APRIL 2022 - STRENGTH BLOCK #4 - GERMAN BODY COMPOSITION TRAINING

We're finishing March's strength block where the theme was the 5x5. For April, we'll be focusing on building lean muscle mass, improving our work capacities and improving our body compositions by utilizing a training style known as German Body Composition Training. We're getting conditioning while we're building muscle and burning fat. And the way we're going to do that is try to get a lot more density in our programming.

There are a lot of ways that we can manipulate a strength program.
We can add intensity by adding more weight on a bar; like we did with the 5x5 Block.
We can add volume by adding a set or maybe adding some reps; like we did with German Volume Training.

The other method we can manipulate a strength program is density.

DENSITY IS SIMPLY MORE WORK IN THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME.

So as we're looking at how we are going to manipulate our variables to get more out of training, and we're trying to shift towards this work muscular endurance, work capacity and body composition focus. The more we add in a session, getting more total work in the same designated period of time, the more we're going to get closer to that goal of increasing work capacity and improving our body composition.

The goal of this block is to take all our primary compound movements - squats, bench press, deadlifts, rows, and pull-ups and organize them in a way where you get these functional timeless movements and incorporate them in a specific way to get that desired outcome. In this case, the designed outcome is improving work capacity and body composition.

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HOW DOES GERMAN BODY COMPOSITION TRAINING SHRED FAT?

When we look at our energy systems - phosphagen, glycolytic and oxidative, we look at the classification of the energy system, and which primary fuel source is attached.

GERMAN BODY COMPOSITION PREDOMINANTLY TARGETS AND UTILIZES THE OXIDATIVE ENERGY SYSTEM.

In order to get to the shred zone aka the "MAXIMUM FAT BURN ZONE", we need to first  exhaust fuel that might impede fat burning. Fuels like glucose and glycogen.

​THE BODY USUALLY USES GLUCOSE AND GLYCOGEN, PRIOR TO FAT,WHEN IT IS AVAILABLE. SO IN ORDER TO GET TO THE SHRED ZONE, WE NEED TO DEPLETE THESE SUBSTRATES (GLUCOSE AND GLYCOGEN).

Once we deplete these substrates, we will be able to better utilize fatty acids via oxidation, and thus reach the maximum fat-burning zone.

This process is key for any program focused on fat-burning and body composition.

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​GERMAN BODY COMPOSITION TRAINING UTILIZES COMPOUND MOVEMENTS

ONE OF THE BEST WAYS FOR YOU TO CHALLENGE AND DEVELOP YOUR FULL BODY IS TO UTILIZE COMPOUND MULTI-JOINT MOVEMENTS.

Movements like: squats, pull-ups, dips, and kettlebell swings.

One of the reasons behind why we utilize compound multi-joint movements is the concept of N.E.A.T. - Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis). This refers to how we utilize our fuel substrates - even after we've stopped working out. Said another way, this is the compound interest of our efforts in the gym. If we only focused on bioenergetics and heart rate, it would be easy to say, "just hop on the assault bike and go." But that is approached is flawed and very limited. Why? Because it fails to account for the idea of specificity.

SPECIFICITY MEANS BECOMING BETTER AT WHAT YOU REPEATEDLY DO.
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If you only enter the shred zone on a bike, you body becomes adept at creating systems to handle something it  can predict. This will, in turn, lower the effect of N.E.A.T.

BY USING MORE DIVERSE FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENTS. WE RECRUIT MORE MOTOR UNITS, AND HAVE A MUCH GREATER POST-WORKOUT EFFECT THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE DAY (REMEMBER N.E.A.T.)

(N.E.A.T. means Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) referring to how we burn our fuel substrates - even after we've stopped working out.

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HOW TO SET UP GERMAN BODY COMPOSITION TRAINING SESSIONS

We'll be organizing our compound movements into total body circuits consisting of 6 exercises. When you see the workouts on our monitors, they will be indicated as A1 through A6.

Here is an example workout utilizing these protocols.

4x8, 4/0/2/0, REST 10 SECONDS
A1.) Zercher Squats
A2.) Goblet Squats
A3.) Plyo Lunges
A4.) Snatch Grip Deadlifts
A5.) Dumbbell RDLs
​A6.) Russian KB Swings

A1, A2, A4 and A5 are those big compound movements, and we're going to utilize a 4-second eccentric tempo for 8 reps. If you do that for time, that's 32 seconds of total time under tension for 4 exercises, so we're getting up into those couple minute marks per set. And we're going to compliment that the middle A3 and end A6 with some sort of total body conditioning in this program.

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WHY GERMAN BODY COMPOSITION TRAINING WORKS

The goal is to get about 3-4 minutes of straight continuous work, get recovery, and then go back into that training again. The energy system that is really targeted is the lactic, more aerobic type program. We can get into that fat burning utilizing that energy from fat, depleting our glucose first, which is our carbohydrate sources in our body. Burn through that and then start getting into our fat reserves and that's how we're going to manipulate and hopefully improve our body compositions.

The more density we have usually equates to a better hormonal response post workout, specifically through our anabolic hormones, growth hormones and testosterone. There is pretty good research out there looking at high density, high load, gets a really significant response from those two particular hormones. And if we're looking at changing body composition, you really want to tap into that naturally.

We can do that as long as our nutrition, sleep, and lifestyle is really in check. We can get those really optimized and maximized for the best results possible.

By the end of this block you should have a good platform and understanding of our compound movements, be in better physical shape, become stronger, more durable, more resilient and have a better body composition.

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IN CONCLUSION

The beauty of German Body Composition training is that it is scalable to different fitness levels. You don't have to implement this training style in all its tortuous glory, you can still adapt some of its underlying principles and see remarkable success.

In the first instance, the idea of shorter rest periods is something of immense value for individuals looking to lose weight, increase volume and potentially induce a greater growth hormone release through training. Similarly the use of slower tempo speeds is something of immense value. This principle increases resistance without raising the weight and somewhat anecdotally, can provide some of the most intense pumps of your life.

​Finally, this training style highlights the need for good old fashioned hard work in training programs. As anyone who has done this program's sister, German Volume Training will attest, the difficulty of the workout is often matched by its effectiveness.