Power Athletes, this just in! Residents of Jacked Street have kicked off their next six-week training block called LOUDER (yeah, caps are part of it) and let me tell you, John is definitely turning things up. LOUDER is an iteration of the previous training cycle, PUMP. Do not confuse this as a carbon copy, people; carbon copies lose the clean hard edges. Nay, when the big guy iterates a template it is based on feedback from the training feeds and analytics on TrainHeroic’s coaches app.

Quick Reference

• What’s New in LOUDER
• Jacked Street Clusters
• Blood Flow Restriction Training is Back
• The World’s Most Muscular DJ
• More About Jacked Street
• New to Jacked Street?

What’s new in Jacked Street’s LOUDER Cycle

So what’s new in LOUDER? Let’s just say we are not turning up the volume, we are turning up the intensity. In general, that means heavier loads and lower reps. The core focus of the cycle is still comboing heavy and light movements with Jacked Street Clusters as well as Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training. This cycle will have 6 testing days so we can monitor the team’s progress.

For those who tackled PUMP, you are going to notice lower reps in the compound work before Clusters as well as the accessory work. The stimulus is going to dovetail on accessory work as well. You will see heavier loads or you will see dynamic movements, both of which should really be done in lower rep ranges.

Jacked Street Clusters

Clusters are prepped with a compound lift or combo to get you ready for a superset of a big barbell lift and a compound accessory lift. A staple Jacked Street Cluster is:

5 Rounds for Time
Back Squats
Vertical Pulls

Squats are typically prescribed as doubles and singles, and the loading will increase from ~80% to 95% as the cycle progresses. Vertical pulls typically show up as pull ups or chin ups, and reps will hover around 5 – 8 reps per set. John will typically set this for time; the goal is to whip around some heavy weight really fast and smash some accessory work with the high heart rate that results from the big lift.

Blood Flow Restriction Training is Back

BFR training was a core focus in Jacked Street’s previous cycle when it came to arm work and some lower body accessory work, and it still holds a special place in LOUDER. BFR training is a form of resistance training where the athlete will train the muscles of the arms or legs while special elastic straps or bladder based air compression cuffs restrict venous blood flow out of the limb. Arterial blood flow remains unrestricted and allows oxygenated blood to continue to flow into the limb thus creating a pooling effect that causes a huge pump-like sensation as well as a very potent training response.

Sounds crazy. Looks crazy. Feels crazy. But not really that crazy when you understand the mechanics of it. We have some solid write ups in the recommended reading below if you want to learn more about it.

While the training requires special equipment, John is prescribing an “internal BFR” by putting athletes in static positions with closed joint angles to help pool blood between sets. We are calling it the “hover”. it is the bottom of a push up for the upper body work and a bottom squat hold for the lower body work. The closed joint angles restrict the ability for blood to flow out of the limbs, but still allow blood to flow in, just like the straps/cuffs do when applied to the arms/legs.

A challenge we have with using BFR in Jacked Street is programming the appropriate training load for new residents who are new to BFR while still maintaining the right stimulus for long time residents. Enter the tiered-limit approach of LOUDER. If it is your…

1st BFR Session, hit a 12 minute accessory circuit
2nd/3rd BFR Session, hit a 16 minute accessory circuit
4th BFR Session, hit an 18 minute accessory circuit
5+ BFR Sessions, get the prescribed 20 minute accessory circuit

For the newbies, jumping in and hitting 20 minutes out of the gate is not a problem if you are feeling adventurous. We have found that the upper limit of BFR is about 20 minutes of continuous work, and that progressing the duration of BFR accessory circuits helps curb the psychological component of the training. The pooling effect will be a new sensation. I mean, it definitely does not hurt, but to say it is comfortable would be a bit misleading.

For the long time residents of Jacked Street who have hit at least 4 BFR sessions, you are going to see John adding BFR to the compound work leading up to Jacked Street Clusters, as well as during the cluster. This is gonna feel, uh… different. If you notice that the BFR is slowing you down significantly, drop the weight about 15% – 20%.

Oh… and we are also going to see BFR assigned to our cardio days which fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays. This will be a good time.

The World’s Most Muscular DJ

Training anthems aren’t just for silver screen training montages, people. Certain cycles in Jacked Street will have a training anthem intended to set the tempo for the 6 week training block. We are bringing back Power Athlete Radio alumni, and the world’s most muscular DJ, DJ Muscle boy for the 2nd cycle in a row. The track is the inspiration for the cycle name, and is called LOUDER.

This… music video… is… awesome. You need to watch this at least 5 times… per day.

More About Jacked Street

Jacked Street is a training program for intermediate to advanced athletes looking to transform their physique. John Welbourn, 10-Year NFL starter and Founder of Power Athlete, exposes residents of Jacked Street to the tried and true training and accessory work that had him walking into training camp at 8% body fat tipping the scale at 308 pounds his 4th year in the NFL.

Cycles are typically written in 6 week training blocks, with occasional 1 – 2 week “reload” weeks that offer loyal residents an optional deload from the training.

Do you like what you are reading here? Thinking you want to pay rent on Jacked Street?

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New to Jacked Street?

Shout out to our current residents of Jacked Street, you know the drill. You need to pay rent every day.

If you are new to Jacked Street, always follow as current in every cycle as possible. Never go back in time and start from day one of the cycle unless John explicitly says so. Training current with the rest of the residents is absolutely paramount.

If you miss a day, it is gone. Just jump on and get current.

If you will ALWAYS miss a day, like a Tuesday, shift, alternate, and rearrange your training days accordingly to ensure you are not always missing Tuesday’s in the cycle. i.e. hit Tuesday for one week and skip Wednesday. Then skip Tuesday the next week and hit Wednesday. Then skip Thursday and hit a Tuesday the week after that. This is just an example.

If you need to sub a movement because of issues with equipment availability, space, injury/dysfunction, or skill level, then tap on the movement in your app at select Swap Exercise from the menu.

Still have questions? Feel free to hit up your “neighbors” for suggestions on any of this in the training feed in the TrainHeroic app.

For those on Jacked Street who have been smashing LOUDER, how are you liking it so far? Let us know in the comments.

RELATED CONTENT:

BLOG: OCCLUSION TRAINING 101
BLOG: OCCLUSION TRAINING 102: APPLICATIONS
BLOG: LEANING ON JACKED STREET
TRAINING: JACKED STREET

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