What separates a beginner from an advanced lifter? Apart from experience, advanced lifters need more training intensity, variety, and specificity to make continued gains.
At Performance U, when we want to spark new growth in an advanced athlete or even just keep them interested in their training, we use Triple Threat protocols.
This article will offer a multitude of Triple Threat protocols that we've developed to hit the chest, back, shoulders, legs, and abs. If you'd rather classify your training as movement patterns, there are also Triple Threat protocols for pushing, pulling, hip hinging, and core.
Triple Threat protocols are a great way to:
There are three ways to use Triple Threat protocols:
Here's how to perform seven of the most popular Triple Threat protocols that we use with our athletes at Performance U.
As you're about to see, Triple Threat protocols come in a few different styles. I'll also explain the specific rationale used to design each protocol.
Due to the high volume nature of the Triple Threat protocols, rest 2-4 minutes between sets.
Push-ups aren't new, but here's two ways to create a new training stimulus from this classic, battle-tested exercise.
Here's our basic Triple Threat push-up protocol:
Once we had athletes crushing that version, we developed this advanced version:
Both push-up protocols are based on the triple drop-set concept. They both begin with the most difficult push-up variation and progressively "work down" to the easiest version.
In other words, as you fatigue, the exercises become easier, allowing you to continue to crank out high-quality reps with less risk of injury.
There are two ways we adjust the exercises to make them progressively easier as you get tired:
Pull-ups and chin-ups are awesome. Here's a killer pull-up/chin-up triple drop set (incorporating super bands) to make them even more awesome:
This is another example of a triple drop set. As you fatigue, you use a larger super-band, which provides greater assistance to help keep hammering out reps.
The upside to doing intense drop sets like this is that it guarantees you create overload and work the deeper (type IIAB) muscle fibers, which will rebuild, adapt, and come back bigger and stronger.
The downside is you must be careful not to use this type of high volume work too often, as you could end up overtraining and creating overuse injuries like tendonitis.
To really blast the mid-back muscles, which are often weak and underdeveloped, grab a suspension trainer and go to town on this back blaster:
This is a giant set of three pulling variants, which train the mid-back muscle from the center out. Here's the breakdown of why we designed the protocol the way we did.
Our physique athletes use this protocol because it helps make their shoulders "pop." This protocol is also popular with our MMA fighters, boxers, and Muay Thai fighters as it helps them build the shoulder endurance to continually grapple and hold their arms up in "boxers guard" to protect their jaw.
The video above shows Big Mark Simon using a barbell. Nowadays we use two dumbbells to get this one done as it's easier on the shoulders and allows each person to move in a way that better matches their individual body mechanics. That said, it could certainly be done safely if you only have a barbell available.
Note to the Olympic lifting elite: Before you pull your O-lifting elitist card and rip on Mark's snatch form, understand that the only thing this exercise has in common with a true Olympic lifting snatch is the name.
We're not trying to do an Olympic snatch. We're simply trying to bring in a small contribution from the hips and legs to help the shoulders work more. That's why it's an "upper-body dominant snatch."
"Minimal contribution" does not mean "zero contribution." We finish with this move because it allows you to use assistance from your lower body to enable your shoulders to keep working and accumulate more work volume, thereby overloading the shoulders.
This protocol helps develop full spectrum glute strength, which simply means that your glutes are very strong throughout the entire range of hip extension, not just in the specific range that you train most often – a common flaw in many dedicated lifters.
Here's Pro figure competitor Kate Grevey Blankenship showing how to perform the single-leg RDL Triple Threat like a boss:
This protocol has taken the benefits of the single-leg Romanian deadlift (RDL) one step further by manipulating the force vectors, which changes the point of maximal loading on the glutes to provide a more well-rounded glute workout.
The point of maximal loading (when the weight is heaviest because the lever arm is longest) when doing RDLs is when the torso is at 90 degrees from where the resistance is originating. Keep this in mind when reading.
This protocol was inspired by a different variation I learned from my great friend Juan Carlos Santana.
We only use the stability ball for a limited number of exercises – this is one of them.
We've tried it both ways and found either way works well. We often allow our clients to decide the order they'd like to perform the second and third moves.
This protocol also uses a stability ball. It also incorporates some loaded trunk (spine) flexion work, which is a controversial subject for many coaches and trainers.
At Performance U, we don't subscribe to the "no loaded flexion" exercises theory, which is why we're okay with using it for certain individuals who don't have existing back issues.
Still, if you're not comfortable with using loaded flexion, just substitute any core/abs (anti-trunk movement) exercise that you wish.
Weighted ball crunches use the abs from the top down (upper to lower). We also like the ball because it allows an eccentric lengthening of the abdominals on each rep. You won't force a muscle to become "shortened" if you're always using it through its full range of motion.
The pike is like the opposite of the crunches, contracting the abs from the bottom up.
The final exercise, stir the pot, covers the static stability aspect of the abdominals. We like to place the isometric at the end as isometrics are, well, boring. But if you go into them with the abs already fatigued from the first two actions, it takes less time to create a training effect.
Note: Keep the reps low (6-10) in flexion exercises to avoid racking up lots of repetitive flexion, which is risky. Just keep in mind that any joint can get overworked and worn down from too much abuse (i.e. excessive repetitions).
That's why we love these Triple Threat protocols – you can adjust them, tweak them, and make them into whatever you need to accomplish your goals.
Don't let your training grow stagnant and see your gains dry up along with it. Give these fun and effective Triple Threat protocols a shot.
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