Tag: strength-training

Adding Macrofactor to my training has been a game changer in that I see myself being able to reach a level of leanness that has eluded me in the past.  While I met my initial weight loss goals using Macrofactor and the Max Shred program I think it will be possible to continue on and increase my speed and decrease the effort it requires to cover an ultra distance by dropping a few more pounds.  While it’s a slight setback in running progressions, I’m trying to take a long term view of how I can best reach my goal and improving my strength to bodyweight ratio will definitely be a large step in the right direction. 

I therefore decided to keep doing enough running and hiking to maintain my ability to complete a 50K at my current ability level and focus instead on getting a bit leaner before scaling up to a 50 miler attempt. I tend to find weight loss easier when my priority shifts to strength and thus was seeking a more lifting centric training block.  I settled on AthleanX’s Monster Maker program for several reasons.  The program is based on the conjugate training method and, while total body focused, it allows you to choose a muscle group you would like to prioritize for a little extra love.  I chose the back focus.  The muscles of the back and posterior chain are critical to maintaining proper posture as a race progresses and are a muscle group that most could stand to focus on a little more.  My idea is to use the duration of the program to lose some additional weight while making myself more durable for when I start scaling up the mileage later in the year. 

I’m in the final week of Month 1 and really enjoying the program.  I’ve never done a program with an Anterior/Posterior split before but am finding that I really like it.  I’ve also really liked the dynamic lower days which contain speed work and other movements designed to build explosive power.  I’m looking forward to the next 2 months and coming out of this block with a more favorable strength to bodyweight ratio. 

Over the course of the summer I decided to run the AthleanX Max Shred program as a compliment to all of the hiking and other outdoor activities I find myself involved in and have been combining that with use of the Macrofactor app to lean out a bit.  So far, the pair has been a great combination. I’ve managed to shed a few pounds and I’ve noticed work capacity improvements from trying to complete the program at alarm level 4.  More importantly, with the use of the Macrofactor app, I’ve been able to drop weight at a rate that I am able to preserve muscle at and actually think I may have even made some gains from the large number of inverted rows present in the program so far. 

Month 2 nicely builds on the foundation laid out in month 1, but pushes you harder by adding a second lift to each day’s workout and changing from 3 to 4 strength training workouts.  It’s a nice way to progressively add difficulty to the program.   The hundreds of reps of bodyweight squats and jumping exercises that are programmed each week have also been a great way to enhance muscular endurance in the legs. 

I’m getting ready to close out month 2 and move onto month 3, which ups the difficulty again, by replacing the bodyweight movements entirely with lifting based circuits.  I really like the way the program has phased in an increased amount of lifting starting from just bodyweight in week 1 and then having the user perform one lift per workout in weeks 2-4.  In weeks 5-8 it progresses to 2 lifts per workout, and finally in weeks 9-12 is composed entirely of lifting in a circuit-based fashion.  For an experienced lifter the bodyweight elements provide a nice break for the joints and tendons while still getting results and for a novice it’s a nice way to gradually ease into lifting.  A great program so far.

I enjoyed the program and it worked as advertised in that I was able to make a modest improvement to my squat and maintain strength in my other lifts.  For the bench press, the reps were coming easier towards the end of the program and I’m at a point where I can do more reps with the same weight but probably not quite ready to add more weight to the bar yet.  I was also able to make improvements in my run times and my 10K time started to improve by the halfway point in the program.  The chassis integrity days were awesome and I found them a great way to train the core.

The training was effective, but I admit that I did have to put a focus on proper recovery to perform well in the program and I had to keep my sleep and nutrition on point.  I often like to go hiking on the weekends and using a couple of rest days to hike and not just focus on recovery combined with the need to wake a bit earlier than usual for a few days did have me feeling a bit fatigued toward the end.  While this is not a fault of the program, it is a training consideration in terms of when to run a training block like this as training often has to be balanced with other activities. 

I see myself using MTI programs again in the future, but given I have an active summer of adventures planned, I may modify my plan to run the MTI Max Effort Strength and Aerobic Capacity plan as a next step and opt for a training regimen that has a bit less intensity in it so I can better pair my training with other physical activities I enjoy without burning out.  Next steps will be laid out soon. 

Deadlifts have been a part of my strength training routine for quite some time now, but for the longest time I performed them with a barbell and never gave any thought to trying a trap bar.  Prior to starting my current round of base-building I did a 3-month strength focused block where I gave a trap bar a try for the first time.  The idea to give it a try was largely inspired by a lot of the research compiled in this article on the trap bar authored for Stronger by Science:

Trap Bar Deadlifts are Underrated

While this is just my personal experience and therefore anecdotal, my experience was a positive one and I can see myself using the trap bar again in future training blocks.  For the duration of the block I used the trap bar in the low handle position to try to maximize the hinge effect.  I found that:

1. Less fatigue: Deadlifting with the trap bar was less fatiguing for me.  Working out the day after a heavy deadlift session was always a bit of a challenge as I always felt a bit more fatigued than I would after any other type of strength session, which often impacted my desire to run the next day. When I switched to the trap bar, I felt I still solidly worked out my posterior chain but I did not feel the same level of post workout fatigue which allowed me to push harder on the next day’s work out.
2. More forgiving of form: While properly positioning the spine and bracing your core is essential before any lift, the trap bar is a bit more forgiving if everything is not perfect.  This made me a little more comfortable challenging myself to get in the extra rep or two as even if my form degraded a bit because of tiredness, the same likelihood of injury was not there. I was a bit more comfortable pushing myself closer to form failure which in turn helped make for a better workout. 
3. More quad activation: Given how quad destroying running downhill segments can be, I found this to be an added benefit and not a downside.  It turned the deadlift into a bit of an “accessory” exercise for the quadriceps which I feel has had a positive impact on running hills. 

Given my experiences I plan to use the trap bar deadlift as my primary deadlift variation going forward, particularly for the months of the year where I will be more running focused as the lower level of fatigue is a major advantage. I will likely not abandon the straight bar deadlift entirely though.  I can see myself occasionally going back to it in strength focused blocks or if I hit a plateau with the trap bar to hit the muscles in a slightly different way.