Complexes - Behind The Block
Members, when you jump on the forcedeck before a session, there is a metric we are looking at called RSI. It stands for Reactive Strength Index. RSI is looking for time spent on the ground relative to time spent in the air. Shorter times spent on the ground and longer times spent in the air equate to higher RSI.
In the previous 6/12/24 block, we are just getting throttled by 42 reps (6+12+24) and you are asking us not only how I feel but asking us to jump too. It may seem like a burden to do all this tracking, but it does make a difference in helping us make better decisions with training.
There is some variance here, but for the most part people that come to Allegiate generally want to look better. That combined with not being in pain. To accomplish this, we focus on a couple of big rocks to accomplish this task:
three total-body lifts a week
compound-free weight exercise
Undulating Block Periodization.
The way we check this is working is through objective data collected with tools that do not allow for human error or bias. ForceDeck and NordBord do this for us. It gives us some sort of feedback on the relative impact of training decisions relative to the goal of looking better without causing pain.
Where RSI fits in here is we can see an impact of overly focusing on concentric ability. We talk a lot about structural balance as a staff. Meaning, are we symmetrical and proportionate in strength and ability anterior to posterior, side to side, top to bottom, and right to left? Often overlooked is, are we proportionate concentrically (ability to shorten), eccentrically (ability to lengthen), and isometrically (static)?
RSI is benefited by spending less time on the ground. This is the result of having a very robust stretch-shortening cycle. The better our connective tissue and muscular tissue respond to eccentric loading, or the downward portion, the higher the RSI. If we spend too much time on concentric-related things in the sake of just looking better, we see diminished RSI.
For the everyday person that just wants to look better, having a world record RSI is not the end goal. But it is a limiting factor if we are not doing things to improve or develop eccentrically. For one we could lower potential from our exercises chosen in the training block. Another big reason is most injuries occur eccentrically - staying healthy comes down to how well we can absorb something.
High work blocks like 6-12-24 are very concentrically oriented. We go until we reach concentric failure. We see rapid drops in RSI during this block because we are not stimulating our eccentric portion of movement as much as we are concentrically. That and RSI is a very sensitive indicator of Central Nervous System Function. If we want to put tread back on those tires we need to strengthen eccentrically again.
Complexes are all about potentiation, or using natural uptick of CNS towards a plyometric movement. It also engages the connective tissue that are being lengthened to create a more robust stretch-shortening cycle. There will be a couple of weeks of getting familiar to the movements and moving fast again. Also removing the fear of not getting destroyed every set.
As we develop our eccentric ability, RSI should correspondingly increase. Again, we do not need to set the world record in RSI. We just need to ensure it is being maintained or improved so it is not a limiting factor down the road. This will lead to being more resilient and creating a higher ceiling from each exercise we do.
Cheers to not feeling like our quads, lats, and hamstrings are not going to explode every other day!