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Originally Posted by Zach Even

Time Under Tension for MMA Fighters & Grapplers
By Zach Even – Esh
For www.EliteFTS.com

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Fighters and grapplers need to be incredibly fit all around. They need it all; great aerobic and anaerobic endurance, great strength endurance, power endurance and extreme mental toughness. There is a lot of confusion on how a fighter or grappler should train. Managing their time between training in the ring / mat and in the gym (or out of the gym) becomes important.

With all the time these athletes spend in actual skill and live training sessions their energy levels and the amount of recuperation is much less than the average athlete. A lot of their sparring is strength training per se. They are constantly pushing, pulling, lifting, rotating and more. Due to all of their time spent training we want to make sure we do not overdo it by pushing them more and more to the point where overuse injuries, mental and physical burn out become a side effect of the training.

We use a variety of methods for training our grapplers but there is one way that has worked very effectively and you can use it or tweak it to see how it works. The art of coaching is key here so learning how to taper or apply training methods for each individual comes into play. The problem with fighters is they have the mentality of “out working” their opponents. The philosophy of training smart equates to harder training for most fighters. This is where you need to understand their body while communicating with your fighters constantly. Asking about current injuries, emotional and physical state will be a huge step towards learning what works best for your fighters and grapplers.

We always start our work outs with a thorough warm up. We take some from the Parisi warm up, and also added some other calisthenics and band work using the Jump Stretch bands. We may also incorporate some light reverse hypers and kettlebell swings before we start the grunt of the work out. Sometimes this warm up is slightly extended to get the athlete mentally warmed up. After working or going to school for half a day, then training at their dojo or club and then coming to strength train can be a long day. A good warm up with some pumping tunes might be all your athlete needs. As mentioned before, incorporate the “art of coaching” and determine if your athlete can go through a tough training session or if they need a lighter more recuperative day.

We will often start with a max effort exercise using short rest periods and reps in the range of 3 – 5 on our heavy sets. The warm up sets as we build up have a rep range of 5 – 10. Some examples of our max effort exercises might be:


Flat / Incline barbell or dumbbell bench press
Deadlifts (all variations: trap bar, straight bar, bent knee, sumo, RDL, and sometimes we add chains to the DL movement)
Heavy Rowing motion: 1 arm rows, bent over barbell rows, t bar rows on the grappler
1 arm or 2 arm clean and press or military press: Kettlebells, dumbbells or sand bags
Squats of all variations: box squat, sand bag squat (sandbag held in front or on shoulders), kettlebell squats
After the athlete performs a good 4 – 6 hard sets (on average, sometimes less & sometimes more) in the 3 – 5 rep range we move on to our time under tension training using various tools. The time under tension (TUT) builds great strength endurance as well as mental toughness.

The tools for time under tension can be almost anything, but here is a list of tools me way use for TUT:


Sandbags
Barbells
Dumbbells
Kettlebells
Sleds
Sledge Hammer
Bodyweight
Wooden Logs
For example, let’s say that the first lift was the bent knee dead lift with a straight bar, after the heavy sets we might move on to using a 50 – 70 lb sandbag for 5 minutes with out ever placing it on the floor! Five minutes represents some of the time frames for a round used in MMA fights or Grappling tournaments. Below is a list of exercises with reps that we will use with the sand bag for 5 minutes, repeating until the 5 minute “training round” has ended.

Sandbag / 5 minutes:

Clean & press x 5
Zercher squat x 5
Good morning / RDL hybrid (hold bag in zercher position tightly against chest) x 5
Reverse lunges x 10
Turkish get up x 5 (holding sandbag against chest or w/arms extended)
The above TUT round is an ass kicker no doubt about it. After this round we may perform some shorter rounds of 2 – 3 minutes using kettlebells or a barbell. There are a lot of variations for TUT training and I have also spoken to Louie Simmons regarding this method. I asked him about how he trained current Pride fighter, Kevin Randleman. Louie would have him perform a 10 minute round of a 205 lb barbell complex that worked like this:


1. Power clean from ground x 1 rep

2. hang clean x 1 rep

3. hang clean and press or jerk x 1 rep

After the 3 rep complex above, Kevin rested 30 seconds and would keep repeating for 10 minutes. This complex represented an explosive bout that may happen during a fight. Notice I said “May happen.” As Coach X has stated, every program has flaws and nothing is perfect. There may or may not be a 30 second explosive bout of action during a fight, who knows! The fight may not even last 30 seconds! This is why I use a variety of TUT rounds such as 5 minute rounds like above, or one exercise for one rep done for 5 minutes such as a burpee, clean, squat & press combo with a barbell, kettlebells or sand bag. We might do this 1 rep combo followed by a 15 second rest period. The 15 second rest period can represent the time where the grappler is in the guard and working for good positioning but not exploding aggressively.

How can you create a work out that has carry over to your style of fighting or grappling? Perhaps you might perform exercise on your back to improve your ground game. You might perform floor presses and various sit up movements with kettlebells and only perform the bottom portion of Turkish get ups for a total of 5 – 10 minutes.

I can’t emphasize enough how much I have learned from the coaches here at Elite so keep coming back to learn from these great coaches. One last point I must drive home that Jim Smith emphasizes (which has led me to listen more and more to my athletes) is that of individualizing the program as much as possible to meet the level of GPP and overall conditioning that you or your athletes posses. Some athletes can handle a lot of volume and intensity while other reap great gains from short work outs that have a lower intensity level.

For example, I trained a high school wrestler with only time under tension variations during his in season once a week for no more than 20 minutes including his warm up! To me this seemed it wouldn’t work but he kept stating things such as: “I feel so strong out there and I feel like I am never tired”. I watched his performance improve through the entire season where as most kid burn out mentally and / or physically. In addition this athlete perform little if any max effort training. It worked because we listened to one another and found a time and intensity level that worked best for him!

Zach Even – Esh is a Strength & Performance Coach for combat athletes located in NJ.

To get your free old school training mini course for combat athletes visit For www.CombatGrappler.com

Originally Posted by James Smith

The Russian Conjugate System of Periodization Applied to MMA Fight Training
By James Smith
For EliteFTS.com

The Russian Conjugate System of Periodization, in its simplest terms, entails training various motor qualities simultaneously. In contrast, the Western model of Linear Periodization defines a procedure wherein different motor qualities are periodically trained in sequence, over time. The deficiency associated with the linear style of periodization is that as one progresses from one motor skill to the next, the skill which was developed in the previous period suffers a detraining effect.

A Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition is an example of the Conjugate system at work in real time. Throughout the course of a fight the fighter draws upon the following motor skills: strength (reactive, explosive, limit, etc…), agility, speed, power, anaerobic endurance, etc. These motor qualities are not called upon one at a time, but simultaneously as the dynamics of a round change rapidly. Therefore it stands to reason that the fighter must train these skills simultaneously throughout the course of the training year.

All things being equal there are three distinct training modalities associated with fight preparation: (1) Strength training by means of external resistance (2) skill training by means of grappling, striking, takedowns, submissions, etc. And (3) anaerobic/aerobic conditioning by means of interval sprints, plyometrics, sled dragging, timed rounds, etc… The challenge is to simultaneously incorporate these different training modalities, into a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly training program.

Perhaps the best application of this, in the U.S., is the Westside Barbell Club in Columbus Ohio. Westside Barbell is host to some of the strongest powerlifters in the world. Louie Simmons, owner of Westside Barbell and renowned powerlifting coach, has converted the Conjugate System from Olympic Weightlifting to Powerlifting. The Westside Method is comprised of a Max Effort Day for Bench, a Max Effort Day for Squat/Deadlift (DL), a Dynamic Effort Day for Bench, and a Dynamic Effort Day for Squat/DL. The Max/Dynamic Effort methodology was defined by Vladimir Zatsiorsky, a world renowned strength scientist and author, who determined that there are three distinct methods for developing maximal tension within skeletal muscle fibers. These are:

1. Lifting weights at high to maximal (max) percentages of one’s one rep max (i.e. Max Effort-strength speed).

2. Lifting sub-maximal weights explosively (i.e. Dynamic Effort-speed strength).

3. Lifting sub-maximal weights to concentric muscle failure (i.e. Repetition Method-strength endurance/lactic acid tolerance training-assistance/supplementary exercises).



On paper the Max and Dynamic Effort training days, bar weight only, look like this:

*Note: There should be 72hrs between Max and Dynamic Effort training days for the same lift, and it is advisable NOT to schedule Max Effort days back to back.

Max Effort
1. Core movement (1 exercise for a max 1-3 reps)
2. Supplementary movement (1 exercise heavy for low reps or repetition method)
3. Assistance work (2-4 exercises repetition method)

Dynamic Effort
1. Speed movement Bench Day: Bench 8 sets of 3 reps @ approximately 50- 60%
One rep max (1RM) *30-60s rest between sets
Squat/DL day: Box Squat 10 sets of 2 reps @ approximately
50-60% 1RM
2. Supplementary movement (same as max day)
3. Assistance work (same as max day)


Scientific research has shown that continually lifting weights above 90% 1RM, on the same lift, yields an over training effect on the central nervous system (CNS) after approximately 3-6 weeks (Linear). By consistently rotating Max Effort lifts (Conjugate) the CNS is able to adapt to the high intensity work load, thereby allowing the continual usage of weights in excess of 90%1RM. This also applies to skill work and conditioning. By consistently rotating high intensity motor skill work the fighter is able train sport specific skill work/conditioning at max intensities throughout the training year.

The Conjugate/Westside Methods are excellent models for any power development sport/activity and has tremendous applicability towards MMA fight training.


So how does one apply the Conjugate Method to fight training?

Core movements are lifts that specifically develop the muscles and mechanics involved with executing the competition lift. In powerlifting these are the bench, squat, and deadlift.

Speed movements are lifts that either replicate or approximate the competition lifts yet are performed with sub-maximal weights lifted explosively.

Supplementary movements are lifts that specifically target the prime movers of a given competition lift.

Assistance work targets the secondary and stabilizer muscles to the competition lifts.


When applying the Conjugate Method to MMA fight training the fighter simply substitutes the core, speed, supplementary, and assistance lifts with lifts or other skill work that are specific to fighting.

Exercise selection is critical, and strictly dependant upon what style of fighting is being trained. For instance, a Muy Thai fighter requires different motor skills than a Brazilian jiujutsu (BJJ) fighter. Whereas Shoot fighting encompasses many motor qualities (i.e., striking, takedowns, grappling, submissions), it would require more motor skill work than a Muy Thai or BJJ fighter alone.

Depending upon what fight style is being trained, the fighter must be able to justify each and every exercises/motor skills being performed with regards to the motor quality being developed. For example, a fighter competing in BJJ tournaments is not required to strike; therefore, there is no need for bag work or exercises that specifically develop striking/kicking ability. Whereas, a Muy Thai fighter is not required to know submissions, there is no need for mat work or exercises that specifically develop ground based grappling/submissions.

All fighters, regardless of style, require a high level of general physical preparedness (GPP). However, special physical preparedness (SPP) is highly dependant upon which fighting style is being trained. For instance, a Muy Thai fighter may have a high level of conditioning specific to Muy Thai, but if that same fighter entered a No Holds Barred (NHB) tournament he would quickly realize that ground fighting requires a completely different type of specific conditioning.

Special consideration must be given to scheduling different training sessions in one
24 hr period. Depending upon the level of intensity and duration, resistance training, skill work, and conditioning can be extremely taxing on the CNS. MMA training involves many different motor qualities and, in many instances, training protocols dictate multiple training sessions throughout a 24hr period. Recuperation is of paramount importance when engaged in multiple daily training sessions, and 4-6hrs between high intensity training sessions is advisable.

I cannot stress enough that training must be specific to each individual fighter. Even though two fighters may train the same fighting system, each fighter will have different strengths and weaknesses that are specific unto themselves.

Below are several variables to consider when utilizing the Conjugate Method to design your own strength and conditioning program. Remember that the Conjugate Method allows for high intensity training year round. By constantly rotating Maximal Effort work (i.e., lifting, fighting, conditioning above 90% work capacity) the CNS is able to positively respond to the repeated high intensity training.

Resistance Training
1. Choose exercises that specifically target the specific motor skill/skills that are inherent to your chosen fighting system.
2. Apply specific loading parameters (sets, reps, load)
3. Give special attention to your weaknesses.
4. Incorporate the variables listed above into the WESTSIDE METHOD!

Skill Training
1. Train the motor skills that are specific to your chosen fighting system.
2. Give special attention to your weaknesses.

Conditioning
1. Do not engage in extended bouts of aerobic endurance training. You are a fighter not a tri-athlete.
2. Utilize interval training (i.e., high intensity bouts followed by moderate to low intensity bouts)
3. Design work- to- rest ratios that closely approximate actual fight time in a competition.
4. Give special attention to your weaknesses.

Train your weaknesses, and you will become strong!

Throughout Olympic History the strength athletes of the former Soviet Union and Eastern-Bloc Countries have dominated the competitive scene on the international level.

It is no small coincidence that many of the pioneers of strength science have Russian origins. Utilize the Russian Conjugate Method and strive for sporting excellence!

For an in depth analysis of the Conjugate system I highly recommend the following texts: Tom Myslinski’s Thesis Paper, Science and Practice of Strength Training (Zatsiorsky), Supertraining (Siff/Verkoshansky), articles by Louie Simmons and the translated Russian texts by Verkoshanksy, Roman, Laputin and Oleshko to name a few. These references can be found at EliteFitnessSystems.com, a tremendous website, and host, in my opinion, to some of the brightest minds in the power development sports.


James Smith - Phone: 619-260-6505 Email: smith@strengthwise.com

Originally Posted by CT

Pendulum Training for Athletes
by Christian Thibaudeau


A while back here at T-Nation, I released a series on what I called Pendulum Training. This is basically a training system that has you switching from structural training to functional training every week. Changing the training stimulus frequently helps you avoid neural and physical overtraining while placing a maximal adaptive stress on your body. It also works great at preventing boredom.

A lot of T-Nation readers have been asking for an athletic pendulum for quite some time now. I understand your frustration: bodybuilders have their own pendulum and so do powerlifters, so why not athletes?

Well, TC got kinda pissed off at me for ignoring you for so long and urged me to complete my pendulum opus before a riot arises. When the man speaks, I listen (or I won't be able to afford my food for the next month!).


Basic Pendulum Principles: A Quick Refresher Course

Pendulum Training doesn't refer to a training routine or program set in stone. Instead, it's a new way of structuring your training workload to maximize development of several physical capacities while avoiding overtraining and stagnation.

Basically, with each week you start a new phase. Each phase has different goals. It's not that different than a classic periodization scheme, except that instead of switching phases every four to eight weeks, you do so every week.

On a side note, Westside Barbell training could be seen as a short pendulum with phases lasting half a week instead of a week: you rotate from maximum effort to dynamic effort every two workouts.

The big advantages of Pendulum Training are:

1. It prevents overtraining despite doing a lot of work. During the structural weeks you rest the CNS (central nervous system) while trashing the muscles themselves. During the various functional weeks you do just the opposite. Varying the system emphasized (nervous system vs. musculoskeletal system) will help you supercompensate and avoid stagnation.

2. It allows for more constant progress. It's well known that even the best of training methods lead to diminished results when they're used for too long. By changing the training stimulus every week, you avoid that type of stagnation and are able to get stronger, faster, and more powerful with every pendulum cycle.

3. Pendulum Training makes training fun again. Regardless of how much you like working out and training, there comes a point where you get bored of your training program. The good thing with Pendulum Training is that the training sessions are drastically different from week to week, thus renewing your motivation with every new phase! More motivation equals more progress.

4. It allows you to make use of many different training methods. Many people want to use several super effective training methods; however, if you use everything in sight at the same time, you'll undoubtedly confuse your system and will ultimately lessen the adaptations to training, thus reducing the training effect. With the Pendulum system you can use many different methods, while still focusing on only a few at the same time. Best of both worlds, wouldn't you say?

The Athletic Pendulum

Okay, now that you've brushed up, I'll briefly explain the basic structure of an athletic pendulum. The athletic pendulum has five phases, which is more than the bodybuilding and powerlifting pendulums. Let's go over each.

Phase 1: Structural Phase

This phase is aimed at increasing muscle mass, correcting muscular imbalances that may be found in some athletes, and preparing the whole body to lift big weights. You can think of this phase as ?specific bodybuilding.? By that I mean we're going to use training methods aimed at stimulating maximum muscle growth, while using exercises that can translate to improved performance.

Phase 2: Functional Phase I (Strength)

In this phase we want to lift big weights! The maximum effort method is used predominantly, much like with the Westside system, except we're going to be using concentric maximum effort, eccentric maximum effort, and isometric maximum effort within the phase. Basic lifts are used and the goal is to get strong all over. We'll also start to introduce the Olympic lifts by using various pulls and presses.

Phase 3: Functional Phase II (Strength-speed)

We'll now turn to high-power lifts: Olympic lift variations and speed-lifts like the speed bench press and speed squat will be our bread and butter for this week.

Phase 4: Functional Phase III (Speed-strength)

We'll still be working on the high power spectrum, but this time speed will be our focus. Ballistic lifts (jump squats, ballistic bench, jump push-ups, light Olympic lifts from the hang and depth jumps) will be used extensively during this phase.

Phase 5: Active Recovery/Structural Phase II

This phase is simply to give your body and CNS a rest from the gruelling work it just accomplished. We'll be going away from heavy lifting and explosive lifting and switching to an isolation bodybuilding approach.

Using relatively light weights (12-15 reps max), a slow tempo, and short rest intervals, we'll increase blood flow to the muscles and will try to help the body recuperate from the super intensive work of the preceding weeks. I know that athletes don't like to stay away from basic compound lifts, but in this case it's important that you do so - at least if injury-free constant progress is your objective!

This constitutes one pendulum cycle. For best results you should do two or three consecutive cycles. If you decide to go for three cycles, make sure to include two to three weeks of easy training after 15 weeks of the program.


Program Structure

Contrary to other pendulum programs, athletes will use a three days per week program, working the whole body at every session. During each session the type of contraction being emphasized will change (a pendulum within a pendulum):

Monday: Whole body concentric emphasis

Tuesday: OFF/sport practice/skill practice

Wednesday: Whole body eccentric emphasis

Thursday: OFF/sport practice/skill practice

Friday: OFF/Conditioning (GPP) work

Saturday: Whole body isometric emphasis

Sunday: OFF


Which Exercises?

Exercise selection is very important to make the most out of your athletic pendulum. Here's a list of the lifts you should be using during each phase. Note that you don't have to use all of these within the same cycle!

Phase 1: Structural Phase

During this phase we'll use what I call non-explosive money exercises: movements that involve a lot of muscle mass at the same time, but performed in a controlled manner. We want to include four basic exercises:

• 1 upper body push

• 1 upper body pull

• 1 lower body quad dominant

• 1 lower body hip dominant

On top of that you can add a few isolation exercises to correct a muscle weakness or imbalance.


Upper Body Push

- Bench press (barbell or dumbbells)

- Close-grip bench press

- Board press (benching with a board on your chest to reduce range of motion)

- Floor press

- Decline bench press (barbell or dumbbells)

- Incline bench press (barbell or dumbbells)

- Military press (barbell or dumbbells)


Upper Body Pull

- Bent over row (barbell or dumbbells)

- Chins/pull-ups

- Seated rowing

- Lat pulldown


Lower Body Quad Dominant

- Front squat

- Back squat (Olympic style)

- Dumbbell squat

- Back squat, feet together


Lower Body Hip Dominant

- Romanian deadlift

- Back squat (powerlifting style)

- Box squat

- Reverse hyper

- Good morning


Phase 2: Functional Phase I (Strength)

This phase will use five exercises per session. The first four are drawn from the same list as the first phase, but we add an introductory Olympic lift:

• High pull from blocks, clean grip

• High pull from blocks, snatch grip

• Push press


Phase 3: Functional Phase II (Strength-speed)

During this third phase, our focus will be on explosive exercises. We want to include four exercises:

• 1 snatch variation

• 1 clean variation

• 1 high velocity press

• 1 high velocity squat


Snatch Variation

- Power snatch from blocks

- Power snatch from hang


Clean Variation

- Power clean from blocks

- Power clean from hang


High Velocity Press

- Push jerk

- Speed bench press

- Speed incline bench press


High Velocity Squat

- Speed back squat

- Speed box squat

- Speed front squat


Phase 4: Functional Phase III (Speed-strength)

We'll still stay in the explosive realm, but this time move on to higher speed movements. Once again, we want to use four exercises per session:

• 1 unloaded upper body plyo exercise

• 1 unloaded lower body plyo exercise

• 1 loaded upper body ballistic lift

• 1 loaded lower body ballistic lift


Unloaded Upper Body Plyo Exercises

- Jump push-ups

- Overspeed chins

- Whole body push-up jumps

- Depth push-ups

Unloaded Lower Body Plyo Exercises

- Depth jumps

- Depth landings

- Hurdle jumps


Loaded Upper Body Ballistic Lift

- Ballistic bench press

- Medicine ball throw from chest

- Push jerk (light weight: 60-70%)


Loaded Lower Body Ballistic Lift

- Jump squat

- Jump lunge

- Power clean from hang (light weight: 60-70%)

- Power snatch from hang (light weight: 60-70%)

During Phase 5 you don't have any specific exercises to choose from, simply stay with isolation movements and be sure to work all the major muscle groups.


Which Training Methods?

As I explained earlier, we'll rotate between concentric, eccentric, and isometric emphasis during the week. Obviously, this requires the use of various training methods. Furthermore, the chosen methods will change from one phase to the next. Here's an overview:


Phase 1: Structural Phase

Concentric Emphasis

- Regular lifting

- Accentuated concentric action (your partner pushes down on the bar during the concentric/lifting portion of the lift to increase resistance slightly.)

- Tempo contrast: Perform 2 slow reps (6 seconds down, 4 seconds up), 2 fast reps, 2 slow reps and 2 fast reps.

- Post-fatigue: Performing an isolation exercise immediately after a compound exercise targeting the same muscle group. Don't overdo it!


Eccentric Emphasis

- Accentuated eccentric action (your partner pushes down on the bar during the eccentric/lowering portion of the lift to increase resistance.)

- Superslow eccentric: Lowering the bar in 8-10 seconds.


Isometric Emphasis

- Overcoming isometrics for time: Pushing/pulling hard against an immovable object for 30-60 seconds.

- Yielding isometrics for time: Holding a weight in place for 30-60 seconds.

- Iso-dynamic contrast: Include a pause in the mid-point (pushing and lower body exercises) or the fully contracted position (upper body pulling exercises) for 3-5 seconds on each rep.


Phase 2: Functional Phase I (Strength)

Concentric Emphasis

- Regular lifting

- Accommodating resistance lifting using resistance bands (Jump Stretch or Iron Woody) or chains.

- Accentuated concentric action (your partner pushes down on the bar during the concentric/lifting portion of the lift to increase resistance slightly.)


Eccentric Emphasis

- Supramax eccentrics using weight releasers.

- Accentuated eccentric action (your partner pushes down on the bar during the eccentric/lowering portion of the lift to increase resistance.)

- Superslow eccentric (Olympic pulls only.)


Isometric Emphasis

- Overcoming isometrics for intensity: pushing/pulling hard against an immovable object for 3-6 seconds. Give it all you've got!

- Yielding isometrics for time: Holding a maximal weight in place for 3-6 seconds.

- Dead start lifting: Start a lift from a paused position (e.g. squats from the bottom position, bench starting from the chest, etc.)


Phase 3: Functional Phase II (Strength-speed) and Phase 4: Functional Phase III (Speed-strength)

Concentric Emphasis
- Regular lifting (Olympic lifts)

- Accommodating resistance (speed lifts)


Eccentric Emphasis
- Eccentric/concentric contrast: Superslow eccentric portion, superfast concentric portion.

- Accentuated eccentric action (your partner pushes down on the bar during the eccentric/lowering portion of the lift to increase resistance.)


Isometric Emphasis
- Iso-dynamic contrast: Pause in the mid-point (pushing and lower body exercises) or the fully contracted (upper body pulling exercises) position for 3-5 seconds on each rep followed by an explosive concentric action.

- Dead start explosive lifting: Start a lift from a paused position (e.g. snatch or clean from the hang.)


A Sample Plan

The information given in the first portion of this article should allow you to easily design your own training plan. The Pendulum system is far from being set in stone; the exercise selection and training volume can (and should) be individualized to suit your own personal needs and schedule. The following in an example of what can be done with the system as far as athletic strength training goes.

Week 1: Structural Phase

Monday (concentric emphasis)

A. Bench press

3 x 8 reps

Method: tempo contrast

Reps 1-2 & 5-6 = 604 tempo (6 seconds down, 4 seconds up)

Reps 3-4 & 7-8 = explosive reps

90-second rest intervals

B. Dumbbell bent-over row on incline bench

3 x 8 reps

Method: tempo contrast

Reps 1-2 & 5-6 = 604 tempo (6 seconds down, 4 seconds up)

Reps 3-4 & 7-8 = explosive reps

90-second rest intervals

C. Olympic style back squat (close stance, upright torso)

3 x 8 reps

Method: tempo contrast

Reps 1-2 & 5-6 = 604 tempo (6 seconds down, 4 seconds up)

Reps 3-4 & 7-8 = explosive reps

90-second rest intervals

D. Romanian deadlift

3 x 8 reps

Method: tempo contrast

Reps 1-2 & 5-6 = 604 tempo (6 seconds down, 4 seconds up)

Reps 3-4 & 7-8 = explosive reps

90-second rest intervals

Wednesday (eccentric emphasis)

A. Close-grip bench press

3 x 6 reps

Method: superslow eccentrics (9 second eccentric portion)

90-second rest intervals

B. Seated rowing

3 x 6 reps

Method: superslow eccentrics (9 second eccentric portion)

90-second rest intervals

C. Back squat, feet together

3 x 6 reps

Method: superslow eccentrics (9 second eccentric portion)

90-second rest intervals

D. Reverse hyper

3 x 6 reps

Method: superslow eccentrics (9 second eccentric portion)

90-second rest intervals

Saturday (isometric emphasis)

A. Incline bench press

3 x 8

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (3 second pause 3? from the chest during the lowering portion)

90-second rest intervals

B. Bench press, hold for time

1 x max time (30-60 seconds)

Method: yielding isometrics for time using 80% of your max bench, hold the bar with the elbows bent at 90 degrees.

90-second rest intervals

C. Lat pulldown

3 x 8

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (3 second peak contraction bar on clavicle)

90-second rest intervals

D. Chin-up, hold for time

1 x max time

Method: yielding isometrics for time using bodyweight only, hold the fully contracted position.

90 seconds rest

E. Front squat

3 x 8

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (3 second pause at parallel during the lowering portion)

90-second rest intervals

F. Romanian deadlift

3 x 8

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (3 second pause, bar 2? below the knees during the lowering portion)

90-second rest intervals


Week 2 Functional Phase I (Strength)

Monday (concentric emphasis)

A. Floor press

5/3/2 wave (1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2; 1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2)

Method: regular lifting

150-second rest intervals

B. Bent over barbell rowing

5/3/2 wave (1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2; 1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2)

Method: regular lifting

150-second rest intervals

C. Half squat (knees 90 degrees)

5/3/2 wave (1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2; 1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2)

Method: regular lifting

150-second rest intervals

D. Half deadlift (starting 2? below the knees in power rack)

5/3/2 wave (1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2; 1 x 5; 1 x 3; 1 x 2)

Method: regular lifting

150-second rest intervals

Wednesday (eccentric emphasis)

A. Bench press

3 x 5

Method: accentuated eccentrics (partner pushes down on the bar during the eccentric portion - must lower in 5 seconds - bar weight = 80%)

180-second rest intervals

B. Seated rowing

3 x 5

Method: accentuated eccentrics (partner pushes down on the weight stack during the eccentric portion - must return in 5 seconds - bar weight = 80%)

180-second rest intervals

C. Back squat

5 x 1

Method: weight releasers (bar weight = 90%, releasers = 50lbs/side - must lower in 5 seconds)

180 seconds of rest

D. Clean high pull from blocks

3 x 5

Method: superslow eccentrics (lower the bar in 5 seconds)

180 seconds of rest

Saturday (isometric emphasis)

A. Rack pin press

3 x 6 seconds for 3 positions (2? from chest, mid-range, 2? from lockout)

Method: overcoming isometrics for max intensity (pushing against an immovable bar)

60 seconds of rest

B. Rack pin bent over row

3 x 6 seconds for 3 positions (two sets of pins, one 2? from sternum, mid-range and the other 2? from the start)

Method: overcoming isometrics for max intensity (pulling against an immovable bar)

60 seconds of rest

C. Bottoms up front squat

5 x 1

Method: dead start (set the bar on the power rack's safety pins set at the bottom position of the squat and lift the bar from that starting point)

90 seconds rest

D. Rack pin pull (deadlift)

3 x 6 seconds for 3 positions (2? below knees, 2? above knees, shrugged position)

Method: overcoming isometrics for max intensity (pulling against an immovable bar)

60 seconds of rest


Week 3: Functional Phase II (Strength-speed)

Monday (concentric emphasis)

A. Power snatch from blocks

5 x 3

Method: Regular lifting with around 75-80%

120-second rest intervals

B. Power clean from blocks

5 x 3

Method: Regular lifting with around 75-80%

120-second rest intervals

C. Speed bench press

5 x 3

Method: Accommodating resistance using resistance bands (bar weight = 50%)

45-second rest intervals

D. Speed back squat

5 x 3

Method: Accommodating resistance using resistance bands (bar weight = 50%)

45-second rest intervals

Wednesday (eccentric emphasis)

A. Power snatch from the hang

5 x 3

Method: eccentric-concentric contrast (lower bar in 5 seconds, lift explosively - bar weight = 70-75%)

120-second rest intervals



B. Power clean from the hang

5 x 3

Method: eccentric-concentric contrast (lower bar in 5 seconds, lift explosively - bar weight = 70-75%) )

120-second rest intervals



C. Push press

5 x 3

Method: eccentric-concentric contrast (lower bar in 5 seconds, lift explosively - bar weight = 70-75%) )

120-second rest intervals

D. Front squat

5 x 3

Method: eccentric-concentric contrast (lower bar in 5 seconds, lift explosively - bar weight = 60%)

120-second rest intervals

Saturday (isometric emphasis)

A. Paused power snatch from the floor

5 x 3

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (deadlift from floor to knees, pause 3 seconds, snatch explosively - bar weight = 70-75%)

120-second rest intervals

B. Paused power clean from the floor

5 x 3

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (deadlift from floor to knees, pause 3 seconds, snatch explosively - bar weight = 70-75%)

120-second rest intervals

C. Paused bench press

5 x 3

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (pause 3 seconds on the chest,lift explosively - bar weight = 50-55%)

45-second rest intervals

D. Paused back squat

5 x 3

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (pause 3 seconds on the chest, lift explosively - bar weight = 50-55%)

45-second rest intervals


Week 4: Functional Phase III (Speed-strength)

Monday (concentric emphasis)

A. Med ball throw from chest

3 x 10

Method: regular med ball throws (ball weight = 5-10lbs)

60-second rest intervals

B. Sit jumps

3 x 10

Method: low intensity jumping drills

60-second rest intervals

C. Ballistic bench press in Smith machine

3 x 10

Method: ballistic (bar weight = 20-30%)

60-second rest intervals

D. Jump squat

3 x 10

Method: ballistic (bar weight = 20-30%)

60-second rest intervals

Wednesday (eccentric emphasis)

A. Depth push-ups

3 x 10

Method: shock plyometrics

120-second rest intervals

B. Depth jumps

3 x 10

Method: shock plyometrics

120-second rest intervals

C. Ballistic bench press

3 x 10

Method: eccentric-concentric contrast (partner pushes down during the eccentric portion - bar weight = 20-30%)

120-second rest intervals

D. Loaded depth landings

3 x 10

Method: eccentric overload (hold a 30-35lbs dumbbell and stick the landing)

120-second rest intervals

Saturday (isometric emphasis)

A. Jump push-ups with a pause

5 x 5

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (hold a 3 seconds pause arms at 90 degrees and jump up)

60-second rest intervals

B. Vertical jump with a pause

5 x 5

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (hold a 3 seconds pause knees at 90 degrees and jump up)

60-second rest intervals

C. Ballistic bench press with a pause

5 x 5

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (hold a 3 second pause, arms at 90 degrees and project - bar weight = 20-30%)

60-second rest intervals

D. Jump lunges with a pause

5 x 5 per leg

5 x 5

Method: iso-dynamic contrast (hold a 3 second pause, front knee at 90 degrees and jump up - bar weight = 20-30% of lunges)

60-second rest intervals


Week 5: Active Recovery/Structural Phase II

Monday and Thursday

A. Dumbbell flies

3 x 15

Method: regular lifting/slow tempo (4 sec. eccentric, 3 sec. concentric)

60-second rest intervals

B. Seated rowing

3 x 15

Method: regular lifting/slow tempo (4 sec. eccentric, 3 sec. concentric)

60-second rest intervals

C. Lateral raises

3 x 15

Method: regular lifting/slow tempo (4 sec. eccentric, 3 sec. concentric)

60-second rest intervals

D. Barbell curl

3 x 15

Method: regular lifting/slow tempo (4 sec. eccentric, 3 sec. concentric)

60-second rest intervals

E. Triceps pressdown

3 x 15

Method: regular lifting/slow tempo (4 sec. eccentric, 3 sec. concentric)

60-second rest intervals

F. Leg press

3 x 15

Method: regular lifting/slow tempo (4 sec. eccentric, 3 sec. concentric)

60-second rest intervals

G. Leg curl

3 x 15

Method: regular lifting/slow tempo (4 sec. eccentric, 3 sec. concentric)

60-second rest intervals


Conclusion

This is one pendulum cycle. As you can see, there's ample recovery time planned so that you can benefit from this program. Believe me, you'll need the extra recovery time to progress to your maximum!

The four days off from strength training will also allow you to devote more time to sport practices, general physical preparation and speed/agility work without risking overtraining.

This is obviously just a sample plan; you can adjust it to suit your needs and liking. As long as you understand the principles behind Pendulum Training you'll get great results!

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Originally Posted by ct

Phase 1: Structural Phase
Phase 2: Functional Phase I (Strength)
Phase 3: Functional Phase II (Strength-speed)
Phase 4: Functional Phase III (Speed-strength)
Phase 5: Active Recovery/Structural Phase II

Originally Posted by hrdgain81

To be honest Dave, I dont know why your even considering any HST. Personally, I dont think hypertrophy is important anymore. I want strength, and strength endurance, I couldnt care less how big I look. Not to mention, HST is designed for hypertrophy gains as you move from rep range to rep range. I dont know that simply grabbing two weeks of 10's is gonna net any significant hypertrophy for you..

Originally Posted by hrdgain81

I like the phases, it keeps things moving, and allows you to focus on one thing at a time. It will also make this a program you can cycle through again and again. Improving each time IMO.

Originally Posted by hrdgain81

If it was me doing this (which it very well maybe once I get my shit together) I would start with DF 5x5, go to DF 3x3. And thats only because i'm not familiar enough with the WS template to know how to use it correctly in this.