Currently have no gym access due to staying in an isolated area for the next 6 weeks. Any idea on a solid calisthenics protocol (there’s an area with dip and pull up bars near me) to maintain or even build some strength and mass when I’m up here?
Absolutely, and I will go one better and create a formal guide on this in the future (I have clients who are always on the move and we need to build contigency plans in place).
You best bet is going to be:
- buy a jump rope for conditioning (you can jump rope in a very small confined space and still get a lot of good qualities - refer to my jump rope article for all the benefits).
- I would bring gymnastics rings with you too that you can complete pull ups and dips with.
An example session structure:
A) Split squat (2-3x as many reps as possible with the heaviest weighted object you can find in your area).
B) Pull Up variation (Wide Grip, Chin, Ring variation) 3x sets to form failure
C) Dip variation 3x sets to form failure.
This will take you a whole 15 minutes to complete, run that 3x per week and that's a barebones session with next to 0 equipment.
I tend to like to run these full body, and you can always look on marketplace etc in the area if you want to buy a super cheap second hand set of dumbbells etc (I always do this when I am away, and have even bought bicycles and donated them to the homeless once I finish my trip).
Last month I asked about the Elite Gas Tank Protocol—specifically, I mentioned being able to hold ~700 watts but feeling completely wrecked afterward (nausea, lying down during rest), even though my heart rate stayed around 170 bpm and didn’t hit my usual max. You suggested the limiter might be muscular endurance or power rather than heart/lung output.
New question for June:
Do you have an example of how to structure a repeat-style session on the assault bike or rower to address that kind of limitation? (Interval duration, rest periods, sets/reps?) Also, how should I progress these sessions over time, and how do I know when I'm ready to transition back to the full Elite Gas Tank Protocol?
My suggestion for you would be to use a chest strap when you are doing this type of session and you can simply do the following threshold sessions:
1. Slowly climb up until your heart rate is in the 90% Max zone, this might take you longer to do, but don't go all out from the start, just keep a consistent pace and gradually increase until your heart rate begins to climb.
2. You have a couple of options, you can 'touch' 90% of max heart rate, then lower back down to 70% as recovery and build back up again. Another option is to climb up to 90% then steady speed down to 80% then back up to 90% (this is a fucking brutal session).
You can run a session like this for 10-20 minutes continuous, and this should mitigate the issues you are running into.
Because I haven't tested you personally and for some of you, you will need individualised sessions this would be my starting point if I were you.
Hey, quick question - what is the science behind why the plyo goes in the same cluster as the lower body strength lift, as opposed to supersetting the lower and upper strength lift and doing the plyo as a separate cluster?
VO2 max can be measured with a 12 minute run test (however if you haven’t run for a long time wouldn’t recommend doing this).
Can also be done in a lab on a bike, which is a safer way to do things.
Depending on your level of fitness and training age, at 59 I would be looking at simply slowly chipping away at your strength improvements, but put a big emphasis on moving as much as possible daily.
Walking in particular is a very low hanging fruit that can yield a tonne of benefit.
my question centres around proper load management. So I train muay thai 3x a week and do the anabolic sessions 3x a week + 1x a week elite gas tank protocol.
In my case, the intensity of the muay thai sessions are currently not up to me. Sparring (Thursdays) are usually 'lighter' in the sense of pure intensity, but the other two days can either be just drills but intense pad work for an hour straight.
Given this, how would I direct my load management? What goes behind proper load management? When do you dial back vs dial up?
I would test at most every 12 weeks, but it's better to do it every 6 months.
The guys I work with have specific strengths and weaknesses, so we might test their weaknesses more regularly (12 week basis), but anything less than 12 weeks is a bit excessive unless you're an elite athlete.
I’ve been dealing with full-body stiffness, muscle pain, and cramping for over 2 weeks now. It’s not regular post-workout soreness - more like built-up tension, especially after switching from a year of PPL to your new (lethal haha) plan.
The worst tightness is in my lats, which makes lifting and boxing (amateur) training really tough since my whole body feels locked up. I only managed a few sessions before it escalated. I literally feel pain when I try to stretch my lats. Other muscles just feel sore - like I trained yesterday - but in reality, I’ve been resting for the past 2 weeks after only 2 weeks of the new plan.
Do you think this is from the sudden training switch or lack of proper recovery?
Also, how can I work on becoming more flexible and less stiff overall? Would you recommend stretching or something else for now?
For context, I’m 18yo and was already super stiff and in pain for a while before this - I just kept training through it until it got worse.
Full body stiffness is usually an indication that the work you are doing > what your body can currently tolerate.
Whenever someone comes to me with an injury, its usually because the load they did 4 weeks prior has been too much for what they can handle.
1) you're trying a new training system (new stimulus).
2) You are training a lot if boxing + trying to do a rather intermediate style of training.
My advice would be:
a) Walk more (you're probably just training and sitting on your ass, like most of us are these days, walking will flush your legs and are one of the best active recovery tools.
b) Make your striking sessions far easier, dont push as hard, take it easier for the next 4 weeks.
c) Scale down the intensity in the gym, don't push close to failure for the next 4 weeks so your body can adapt.
Once you have this settled, you will feel less stiff, and you may not even need to stretch at all.
If you have tight lats, doing lat pulldowns with full ROM + dead hangs can work really well.
But I would say your biggest issue from reading your question is poor load management.
Hello Jack,
Currently have no gym access due to staying in an isolated area for the next 6 weeks. Any idea on a solid calisthenics protocol (there’s an area with dip and pull up bars near me) to maintain or even build some strength and mass when I’m up here?
Thank you man!
Absolutely, and I will go one better and create a formal guide on this in the future (I have clients who are always on the move and we need to build contigency plans in place).
You best bet is going to be:
- buy a jump rope for conditioning (you can jump rope in a very small confined space and still get a lot of good qualities - refer to my jump rope article for all the benefits).
- I would bring gymnastics rings with you too that you can complete pull ups and dips with.
An example session structure:
A) Split squat (2-3x as many reps as possible with the heaviest weighted object you can find in your area).
B) Pull Up variation (Wide Grip, Chin, Ring variation) 3x sets to form failure
C) Dip variation 3x sets to form failure.
This will take you a whole 15 minutes to complete, run that 3x per week and that's a barebones session with next to 0 equipment.
I tend to like to run these full body, and you can always look on marketplace etc in the area if you want to buy a super cheap second hand set of dumbbells etc (I always do this when I am away, and have even bought bicycles and donated them to the homeless once I finish my trip).
Hope this heads you in the right direction.
Thank you very much Jack!
Hey Jack!
Last month I asked about the Elite Gas Tank Protocol—specifically, I mentioned being able to hold ~700 watts but feeling completely wrecked afterward (nausea, lying down during rest), even though my heart rate stayed around 170 bpm and didn’t hit my usual max. You suggested the limiter might be muscular endurance or power rather than heart/lung output.
New question for June:
Do you have an example of how to structure a repeat-style session on the assault bike or rower to address that kind of limitation? (Interval duration, rest periods, sets/reps?) Also, how should I progress these sessions over time, and how do I know when I'm ready to transition back to the full Elite Gas Tank Protocol?
My suggestion for you would be to use a chest strap when you are doing this type of session and you can simply do the following threshold sessions:
1. Slowly climb up until your heart rate is in the 90% Max zone, this might take you longer to do, but don't go all out from the start, just keep a consistent pace and gradually increase until your heart rate begins to climb.
2. You have a couple of options, you can 'touch' 90% of max heart rate, then lower back down to 70% as recovery and build back up again. Another option is to climb up to 90% then steady speed down to 80% then back up to 90% (this is a fucking brutal session).
You can run a session like this for 10-20 minutes continuous, and this should mitigate the issues you are running into.
Because I haven't tested you personally and for some of you, you will need individualised sessions this would be my starting point if I were you.
Hey, quick question - what is the science behind why the plyo goes in the same cluster as the lower body strength lift, as opposed to supersetting the lower and upper strength lift and doing the plyo as a separate cluster?
You should be doing the jumps when you are as fresh as possible.
The way I like to do it is as follows (as I am warming up for lower body strength).
Lets use squat for example.
1. Warm Up Squat (Bar x10).
2. First Jump Set
3. Warm Up Squat (50kg x 5)
3. Second Jump Set
Then when you are doing working sets:
1. Jump first
2. Then heavy squat.
3. Rest
4. Jump again
5. Heavy squat
repeat.
If you do it after max strength your power output wont be as effective.
Okay perfect, makes sense 👍🏼
Some of the 1% goals are probably a little too much for a 59 year old. How do I know what to shoot for?
Also, how does an average person measure VO2 max?
I would be putting more emphasis on the basics.
VO2 max can be measured with a 12 minute run test (however if you haven’t run for a long time wouldn’t recommend doing this).
Can also be done in a lab on a bike, which is a safer way to do things.
Depending on your level of fitness and training age, at 59 I would be looking at simply slowly chipping away at your strength improvements, but put a big emphasis on moving as much as possible daily.
Walking in particular is a very low hanging fruit that can yield a tonne of benefit.
Hey Jack,
my question centres around proper load management. So I train muay thai 3x a week and do the anabolic sessions 3x a week + 1x a week elite gas tank protocol.
In my case, the intensity of the muay thai sessions are currently not up to me. Sparring (Thursdays) are usually 'lighter' in the sense of pure intensity, but the other two days can either be just drills but intense pad work for an hour straight.
Given this, how would I direct my load management? What goes behind proper load management? When do you dial back vs dial up?
I hope my question made sense.
Load management comes down to looking at your load DAYS.
This means look at your Monday - Sunday, mark down the sessions you are doing and the intensity of each session.
Break them up into low, moderate and high intensity sessions.
If you are doing 3x muay thai + 3x anabolic + 1 elite gas tank an example of how you could curate this:
M- Anabolic + Easy Muay Thai (Moderate day)
T- Elite Gas Tank (High intensity day)
W- Low intensity cardio / muay thai (low intensity day)
Th- Sparring + Anabolic 2 (high intensity day)
F- Muay Thai easy (low intensity)
Sa- Anabolic 3 (moderate day)
Su- Rest
Dial back:
- Feel sore and stiff all the time
- getting sick all the time
Dial up:
- Tolerating training well and not feeling sick or sore always.
How often should we test are ‘lethal standards’ /1 rep maxes?
I would test at most every 12 weeks, but it's better to do it every 6 months.
The guys I work with have specific strengths and weaknesses, so we might test their weaknesses more regularly (12 week basis), but anything less than 12 weeks is a bit excessive unless you're an elite athlete.
Hey Jack,
I’ve been dealing with full-body stiffness, muscle pain, and cramping for over 2 weeks now. It’s not regular post-workout soreness - more like built-up tension, especially after switching from a year of PPL to your new (lethal haha) plan.
The worst tightness is in my lats, which makes lifting and boxing (amateur) training really tough since my whole body feels locked up. I only managed a few sessions before it escalated. I literally feel pain when I try to stretch my lats. Other muscles just feel sore - like I trained yesterday - but in reality, I’ve been resting for the past 2 weeks after only 2 weeks of the new plan.
Do you think this is from the sudden training switch or lack of proper recovery?
Also, how can I work on becoming more flexible and less stiff overall? Would you recommend stretching or something else for now?
For context, I’m 18yo and was already super stiff and in pain for a while before this - I just kept training through it until it got worse.
Full body stiffness is usually an indication that the work you are doing > what your body can currently tolerate.
Whenever someone comes to me with an injury, its usually because the load they did 4 weeks prior has been too much for what they can handle.
1) you're trying a new training system (new stimulus).
2) You are training a lot if boxing + trying to do a rather intermediate style of training.
My advice would be:
a) Walk more (you're probably just training and sitting on your ass, like most of us are these days, walking will flush your legs and are one of the best active recovery tools.
b) Make your striking sessions far easier, dont push as hard, take it easier for the next 4 weeks.
c) Scale down the intensity in the gym, don't push close to failure for the next 4 weeks so your body can adapt.
Once you have this settled, you will feel less stiff, and you may not even need to stretch at all.
If you have tight lats, doing lat pulldowns with full ROM + dead hangs can work really well.
But I would say your biggest issue from reading your question is poor load management.
Thanks a lot! I’ll definitely try everything you recommended.
No worries, let me know how you get on
We definitely need a lethal mobility/flexibility article haha