Workout of The week (#77)
Grease the Groove
Grease the groove is something Pavel Tsatsouline often talks about. This is typically done with pull-ups, pushups, kettlebell swings, but can be done with other exercise as well. The idea behind grease the groove is to get frequent repetition to improve your execution (skill) of the movement.
Want to get better at pull-ups? Do submaximal sets through the day everyday to “Grease the Groove” (GTG). This is something I implemented before to some extent intra-session. I would perform 5 chin ups between each set of pressing exercises. One day I made it a bit extreme and did 250 chin ups in just over an hour (broken into 50 sets of 5 between sets of various antagonist or core exercises).
You can use GTG for strength but also for mobility. If your hips are tight then performing 10-15 squats, lunges, cossack squats, wide stance lunges, etc. multiple times throughout the day can help mobilize the tissue and allow you to access greater ranges of motion.
Oftentimes people say “volume is king”, but frequency is also a great way to overload. You don’t always need to be adding sets or a ton of reps to increase volume. Adding frequency is essentially adding volume, but it isn’t nearly as stressful as taking extra sets to failure each day. It also allows you to practice more perfect reps, free from fatigue that can alter your technique.
The Workout
Today’s training is just a quick hitting lower body sesh. Try it with no rest, if you want to go heavier and generate some power, take 1-2 min between sets. It’s your rodeo cowboy.
KB Swing x 10
KB Front Rack Reverse Lunge x 5L/5R
Swing to Squat x 5
5 Rounds
I've heard Pavel Tsatsouline's name come up so many times, but I haven't looked into his methodology yet. I clearly should do so soon. The concept of "greasing the groove" is similar to my structured workouts, especially when I am combining bodyweight with dumbbell or kettlebell movements. I'll start with a set number of burpees, push ups and/or chin ups that I will perform in between sets of kb swings, devils presses and weighted squats/curls. It's a great way for me to ensure I'm doing a very high volume of bodyweight reps for hypertrophy, and also keep things interesting overall.