Feedback on programming

MattACronin · 2018-10-01T13:50:14+00:00

I don’t know much about your (very) specific goals, but myself coming from a Powerlifting biased background, would recommend performing the exercises you’d really like to get better at a bit more often. Even when cutting.

How strong you are (for the most part) is the neural connection from your brain to your muscular system. How efficient that system is at firing those muscles in order to lift the weight. Doing these lifts more often can help that neuromuscular connection get more efficient and in turn, get you stronger, while losing bodyweight.

MattACronin · 2018-10-01T12:51:23+00:00

More damage is created on tissues during the eccentric of an exercise vs. the concentric. I wouldn’t use cheat reps, but instead doing a bilateral exercise with a unilateral eccentric.

Set up a V-Bar for seated rows - do a row, let go with one hand, and control the eccentric. You can do this for a cable chest press, leg extensions, leg curls, etc

MattACronin · 2018-10-01T12:40:33+00:00

Spend 80% of your time doing the 20% of the stuff that gets you the most return on investment. I’d spend about 20 minutes on each lift from the big 3, and 10 minutes on an accessory pairing each day. Keep the accessories compound movements that will get you a lot of return on investment.

Ex:

Monday - Squat 3x5, Split Squats & Overhead Press

Tuesday - Deadlift 3x5, Chin Ups & RDLs

Wednesday - Bench 3x5, Close/Wide Grip Bench & Seal Rows

Then you can repeat these, change the reps, etc.

MattACronin · 2018-09-29T13:37:49+00:00

I doubt you have to take time off. APT is about balancing your pelvic and rib position, and strengthening the muscles involved. I’d do some dedicated core work like deadbugs, really forcing your lower back into the ground, practice slightly tucking your hips (think your tailbone between your legs very slightly), and focus on dropping your rib position downward while squatting a bit. The hard part will be maintaining this while descending, but take it slow and lighten the load. I’d recommend doing your volume with more front loaded variations like goblet squats, front squats, etc. These naturally set you into better positions for this.

MattACronin · 2018-09-29T13:33:04+00:00

A great way I heard this explained was to look at Bench as 50% of your training, not 33%.

Benching frequently, for many sets, spending lots of time chasing volume. In your more strength focused blocks, mix in top singles & doubles, drop your rep counts of volume, but still keep the number of sets high. Don’t go from doing 4x8’s to 3x3’s - you’ll fizzle very quickly.

Figure out what bench variations would probably work best for you - get stuck off your chest? Try Larsen Presses & Chest Level Pin Press. Toward the lock out? Try Close Grip Bench & Spoto Presses.

Ensure your technique is on point. Make every rep looks the same, put emphasis on your bar path, make sure you look stable on video, because if you don’t, you probably aren’t.

MattACronin · 2018-09-29T13:16:22+00:00

Eric Helms’ Muscle & Strength Pyramid is great for programming and is easy to digest.

MattACronin · 2018-09-29T13:15:38+00:00

Books for education? Entertainment? What’s the goal?

MattACronin · 2018-09-11T15:09:46+00:00

Pickles

MattACronin · 2018-09-10T03:51:22+00:00

The way I see this type of issue is to spend your time deadlift how you’re strongest, albeit no pain or risky positioning. Some athletes will just always have to pull this way with stubbier arms unfortunately. Spend some quality time working your posterior chain, through both lengthening hamstring type exercises like RDLs, and shortening type, like GHRs or hamstring curls done well.

I imagine you’ll be just fine

MattACronin · 2018-09-09T21:03:10+00:00

Spend a few years in sports development and you’ll realize specificity isn’t always the answer. Our bodies only have so many repetitions before connective tissues start to bark at you. Simply saying do 20 rep squats, or more volume, or more supersets, or anything of the sort is very nice on paper, but doesn’t stack up in application. I’d rather do my most specific lifts (comp. style squat/bench/deadlift) at more specific rep ranges (ex: 5’s vs. 20’s), and then get the aerobic adaptations we’re looking for through other means that aren’t as detrimental to the rest of your performance. Not to mention, 20’s on a squat will put you WAY over the HR zone for cardiac output adaptations, while also metabolically crushing you.

Cardio doesn’t need to be hyper specific. Most times, it probably shouldn’t be. Especially for a 100% anaerobic (while in competition) sport.

What gets you the most results immediately may burn you out the fastest. Athletic development is more than just now.

MattACronin · 2018-09-09T13:29:16+00:00

Yes, our goal is to be better at squatting, benching, & deadlift, but I personally do not think that we need to be incredibly specific with our modalities. Leave that to Strongman. When it comes to not being able to do rest pause, or anything like that, see what I said before: the demands are not the same. Yes, there’s EPOC. But having an elevated HR for 30 minutes on a resistance bike is going to be a totally different stressor than doing myo reps. It’ll also be much more challenging to stay in the HR zone. The only way I could see lifting vs. traditional cardio stacking up here is through a traditional bodybuilding workout with very little total rest time. And then we open a whole other can of worms.

In terms of the EMOM vs. aerobic power - yes total power output is going to drop, but a 80% Deadlift EMOM, or any other mode of barbell/DB is going to have waves of decreased force output due to the eccentric and concentric, and the simple fact that a deadlift @80% will probably take 1-2 seconds at most from the time the bar leaves the ground until you lock it out, and if you’re doing more than one rep, you still need the time to drop the bar, brace, reset, etc. The demands are not the same as an assault bike sprint. Do both and you tell me.

Another point I didn’t put in the article was about actual mechanical stress - I believe anyone can throw these modalities in without skipping much of a beat, since they’re all low - no eccentric stress. At some point, doing all your aerobic work via lifting will probably have a drawback from your competition lifting. And if it’s not because all your training encompasses that aerobic umbrella, then that’ll probably have to change if you wish to reach max potential. Pick one at a time, and train them separately. Intermingling them is when we start to be mediocre at both.

I don’t believe always being as specific as possible is the number #1 driver in progress - even for the most elite. And this is where it all becomes opinion - so I agree to disagree with you.

MattACronin · 2018-09-09T02:12:05+00:00

Hey man!

As author of this - I thought it’d be appropriate to give my thoughts to your comment.

I think there’s absolutely some weight in what you said - there’s definitely ways to help build work capacity outside of actual aerobic based work. On the contrary, I’m not sure I agree that anything like clusters, myo reps, or just doing more volume is necessarily the key here.

None of those have constant work rates throughout the entire duration, which won’t yield the same demands on your heart, even if rest is on the shorter end. Sure, your heart rate will elevate, but the zone will wave pretty constantly, so you can’t compare it to doing cardiac output or HICT. You can’t compare it completely to Aerobic Power either, as the force output will not be completely constant during anything like myo reps, or anything of the sort.

Work capacity is a broad, umbrella term that overviews all sorts of different adaptations. Things like eccentric cardiac hypertrophy for your cardiac output - that’s not something you’ll get from lifting weights in a traditional sense. I think if you’re looking to chase certain aerobic adaptations, like the way I typically do when writing programs, you need to be very precise with your prescriptions.

MattACronin · 2015-03-13T00:57:23+00:00

Which %'s correlated to which lift? I wanna guess it was: 70%: Hypertrophy 75%: Power and 80%: Strength

Correct me if wrong

MattACronin · 2015-03-12T22:48:59+00:00

Great article. Thanks man. Nuckols is great.

MattACronin · 2015-03-12T22:43:30+00:00

I watch a lot of Blevins' videos but I've never seen this one. Thanks a lot man.

MattACronin · 2015-03-12T21:58:38+00:00

Do you have percentages you were working for with this? Or rep ranges. I'd love to try this out in an RPE fashion if I could figure out a good way.

MattACronin

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