One easy day is usually sufficient recovery after threshold work
Bakken endorses that with threshold work, one easy day after the session is usually sufficient, so you gain control over the recovery window.
Results
WHY · 2399 of 35848 results · Body
Dosing: 5 grams per day or 0.1 g/kg body weight; higher doses unnecessary
Dr. Scott Forbes recommends taking 5 grams of creatine per day for muscle benefits, or using a relative dosing strategy of 0.1 grams of creatine per kilogram of body weight per day — calculate your daily intake by multiplying your weight in kilograms by 0.1. Bigger people may require a slightly higher dose because they have more muscle and more creatine turnover. Brain-focused creatine studies often use 20–25 grams, but that high dose is probably not necessary for cognitive benefits; taking 20–25 grams daily is still safe but unnecessary — you're just wasting money on double or triple the required amount.
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Lift on game day during the 162-game MLB season
Because professional baseball players compete nearly every day across a 162-game season, lifting must happen on game days; if you skip game-day lifts, you won't lift at all during the season.
Prefer total body training three days a week over body part splits
Dr. Andy Galpin states he prefers roughly three days a week of total body training for most people, because it is more resilient to life disruptions; he notes it is not technically more effective than splits. He also warns that isolating a body part to one day per week risks going about 13 days between workouts for that muscle if a session is missed, which is too infrequent to maintain.
Increase training load by 3-5% per week for progressive overload
Dr. Andy Galpin recommends increasing training load by roughly 3% to 5% per week as the target rate for progressive overload.
Creatine improves cognitive performance after sleep deprivation
Dr. Scott Forbes states creatine supplementation improves cognitive performance after sleep deprivation, and even a single dose of creatine helped preserve some cognitive function when people were sleep deprived. In rugby players who got less than three hours of sleep, passing accuracy declined — but creatine maintained passing accuracy despite poor sleep. He recommends considering creatine supplementation when you have a bad night's sleep before an important performance (e.g., athlete before competition, surgeon after a night operation), and taking creatine when traveling across time zones to offset time-delay effects on the brain. Cognitive tests used in creatine research include the MoCA test, mini mental state examination, reaction-time computerized tests for processing speed, and
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Bucket baseball players into three training categories
Players are bucketed into bullpen guys, position players, and starters, each with distinct training systems; bullpen guys are 'up' (back-to-back), 'down', or in between.
Flared elbows on bench press aggravate the bicep tendon
Flaring the elbows out on a bench press causes more internal rotation at the bottom, drifts the bar forward, and aggravates the bicep tendon. Pulling the elbows in closer and dropping them at a 45-degree angle to the sides takes stress off the bicep tendon.
Narrow bench press grip preserves scapular retraction
A narrower bench press grip lets the shoulder blades pinch back more, allows the arms to drop back, and keeps the blades retracted during the press. Going extra wide prevents that retraction, which is needed to stabilize the shoulder blades for a proper bench press.
Søberg principle cold-and-sauna protocol
A weekly cold-and-heat protocol: 2-3 visits per week, each with three cold dips and two sauna sessions, starting and ending in cold water, with 1-2 minute dips at ~15°C or colder, 10-15 minute sauna sessions at ~80°C, totaling 11 minutes of cold and 57 minutes of sauna per week.
Finding your golden zone with lactate and heart rate testing
Bakken describes how he identified his golden zone: he ran a session, then another a couple of days later, measuring lactate and controlling it with heart rate across consecutive sessions; he also measured competitors and Kenyan runners to narrow down his own training zone. He recommends runners test the golden zone in their own training, ideally taking a lab step test first to establish control values, then doing a field test outdoors about a week later to compare treadmill heart rate, outdoor heart rate, and perceived effort, cross-checking lab results against field conditions close in time.
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Establishing training zones: lab test, field test, then periodic lactate cross-checks
The best approach to establishing training zones is to take a lab step test first for control and guidance. About a week after the lab test, do a field test outdoors to check whether treadmill heart rate is comparable to outdoor heart rate and perceived effort. Thereafter, use lactate testing to cross-check intensity once in a while, not on every session, since testing is expensive.
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Norwegian method weekly structure: double threshold Tuesday/Thursday, X session Saturday
In a normal winter training week for elite athletes, Bakken prescribes double threshold — two threshold sessions in one day — on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the harder X session on Saturday where you really push. The two weekly threshold sessions are split into intervals: one short interval session (45 seconds to one minute) and one longer session (six-minute intervals), keeping total running time in threshold sessions to about 25 to 35 minutes. The X session is a hill workout in winter and more flat work in summer when preparing for track workouts.
Four-day vertical jump training split
The coach uses a four-day training split where every day develops a different piece of the explosive power puzzle: day one focuses on increasing max lower body strength, day two on speed strength (possibly with upper body work), day three is 'athlete day' with lots of jumps and plyometric work, and day four is the impulse session focused on putting out a large amount of force in a short period of time.
High-low split: structure the week around one or two high days and moderate-to-low days
Eugene Teo's most successful setup is a modification of a high-low split with different days of varied intensity. His big day is Monday leg day — cleans, plyos, snatches, some heavy squats, then lower body accessories — his highest-intensity day of the week. The next day is upper body focused with a little extensive plyos; no matter how hard you push upper body work, you never completely wipe yourself out the same way as the big lower body day, making it a low-to-moderate day. The general rule: plan the week with one or two high days and one to three moderate-to-low days, then fit in what needs to be fit in around those days. Doing every day like the highest-intensity leg day would leave you wiped.
Teaching beginners with 'ready, jump' commands and manipulated fatigue
Dan teaches weightlifting to beginners using a 'ready, jump' command structure: when he says ready, they get ready; when he says jump, they jump, moving on the coach's cue rather than their own timing. The purpose is to manipulate space and time with external cues so the lifter cannot overthink between reps. Analyzing a failed rep mid-set prevents executing the next rep because there is no space or time to do so. He deliberately gets lifters a bit tired during skill acquisition so they stop trying to control the movement perfectly, pushing them to mild fatigue where they give up trying to control the movement and let their body execute. He also uses a metronome-style command approach in a non-traditional learning environment rather than letting lifters train on their own time. Fatigue in a
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How to perform a MyoReps set
Borge Fagerli walks through the full MyoReps protocol: pick a load in the 8-15 rep max range, do an activation set close to failure, rest with 3-5 deep breaths, then repeat 3-5 rep mini sets until reps drop or five mini sets are reached.
How to perform MyoReps (activation set plus back-off clusters)
Do the first activation set close to failure, take a short rest, then perform mini sets/clusters to extend time at maximum activation. Do not take each mini set to absolute failure, since accumulated fatigue would limit the stimulus. This elevates recruitment via short rest periods and maximizes mechanical tension per fiber.
Myo-reps protocol: activation set, mini-sets, and rest cues
A complete myo-reps set is built from an activation set taken near failure, followed by short-rest mini-sets. Start with traditional reps on an 8-15 rep max load (up to 20-25 rep max if you tolerate high discomfort), end the activation set when rep speed slows noticeably, rest by counting 3-5 deep breaths rather than watching a stopwatch, do 3-5 reps on the first mini-set, match that rep count on subsequent mini-sets, and cap the set at five mini-sets. Put the weight down between mini-sets so the muscle fully rests rather than holding it under tension.
VBT testing and velocity targets for power cleans
Use velocity-based training (VBT) to measure power clean bar speed at around 100 kilos (close to body weight). Make sure the VBT is linked up before the lift. At 84% intensity, expect bar speed around 2.2 meters per second on power cleans. Test whether the athlete can move 100 kilos at 2.2 or higher meters per second to know they can move their body weight well on the field. Use bar speed drop-off data to predict a good training top weight for the day, and rest about a minute and a half between attempts when bar speed is slightly below target.
Protocols you can run
WHY · 9 of 60 published protocols · Body
5-Minute Kettlebell Grip Challenge
Perform rounds of kettlebell swings, suitcase marches and cleans continuously for 5 minutes. When you need a break, hold the bell in a goblet hold or clean position instead of setting it down, and the moment it hits the floor, the challenge is over.
Couch Stretch Nightly Hip Lengthening
Hold the couch stretch for three sets of 60 seconds on each side, with your back foot up on a wall or couch and your front knee on the ground. Do this two to three nights a week at home, outside of training, while watching TV or playing with your kids.
The Grip Challenge
Run a five-minute kettlebell grip challenge with no straps and no chalk, repeating a round of swings, marches and cleans for as long as you can hold on. If you drop the bell, the challenge is over.
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