Tacfit question(s) coaches input appreciated

[dharmadave]

I am just finishing up the first program of tacfit (my first 28 day cycle) and I have two questions:

1) Moderate vs. High intensity

I started doing 6 sets of each exercise on the moderate days instead of the full 8 because I was getting a bit burned out by the moderate days and was unable to perform well on the high day. Any feedback about that as a strategy?

2) Number of reps per set

On the moderate, and high days there is a natrual trend to crank out fewer and fewer reps per set as I get into the later sets due to muscle fatigue and failure.

The coaching seems to indicate that we should not slow down as we get into the later sets, so my question is: If I know I am going to fatigue to muscle failure (on pushups especially) should I start out on the first set with the number that I know I can do on the last set? Or should I do as many as I can every single set, despite the fact that I may crank out 10 on set one and swindle down to 4-5 on set 8?

Thanks for any feedback.

Dave in Austin

[hermanchauw]

1) Do all 8 sets. Slow down the rate of doing the exercises to reduce the Effort.

2) Do not go all out on the first few sets. Use the first 2-3 sets to familiarize technique. This coaching cue is in the follow along videos.

[Coach Heins]

Hi Dave,

Just to add a couple thoughts:

1. One of the primary goals of TACFIT is to develop the ability to burst-recover-burst. Bearing that in mind, find the rep scheme that allows you to do all 8 sets. Let's say it's 4. Then go through and do those 4 as fast as you can, maintaining impeccable form. Yes it will give you a longer rest than 10 sec, but it isn't about just working for 20 sec straight. It's about developing the ability to go hard, recover fast, go hard, and repeating that over and over again. As the conditioning and technique improve, so will the duration you can sustain the effort (which begins to seep beyond just physical benefits).

2. With regard to maintaining Mod and Hi intensity levels on their respective days, the mod score will always be lower. Remember a Mod effort is an RPE of 5-7. If that means your reps need to be 2's and 3's (no such thing as an absurdly low rep if that's where you're at), then so be it. This will be the toughest one to balance, but the most crucial, since after 2 days of recovery, we're usually antsy to hit it. Maintain that Mod effort and you'll be primed to go for your Hi numbers the next day.

3. The goal is to at the very least match the last score (different for Mod than it is for Hi). As you add an extra rep here and there, it will move at different rates from one exercise to the next. But if you at least match, if not add 1, you will always progress forward.

Lay the foundation and you'll speed to your optimal performance.
s.

[dharmadave]

Awesome advice and guidance. Thanks for your thoughts.

Dave in Austin