Instead of talking about sets & reps, I want to talk about exercise selection for this last block of 2023.
The big focal point of Strength is can incredible results come from exercises with a larger governor?
What produces an outcome? Load is not the primary driver. Work, tension, training density, and training frequency are more responsible than load for adding muscle and burning fat.
Read MoreThere are a couple of ways we can do this protocol. One being a superet working from heavy to light of a muscle group or motor pattern. The other is a reverse pyramid. Both are brutally hard, but for this block we are working 6, 12, 24 as a reverse pyramid and here's why.
Read MoreGet ready this is going to be a bumpy ride! We got 10s!
This block is about higher volume work. We added another twist by incorporating at least one single leg exercise (Reverse Lunge, Split Stance Single Arm Row, Split Stance Single Arm Deadlift) within each series. What this does is increase the metabolic demand.
Read MoreWhat is El Diablo? What does El Diablo mean? How will El Diablo change me for the better?
The answer to all these questions is YES.
In the weight room, El Diablo is 6 sets of 6 reps with a 6-second eccentric. But that’s not actually what it is. El Diablo is an Allegiate right of passage.
We have a couple of flagship programs we run every 18-24 months. You can imagine the feeling of excitement and joy when people when they saw 6-sec eccentric for 6 reps for the first time. That almost doubled in excitement and joy when they re
Read MoreBack on that 5x5 program. If you have been with us, you are probably familiar with that set & rep protocol. Why are we circling back to a similar set and rep scheme? Familiarity builds confidence and competence, unlocking better results.
Motor learning is not an easy subject to unpack but I’ll try. One of the most important aspects of motor learning is the presence of pain. Pain during movement will take precedence no matter how much we try to avoid letting it. This is a huge part of our screen “do you have any injuries or pain?” is the first question we ask everyone. The reason why is that you will always compensate during movement to avoid pain if you are in pain.
Read MoreThis October is going to be absolutely terrifying with volume - it's time for GVT. Kind of thinking we go Rob Zombie for a month, or GWAR, it's been a long time since we hit a month of a one band! Feel like if we are going to go all in on terrifying set and rep schemes in the same month as Halloween, we should go for the music as well.
Read MoreWe are hitting 4x8 with a 2/4/1/0 tempo. So do some quick math, we got 8 reps with a 7 seconds per rep - that's 56 seconds. That is a long time to be under tension. But there is more to this story. We are going to add a pause in a contracted position during each rep. That one small detail is going to make a world of difference in how challenging this will feel.
Read MoreDynamic effort is a strategy to teach ‘intent’ with lifting. Intent is our focus during the movement. In our tempo scheme, we rarely talk about the third number: concentric. Concentric is overcoming a portion of a lift such as standing out of the hole during a squat. Whenever you see the letter X, that denotes explosive. The idea is to push as hard as you can during the concentric portion of the lift. But there is a problem with explosive concentric, we eventually have to slow it down.
Read MoreFor those of you who do not know the history of 5x5, it comes from a legend in Strength & Conditioning named Bill Starr. Why 5x5 was so impactful was because it touched on a really important aspect of having enough volume to stimulate muscle growth while at the same time having enough intensity to develop strength.
Read MoreWe have used Wave Loading a ton before just not with an Accumulation Block. Which should be both scary and exciting. It is scary based on us being able to recruit more motor units and stress more muscle fibers leading to more fatigue and soreness. It is exciting based on being able to recruit more motor units and stress more muscle fibers leading to more muscular development from our time spent.
Read MoreWe’re launching a new class called Practice 4 for all members and trials. Practice 4 combines elements of our Allegiate Hypertrophy and Allegiate Conditioning classes into one class. If your goal is to gain muscle, lose weight, improve body composition, improve performance, or add variability to your Team and Strength classes – Practice 4 is for you.
Read MoreFor the Allegiate Strength Program this month, we got a doozy on our hands: 4x10 with a 3/0/1/0 tempo. Coming off 5x5 with a 4/0/4/0 tempo, anything will feel easier. But that will be short-lived with the pure volume of a block like this.
Exercise-wise we got back to our base rotation of movements:
P1 Front Foot Elevated Split Squat
P2 DB Neutral Grip Bench
P3 KB Deadlift
This Team block, we embark on an Intensification Block that will be 20 sets of 2 reps. This block will be hard on our nervous system. And any time where we have the term ‘extreme’ built into the block’s description is as good of a time as ever to talk about contingencies. Meaning: plans for recovery.
Read MoreIf you have not heard of Vince Gironda, you should have. He is one of the most influential people in the entire fitness industry. He changed the way we viewed training and dieting. The ripple effect off Gironda is immense and what we’re about to do this block was one of his staple programs: the Gironda 8x8.
The way Vince executed this plan was by performing 8 sets 8 reps at a fixed weight as quickly as possible. To get great body composition and muscular development, he stressed the importance of density with great execution.
Read MoreWe got an Intensification block, but it may not feel like that. There is a reason behind that, so let's unpack that in this month's BTB.
One of the things behind Intensification blocks is that they have to be based on stress through intensity. This will come in the form of working qualities such as power, relative strength, or functional hypertrophy. This translates in lower reps/shorter time under tension (TUT) combined with heavier intensities >85%.
Read MoreTraditionally we can only accomplish a certain number of reps at a certain percentage of one’s one-rep max. For example, 3 reps at 90% of our 1 rep max. This percentage of one-rep max is called intensity. With intensity, the other thing to consider is volume. Or amount of work. Intensity and volume are inversely proportional. So The more volume within a set, the lower the intensity we can use.
Read MoreWe hosted a body composition challenge in January. To participate, you had to get 1 body comp assessment (BodyMetrix) before January, train 12 sessions at Allegiate in the month, and then get a second body comp test.
We interviewed our 3 winners to learn what they did to win the competition. So if you’re thinking about improving your body comp – see how these members did it.
Read MoreThis is such an important block for Team for a couple of reasons. One reason is that we are going to use an Intensification protocol called Wave Loading. The other reason being our Exercise Rotation #3: Split Squat, Neutral Grip Pullup, and Deadlift. This blog post is going to go over why these two factors are so important for the rest of the year’s success.
Read MoreIn January we ran our first body composition challenge. Winners announced today and free t-shirts available at your location for all 75 of you that completed the challenge!
If you’re wondering what body composition means, it’s your muscle mass to body fat ratio. Though body comps range for different body types, usually improvements in body composition mean improved health metrics.
The Allegiate Body Comp challenge was to get a body comp test before Jan 7th, get 12 workouts in January, and get another body comp by Feb 7th. Whoever had the greatest body comp change won!
Read MoreThis block will change your confidence and ability. Some will crush the preceding build up sets. Some will crush the back off sets. Where one thrives they will alternatively try to survive in the counterpart. Your spirit or your muscles will be pushed to their limit. Your only option is to rise to the occasion and let Allegiate turn you into the person you always dreamed of!
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