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- Mar 3, 2011
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The past two years has been a huge learning curve for me, breaking from traditionally held beliefs regarding training modalities and performance output. All too often we reference scientific literature, but rarely does it measure outputs on anything even closely resembling an athlete.
I wanted to share some of my findings regarding things that have worked for me, please note I am not a bodybuilder.
Cardiovascular Output – The ability to maximize gas exchange and increase CO2 tolerance is all that LSD cardio really is. To substantially increase cardiovascular output, I cannot recommend freediving breath holds enough. My favorite app for this is “STAmina”. This done 5-6 times weekly coupled with 3x per week 30 min jogs and I can maintain my aerobic base allowing my marathon prep to be a measly 3-4 weeks instead of the traditional 8+.
Endurance Body Weight Events – Muscular endurance is a complete and utter fallacy. 2 min max pull ups/sit ups/pushups. This is purely lactate threshold work. Ditch the conventional rep schemes and focus on time under tension and banded work. Multiband assistance as needed. If you can keep the muscle activated for 60-90 seconds you can max out whatever PT test you are going to take at whatever weight. Time on = time offx2.25 between sets is the best ratio for trained individuals in my opinion.
This also holds true for high output timed running events. IE max output 1 or 1.5 mile. --> This is where EPO shines
Strength – As I grow older, I have a harder and harder time maintaining strength standards. I have found a few things to be contrarian. Extended holds with supramaximal weight for deads have been massive for me. Simply by priming the CNS then normalizing the time under tension with the supra weight and I can maintain my 600 dead year-round no matter what I am prepping for with minimal effort.
CNS Priming - Non traditional patterns of movement with bands/underload has been one of the largest benefits to increased performance. Jumping squats/deadlifts under bands prior to the movement itself. Explosive/dynamic movement under tension has a completely different effect on neural stimulation than a traditional warm up.
Injuries - In 2015 I had a complete tear of my left hamstring as well as avulsion. Since then I have been riddled with posterior chain injuries resulting in progress grinding to a halt frequently. I was seen by everyone from the NE Patriots head ortho to the lead doctor at FC Barcelona. Traditional strength training on undulating terrain and non-traditional patterns of movement is what did it for me. In conjunction to this switching to barefeet shoes (vivo barefoot, altras, and merril are what I personally like) I have completely eliminated all posterior chain pain and injuries.
Sleep and Diet – There is a direct correlation for me between the lower my resting heart rate and the higher my HRV. Typically, my RHR is around 50 and HRV 100 peaking at 140. I am in bed at 10, asleep at 10:30 and up at 6:00. If I consume my last meal no later than 8:30 with nominal carbohydrates I can drop my RHR to a consistent 42 which then elevates my HRV to 120 peaking at 210. This has had substantial impacts on my ability to perform at a high level consistently.
Pulsatile Utilization of Oral Compounds - Max Pushup/Max Pull Up, all numbers taken with 2 full days of rest
Anabolics and Recovery – For bodybuilding the adage of P for plenty has been around for a while which has translated to performance sports however has a negative correlation.
Average of 10 Days Taken Midpoint for Each
I wanted to share some of my findings regarding things that have worked for me, please note I am not a bodybuilder.
Cardiovascular Output – The ability to maximize gas exchange and increase CO2 tolerance is all that LSD cardio really is. To substantially increase cardiovascular output, I cannot recommend freediving breath holds enough. My favorite app for this is “STAmina”. This done 5-6 times weekly coupled with 3x per week 30 min jogs and I can maintain my aerobic base allowing my marathon prep to be a measly 3-4 weeks instead of the traditional 8+.
Endurance Body Weight Events – Muscular endurance is a complete and utter fallacy. 2 min max pull ups/sit ups/pushups. This is purely lactate threshold work. Ditch the conventional rep schemes and focus on time under tension and banded work. Multiband assistance as needed. If you can keep the muscle activated for 60-90 seconds you can max out whatever PT test you are going to take at whatever weight. Time on = time offx2.25 between sets is the best ratio for trained individuals in my opinion.
This also holds true for high output timed running events. IE max output 1 or 1.5 mile. --> This is where EPO shines
Strength – As I grow older, I have a harder and harder time maintaining strength standards. I have found a few things to be contrarian. Extended holds with supramaximal weight for deads have been massive for me. Simply by priming the CNS then normalizing the time under tension with the supra weight and I can maintain my 600 dead year-round no matter what I am prepping for with minimal effort.
CNS Priming - Non traditional patterns of movement with bands/underload has been one of the largest benefits to increased performance. Jumping squats/deadlifts under bands prior to the movement itself. Explosive/dynamic movement under tension has a completely different effect on neural stimulation than a traditional warm up.
Injuries - In 2015 I had a complete tear of my left hamstring as well as avulsion. Since then I have been riddled with posterior chain injuries resulting in progress grinding to a halt frequently. I was seen by everyone from the NE Patriots head ortho to the lead doctor at FC Barcelona. Traditional strength training on undulating terrain and non-traditional patterns of movement is what did it for me. In conjunction to this switching to barefeet shoes (vivo barefoot, altras, and merril are what I personally like) I have completely eliminated all posterior chain pain and injuries.
Sleep and Diet – There is a direct correlation for me between the lower my resting heart rate and the higher my HRV. Typically, my RHR is around 50 and HRV 100 peaking at 140. I am in bed at 10, asleep at 10:30 and up at 6:00. If I consume my last meal no later than 8:30 with nominal carbohydrates I can drop my RHR to a consistent 42 which then elevates my HRV to 120 peaking at 210. This has had substantial impacts on my ability to perform at a high level consistently.
Pulsatile Utilization of Oral Compounds - Max Pushup/Max Pull Up, all numbers taken with 2 full days of rest
Compound Ran | Push Ups | Pull Ups |
TRT 200 Test | 74 | 18 |
50 Anavar | 82 | 21 |
50 Anavar + 50 Winstrol | 97 | 23 |
50 Anavar + 50 Tbol | 84 | 21 |
50MG Dbol | 66 | 16 |
Anabolics and Recovery – For bodybuilding the adage of P for plenty has been around for a while which has translated to performance sports however has a negative correlation.
Average of 10 Days Taken Midpoint for Each
Compound Ran | RHR | HRV |
TRT 200 Test | 38 | 165 |
100 Test + 600 Primo | 45 | 140 |
200 Test + 200 Nandro | 52 | 118 |
200 Test + 200 Nandro + 2IU HGH | 55 | 112 |
200 Test + 100 Nandro + 4IU HGH | 58 | 106 |
200 Test + 100 Nandro + 10IU HGH | 62 | 74 |