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Old School Conditioning Hacks by Mark Hatmaker

 


A sojourn into the methods of some of the Old Time Physical Culturists and Combination Fighters reveals many a counter-intuitive approach to conditioning, everything from choosing walking over running for roadwork to an almost dogmatic approach of using lightweight [seemingly insubstantial weights at that] over heavy lifts.

Example: We have an entire cadre of early physical culturists who were lean and in modern parlance “TikTok jacked” with muscular striations to resemble a geological survey map and yet many members of this cadre with jacked and striated quads and glutes never [NEVER] hit a back squat. More than a few considered back squats [particularly heavy ones] the road to ruin.

We’ve covered the wisdom of walking vs. running in a multipart series but let’s dig in a bit on this lightweight, and in some cases, no weight paradox.

We’ll attack this from the obvious end of the stick and then build towards some less obvious applications.

SUPPORTIVE BOLSTER

Muscle responds to stimuli and stressors quickly in comparison to the surrounding structures.

Bone does respond to stressors, and this is vital as the skeleton is the scaffolding upon which all [ALL] muscular movement is based.

Weak bones and the biggest biceps in the world are for naught.

Example: Let’s say you are a beast that can curl 150 pounds easy-peasey.

Now, let’s assume you have suffered a compound fracture of the humerus—you ain’t lifting an ounce.

Old School thought heeds slow progress to allow the scaffolding to stay apace of the quicker reacting muscle tissue.

Tendons are the connective guy wires for the musculature. Muscle tissue “thins” to the sinewy tendons that have attachments to various insertions in, around, above and below joints to serve as guywires, pulleys and levers.

Again, tendons do respond to stressors but far more slowly than muscle.

As in our prior example—if we snap, rupture or tear a tendon the robust strong muscle tissue is all for naught.

The same holds for the ligaments and cartilage in our joints. These supportive tissues have a small leeway of regeneration, but this is subject to entropy as we age. The older we get the wiser we must be as to how aggressive we want to treat these kindly cushions.

I repeat: Old School thought heeds slow progress to allow the scaffolding, guy wires and “cushioning” to stay apace of the quicker reacting muscle tissue.

“Old Man, does this mean never lift heavy?”

Yes and No.

What do I mean by that?

Well, in some cases, those in pursuit of “feat” work will want to program the “big lifts” in here and there to keep their “feats of strength” on track.

But for most of us, and I mean primarily combat athletes and the outdoor adventurers, will have zero need for big lift pursuits.

Which brings us to…

PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD

Progressive overload is best illustrated by the common understanding.

I lift such and such a weight over such period of time until it becomes easier and I then add more weight and continue the process ad infinitum.

Yes, that is one aspect of progressive overload.

But…only one.

This form of progressive overload is the Milo of Crotona by analogy approach to training.

According to the ancient Hellenic legend, Milo of Crotona lifted a newborn bull to his shoulders each and everyday of the bull’s life.

As the bull increased in weight, Milo increased in capacity to shoulder more weight.

Sounds like progressive overload but, of course, this is myth.

A newborn bull weighs 60 to 100 pounds.

The bull will top out according to breed at 1200 to 1300 pounds.

The bull reaches approximately half that weight in 1 year’s time.

You ever hear of anyone going from zero to 100 MPH like that in real time.

That is, learning to clean 100 pounds on day 1 and then cleaning 1,000 pounds in 365 days?

Of course not.

The current world record power clean is 588 pounds, well under yearling bull size and a far steadier weight than a presumably squirming bull.

Progressive overload, even in heavy lifting sports, calls for far slower rates of increase than the Milo myth.

This slow progress is due to biological constraint and staving off injury.

But…

But, the Old Timers had different ways to approach progressive overload that were not about lifting heavier—it was altering exercises to increase the proprioception or perception of difficulty.

Again, the eye was on Progressive Overload but via perception in order to bring along equal development of muscle, tendon, ligament and skeletal integrity.

Training Inefficiencies to Build Efficiencies

That’s too much specificity to fit into a myth, so leave the myths behind.

Which brings us to EMERGENTSIM

First, the Unleaded Whole Hog Program follows these Old School Principles.

A six-month journey into re-tooling the self into the Old School Beast.

Block 1 may seem mighty conventional but that is just laying the ground with common soil for all the uncommon that is to follow.

Not one exercise from Block 1 will persist.

As a matter of fact, Block 2 drops 2 entire days from Block 1 and a ¼ of two other training days to move us into unfamiliar waters.

Patience is rewarded.

As for the absolutely vital importance of emergentism, another day, mull the info offered here hard and ask yourself the following questions.

One: Are you working for more than 30 minutes per day on your conditioning?

·        The Old School way is sub-30m to stave off catabolism [muscle-wasting.]

 

Two: Do you have aches, pains, require knee wraps, lifting belts, or any other “helps” that signal you may not have paid equal attention to the tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and skeleton as you have the muscles themselves?

·        You are only as strong as the weakest link. If a chain link snaps, it is no longer a working chain.

 

Three: Are you getting the results you want with your current methods?

·        Why not give a go at the Old School Way?

More info here:

To get started on your 6-month Old School Transformation.

For the, “I’m kinda curious but would like more info” See Here.

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