Back off Sets: Behind the Block Team
Year 6 Block 1 - Back Off Sets New Year - New Us! Wrong - New Year, More Tired Us!
We are opening 2022 with as much as possible!
KPIs - YUP!
Back Off Sets of 15 Reps - YUP!
4/0/1/0 tempo - YUP!
Before we go any further, it is imperative that we look at this block as a continuation of what we have been working up until this point. This is not a block where you can align yourself based on whatever it is you have not been doing towards a great 2022.
Back off sets (or any high repetition strategy) need to be approached conservatively and with respect to your current fitness levels. If we are overly stressed or have not been consistently working out, this will be a very challenging training block to manage.
With back off sets we are trying to deplete any remaining glycogen in an area as possible. This is important because it stimulates more muscle hypertrophy (muscle building) and lipolysis (fat burning.) As we work through sets of 12, 10, 8, and 6 we are depleting the muscle’s ATP and glucose, leaving the fuel tank empty. We are recruiting the full gambit of muscle fibers from slow-twitch (Type I) to intermediate twitch (Type IIA) to fast-twitch (Type IIB) muscle fibers. This will deplete all fuel reserves completely.
Type II muscle fibers use predominantly fast acting fuel such as ATP, Creatine Phosphate, and Glucose more readily. The more we recruit Type II fibers, the more we deplete the more immediate fuel sources. By using a broad spectrum of reps from 12 down to 6 we effectively tap into all fuel available at the local level. This is followed by a set of 15 to completely deplete all fuel storage. This is where we deplete glycogen stores: immediate fuel is depleted so we tap into stored fuel in the form of glycogen.
This will tax you in a way that leads to more Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). We can create DOMS a couple of ways: Eccentric Contractions, High Density (a lot of work in a short period of time), or High Volume (at a threshold intensity). We are using both high volume and eccentric contractions within a training practice, so DOMS will be higher as a result. So the end result will be more muscle soreness following the workout.
This is why we need to be considerate of the higher relative stress this will place if we are not adequately prepared. A common thread you will hear from our coaches is to train every other day (3 days a week). The sole reason for this is to ensure we are recovering between workouts to ensure adequate adaptation. We want to replenish the glycogen stores that we depleted along with repairing tissues we damaged from training before we train again. If we do not this will lead to compromised recovery and diminished performance.
Reminders of other value members get
The Nutrition Habits via the Allegiate app: Along with training every other day, we want to encourage you to set up your nutrition and recovery as much as possible. Sleep, Hydration, Vegetables, and Mindfulness with Eating are our base habits (you can find modules on your Allegiate App). Start your day by going through the habits and tracking them on your Allegiate App (Habit Check In - On your Bridge App). This will give a foundation for 2022 that will allow you to increase your performance throughout the year. Hit the “…more” tab in your app to access this content!
KPI’s (key performance indicators) via this training block: The idea of KPIs is to give feedback on where you are at with training and your lifestyle. If you are training consistently and not improving, at the rate you want, we have to fix some things. If you are not coming consistently, that is the first thing to fix. Get a cadence of 3x a week (or every other day) for 4 weeks. If you are inconsistent with sleep, hydration, vegetables and mindfulness you could be impeding recovery. Start easy, one habit at a time for a week and build them incrementally over the four weeks.
Free Body Composition tests and functional movement screens via the Allegiate app: We offer complimentary body compositions and Functional Movement Screens to all members. Take advantage of this by scheduling on your Allegiate App. See if you have any underlying movement-compensation issues. See where you are storing body fat (more important than how much body fat). After this block, we can get as much inventory from KPIs, Habits, Body Comp, and FMS to make some goals for 2022. Set realistic goals, goals that are attainable and relevant to what you want.
The Allegiate Nutrition Blueprint via the Allegiate website and app: We offer Blueprint to help you with health and nutrition. We also offer a Supreme membership where we provide high-level tracking through and monthly testing tied into how to best optimize your membership. With Supreme Membership we offer supplements based on your goals and the corresponding training block. Also if you wanted to check your recovery rates and track your sleep/strain levels via Whoop we have a promo code for all Members: https://join.whoop.com/Allegiate
Were not messing around in 2022, just fair warning!