Welcome to the final Intensification phase of Breaking Bod, which is also the peaking  phase for this cycle.  It’s time to tap into your fast twitch fibers, which have a huge propensity for hypertrophy (aka, they grow easily).

We will go about this using a technique call WAVE LOADING.

For all A Series exercises, you’ll see a (3,2,1,3,2,1) Wave.  Here’s how to tackle this:

• Warm up to hit your estimated 3RM weight, or slightly lighter.
• Then increase the weight for your set of 2.
• Then increase the weight for a single.
• On the fourth set, you’ll drop the weight back down for a set of 3, however this will be HEAVIER than your original set of 3.
• Then increase the weight for the next set of 2 (heavier than your first set of 2).
• Then increase the weight for the next single (heavier than your first single).

If you’ve chosen your weights correctly, you’ll be able to increase the weight on each 3,2,1 of the second wave.  By building up to a heavy single, your nervous system is prepared for that heavy weight again.  So when you drop down to 3 reps, it will feel “lighter” and you should be able to get all reps with something slightly heavier than the first time.  We’re basically tricking your nervous system to let you move more weight.  Pretty cool, eh?

And you don’t have to make a big jump in weight for the second wave.  Here is an example of your Front Squat wave:

Set 1:  225 x3

Set 2:  235 x2

Set 3:  245 x1 (same or new PR)

Set 4:  230 x3

Set 5:  240 x2

Set 6:  250 x1 (new new PR)

And then the next time you come back to that workout, you’d probably start your first set of 3 at 230.

There is no intensive conditioning this phase, only low-intensity aerobic work.  Due to the beating that your central nervous system will take, it’s important to get full recovery between workouts, to maximize performance and results.

Also, remember that the X in the tempo means EXPLOSIVE.  So muster up your courage and go for it.  Even if the actual speed of the bar isn’t fast, you should still be pushing/pulling with explosive INTENT.

If necessary, review the video on the main Team page for a refresher on how to read the rep/tempo/rest notation.  Post questions and comments on the Team Feed.

NEXT STEPS:

What should you do AFTER this phase?

If you jumped into Breaking Bod somewhere in the middle, just continue with Phase 1 - Accumulation 1 after this.  Your body will respond amazingly well to the higher reps  there. 

If you’ve been following Breaking Bod from the beginning, you’re probably ready for a change of pace.  I highly suggest shifting over to Stronger Things programming, where the focus is building a strong and bulletproof body.  You’ll break through plateaus and hit PR’s you never thought possible!

Have fun, stay hungry, and get after your new PHYSIQUE.