Strength Block:
Thruster 3-3-3
Sumo Deadlift 3-3-3
Today is a heavy day. Between these two lifts, you’ll be working the primary joints of your body. You’ll also be synchronizing some of the most important things your body can do, and recruiting almost every muscle you have – all at once.
Today is a heavy day. Between these two lifts, you’ll be working the primary joints of your body. You’ll also be synchronizing some of the most important things your body can do, and recruiting almost every muscle you have – all at once.
Your ability to do this rests largely in the skill of recruiting muscle, measured by Rate of Force Development. To lift heavy in big compound movements, you must:
1 – turn on the right muscles
2 – turn them on in the right order
3 – turn them on quickly
As you progress in your lifting, you don’t always gain more muscle as you gain more strength. Improving any of these three (let alone all) will make you stronger without making you bigger. Doing a ton of reps and overeating will make you bigger.
Think about how kids get stronger: before they reach puberty, they don’t really have the capacity to grow their muscles beyond their genes. They get stronger by getting more efficient. They can do that through lifting weights, but also just by doing good reps – both are safe and work just fine.
Or think about the first time you lifted weights after a long time away: you got really sore and felt fatigue everywhere. This is because you recruited more muscle than you needed; you turned them on out of sync, so you were inefficient; and you ramped up your force slowly, so every muscle fibre worked longer.
Practice efficiency and you’ll get stronger. Today is a test: go heavy but go well.
This month’s challenge is the ARCH Bucket List Ride. I’m personally matching the first $10,000 of pledges made.
Sign up here and let’s raise money for ARCH in one of the most gorgeous local events of the summer!
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