Activations, Mobilisations & Warmups

When most people think about warming up for any type of exercise, their go-to is usually performing cardio and/or stretching exercises, but the Strength System approach to warmups is a little bit different from this. 

It’s true that warmups should warm up your bodies, joints, and muscles, but for strength training the warmups should also prime your nervous system for the movements you are about to perform, and stimulate the muscles you will be using in that session. 

I recommend a 4 step approach to warming up, and this is something I have borrowed from strength rehab specialist Andrew Lock. 

1. Activate: the lifter should start the warmup with activation exercises to stimulate the targeted muscles for that session, with extra focus on postural muscles. The standard muscle activations that I get all of my athletes to perform will warm up the muscles around the spine (with core activations), the muscles surrounding the hips (like the glutes) and the muscles that surround and stabilise the shoulder joint (like the lats, rotator cuff muscles, and middle back muscles).
2. Mobilise: next they can perform movement-based mobility drills specific to the ranges of motion required in that session. For some lifters this will be a few quick movements, for others it might involve more targeted mobility drills. 
3. Warmup: after they have activated and mobilised, the athlete can perform the main movement with the lightest weight possible, then slowly work their way up in small increments until they reach the working weight. They should do this slowly, perform perfect reps, and earn the right to add weight to the bar. 
4. Train: now that the athlete has warmed up, they can perform their working sets for that exercise, then include a small warmup for all subsequent exercises. There is no need to perform a full warmup for each exercise, but a lifter should never approach an exercise cold, and always perform at least a couple of sets with a lighter weight for each new movement in a session. 

The idea of a warmup is to stimulate and not to annihilate. The lifter should prime their body for the top sets, but shouldn’t be reaching these in a fatigued state. As they get closer to their working sets, I recommend tapering the warmups down so the lifter is performing fewer reps as the warmup sets get heavier.

You may notice that I have not included any static stretching in this protocol. This is something I avoid prior to training. Static stretching is something many people will include in their warmups to lengthen “tight” muscles and help achieve the right positions in their exercises. However, tight muscles are tight for a reason, and a common pattern I see when coaching lifters is that certain muscles become tight because neighbouring muscles are underperforming. If we focus on stretching the tight muscle, we will not address the underlying issue. This is why I prefer to take the approach of using muscle activation exercises for the underperforming muscles, and avoid static stretching prior to training.

Here is an example of how you can warm someone up for a 100kg squat: 

1. Optional: Core Activation
2. Optional: Glute Activation
3. Optional: Hip stretch (sitting in the bottom of a squat)
4. Optional: Shoulder mobility exercises
5. Bodyweight x 20 reps 
6. Empty barbell x 10 reps
7. 40kg x 8 reps
8. 60kg x 6 reps
9. 70kg x 4 reps
10. 80kg x 3 reps
11. 90kg x 2 reps
12. Optional: 95kg x 1 rep
13. *100kg working set/s*

Here is an example of how you can warm someone up for a 35kg squat:

1. Optional: Core Activation
2. Optional: Glute Activation
3. Optional: Hip stretch (sitting in the bottom of a squat)
4. Optional: Shoulder mobility exercises
5. Bodyweight x 20 reps
6. 10kg barbell x 10 reps (or a goblet squat if unavailable)
7. 20kg x 8 reps
8. 25kg x 6 reps
9. 30kg x 4 reps
10. 32.5kg x 2 reps
11. *35kg working set/s*

This is just a guideline, some people like to warmup longer than this, while others prefer to keep the warmups a bit shorter to avoid fatiguing themselves before their working sets. As you can see, we are not using percentages to calculate the warmups. This becomes difficult when we consider the increments of the weight plates in the gym, where most gyms only have 1.25kg or 2.5kg plates, which makes it impossible to use exact percentages.

Load Calculations: How to Interpret & Autoregulate

We have already talked about how important it is to train at the correct intensity, and an essential component of this is choosing the correct max at the start of the program. If you overestimate your athlete’s strength at the start of the program and put in a number that they can’t lift, then the programmed weights will be too high (or impossible) for them to perform properly. Even if you choose a max weight that the lifter has successfully lifted, but the lift was performed with bad technique or a long time ago when they were stronger, then it is still unlikely that they will be able to perform the prescribed weights with good technique. For this reason you should only use max lifts that the lifter has actually performed, performed recently, and performed with reasonably good technique.    

If the lifter has already started the program and you realise that the numbers are off, it’s not too late. You can go in and reduce the weights in the program without it generating a brand new program if you keep every other variable the same. 

The first few weeks are designed to be easy, the lifters should not reach full training capacity until weeks 3-4 of each training block. If they are missing reps or their technique is breaking down early on in the program, back off straight away, reduce the weight and then continue. 

Please note: you can also edit the weight manually and write in the weights you want, rather than using the calculator. 

Remember, technique is everything. If the lifter is achieving all of the reps but the technique is breaking down to achieve these reps, know that this is limiting their progress, so the best thing is to reduce the weight.

Load Selections for Accessory Exercises

It is impossible to predict the loads of the accessory movements as there are too many variables from lifter to lifter, and between different pieces of equipment. The pulley systems on different machines can completely change the loading parameters and the way the force of the weight is transferred to the lifter’s body. The main thing to focus on is that your lifter is performing the exercises with correct technique. 

In regards to increasing the load each week, they can either increase the weight each week (especially for bigger exercises like squats and deadlifts, a weight increase per week can be very achievable), however for smaller exercises (i.e dumbbells), this isn’t always achievable, and in this case it’s recommended to progress each in week by adding an additional rep or reps.

It is difficult to prescribe weights for these movements because strength can vary from lifter to lifter, and different machines at different gyms will vary in the load increments available. So instead, you can periodise effort using RPE. For accessory movements, you can consider using the following progression within each training block: 

• Week 1: RPE 7 or 2-3RIR
• Week 2: RPE 8 or 1-2 RIR
• Week 3: RPE 9 or 0-1RIR
• Week 4: Subject to Deload

Deloads

A deload is a designated period in a lifter’s training where they temporarily reduce their training volume and/or training intensity to give them a “recovery boost” and allow them to continue training at a given capacity. This is not the same as detraining or ceasing training altogether. The athlete will still train during a deload, and with my typical approach to deloads my athletes will still be training at a high intensity, just with reduced volume to put a particular focus on recovery.

Usually this happens at the end of a 4, 8 or 12 week training block, but it can also be added into the training at other times as needed. In a sense, you have to earn the right to deload, and I like to follow the mantra of, “you have to load before you can deload”. Absolute beginners who are not pushing their bodies to full capacity will not need to deload, but on the other hand, for intermediate to advanced athletes who are working closer to their capacity you will probably need to factor in more frequent deloads. It is another recovery tool that a lifter can use in addition to adequate sleep, rest, stress management, smart programming, and good nutrition. 

For the majority of my lifters, I will include a deload in the fourth and final week of their training block. In this week, their intensity will continue to increase, but I will halve their training volume across all exercises. 

For my elite level strength athletes, I will usually factor deloads into their program a lot more frequently – for example, I might reduce the load and volume for each of their compound lifts, every 2-3 weeks. 

If I’m training beginners, elderly, youth, or anyone who is not training close to their capacity, I will follow the approach of “you have to load before you deload” and won’t deload unless there is a special reason to.

The Importance of Technique

Out of all the training variables that we can manipulate, lifting technique should be one of our highest priorities at any stage of a program.

Using the best technique for your body is going to:

1. Allow your athlete to lift the most weight possible
2. Allow your athlete to lift the weight as safely as possible
3. Allow your athlete to effectively target different parts of their body or improve particular movement patterns

Good technique is a non-negotiable of strength training. Regardless of what the end goal is, lifting with correct technique is the fastest, safest, and best way to achieve long-lasting results.

You should always select appropriate and conservative loads that allow the lifter to move with and practice good technique.  

Another principle that absolutely every lifter must follow, is to stop immediately if they experience any pain or think that they might have injured themselves while training. Pain is not a normal part of training, and it’s usually a sign that something is going wrong. A lifter is always better off stopping and taking a step back when they feel pain, rather than pushing through the pain and risking injuring themselves further. 

At every stage in the training program the lifter should continue to attempt to perfect the technique for each exercise. The reason I say “attempt” is that it will never be perfect, but we should still try. By trying your best to master the technique in each session, you will continue to improve each week and put yourself in the best possible position to achieve great results. This is why load selection is so important, choosing weights that will be challenging but will still allow you to complete every rep of each set without missing a rep, and without your technique breaking down.

What is periodisation?

Periodisation for sport is often defined as the long term manipulation and logical sequencing of training variables to maximise performance at a specific point in time. So in other words, it is the long term training plan, where you can break an athlete’s training up into different phases so you can focus on each of the different physical qualities that will help them reach their main goal by a particular date.

Undulating

By definition, undulating means to move with an up and down motion. With regards to programming, this refers to an undulation of the training focus (and thus the programming variables, most commonly the rep selection to be performed).

Undulating Periodisation is a term that has been popularised in strength training circles in recent years, however, as a concept, this style of training has been used by strength coaches for a long time. There are three popular and effective models of undulating periodisation:

• DAILY UNDULATING PERIODISATION: is a daily change to the training focus which allows a lifter to train multiple training adaptations within the training week. Often this is done by varying the rep ranges, which allows for increased frequency of each specific exercise, so that each lift is performed multiple times per week at a variety of rep ranges. 
• WEEKLY UNDULATING PERIODISATION: is a weekly change to the training focus to allow the lifter to alternate the focus between different training adaptations from week to week.  
• MONTHLY UNDULATING PERIODISATION: is a monthly change to the training focus that allows a lifter to simultaneously develop metabolic and neural adaptations over the entire macro cycle. This is commonly used in the context of hypertrophy training as popularised by the late Charles Poliquin.

Block

With block periodisation, we focus on training different motor qualities individually and within distinct training phases (or blocks). Each training block will have a different and distinct focus, goal, and targeted training attribute.

Linear / Traditional

Traditional Periodisation is often referred to as linear periodisation, and it involves a very obvious, stepwise and linear decrease in volume and increase in intensity over time.

Conjugate

With the conjugate method, multiple motor qualities are trained simultaneously. But rather than trying to focus on all the different qualities at once, we pick one and emphasise that, while the other qualities are still trained, but with much less focus. This way we can focus on improving one thing at a time, without neglecting our other strength or fitness attributes.

Structural Balance

A structurally balanced approach to training is one of the cornerstones of the Strength System method, and a big driver of its success. This approach means that one of the primary goals of training is for a person’s strength and muscle mass to be perfectly balanced around each individual joint, between different joints, and from body segment to body segment. For every single athlete and client that I train, structural balance is factored into their training, no matter what their end goal is. Even though our bodies can never be perfectly balanced, structural balance is still something we should aim for, since this approach will allow us to get the absolute most out of our training.

You will notice that the exercises in these programs have all been selected with this in mind.

Training Volume

Training volume, or volume load, is the amount of work that a lifter performs in a training session – or in other words, the amount of reps and sets performed at a given load. 

Volume Load = Reps x Sets x Weight Lifted

Repetitions

A rep is one complete motion of an exercise. When we discuss rep ranges, we are referring to the number of complete reps performed in a given set. There are particular rep ranges that have traditionally been associated with different training adaptations: 1-5 reps for strength, 6-12 reps for hypertrophy, and 15+ reps for muscular endurance. These are useful to know, but they are not hard and fast rules.

Sets

A set is one group of consecutive repetitions performed. Varying the number of sets that a lifter performs will alter the volume dose that they have in each session, and this can be a great way to increase the dose of training without having to change the rep ranges used.

Training Intensity

Training intensity is not considered to be the same thing as effort. Effort refers to the overall exertion a lifter puts into a set or workout, while intensity specifically refers to the relative load a lifter is using for a given exercise. There are a few different ways that you can prescribe and refer to intensity, three common approaches you might see and use are percentages, RPE and RIR.

Percentages

One of the more objective ways to quantify intensity is to use strength percentages. This is usually a percentage of an athlete’s 1-repetition maximum (1RM) for a particular exercise and this is used to calculate the weights they should be using for the training rep range of the exercise prescribed.

RPE/RIR

RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion, which reflects a lifter’s perceived amount of effort they put into each rep, set, or session. RPE is usually graded from 1-10, with 1 being the absolute easiest, and 10 being total failure. RIR stands for Repetitions In Reserve – or in other words, the number of reps a lifter has “left in the tank” at the end of a set. If your lifter does a set of 10 at a weight they could have performed 12 reps on, this is considered a 2 RIR set. Both of these are subjective measures, as they rely on the lifter’s own perception of their effort levels.

Training Frequency

This refers to the number of training sessions per week, or it can also be used to track how many times a lifter trains a particular body part or movement per week.

Rest

Rest periods usually refers to the rest between sets within a training session. Using a timer to track the rest between each training set will help athletes to stay consistent and get enough recovery within their session, so I recommend that every athlete measures and tracks their rest periods. Larger and stronger athletes might need longer rest (e.g. 5-15 minutes between heavy sets), compared to smaller and less strong athletes who can usually get away with shorter rest periods (e.g. 3-6 minutes between heavy sets).