Being friends with gym rats when you don't go to the gym has to be exhausting. Truly, I get it - it's all we ever talk about, post about, and even selfie about. If you've finally given in and are actually thinking about taking your friend or family member up on their offer to check out a trial class as part of your New Year's resolution, that's great, but try not to think of it so much as a resolution. As far as resolutions go, King Strength & Performance covers a lot of bases. It gets you in shape (and keeps you in shape), it broadens your social circle, and it forces you to try something new. The problem, though, is that resolutions rarely stick. And if you think of King Strength & Performance or anything else as a task, you may start to enjoy it about as much as you enjoy cleaning your bathroom or washing the dishes; which suck. Instead of making training your resolution, make it a one-off promise to yourself or someone you care about. Show up just once - we offer a free 10 Day Trial for newcomers. Show up one time. If you're intrigued, show up again. You may decide that it's not your thing, but you may also get sucked into the lifestyle that makes so many of us stick with it. None of this means that you can't set goals within your training, of course. In fact, many common goals that people set as "resolutions;" such as weight-loss, eating healthy and improving fitness happen as secondary effects of coming to King Strength & Performance. Just getting your body moving and spending more time with people who live a healthier lifestyle can push you to do the same. And by the time you get to that point, you may find that you're enjoying your new hobby so much that you've barely noticed all the other positive changes happening in your life. You may decide that you hate training at King Strength & Performance, and that's fine too. As much as our community promotes the idea that we're for everyone, the truth is that some people just aren't thrilled about the idea of community, getting stronger and team camaraderie. If you decide it's not for you, no pressure - all you did was try something new, and you don't have to beat yourself up for breaking your resolution so early in the year. So yes, give King Strength & Performance a try this year. But do it for you. Do it because you owe it to yourself to try a new hobby, because you deserve to make new friendships as an adult, because hey, we're on this planet for a short amount of time and we should have a constant source of happiness and health while we're here. Stop thinking of it as a resolution, and just show up sometime. Who knows? You may find yourself feeling like a new person this time next year. Click the link below to get started:
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Accumulation vs Intensification As a reminder, we rotate our strength blocks between two central themes:
We're finishing December's Intensification block where the theme was GREYSKULL LP, where the primary focus to effectively build strength, power and lean muscle mass. A perfect program for creating the foundation for muscle and strength growth. For Strength Block #1 of 2020, we are shifting gears and heading into an accumulation block. The theme of this accumulation block is ADVANCED GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING. It will take us 60 days to go through this strength block cycle. Remember German Volume Training (GVT)? There is an advanced version called Advanced German Volume Training. And it is way more advanced than regular German Volume Training! Which is the perfect way to kick off 2020! A typical session is roughly 20-30 sets. How we distribute those sets amongst the exercises determines the impact those exercises have. Greater total volume and overall load will have a greater overall impact. Said differently, allocate more sets to an exercise if you want that exercise to have a greater impact. Greater allocation of sets means there is a greater potential for advancement from those exercises. Have you heard of Pareto's Principle? Pareto's Princple (aka 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. We are able to leverage Pareto's principle. So it is about determining the greatest ROI generating exercises and setting up sets and reps to maximize benefit from training.
Advanced German Volume Training vs Traditional German Volume Training What's the Difference? Let us recap the most important points regarding German Volume Training:
A traditional German Volume Training session might look like this: A. Bench Press (the goal is to do 10 sets of 10 reps) Set 1: 10 reps Set 2: 10 reps Set 3: 10 reps Set 4: 10 reps Set 5: 9 reps Set 6: 7 reps Set 7: 7 reps Set 8: 8 reps Set 9: 7 reps Set 10: 6 reps B. Barbell Row (the goal is to do 10 sets of 1with 200 pounds): Set 1: 10 reps Set 2: 10 reps Set 3: 10 reps Set 4: 9 reps Set 5: 8 reps Set 6: 7 reps Set 7: 7 reps Set 8: 7 reps Set 9: 6 reps Set 10: 6 reps Once you were able to do complete 10 sets of 10 reps, you would increase the weight by 2 1/2 to 5%. Improvements for Advanced German Volume Training The advanced component comes from lowering the reps and increasing the corresponding load. So we have more intensity and greater impact on the nervous system. This makes it more advanced. GUIDELINES FOR ADVANCED GERMAN VOLUME TRAINING: Training Frequency: Because this is such a demanding program, it will take you longer to recover. It is recommend working each body part every 5 days, BUT ONLY DOING THE SAME EXERCISE EVERY 10 DAYS. The routine outlined in the end will make things clearer. The exercises done in the two different workouts for the same body part should be similar, yet different enough to tap into a different motor unit pool. Reps: For the advanced trainee, doing more than 5 reps is a waste of time, as the average intensity will be too low. The reps should vary for each one of the six workouts (German Volume Training, like any other training, is only effective for so long). Reps are the loading parameter to which one adapts the quickest. Rest Intervals: When trainees start with this method, they often question its value during the first several sets simply because the weight will not feel heavy. However, there is minimal rest between sets (about 90 seconds when performed in sequence and 90-120 seconds when performed as a superset), which gives you a process of accumulative fatigue. Because of the importance of the rest intervals, you should use a stopwatch or a watch equipped with one to keep the rest intervals constant. This is very important, as it becomes tempting to lengthen the rest time as you fatigue. Tempo: For long range movements such as squats, dips, and chins, use a 40X0 tempo; this means you would lower the weight in four seconds and immediately change direction and lift explosively for the concentric portion. For movements such as curls and triceps extensions, use a 30X0 tempo. Advanced trainees, because of their enhanced neurological efficiency, should only use explosive concentric tempos. Number of Exercises: One, and only one, exercise per body part should be performed. Therefore, select exercises that recruit a lot of muscle mass. Triceps kickbacks and leg extensions are definitely out—squats and bench presses are definitely in. For supplementary work for individual body parts (like triceps and biceps), you can do 3 sets of 6-8 reps. Overload Mechanism: Once you are able to do 10 sets of x reps with constant rest intervals, increase the weight on the bar by the percentage outlined in the article and repeat the process. Refrain from using forced reps, negatives, or burns, as the volume of the work will take care of the hypertrophy. Expect to have some deep muscle soreness without having to resort to set prolongation techniques. In fact, after doing a quad and hams session with this method, it takes the average bodybuilder about five days to stop limping. Therefore, for an advanced trainee, one should apply a 6-9% increase in load with each successive rep reduction as outlined in the example below. In other words, each week, you’ll do fewer reps per set, but increase the weight. And to create a bigger effect on the nervous system, we use Fat Grip, Tempo, and more exercises that require more balance and coordination. Workout 1: The goal of the Advanced German Volume Training method is to complete 10 sets of 5 reps with the same weight for each exercise. You want to begin with a weight you could lift for 10 reps to failure (10RM), if you had to push it. For most people, on most exercises, that would represent 75% of their 1 R.M. load. Therefore, if you can bench press 300 pounds for one rep, you would use 225 pounds for this exercise. So your workout may look like this: Set 1: 225 x 5 Set 2: 225 x 5 Set 3: 225 x 5 Set 4: 225 x 5 Set 5: 225 x 5 Set 6: 225 x 5 Set 7: 225 x 4 Set 8: 225 x 4 Set 9: 225 x 3 Set 10: 225 x 3 NOTE: When using Advanced German Volume Training, or for that matter, any program - you should keep a detailed journal of the exact sets/reps, load, and rest intervals performed, and only count the repetitions completed in strict form. Workout 2: Increase the weight by 6-7% and strive to do 10 sets of 4 reps with that weight. So workout 2 would look like this: Set 1: 235 x 4 Set 2: 235 x 4 Set 3: 235 x 4 Set 4: 235 x 4 Set 5: 235 x 4 Set 6: 235 x 4 Set 7: 235 x 4 Set 8: 235 x 4 Set 9: 235 x 4 Set 10: 235 x 4 NOTE: It is not uncommon on the second workout to be able to complete all sets of 4, as your work capacity will have improved from the first GVT workout. Workout 3: Increase weight of Workout 1 by 8-9% and strive to do 10 sets of 3 reps with that weight. Yes, you are reading it correctly—8-9%, not 6-7%. So Workout 3 might look like this: Set 1 255 x 3 Set 2 255 x 3 Set 3 255 x 3 Set 4 255 x 3 Set 5 255 x 3 Set 6 255 x 3 Set 7 255 x 3 Set 8 255 x 3 Set 9 255 x 3 Set 10 255 x 3 NOTE: During sets 6-7-8, you will think your spleen wants to come out of your right eye, but stick with it as sets 9 and 10 will be the easiest. Workout 4: Use the weights you used in Workout 2 and go for 10 sets of 5, which you should do easily. Workout 5: Use the weights in workout 3 and go for 10 sets of 4, which again you should do easily. Workout 6 By now you should be able to do 10 sets of 3 at 275 pounds with no problem. If not, your training background is probably slow tempo Kettlebell power snatches performed on the Bosu Ball, cough F45. Let’s kick off 2020 by crushing our nervous system, listening to some German techno music, and getting strong AF. It’s that time of year!
We got through Thanksgiving, now on to the crazy month of December with all of the big holidays and parties. We are eating, drinking, enjoying time with family, and completely forgetting about all the work we have put in this past year. We keep telling ourselves January 2020! That’s when you will get back on board, you will dial in, you will get into a routine. You’ll train hard and eat right! But why wait? Why let the month of December go down the drain, just to try to reset all over again in January. Don’t focus on losing weight this month, focus on MAINTENANCE. Let’s keep the results we’ve already made this year, and then really kick it into high gear in January. Let’s start on some simple New Year’s Resolutions right now! Here are 5 easy tips to get us through December and start 2020 on the right note: 1. Don’t Skip Breakfast I say this all the time, but breakfast should be the most important meal. By skipping breakfast, you risk overeating later in the day. Starting each day with a balanced meal can help you make better choices throughout the rest of the day. 2. Keep Your Training Schedule Stick to your training routine but be realistic. If you usually go to the gym 5-6x per week, but know this month will be difficult, stick to at least 3-4x per week. If you can’t get to the gym, include a 30-minute body weight circuit that you can do at home. It could be as simple as a 10 minute EMOM: 10 squats, 5 push-ups, 5 sit ups. 3. Drink A Glass of Water with Every Meal Water is important for optimal health and performance. Water can also increase the number of calories you burn regularly; plus, lean muscle feeds off hydration. Most people struggle with consuming enough water daily, so a good rule of thumb can be having a glass with every meal or snack. 4. Avoid Sugary Drinks like Soda There are no essential nutrients in these drinks, but they are full of unnecessary sugars and chemicals. The more of these you drink, the more you will crave food and beverages like it. Swap the soda for a sparkling water and add fresh squeezed lemon or lime. 5. Use the Stairs When Possible This is the easiest way to get exercise into your daily routine. If there is an elevator, there must be stairs, so opt for the stairs as much as possible during the day. Do you have a Fitbit? Make a realistic goal of how many steps you will accumulate every day and make sure you hit that goal. After a few weeks, add a few hundred more steps to your daily count. These simple tips can make a huge difference this month. Keep them in mind and try practicing them every day. We can still have a great holiday season without all of the regret once the New Year hits. You’ll have a few holiday parties and a couple meals out, but that won’t take up an entire month of eating. |
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