As a trainer and a lifter, I truly appreciate how detailed your answers and explanations are. You're a great strength coach, Greg!

Di....did...did you say to do......CARDIO?!!! *faints*

Hello! I really like your website and I've found the articles extremely helpful, especially the ones regarding DUP. Thanks for the good content! I'd love to see more informative videos like this on the channel!

Great stuff. Wish you made vids more often yours are some of the best, seriously.

i think you are right on cardio, high intensity intervals obviously does not produce the same adaptation as low intensity cardio... long time runners know that hiit produces fastest results but you will plateau even faster if you dont train with low cf, which is (as you pointed) 125-140 max

Great video and also very helpful in practice. Thanks.

Awesome words of wisdom.

I thought he introduced himself as "Grey Nipples" xD

Cutest powerlifting genius award goes toooooo...

You made my brain tingle. Thanks Greg. Subscribed! Omar sent me btw.

Great info ! Thank you Greg.

more vids like this please greg.

Great info. Thanks man.

Good info Greg, thanks:)

Awesome video dude. Keep it up!

Great video!

when your increasing work capacity for example on bench press do you still do accessories tri extensions ect to failer or do you do the same as the main lift

I am a sprinter and I train on the track 4 times a week at the moment, twice high intensity, twice for conditioning/fitness. Ive started doing low volume leg work in the gym on the same days i train on track, at the moment, squatting 3 sets of 8 with 60kg, romanian deadlifting 3 sets of 10 with 60kg, and then power cleaning 3 sets of 6 with 40kg. Im keeping the weights light because firstly my legs are tired as fuck from sprinting, and secondly so i can focus on perfecting my form. I plan on transitioning to a heavy weight day in the winter season to replace a track day so i can perform these lifts when i actually have to energy to go very heavy. My question is basically do you think this is a good idea? So far my legs seems to be in a balance where they feel slightly sore but they seem to work fine, (im eating and sleeping well) and I always have a rest day for my legs before the intense track sessions.

This is awesome info. Will start reading your website regularly. (was sent here by omar)

Hi Greg, I have a question :) Currently doing StrongLifts 5x5 (actually ICF 5x5 which is just SL + some accessories), let's look at Squats, you'll squat on Monday Wednesday Friday for a 5x5 every time, so 15 sets of 5 reps in total for the week, with ~75-80% of 1RM. Now if you plateau and it stops working eventually, StrongLifts suggests that you drop your 5x5 work down to a 3x5, so you'd lower the amount of total sets per week down from 15 to 9 sets, and that'll make you progress again... Why is it that the exact opposite of what you explain in this video can work for a program like SL and a novice lifter? I'm currently squatting 300 lbs for my 5x5, thanks Greg

More vids

i bought your e books there really good but im still a little unshure about a few things but most of it makes total sense to me hope you can answer my question im 43 and running out of time

hey Greg would you say it's important to be modest and not grind reps and just keep the stress low while trying to increase work capacity...this way there isn't much stress for the body to recover from therefore it can keep improving? I just did 6 sets of 5 overhead press @ 100lbs and I could've kept going but I figure to just slowly add more reps to this so it's less of a stressor on my body if I were to train closer to failure...this way the body can keep adapting and getting stronger...

very informative vid Greg! keep it up. enjoy the website and just subscribed to the channel since I've noticed you put up more videos. Lord willing one day i can meet/train/hire u for some help with some more strength progression. stay healthy, strong and fit! quick question. ever any thoughts of getting leaner and still competing? i bet u would do very well. not saying u need to

is there a period where the volume becomes enough where you can increase the weight? say you hit 50 total reps...is that the point where it might be good to increase the weight and start back at 25 reps? or do you recommend changing rep schemes? I'm just afraid of losing too much strength in the 5 rep max range if I'm hanging out in the 70%ish 1rm range for too long

i am sure that you are familiar with "concentrated loading". From what i understand this LTLE (Long Term Lag Effect) is mostly used for "explosive strength" (Strength Speed) or "quickness" (speed strength). Can it be used for Maximal Strength ?

can you also reap the benefits of some hypertrophy while training for work capacity? I been doing low volume high intensity stuff for a long time and this is a new stimulus to my body. Do you think I can get bigger and gain some size as I add more volume over time? I am starting at 3x8 and going to try to get up to 5 or 6 sets of 8 and then increase the weight. So kill 2 birds with 1 stone by increasing work capacity to be able to get stronger down the road and at the same time get some nice hypertrophy from the increased volume...

What about barbell complexes? Can they be a tool to increase both work capacity and aerobic system?

I love you and miss you

@GZCL

9 жыл бұрын

I will take you up on that offer.

@GZCL

9 жыл бұрын

Seriously, maybe later this year. It'd be awesome.

@lstergreen1825

9 жыл бұрын

***** can I increase work capacity in a defecit? How to know how fast to add volume?

Do i have to be in a bulk in order to do this , or can it be done at maintnance?

But is there really a way to not increase work capacity while progressing? I mean even when you just add weight to the bar you increase total volume. So in wich scenario wouldn´t you increase work capacity?

Crazy question: What are your thoughts on using meditation to train the parasympathetic nervous system for enhanced recovery?

@gabrielcuello8137

9 жыл бұрын

Hey there, first off great video :) now if I may, I just wanted to add that meditation is extremely beneficial to increasing your performance. I have done this for my contest prep and even with low calories I would still find the ability to get stronger. I believe its to do with calming your nerves and syncing the mind to muscle connection or neuromuscular efficiency and allowing you to perform with a clean and fresh start. I actually want to study more of this. I gained most of this knowledge through my psch degree. It really is cool to know how our minds and nervous systems can alter many things externally and internally. :) but yea try "tactical breathing"...

I thought my puppy was crying and i was like wtf ¬¬

one last question...I am coming off RPT and stalling out. Would you recommend just increasing the volume a little bit and dialing the intensity down a little so I can milk out more strength gains while simultaneously increasing volume. Then go back to RPT and see if I can improve? Then if I still stall just dial volume up big time and work in the 65% 1rm range and focus entirely on volume and not even worry about intensity? I feel that I am too weak and beginner to just focus on volume solely and can still benefit from some intensity and strength gains. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone sort of approach until I stall on both at that point increase work capacity. Thank you for your time Greg

@strongerbyscience

8 жыл бұрын

+macknumber9 I think your best bet would just be to get away from RPT. The volume and frequency are simply too low for most people.

Hey Greg -- sorry to comment on an older vid. I wanted to quickly follow up on your comment about increasing work capacity in the weight room. You recommended increasing "workload" by a certain percent. Is workload here measured by volume? Or are you using some other measurement? (good sets independent of weight, etc...)

@strongerbyscience

9 жыл бұрын

Matt Moreno good sets independent of load, but also volume load (sets x reps x weight). Though hard sets is a better predictor of hypertrophy, volume load gives you a better idea of the energetic demand of the training session.

would you recommend doing this on a surplus or cut or maintenance? I have been on a small surplus to bulk but I plateaued with my high intensity low volume lifts. I am now reducing the load to roughly 70% 1rm and trying to increase work capacity. Would it be wise to use this time to go on a slight cut or would I be better off eating above maintenance to help my body recover?

@strongerbyscience

8 жыл бұрын

+macknumber9 surplus would be best.

You mention interval training as it pertains to doing sprints. Can you comment on interval training as it pertains to barbell lifting. How you might construct a training session or groups of sessions that are interval based, but with the barbell exercises. I have some of my own theories and have used them in this fashion, but I would be interested in your thoughts as it pertains to rest to work ratios, loading intensity ranges, relative effort per bout, total time per exercise, frequency, etc. during an accumulation phase. Jason

@strongerbyscience

9 жыл бұрын

ArmstrongProds During an accumulation phase, I definitely think it's a good idea to do your accessories in a circuit (mimicking interval work) to build general work capacity (and a bit of specific work capacity). I really don't think the initial loads/intensities/rest intervals are overly important - just try to increase how much total work you can do in a limited time period week to week.

Hey Greggor. So I've been running a simple 5x5, training 3 days a week and squatting every session, benching 2x week. Gains are stalling. generally I work up to 80-85% or 1rm on 5th set of 5. So I am going to add more volume to my routine. How do you recommend going about this? Maybe add a 4th day of 5x5? Or maybe just keep training 3x week but add some more sets, so like 7x5? Also, does the weight stay the same on this extra work or should I lessen the intensity? Sorry for long question, just want to make sure i know what to do when it comes to increasing volume :D Thanks, man!!!!!!!!

@strongerbyscience

9 жыл бұрын

drop intensity, raise volume

@darius240z

9 жыл бұрын

***** thanks for the reply. bought your books and am in the process of reading them. also the free 28 programs is really nice!

@markcalleja8463

7 жыл бұрын

once you get your volume up from say 5x5 to 5x10 at 5 to 15 percent lower intensity over a month or 2 , do you slowly drop down the volume and increase inensity and get past your stalling weight . . . . i need to get past 100kg for 3 reps yeah its terible i know its been years ive been looking for answers in the wrong places reps sets magic programs ive always thought that linear progression and deloading working my way up again was the only way . . . until ive come arcoss greg and your strenght theory website which is hands down the best thing ive ever come across

Around 2:03 this starts sounding like a Rihanna video

@phillips8566

7 жыл бұрын

lmao seriously though, Greg's info is top-notch

More Greg videos plzzz

Question.....when you can no longer increase your workload after years of steady smart progression, could you "reset" it to lower volume and start all over again and keep making progress? Or is this a case of "point of no return" scenario where you must keep increasing the workload?

@strongerbyscience

8 жыл бұрын

+temu88 Nah, I think taking some time a bit easier can probably help re-sensitize you to a given workload. Assuming you're periodizing your training, you'll have periods of lower volume training built into your program as well to serve that purpose.

@temu88

8 жыл бұрын

+Strengtheory Thanks Greg for your answer. You're the best.

Greg, I'm not sure how cardio can help in this case. From what I understand, there is nothing about our heart of lungs that actually improve past some basic adaptation that happens initially. What drives breathing and heart-rate is not that our heart or lungs are unable to supply the needed oxygen and fuel to our muscles, because there is plenty of that, it's that our muscles are not able to cope with the demand placed on them and our heart and breathing rate increase as a result. In other words, our aerobic capacity isn't the limiting factor. We breathe hard and our heart beats faster as a response to our muscle being unable to uptake necessary fuel from our blood. Increase breathing and heart rate does help with this, but there is a limit. Doing LISS cardio isn't going to make our heart pump faster or make our lungs uptake more oxygen. We're not going to deliver more fuel to our muscle any faster as a result of cardio. What needs to happen is that we need more muscle so that we can uptake more fuel from our blood proportionally. Think of this as having a bigger sponge in water. The bigger the sponge, the more surface area, the more water it can absorb faster. Work capacity is mainly proportional to muscle mass, not based on our breathing and how well our heart pumps. I also may be wrong. If you can do a video on this topic explaining how this really works, I think it would be brilliant.

@strongerbyscience

9 жыл бұрын

Clobercow1 You're 100% right about the lungs. It's almost impossible to train hard enough that you can't oxygenate your blood effectively. If memory serves, when exercising near your VO2max, blood is already fully oxygenated by the time it's only about 1/3 of the way through your alveolar capillaries. As for gas delivery (cardiovascular factors), there are actually two potentially issues. 1) during exercise, venous blood coming from muscular capillary beds is almost entirely deoxygenated, so the aerobic adaptation of increased hematocrit (increased oxygen carrying capacity) helps. 2) There are also all the factors that help shift the balance from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism, which helps you accumulate less fatigue and recover faster (between sets and between workouts). This article has more info: www.strengtheory.com/avoiding-cardio-could-be-holding-you-back/

Love ya, ya big ole teddy bear :)

How would this apply to DUP?

@strongerbyscience

8 жыл бұрын

+Taylor Oxelgren the same way. You can just increase the rep ranges and/or do more sets with the same overall setup

wish found this video 10weeks earlier.. could do something then.. 4weeks out from meet

I sent an email but you haven't responded yet: When I follow the link to your "28 programs", the link doesn't work.

@blike22

9 жыл бұрын

I sent one on 25/1, titled "RE: Your Free Programs and Ebooks from Strengtheory‏"

Stringtheory/Strengtheory, are you into physics?

@strongerbyscience

9 жыл бұрын

reasonably so

Is it possible to increase work capacity while on a cut? E.g. a lift is stalling so you cut back weight 10% then gradually increase volume?

@strongerbyscience

8 жыл бұрын

+Thetarget1 yep

@michaelguggenberger419

8 жыл бұрын

But i thought that the Volume on a cut should not be increased because of the lower recovery ability. Or am i wrong? I am following a moderate/ low Volume plan and i am stalling atm. Increasing work capacity is what i would do in a Bulk now. But i am afraid to overreach when i do that on my diet.

@strongerbyscience

8 жыл бұрын

Michael Guggenberger it'll largely depend on where your work capacity is at now, as how much it'll take to push it up. If you're near the volume threshold you can barely recover from, then probably not; but most peoples' training volume tends to be low enough that they can increase it a bit in a cut

Increase 5% to 10% for each total workout volume or each individual exercise? Example pull ups my total work volume last week was 4000lbs. Should I am to hit 5 to 10% above this number or should I aim to increase my entire workload total for the whole workout of all 3 exercises that I perform?

@strongerbyscience

8 жыл бұрын

+macknumber9 total workout

Plateau breaking strategy, "lighten 5-15% and do more work". This sounds like reset and run-ups from Madcow's 5x5, which is supposed to allow 4-8 weeks before you have to reset again.

tryna git swolt