1. On the last set of prime movements, train to a set that is 1 rep shy of failure. This type of training forces you to get out of your comfort zone and push to the limit, which will help you impose a much higher metabolic demand on your system than typical straight sets.
2. Work up to a rep max on your big lifts and then perform back off sets with 10-20% decrease in loading to encourage a higher intensity workout. This can be a challenging strategy to figure out, but it also ensures you are working at the highest level possible, and it will increase total workload and volume of the workouts. This also forces the body to retain muscle mass, which helps keep caloric expenditure high.
Example Deadlift Ramp Up 8RM
Warm Up
8 reps @ 135lbs
8 reps @ 185lbs
6 reps @ 225lbs
4 reps @ 245lbs
3 reps @ 255 lbs
Max Effort Set
8RM @ 275lbs
Perform 2 “Back Off ” sets
8 reps @ 250-255lbs
3. Increase the amount of steady-state training for beginners. They are likely not able to perform at the intensity needed to get a metabolic effect from training, so they will need a higher caloric output for enhanced results. Too often, we try to get our beginner clients to perform at the level our more advanced clients do and sacrifice the benefits of a solid foundation of work capacity. This additional time spent developing a foundation will result in positive changes both immediately and in the future.
4. Instead of programming your workouts with set rest periods and sticking to them throughout the entire training cycle, progress by reducing the rest period by 5-10 seconds each week. This small but effective change in rest will allow you to do more work in less time, which will result in the body composition changes that you desire. Improving the density of the workout will keep your training efficient and effective.
5. Instead of progressing with only weight increases, increase the number of sets performed each week to increase volume. You have to think in terms of volume while
designing your programs: If you do 3 sets of 8 reps in week one at 100lbs, you lifted 100lbs 24 times, which is a total volume of 2400lbs. Adding 5lbs the next week
increases that to 2520lbs (105×24) but adding a set (4 sets of 8 reps) will produce 3200lbs of volume, which is a much higher workload.
6. Change the order of your movements in the program. If you always program big movements first, try moving them to the latter part of the workout. At first, performance
will suffer due to accumulated fatigue, but ultimately, an inefficiency in the training will have a positive effect. **Caution: If you perform deadlifts, squats, or other high-skill exercises such as cleans while fatigued, you should be closely coached with loads monitored.
7. Once every 3-4 weeks, have a “gut check” workout where you challenge yourself, and push way out of your comfort zone. I am not talking about making yourself puke your guts out, but you can make yourself extremely uncomfortable with high-rep challenges or sled distance challenges.
8. Change up the training style. If you are performing lots of metabolic work, implement more strength and vice versa. The body will adapt, and it may need a change of pace to continue to produce results. There are several variables to change in a workout/ training program; however, if you are not strong, you may need to focus on a strength-building phase, and if you are in poor condition, you may need more conditioning to help get the results you want. A highly conditioned person who is weak will not be able to produce the force needed to get great results (think about a car with a 200-horsepower engine versus a car with a 300-horsepower engine), and a strong person who does not have a conditioning base will not be able to perform the volume needed to get the desired results.
9. Use undulating periodization to ensure you aren’t adapting to a specific protocol or training stimulus. Rotate 4×8, 2×15 and 8×3 (sets x reps) schemes over two different workouts so that it looks like this: Workout A 4×8, Workout B 2×15, Workout A 8×3, Workout B 4×8, etc. This will allow you to keep the same exercises programmed, and allow you to improve your form without adapting to the volume and intensity alone.
10. Complexes and combination movements programmed either early in the workout, as finishers, or on off days can produce incredible metabolic demands and increase the power endurance needed to encourage fat loss. Not only do these types of movement combinations require the entire body to work as a unit, but they also produce an incredible metabolic demand. Build work capacity, strength, and power with these moves to get faster results.
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