Strength training thesis:
- High intensity
- Dose vis-a-vis effect
- Sufficient recovery
- Don’t neglect ligaments and flexibility
- Incorporate heavy load on the skeleton
- Train to build protection from injury
- Train to recovery from injury or lost functionality.
- No need to spend hours per week in a gym.
Routines follow…
Build injury insurance
- Nordic reverse curl
- Nordic hamstring curl
- Jefferson curl
- Cossack squat
- Farmers walk
- Tib Bar raise (see: Tib Bars - SquatWedgiez)
- Muscle up
Note: Tib bar raise will repair and protect one’s knees.
3 exercise routine that covers almost everything
- 360 degree pull (on rings)
- Muscle up
- Pistol squat
Lots of ways to progress into these – Bands. Miracle/Dream machine. Reduce leverage (e.g. bend your legs as you build up to a 360 degree pull).
G-Force Ring Dream Machine
EMS Suit: Katalyst
20 minutes twice per week. High intensity training. You can’t really do more in a week. You need the time to recover. If you can do more you need to dial up the stimulation intensity.
Doesn’t load the skeleton. Best to pair with once a week isometrics.
Isometrics, Timed Static Contractions
Bruce Lee adopted Bob Hoffman’s isometric training routine (which took less than 20 minutes) 2 to 3 times per week. It used the “overcoming isometric” method, which involves maximum voluntary contraction against an unmoving force, as opposed to “yielding isometrics,” where you hold a weight in place against gravity.
The exercises all performed orthogonally to the floor (think power rack) included:
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3 pulls: low, middle, high (e.g., low deadlift position, high dead lift position, upward barbell row)
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3 squats: low, middle, high
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3 presses: low middle high
- Shoulder shrug
- Toe raise
Hoffman and Lee did these for 12 seconds each maybe doing 2 of the “3” exercise per session.
Ken Hutchins, who developed the [SuperSlow] (Super Slow - Wikipedia) training protocol created a variant of these in his Timed Static Contractions (“TSC”).
A TSC workout, properly done would take 90 seconds for each of 5 exercises (1 pull, 1 squat, 1 press, shoulder shrug, toe raise). 30 seconds at low to medium intensity, 30 seconds at medium to medium high intensity, 30 seconds all out.
This fatigues muscles before getting to full intensity to keep one from hurting themselves.
Like other HIT, TSC done properly can’t be done more than twice per week.
The more intensely one trains the longer recovery it takes.
One can incorporate strain gauges to better monitor intensity or just test your strength at a gym every couple of months.
Overcoming isometrics and Timed Static Contractions build strength and load the skeleton.
One exercise that does almost everything
Squat clean thruster
