, aka
you should be going heavy as hell here – probably the heaviest weight
you’ve ever bench pressed in any variation. It’s pivotal that the foam
roller does not shift when the bar comes in contact, and you do not
contact the bar ON the band itself. Play with your setup and ensure that
it’s perfect. For those of you who have boards accessible, a 3-board
press will do here.
2. Hanging Band Tempo Press
PLAY DEMO
274
5/4/3/2/1+
1x60s@0
After your last set of bench strip the bar and get your bands ready. We’ll
be using a hanging band technique. Use as many bands as you have
with around 30% of your bench press 1RM on the bar in hanging weight.
Full body tension here focusing on the lats and upper back contracting
hard and maintaining a stable brace throughout the entire set. There will
be only ONE set of these, so hold on and fight the urge to quit. Note that
this is different than the previous weeks. You’ll be pressing up and down
with a rhythm of 3 seconds down and 3 seconds up with no pauses for
a minute ONLY. This should be challenging, but not nearly as fatiguing
as the last few weeks of static holds.
week 11 - day 3
3. Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
2/3x15@75
Ensure that you’re packing the shoulders here out of this 45-degree
inclined bench position. Get tight, control the weights down out of a
slight stretch at the pecs and drive straight up peaking the contraction
of the pecs and anterior delts each and every rep of the extended 15
rep sets. These should be burners by the time you get to your working
sets. As you fatigue in your chest and arms, use your grip to squeeze
harder, allowing the irradiation effect to re-stabilize the shoulders and
unlock potential to keep going deep into these sets with a high quality
of motion. Absolutely no reps are to be missed here. Get your pump
work in, and get out.
4. SPLIT STANCE Single Arm Dumbbell Row
PLAY DEMO
Split your stance at the lower body, get your hand on the rack and
move some weight. Control through a full range of motion and really
flex hard each rep at the top accentuating the eccentric on the way
down. Your body position is pivotal here. The spine remains in a neutral
position throughout the entire set while the glutes, adductors and
quads stabilize from the ground up. Ensure that you are NOT using any
compensation or momentum here, but rather just clean and honest row
reps making damn sure that you hammering the muscles only, not the
joints as well.
5. Neutral Grip Pull Up
PLAY DEMO
275
2/3x12@60
7/0x1@75
Here we go, the FIRST “test” of the FPT program. Lets chase a heavy
single here with the hands placed in your strongest neutral grip
position. REMEMBER, setup is pivotal here especially as the weights
reach maximal load. Place a bench under and slightly behind the pull
up bar, get tight at the hips, core and squeeze the weight off the weight
belt with the adductor group like you are about to deadlift a 1RM. Then,
starting from a fully braced and supported bottom range position, drive
explosively up in a straight line to set a new PR. Note, the 7 total sets
here is a general recommendation. Feel this out, as it’s a TEST. If if takes
you 3 sets to get to a PR, so be it. If it takes more than 7 that may be
too many, pre-fatiguing in the process. The goal is not training here, it’s
performing. So get after it and push your limits.
week 11 - day 3
6. Seated High Angle Cable Face Pull w/ Bands 4/3x12@60
PLAY DEMO
276
Sit your ass down on a weight bench, and place the cable or band at
a high angle so that you can focus on driving down and back at the
shoulders blades at the end range of motion of the face pull. Use the
blue JRx band here with a focus on strong mind muscle connection
over the course of 12 reps for multiple top end sets. This is not
programmed to be fatiguing, but rather to push blood flow back into the
shoulder girdle to spike recovery directly after our testing of the vertical
pull. Treat it that way, so get in, pump and get out.
week 11 - day 3
week 11
WEEK 11
DAY 4
1. Dumbbell Loaded March
PLAY DEMO
With lighter loaded dumbbells in both hands this week, slowly step to
90-degree hip and knee front side position and powerfully stomp down
on each step alternating right and left leg while moving forward in a
walk. Keep the dumbbells secured and stabilized with max grip and
shoulder engagement, and the core engaged at all times, especially as
the legs are positioned in true single leg stance. Repeat for 10 seconds
then take a 30 second rest period, and do this for 5 rounds.
2. Barbell Vertical Jumps
PLAY DEMO
277
2/6x2@45
If you have access to a safety squat bar, that is the preferred tool. But
a barbell positioned in the back rack position will work perfectly as
well. No matter your bar of choice, unrack the bar outside the squat
rack, walk it back and out of an athletic hip width apart stance, explode
straight up and repeat a double jump, catching the last jump with
tension and control of position. Work up to a weight where you can still
move fast and be an athlete. Find that weight for two reps as you have 6
sets to dial it in. Mentally engage and use every rep to rev up that CNS.
3. Incline Treadmill Sprint
PLAY DEMO
0/5x10s@30
10 rounds 10s/50s work/rest ratio
Get the treadmill up on an incline and at a top speed and crank out
10 rounds of 10 second sprints, working your ass off to recover in the
50-second rest periods between bouts and get back into a recovery
zone each time. Ensure that you are using every step to your advantage,
striking the ground strongly and with meaning. This should not be
fatiguing, but rather recharging.
week 11 - day 4
week 11
WEEK 11
DAY 5
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Back Squat w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Pay attention to the rhythm here as it’s pivotal to get the most out of
these dynamic effort bouts that will mirror our true max effort classic
barbell squat testing next week. You do NOT have a box here for
dynamic work, so you’ll have to control the eccentric a bit more on the
way down just as you would a heavy 1RM and fire up the concentric at
explosively as possible for triples each set. I want these on the lighter
side to really maximize speed and potentiate the nervous system with
around 40% of 1RM and really dial in that band tension using black
JRx bands for stronger lifters, and blue JRx bands for lifters with a sub
300-pound 1RM on the squat. I want these explosive reps feeling like
you are throwing the bar through the ceiling to be the last thing your
brain remembers for the squat pattern. Use your mental intensity, we
are preparing for epic performances.
2. Dynamic Effort Barbell Deadlift w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
278
2/8x3@45
2/10x1@45
We are training singles here with a traditional barbell off of the floor in a
conventional (or if you pull sumo use that stance) stance. The goal here
is to again potentiate the nervous system out of the same setups and
with the same tool as we’ll be testing next week to finish up the FPT on
PR notes. Each set of dynamic effort pulls need to be dialed in with full
focus on form and explosiveness. Move faster and faster. Drop the bar
down to limit the amount of eccentric stress after your pulling reps. You
should feel MORE energized and explosive after finishing these than
when you started.
week 11 - day 5
3. Slight Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
Set up 3 plates under the REAR foot here. Toes are IN on the back side
here with the bottom of your shoe in contact with the plates, different
from the traditional Bulgarian Split Squat setup. Work through a more
controlled slow tempo down and up here to tap on some single leg
control and push some blood flow into the legs. Ensure that all reps are
perfect here, none missed, and no grinding. I want you to literally go
through the motions with conservative load, but a load that can also
produce a pump from high contraction quality.
4. Bodyweight Back Extensions
PLAY DEMO
279
2/3x10@60
0/3x20@60
The rep count says 20, but I want you to get at LEAST 20 here, going
for technique failure on 3 consecutive sets with a minute of rest
between. If you are using the glute ham raise, ensure that proper form
is being utilized. If you are on a roman chair, keep those glutes working.
Whatever variation you choose here, the goal is to get some blood in
the lower back and glutes before you end the training day in order to
help recoverability of these areas.
week 11 - day 5
week 11
WEEK 11
DAY 6
1. Dynamic Effort Barbell Bench Press w/ Bands
PLAY DEMO
Place your blue JRx bands on each side of the barbell. Use your
strongest grip that will translate to the barbell bench press testing next
week. Ensure you are working on full body bracing and stabilization
every single set. Drive up 3 rapid reps with 45 seconds of strict rest
between sets. Ensure that you are using a slower eccentric and
explosive concentric each rep, different than the rapid-rapid we’ve been
using previously. We want to closely mirror the eccentric moment of a
max effort 1RM press here for dynamic transference.
2. Close Grip Barbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
280
2/10x3@45
2/3x6@90
Work into some accessory loading here for the horizontal pushing
pattern. I want these reps to be absolutely pristine, and a few reps in the
tank even at the top end working sets. If you’re doing this properly, your
triceps will be straining and on fire after your last work set, but you’ll
never lose tempo, rhythm or control of the reps. Simply pushing blood
into the right spots in preparation for testing.
week 11 - day 6
3. Medium Neutral Grip Low Cable Row
PLAY DEMO
Nothing fancy here, just place the neutral grip attachment on the low
cable row setup and get to work with lighter pumping sets. Oh yeah,
you WILL be doing 25 burning reps per set. Have fun with that and fight
through mentally knowing the pump will become extremely therapeutic
for shoulder recovery before next week. If you do not have cables, use
a neutral grip on the black JRx band with your butt positioned on the
floor.
4. Multi Grip Lat Pulldown
PLAY DEMO
281
2/4x12@60
Ramp up over 2 sets with your strongest grip position, THEN find 4
different attachments for 4 working sets around 12 reps for each with
the goal of hitting technical failure with perfectly executed reps. Take
a minute of rest between training bouts here and do not sacrifice form
or tempo for more reps or more weight. Similar to the other accessory
work this week, we are getting in, pumping, and getting out to manage
fatigue and recovery. Keep the goal the goal, which is to throw up some
amazing PR’s next week.
5. Lying Tempo Rear Delt Raise
PLAY DEMO
1/4x25@75
1/3x25@60
You should be familiar with this setup, which places your chest down
into a supported position with an incline bench. With light loading in
the hands, complete rear delt raises with a little twist. Every 5 reps hold
for 5 seconds at the top. That means that you’ll be completing 5 sets
of 5 reps with 5-second holds per set. That’s a lot of 5’s. Get in 3 brutal
working sets here and really push your limits in terms of the metabolic
pump, which is exactly what we want for recovery of the shoulders
going into the performance recovery system tomorrow.
week 11 - day 6
week 11
WEEK 11
DAY 7
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
282
week 11 - day 7
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
PLAY DEMO
5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
PLAY DEMO
6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
PLAY DEMO
283
week 11 - day 7
week 12
WEEK 12
DAY 1
1. Barbell Deadlift
PLAY DEMO
1+
Today is the day to shatter your glass ceiling and perform at your
highest level possible. I have the barbell deadlift programmed here,
BUT I want each and every one of you to pick your own path to PR’s
today. If you want to go in and throw down a PR from sumo, do it. If you
want to pull out the trap bar and hammer into uncharted territories on
loading, get after it. If you want to pick it from blocks or the rack to train
at your anthropometrical limits, even better. BUT, if you want to take the
bar from the floor, it’s time to TEST! Whatever you do, unlock your truest
potential. Note that you will be going up with SINGLES the entire way in
order to keep fatigue down while potentiating the nervous system. Get
to your PR and celebrate your first achievement of the week.
2. Single Arm Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat
PLAY DEMO
284
2/3x10@90
Place the dumbbell in the hand OPPOSITE of the leg that is positioned
forward and get the opposite out at a 45-degree angle maximizing your
grip with a closed fist and tight braced down lats. Control your core,
and descend down through a repeatable full range of motion for 10
reps. Between sides, place the dumbbell down and fully reset, keeping
setups pristine. We want to just push some blood flow into the legs
here, so don’t make it a torture test. Get in some meaningful top end
sets and move on.
week 12 - day 1
3. Tempo Goblet Squat
PLAY DEMO
285
5/1x6@75
You’ll be completing a continuous ramp here, going up each and every
set with heavier dumbbells over 6 total sets. I don’t want you counting
your eccentric lowering, BUT make it slower and more controlled than
usual. Out of the bottom position drive up hard, tension the glutes
and adductors with a strong core position and drop back down into a
controlled eccentric. Do this for 6 reps per set. You’ll know you’re done
when you can BARELY complete 6 reps with the prescribed tempo.
Slower the better, as this will limit the external load needed to pump
blood flow into the area with this pain-free training staple movement.
week 12 - day 1
week 12
WEEK 12
DAY 2
1. Recovery Bike 15-minutes
PLAY DEMO
Jump on an air, spin or exercise bike and sit at a lower heart rate inside
the recovery zone (for many of you that will be around 100-125bpm) and
allow your legs to drive some blood flow while NOT adding any more
stress to the system. This rate should be conversational, and a little
sweaty. Don’t kill yourself, but make this a show and go recovery day
centered on aerobic systems.
2. Recovery Walk
30-minutes
If you can get outside here and go for a level ground stroll that would
be ideal. I want the heart rate really sitting LOW here, so if you’re forced
to be on the treadmill keep it WITHOUT an incline to just keep the
body moving. Recovery here is pivotal, ensure that you are fueling up,
hydrating and preparing your body optimally inside the gym and out.
PLAY DEMO
286
week 12 - day 2
week 12
WEEK 12
DAY 3
1. Barbell Bench Press
PLAY DEMO
1+
It’s the lift you’ve all been itching to get under, the traditional barbell
bench press. You have earned the right to hit massive PR’s here with
your work this phase, so all there’s left to do is to mentally dial yourself
in and DO IT! Push your limits here, and do NOT limit yourself mentally.
Get up for this and dominate. The stars have all aligned over the course
of the past few months, you are stronger and more resilient than ever.
Now it’s time to put a number to it. Let’s do this! Note that this is NOT
a paused competition style rep, but rather a touch and go rep. The
same way as we’ve been training over this block is the way we’ll be
strategically testing. Also, ramp with singles ONLY. Time for some PR’s
to drop.
2. Loaded Rotating Inverted Ring Row
PLAY DEMO
287
2/4x12@75
With rings, a TRX or any type of suspension trainer, complete smooth
rowing reps with authentic rotating movement of the hands throughout
the range of motion. As you pull concentrically, the hands should move
into a more supinated palms up position, and turn back down into a
more pronated palms down position upon eccentric lowering. Focus
on driving the shoulder blades and flexing the lats and shoulders hard
on every rep. Load across your waist if you can for 12 rep sets. We do
not want this to crush you, but to just get some work in through the
posterior chain while enjoying the feeling of your PR bench.
week 12 - day 3
3. Kneeling High Angle Cable Rear Delt Fly
PLAY DEMO
288
5/1x15@75
Kneeling on BOTH knees, place the cables (or light bands) 1-2 feet
above your head to achieve a high angled position. From here grab the
cables WITHOUT attachments and keep your palms down throughout
with strong wrists and elbows extended. Drive your shoulder blades
down and together, activating hard at the posterior delt, flexing the back
end range of motion, and controlling back through. Complete 15 reps
a set here moving up load LITTLE by little. Again, the goal is recovery
here, so allow the pump to enter your upper back and shoulders and
get out into the next recovery day of the week.
week 12 - day 3
week 12
WEEK 12
DAY 4
1. Incline Treadmill Walk
15-minutes
Place the treadmill up on an incline and at a speed that you can
normalize your gait cycle with WHILE achieving a 110-125 heart rate.
Stay there for 15 minutes to get in some low stress conditioning as an
aerobic recovery day to fuel the last testing session of the week, the
squat coming up next.
PLAY DEMO
2. Extended Recovery Bike
PLAY DEMO
289
30-minutes
Using any style of bike (including if you want to go outside) go through
the motions here with a VERY low level ride for 30-minutes. We want
to keep the heart rate as low as possible while just mobilizing the body
with active movements. This would be a great time to get outside,
weather and climate permitting, and cruise for mental and physical
recovery.
week 12 - day 4
week 12
WEEK 12
DAY 5
1. Barbell Back Squat
PLAY DEMO
We’ve worked our asses off and come this far, let’s end this training
block on the highest of notes, a PR on the king of all lifts, the squat.
Didn’t think I’d leave the squat out of the mix on testing week, did you?!
You should be fresh and ready to push it hard here, so get under that
bar and work some magic. Get tight, maximize your brace and reset
your expectations of what’s physically possible. Ramp explosively with
singles all the way up, making tiny jumps to set new PRs across the
board this week. You should be damn proud of your achievements. Hell
of a block, congratulations.
2. Dumbbell RDL w/ Band
PLAY DEMO
290
1+
2/3x10@90
Place a black JRx band around your hips with the band at an anchor
point on a rack that is parallel with the ground. Grab two dumbbells,
and with a tight 45-degree angle position at the hands (half way
between the front and sides of your knees) push your hips back and
hinge through a full range. Remember, the band will pull you into a
hinge BUT you’ll need to drive the hips forward harder into both the
band and dumbbell resistance. Slow and smooth here cleaning up
some posterior chain volume in a spine friendly position after the testing
of the squat.
week 12 - day 5
3. Non-Alternating Kettlebell Lateral Lunge 1/3x12(per)@75
PLAY DEMO
291
Using a kettlebell (or dumbbell) hanging down in front of the body push
laterally into a lunge and get deep, opening up the hips and adductors
and driving back up into starting position. You will NOT be alternating,
get 12 good reps in to the right then reset and get another 12 reps in
towards the left. Keep the spine and hips in sound positions throughout,
even when the reps add up and you get fatigued. This will push up the
heart rate a bit, but should be extremely joint friendly. We’re almost
there, one last performance recovery day and you can chalk up the end
to the best training block of your life!
week 12 - day 5
week 12
WEEK 12
DAY 6
1. Full Body Foam Roll
5 minutes
Hitting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats and pecs. Spend some time
on each one with a global foam rolling technique, coursing the entire
tissue from insertion to origin. This is NOT a performance tool, but a
recovery tool so train it as such.
PLAY DEMO
2. Full Body Bi-Phasic Stretch
7 minutes
Hitting the quads, pecs and lats here with a few minutes of oscillatory
stretching THEN a static end range stretch keeping EVERYTHING
else in neutral position. Spend some time here and breathe deep
throughout.
PLAY DEMO
3. Flow Based Movement Sequence
7 minutes
Check out the video here as we are pairing three different movements
together that should be executed SLOW and controlled while keeping
the sympathetic response down. Take breaks between if you need to.
PLAY DEMO
292
week 12 - day 6
4. Med-Ball Overhead Rotational Slam
10 minutes
Get into explosive triple extension and slam the ball down in front of
you as hard as you can. You’ll be doing 2 reps and recovering FULLY
between bouts. When you feel 100% recovered go in for another set. No
more than 10 minutes here. I will note if you turn this into a conditioning
drill, you WILL not recover.
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5. Incline Treadmill Walking
10 minutes
Simple enough, walk with a lower end heart rate. I would prefer that
everyone gets outside and breathes real air and gets some sun on
the skin.
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6. 90-90 Supported Parasympathetic Breathing
5 minutes
Elevate your feet up, get into a supported position and breathe with
calmness and relaxation for a minimum of 5-minutes. Play some music,
close the eyes and chill out.
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week 12 - day 6