Uphill Lunges for Strong Endurance, Health, and Fat Loss

Two groups of biathlon athletes did 6 weeks of summer training.

The control group trained a typical for their sport manner: a lot of ski roller work, both aerobic and glycolytic, plus uphill jumps.

The experimental group spent 25% less time training and did only one weekly aerobic ski roller session plus anti-glycolytic uphill lunges—stand by for details—4 days a week.

When it was all said and done, the two groups were retested:

Both groups improved their stroke volume, the amount of blood the heart pumps out per beat, by the same amount. It is a healthy adaptation—and the results prove that anti-glycolytic training can improve it as much as traditional endurance training.

In the rest of the tests Strong Endurance™ style blew traditional training out of the water.

In this classic endurance test, an athlete moves at one speed for several minutes, then goes faster. The speed is increased multiple times until the athlete cannot carry on.

Even though, unlike the controls, the experimental group did zero “smokers,” the Strong Endurance athletes made more than double the improvement.

According to Prof. Selouyanov, it is not the maximal oxygen uptake that matters for your performance but the uptake at the lactic threshold intensity (you can still pass the talk test). Again, double the improvement for the anti-glycolytic group.

MAP is the max power expressed in a brief effort like a standing broad jump or a 40-yard dash. It directly correlates with the muscles’ maximal strength.

At StrongFirst we love max power for its own sake, but it may not be a good enough reason for endurance athletes. Prof. Verkhoshansky gave them the reason: higher power drives high intensity endurance. Maximal alactic power is so important, that the great scientist identified it as #1 training priority for athletes like mid-distance runners.

The Strong Endurance group increased theirs by 3%—in the absence of strength or power training—while the control group lost 2% of theirs, in spite of all their jumps.

Considering that the experimental group did zero strength or power work, this is a pure “what-the-hell effect.”

PWC₁₇₀ is another classic endurance test that measures the athlete’s output at a heart rate approximating the lactic threshold.

An excerpt from  STRONG ENDURANCE™ express online course,
Module 5: Hybrid Conversion Completed

Improving the numbers at the threshold—speed for distance and power for combat athletes—was #2 in Verkhoshansky’s list of top priorities.

As usual, the Strong Endurance group cleaned the conventional group’s clock by more than 100%.

Here are the load parameters that produced great performance improvements across the board, including multiple “what-the-hell effects.”

In addition to one weekly steady state aerobic ski roller work the experimental group athletes did the following 4 times a week:

• Uphill lunges
• Distance 200m (~220 yards), incline 15-30° (typically covered in 2-2.5min)
• Adjust the pace to maintain the lactic threshold heart rate
• Rest between bouts 3-5min
• 10-20 bouts

If you do not have a handy hill, find a high rise building with an elevator. Take several steps at a time. Take the elevator down, walk around for the specified time, and start over.

It will take some experimentation to find the pace that keeps you right below the threshold.

Micro-pauses between steps with one additional breathing cycle and even brief bouts of “fast and loose” drills will help keep your heart and respiration rate down. Aim to maintain a steady threshold heart rate or to be able to pass the talk test at any time during your walking lunges.

This is anti-glycolytic training, so avoid the “burn!” If it means going even slower, so be it.

Keep your spine ramrod straight, your shoulders and face relaxed. Get into a meditative state. Keep your technique consistent: the same step length, rhythm, etc.

Do not be concerned about the distance, simply stop at 2-2.5min.

Rest actively by walking around.

Select a rest period of 2, 3, 4, or 5min based on your level of conditioning and stick with it. The goal is to not exceed 3min rest periods, as after 3-4min your blood vessels start constricting and the aerobic metabolism powers down. Begin with 5min rest periods if needed with the goal to progress to 3min and under rest periods.

Start out with 2 days a week and build up from there.

You might not make it to 10 sets in the beginning. It is OK. Stop a training session when you hit any one of these StrongFirst Stop Signs:

• Your heart rate goes above the threshold, or you cannot pass the talk test
• You experience muscle burn
• You are unable to maintain the same speed, technique, and/or rhythm

Enjoy your improvements in athletic performance and body composition. As usual, Strong Endurance™ delivers a lot more than endurance.

INTRODUCING:

STRONG ENDURANCE^TM express
Online Course

By PAVEL

There are times when simply enduring is not enough. One must carry on at a high level of strength or power.

A football game. A wrestling match. An obstacle course in a full kit. Moving grandma’s antique furniture.

For decades such endurance had been built with “met cons.” Then a top sports scientist reframed the question and changed history…

What if instead of training the athlete to tolerate ever increasing concentrations of lactic acid we trained him to produce less of it?

Anti-glycolytic training (AGT) was born.

Our Strong Endurance™ curriculum is the last word in AGT. It consolidates the best of the Eastern European and Western research with StrongFirst’s experience.

For those of you who have been unable to take Pavel Tsatsouline’s seminar, we have filmed a streamlined version. Watch STRONG ENDURANCE™ express in your living room without the risk of getting “volunteered” for a demo in front of the class.

CLICK HERE for a limited time offer.

Watch 4 hours of Pavel’s lecture and 1 hour of demos by our instructors:

Module 1
The Genesis and Philosophy of AGT

Learn the science of anti-glycolytic training in simple terms. Change your view of endurance training forever.

Module 2
“Cardio” is Overrated

Low correlation between VO₂max and endurance…The dangers of redlining your heart rate…Classic interval training vs. “HIIT”…How to increase VO₂max with weights—and how not to do it…Training the blood vessels—a secret of the pros…

Module 3
A Hybrid Conversion Kit for Your Fast Fibers

The main premise behind Verkhoshansky’s revolution…His original experiment…Why power exercise rules…Great all-around way to train—enjoy your “what-the-hell effects”…The alternative to intervals…The SF stop signs…Kettlebell Axe simplified…

Module 4
Variations on the AXE Theme

Serial-repeat method rocks…Downsides of max power training…“Casual power” is the answer…How to benefit from recovery’s nonlinearity…Volume and other load parameters for different needs…5 variable methods for pros…

 Module 5
Hybrid Conversion Completed

Metal Heart and Strength Aerobics for hard living…2 state-of-the-art kettlebell snatch or swing plans for ruthless endurance and aggressive fat loss…Score high on the most valuable GPP test for MMA…Biathlon’s aerobic lunges for all…

 Module 6
A+A for Fighters and Supermodels

Incredible long lost research reveals how to make high intensity exercise aerobic and fat burning…Snatch death march protocol for a select few…Lifter’s dream: “singles” for “conditioning” and fat loss…Lessons from heavy labor…3 AXE models…

Module 7
Non-Stop

Strength for endurance…How to build up to 30 pullups or 100 pushups or swings without killing yourself…Split sets and ladders…Pullup master’s serial-interval protocol…Why hanging on a bar will not improve your pullup grip—and what will…

Module 8
Glycolytic Training—the Right Way

 Peak performance with a well dosed and timed acid spike…Glycolytic power repeats—least stressful glycolytic training method bears “what-the-hell effects”…Buffer acid by building fast twitch fibers…Make less acid by building slow fibers…

Module 9
Planning

Know your variables and change one at a time…Magic of step loading…Advantages of wave loading…Manage the conflict of strength and endurance…Why you cannot improve on multiple fronts at once—and how pros do it over time with “leapfrogging”…

Module 10
In Action

Select Strong Endurance™ plans and templates demoed by our certified instructors…Kettlebell snatches…Swings and more swings…Cleans, presses, and front squats…Pullups…Step-ups…Pushups, fast and slow…Explosive calisthenics plus heavy bag…

Then download these plans and templates and start training:

• 3 “Metal Heart” kettlebell snatch or swing plans for ruthless endurance and aggressive fat loss
• Strength Aerobics template for fighters
• 2 Strength Aerobics circuits for combat and team sports (one with a barbell and the other with any type of resistance)
• 3 powerful pullup protocols:
  • Failproof routine for beginners
  • Fast acting strength endurance plan for intermediates
  • State-of-the-art serial-interval method for the advanced (also a great lesson in programming)
• Scientific plan to excel at the NFL combine bench press
• A straight path to 100 consecutive pushups
• Super Slow 2.0 template for building slow twitch fibers for endurance sports (kettlebell, barbell, dumbbell, or bodyweight; you choose the exercises)
• A wealth of AXE (aerobic exercise for type IIX fast fibers) applicable knowledge:
  • AXE sprints’ guidelines for team sports
  • AXE heavy kettlebell snatch plan for the Tactical Strength Challenge
  • AXE jump circuit for basketball and volleyball players’ endurance
  • Awesome barbell AXE circuit for any athlete
  • Develop striking power and power endurance by throwing a kettlebell or a rock according to the AXE rules
  • 3 serial-repeat AXE templates for combat and game athletes (applicable to sport-specific skills like striking and throwing and to general training with a kettlebell, barbell, bodyweight, and more)
• “Alt-S&S” kettlebell swing progression
• Aerobic bodyweight lunge protocol from biathlon that works for anyone seeking outdoor endurance and fat loss—plus the rules of anti-glycolytic uphill running
• Classic hard style Rx for building multiple qualities (power, power endurance, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle building, fat loss) with heavy kettlebells
• Double kettlebell C&J plan for muscle hypertrophy, fat loss, and conditioning
• Heavy kettlebell swing plus military press unconventional muscle builder
• 3 variations of a radical Soviet muscle building template
• An incredibly tough but surprisingly low acid peaking template for fighters—prepare your mind without trashing your body

While delivering remarkable performance and body composition improvements, anti-glycolytic training will also fortify your health.

The primary adaptation target of anti-glycolytic training are mitochondria. They are a lot more than our cells’ power plants. Scientists call them “the masters of life and death.” Healthy, strong, and abundant mitochondria will make you more resilient to a variety of stressors: cold, heat, altitude, infection, poison, radiation, etc. On the other hand, mitochondrial dysfunction is a likely cause of cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and aging.

Beef up your mitochondria and your health with Strong Endurance™ while reaching your athletic and body composition goals.

Staying power and health to you!

SAVE $100 WITH A LIMITED TIME INTRODUCTORY OFFER:
$399
$299

CLICK HERE to buy STRONG ENDURANCE™ express with Pavel. Staying power and health to you!

Pavel Tsatsouline is the CEO of StrongFirst, Inc.