Pre Fatigue - Behind the Block Y5B10

If you’ve been around Allegiate for a while, you know Behind the Block is our segment where we talk about the science and methods behind our training. Every 4 weeks, we rotate new training blocks and we believe our members should know where their training programs are coming from and why we do what we do.

And sometimes, these training protocols have a rich history in strength & conditioning. As is the case with this month’s block: Pre Fatigue.

So let’s dive in. Before the science literature, here are three must-watch videos. If you can’t watch all of them, at least watch the first minute of each of them. They’re that good.

An often overlooked aspect of training is the emphasis on the appropriate mindset that is needed to be successful. Mike Mentzer, aside from having an amazing mustache, constantly preached this aspect with training and it will be a focal point for this block.

Mike Mentzer

We are going to use the Pre Fatigue method for this block to stimulate an increase in hypertrophy within a specific area. The most important aspect of this is to create more time under tension safely. We can stress muscle fibers longer by utilizing two different variations for one body part. When we push any movement pattern to a threshold (Velocity, Force, or Work) we run a risk of breaking down biomechanically which increases risk of injury. By choosing a lower threshold exercise prior to a higher threshold exercise we can have a longer time under tension in a certain area without the associated risk. 

What Pre Fatigue also does is give a greater association to the muscles being used during the movement patterns. To be successful with a compound exercise (multi joint) we have to focus on the position of joints during the movement pattern. This is 100% for safety. What gets overlooked is the targeted muscle groups. We lose the mind muscle connection from having more important things to focus on. What we get with Pre Fatigue is a greater awareness of the muscle fibers being stressed and that becomes more of the emphasis. 

Mentzer, with his amazing mustache, made this the focal point of his philosophy with training. Mentzer recorded the first ever perfect score in body building. He attributed his success to the mental aspect of training. Mentzer adhered to a HIT method of taking one set to absolute muscle failure. This approach is contingent on the ability to train towards absolute failure. Training success in the mind of Mentzer was to him as much about the mental aspect as it was physical aspect. 

You may have noticed in the videos an amazing display of facial hair in conjunction with  the utilisation of resistance machines. One of the shortcomings of free weight movements such as squats or deadlifts is the increased risk associated with training to failure. Hence the need to focus on joint positions in space over contracting a muscle. With free weight movements we want to train sub-maximally for safety reasons. This is not saying the feeling is easy, just not true absolute muscle failure. This comes with a lowered potential for development of a specific muscle with free weight exercises compared to machine based exercises.

A critical aspect we want to leverage with Pre Fatigue is the ability to ‘feel’ what we are working during the rep. If we can create the connection between where we should feel something while executing that exercise with great technique, we can create a more robust outcome. Simply connecting with where one should feel that exercise can create a better outcome without having to train to failure. We need to do this in order to simulate the effect of machine-based/isolation exercises without the associated risk.

Prior to the exercise we should know where we want to ‘feel’ tension. Every exercise’s success is predicated on loading tissue between where the muscle originates and inserts. So the action therefore becomes moving the insertion away and towards the origin in order to create tension. The secret to keeping tension is to understand where the leverage and mechanical advantage is during the movement. As we gain leverage we decrease tension, as we lose leverage we gain tension. The better we execute on these exercises the more tension we can create. 

The intent with this block is to create hypertrophy. How Mentzer would create this tension would be focusing a mindset to take a muscle to failure. Although we cannot go to absolute failure, we can still leverage the mindset associated with training to failure. Understanding where and what we should feel during the exercise we can get the same results as Mentzer would with machines. Pre Fatigue gives us just that, safely and effectively creating tension with free weight exercises. 

Strongly encourage embracing this mindset and growing a mustache and getting incredible development of our pecs, lats, quads and hamstrings. For entertainment purposes please enjoy 2 hours of Mike talking about HIT and Mindset during training. 

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PART 2: