armor building formula - weeks 1 and 2

Tldr its been great. I started with 12kg for all movements and have graduated to 16-20kg for most at this point. Borrowing from the armor building formula 2, there is no reason why an entire workout has to be 1 weight. Its whatever you can do at that time. Even if it means dropping weight mid workout.

Results 2 weeks in...

- general energy is way up. Especially after I stopped adding sets to failure of other movements after the main abf work was done. 

- shoulders are slightly rounder. This is a genuine surprise given the low weight im using.

- my mid back is always sore. Always.

- im ravenous haha. Minus some fasting attempts im hungry all the time. I do my best to feed that impulse with whole foods.

Alterations

- im using the single kettlebell version. The double feels a little too sketchy right now. But its a good version to graduate to.

- every 5 days, I throw in 2 sets of nordic curls to failure. It costs little and feels amazing.

- if I have the energy mid day, I've thrown in a second kettlebell workout that consists of big whole body movements. I jealously protect my lower back if this is on the menu.

Alternatively, I get a walk in with my dog to get some sun.

Off days

Mobility, always. This consists of 5-10min sled pulls, glute work with bands, and a series of hip openers. Again if energy persists during the day, ill walk the dog to get more sun. Im not against getting in some horizontal pressing work via pusbups done for EMOM rounds.

training arcs, not mesocycles

Ask yourself. What did Naruto do when training for a rasengan? Yhe answer is not, a bunch of random shit. He spammed shadow clones who all practiced the same movement to cheat the frequency and time of what would normally take years. What happened when he was done with this arc? Did he keep training the same movement in the same way? Hell no. He USED it while learning other new techniques - often spamming the same high frequency strategy.

I digress. This is not a parable for frequency as much as sticking to a program until you have earned the right to deviate.

Case and point, the armor building formula is a lot of kettlebell clean, press, and squat. My first few weeks, I added hypertrophy work for dips and rows and nordics. And it was fine. Things were fine. But there is a cost to going to failure mentally and physically and I paid the troll toll. Versus, dropping those movements and focusing on the main story arc, I've been able to push more weight and more volume every time I step in my garage. 

I get weird vibes of I can do this forever meaning this is fun and safe. Will I? Prob not. Dan john himself doesn't suggest that you do unless you work in deloads. The arcs that dan outlines more so bounce between his different programs.

- armor

- easy strength

- mass made simple

Etc

assisted step up rdl = money

Every once in a while you try out an exercise that looks like it will fit your needs, and it far far exceeds your expectations. Today, we have the assisted step up rdl.

Steps up a weak point for me because of quad and knee tendon strength in certain ranges of motion, but unlike normal step ups this is almost entirely a glute and hamstring exercise. Kind of like a pistol on a platform, the step is allowing for more tension in the targeted area without the added complexity of balancing or positioning the opposite leg.

How to do

1)Get on top of a step/bench next to a power rack (or otherwise stationary object you can hold on to). Grab on to the structure with the hand opposite of the leg worked.

2)Hinge forward with a single leg. Let the other leg drop straight down. Continue until you cannot hinge through the stretch any more.

3)come back up and repeat. Switch legs. Go nuts.

Why this rules

Its a back safe machine like way to burn out your legs after something more dynamic or strength oriented has tapped out. I love that shit. By itself, this would be an easy hinge. Paired with other movements it is a golden way to build muscle. 

S tier movement (note under the conditions listed above).

Eugene Tao and barbells. the edge lord has a point

A few years ago, Eugene Tao released a video with a deliberately inflammatory title: i stopped using barbells and you should too.

CLUTCH. PEARLS.

The actual argument within is much more moderate. If he can replace a barbell movement for himself or his clients, he does. I've also found this to be thr case, but it isn't a baby and bathwater situation. Its user specific. A kettlebell clean is not 'better' than a barbell clean. Apples and oranges. Both movements have value and offer something unique.

How this came up for me was with the barbell floor press. For weeks, my right shoulder hasn't been feeling super batman. I adjusted by taking my grip in (i.e. close grip floor press) which bought me another week before that too felt wonky. So what now? The weight isn't heavy yet. My muscles have the capacity but the joint does not. I flipped the script and switched to a ring pushup. Sane overall movement pattern with a larger range of motion and larger freedom of movement. Immediate relief. My shoulder is still a little inflamed from the work I tried to do, but that is easily fixable with some rest and light movement.

So what is the lesson here? The same lesson as always - movement dogmatism isn't a good call unless your sport demands it. For most of gen pop, this means nothing is required. If barbell movements feel good, have at it. If they dont, there are a legion of options.

spam activation

The big sexy that keeps coming into vogue is spammed reps for growth. Almost a decade ago, it was alex leonidus talking about nucleus overload - i.e. taking a single body part and spamming daily reps for a period of time (30 days +). Concept being that the repeated signal creates new satellite cells in the area making it easier to grow when heavier weight training is applied. The frequent example used is ex athletes like soccer players/swimmers growing their legs/shoulders respectively after they retire and train those body parts.

This is all good stuff, but what about if you are recovering from an injury? What of growth is desired not because of athletics or looks but survival? Same concept, different approach.

Instead of performing muscle building movements your body cant handle yet, perform movements that activate the targeted area. Do it daily.

Examples using myself, my back (herniations) and knee (god knows what) have been issues for years. My best friends are to activate the muscles around both body parts.

- Glutes.

- Hams.

- Quads.

- Abs.

This doesn't NOT take more than 10min a day. For the time investment this pays dividends.

Example warmup, 1-2 sets each

Glute bridges

Light cable row

Band leg extensions 

Band shoulder press

Jefferson curl progressions

Calf raise to tib raise 

Thoracic pushups

Glute walks

when you cant feel it, hold it

Since my daily work resembles mobility and strength, it is imperative I actually FEEL the target muscles working. I.e. this is not a 3 rep max squat where I need to move as much weight as far as possible. Im building control, stability, strength, and muscle - in that order. This morning I wanted to bail from two movements i couldn't feel and suspected my legs locking up from the effort before I ran across a great idea. If you cant work it, hold it. 

Isometrics are awesome because you can force contractions at any range of motion. Instead of adding speed and movement when a muscle isn't firing, hold still and force it to fire. This is like laying the foundation for future movement.

expanding the point where volume hurts

Discomfort at different volumes is not an on or off switch. It is a spectrum. Rather, the joint prep and mobility work i do on the reg allows me into positions and strength movements i couldn't have sneered at 6 months ago. BUT! My weaker areas - back, right knee - have a tolerance threshold to volume after which im just doing damage.

The goal here isn't to avoid those positions. Exact opposite. Get in volume while there is tolerance, then stop or perform regressed movements (better!) when shit gets uncomfortable. Workout to workout, try to expand the threshold where those positions arent working.

Example

A few weeks ago, my right knee tapped out of goblet squats around 3 sets. The tightness and discomfort was at the top half of the movement, so I switched to unweighted duck walks and continued the workout. Problem fucking solved.

Fast forward to today, I was able to knock out 6 sets of b stance kettlebell thrusters with 0 discomfort. Conversely, i lasted 2 follow up sets with Bulgarian split squats before my right knee decided it was done. No problem. I did sets with my left leg only.