High Tension Training For You!

Did you miss me?  I missed you, but I’m back with my next post and a commitment to post more consistently.  

So last time we talked we discussed the concept of High Tension Training (HTT).  To refresh your mind here are the core principles of HTT:

1. During each repetition, contract your muscles as intensely as possible.

2. Move through the motion with as much control and fluidity as you possibly can.

3. When tension or form waiver end the set, rest adequately and attack the next set with

perfect form and maximum tension.  

We also addressed why this approach is so powerful and useful for maximizing outcomes - the minimum effective dose if you will.  

So what are we discussing today?  Today we are jumping into a practical application of High Tension Training.  We are looking at what I do for physical training on a daily basis and how I think about and structure that training.  We will wrap up with how you can achieve your goals by customizing this approach to your specific needs.  Fair game?

START WITH YOUR OUTCOME:

So why do I train in the first place?  SO I CAN THRIVE, plain and simple!  I train because having physical strength and endurance is the foundation of physical health and our physical health is one of our three pillars of true health - mind, body, and spirit.  I have found that when I neglect my physical health I lose my mental and spiritual health (the analogue is true as well, loosing any one of the three pillars of health degrades the other two).  Thus physical health is central to my major goal of living life at the absolute highest level possible - to absolutely THRIVE!

What is your outcome?  Why do you train?  

So what does my training look like?  My training has two components.  One, my daily training.  Two, my goal specific training.

DAILY TRAINING:

I have found daily training to be the absolute key to achieving lifelong fitness and fulfillment.  For me consistency and the power of habit (a post coming soon on this) is the difference that makes the difference between areas I have been successful in and areas I have failed in.  

At the beginning of 2017 I set a new standard, I had become inconsistent with my training and I was feeling and seeing the effects in my mind, body, and spirit.  My goal was to create a standard that would create a positive feedback loop of momentum and success, so I set up an “easy win”: I will train every single day no matter what.  My rule to meet this standard is how it became an easy win, or a design feature that creates momentum.  My rule to qualify for training is doing one repetition.  Pretty simple, I know no matter what I can hit my standard - train every day - I know there is no excuse other than laziness that will prevent me from doing one rep.  Even if I’m sick or traveling I can always find a way to do one rep and that one rep turns into one set and then that one set turns into 3 sets and so on.  But most days I actually train, that is high tension training with a specific focus on improving specific neuromuscular patterns.  This simple resolution may change your life, it certainly has changed mine, do it for a month and let me know what has changed, deal?  

So what does a daily training session look like.  Usually it is between 20-40 minutes of work.  High tension training is my standard/mindset, I really focus on optimizing for movement quality.  As for the forms of resistance I am a HUGE fan of kettlebells, check these guys out if you want to learn what is possible with kettlebells.  I also have a set of TRX bands that I use for pullups and pushups in my apartment.  The third thing that I usually do once a week is to do 5 sets of 20 burpees which has been a great way to get some metabolic conditioning in.  

So how do I structure my training?  How do I decide what I want to train each session?  For my training I have a few categories I want to hit every week and from there I am pretty fluid.  I like to think about it in the same way as I think about making a meal, there are some basic ingredients that depending on the combination create entirely different experiences.  So what are my ingredients?  

The first category (ingredient) is muscular groups/movements.  This is pushing and pulling both upper and lower body.  Crawling forward, backward, and laterally.  Carrying, horizontally with different variations on the farmers cary, and vertically with the get-up.  Swinging, such as a kettlebell swing or a kettlebell clean and jerk.  Over the course of 2-4 days I want to hit all these movement categories.  

The second category is training outcomes.  The majority of my movements are in the rep range of 1-5 per set which trains absolute strength.  I don’t train much hypertrophy, as I have found doing low rep strength training as well as my nutrition has given me the aesthetic and body composition I want.  I do get higher reps in with my metabolic conditioning (metcon).  For metcon I like to do sets of burpees, sprints, or Tabata (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off usually for 4 minutes, rest and repeat).  I also like to do longer intervals anywhere between a minute and 3 minutes, so for example as many kettlebell swings as I can in a minute, rest and repeat.  The final category is aerobic endurance.  Recently I have felt a craving to run and swim - so I have.  For a while I really only wanted to do strength training and metcon, in my opinion train what your body is craving; this goes for mobility work, rest, nutrition, you name it listen to your body it is the ultimate coach and engineers can not make a more precise instrument than your own awareness.  

To give you a few examples from my training journal

- Monday

• TRX push ups 4x10
• Jumping Jacks 5x60
• Kettlebell swing 5x20
• Kettlebell Squat 4x10

- Tuesday

• Pull ups 5x5
• TRX push ups 5x10
• Single arm farmers carry with kettlebell 4x each hand
• Kettlebell clean and press 5x(3x each hand)

- Wednesday

• 20 minute trail run
• 5x20 burpees

SPECIFIC TRAINING:

Maybe you have a specific competitive outcome that determines your training.  Honestly I hope you do, establishing specific measurable goals awakens within you tremendous power and purpose.  For example, I just finished my first academic quarter of chiropractic college and I set a personal goal to deadlift 315lbs for three reps by the end of my first quarter.  Now does my deadlift really matter in my major goal of thriving...not exactly, but at the same time it absolutely does.  By having a target to train for it helped keep me focused and excited about training.  It also empowers me to know that I can set and achieve goals; this goal was specifically empowering because it marked my deadlift PR since my injury three years ago.  

So how do we hit our goal?  Have you heard of the 80/20 principle, also known as Pareto’s distribution? Let me give you a simple synopsis, economist Vilfredo Pareto found that for many situations 20% of the input was responsible for 80% of the output.  This mathematical principle is pretty incredible; think for a minute how many aspects of life you could simplify your effort in while maximizing your outcomes!  Applying this specifically to training is exactly what HTT is.  High Tension Training takes the key 20% of athletic effort and yields fantastic strength and coordination outcomes.  Something few people know is possible, but now you do!

My specific goal as we said was to go from not deadlifting in three years to pulling 315 for 3 reps in eleven weeks.  I also wanted to do this in the most efficient way possible.  I determined I would modify one daily training session per week to be specific training.  For me this was Thursday morning.  

The rep and set schedule for each training session was ten sets of three reps (10x3) using HTT of course.  I had confidence in 10x3 because we used this in college and I had seen my strength massively increase, as it allowed the accumulation of 30 reps at a very high percentage of your 3 rep max.  Over the ten weeks of training I trained between 225 and 265, always focusing on creating maximum muscle tension through neuromuscular coordination rather than relying on the weight of the bar (an external factor) in this way I was protecting my back from training near my max, yet preparing my nervous system to maximally contract my muscles.  This is the secret to HTT, you do not need to use an external load to stimulate maximum muscle contraction - you use your mind!  You decide that you are going to move the bar as if it was 500lbs but because you are training at a lower weight you risk less yet force your muscles to contract all the same.  Think about it for a minute, do your muscles really know how heavy the load is?  No not at all.  Your brain is what interprets the sensory information sent from the muscles, yet you can override this by thinking and forcing the behavior as if the load was much greater.  Does this make sense?

YOUR OUTCOME:

The question for you is why are you training, what is your training outcome?  Are you a competitive athlete, like many of my rowers who read this are?  Or are you in the working world and you want to be strong fit and healthy?  Would increased efficiency in your training be beneficial?

Thank you for letting me share with you how I use HTT to direct all my training both my daily training and my goal specific training.  My hope in sharing this is that you can better achieve your goals in strength and health.

My experience is that everyone will benefit from a daily training session focused on quality of movement and maximum muscle contraction as well as specific training that addresses a measurable goal. What changes from person to person is the ratio and intensity of these two components.  If you already train daily like my rowers then this becomes an empowering and invigorating way to begin your morning, focusing more on mobility and general strength which will help you balance your sport (goal) specific training.  If this is your primary form of training (as it is for me) then you will go harder during your daily training.   

If you want help setting up your training to fit your goals, or help getting clear on your outcome reach out to me at mattmcneill@aretemindset.com or leave a comment below and let other members of the Thriving Tribe help you out.

P.S. I hit my goal and pulled 315 for 3 during finals week and it felt AWESOME!

Power to you!  Continue to THRIVE this life is what you choose to make it.  Conquer your fears and become the man or woman your heart yearns to be.

Peace and love,

Matt