Tri-Phasic for the Strongman Press
I love Cal Dietz.
There! I said it! I’ve loved him ever since I got ahold of his book Triphasic Training: A Systematic Approach to Elite Speed and Explosive Strength Performance. I’ve been applying the principles in that book for years now and it has helped my athletes develop in all facets of their sport.
In the book, he talks about how the nature of dynamic movement almost always has three phases: An eccentric phase, an Isometric phase, and finally a Concentric phase. He also explains how most strength coaches and programs only concern themselves with the last phase of movement. The book describes a method of organizing training where each phase of movement gets its own focus, and he explains why it is important. The actual mechanisms are kind of complicated, but here’s a basic rundown of why you need to train in all three phases:
You need to train the Eccentric Phase in order to develop the ability to absorb force. Without specific training, your muscles will not have the capacity to slow down external forces well enough to ultimately stop and redirect them.
You need to train the Isometric Phase to build the body’s ability to stop external forces. No matter how fast a movement transitions from the eccentric to the concentric, there is always a brief moment when the body is in isometric contraction.
You need to train the Concentric Phase specifically for obvious reasons. This is the phase where force is created by the body.
The overhead press is a big part of Strongman, but I’ve seen athletes try to apply the Tri-Phasic approach to the motor pattern with no success. In this post, I’m going to explain why I think they’ve failed to see positive results and how I apply the Tri-Phasic approach to the overhead press.
The mistake
The Tri-Phasic approach is to train the eccentric, the isometric, and the concentric separately in their own blocks. That would mean that training the overhead press for strongman with the Tri-Phasic approach would mean (1) a distinct focus on lowering the bar to lockout, then (2) an isometric contraction somewhere in the movement, and then (3) training the concentric to develop power…. right?
This is what people are doing, but they’re not seeing the event for what it is. They’re missing the point because they’re focusing on the actual press portion of the movement.
That is a problem because the press is essentially a concentric-only movement.
Tri-Phasic doesn’t work for concentric-only movements because in these exercises the concentric isn’t dependent on the performance of the eccentric or the isometric first. You don’t have to absorb the force of the load before lifting it back up again.
Dietz even talks about the fact that to train the hinge with the Tri-Phasic method you need to use an RDL because the deadlift is concentric only.
When it comes to training the press, once the bar is in the front rack, it doesn’t have an eccentric phase before being pressed into the air. You’re trying to use a method that is all about absorbing and stopping force when it all starts from a static position.
If we’re going to use the Tri-Phasic approach to build up the press for Strongman, we have to shift our focus away from the press itself.
We need to focus on the dip instead.
The Dip and Drive
The difference between a strict press and every other type of press variation we use is the legs. In a strict press, the legs are not used. In the push press, push jerk, and split jerk, the legs are used to break the inertia of the bar an initiate it’s upward movement.
The athlete will break at the knees and hips to stretch the glutes and quads, then contract them explosively to apply force to the bar in the front rack. This is where we have a full dynamic contraction with an eccentric, an isometric, and a concentric.
The Eccentric contraction is the lowering of the implement into the bottom of the dip.
The Isometric contraction is the transition at the bottom of the dip from eccentric to isometric.
The Concentric contraction is when the athlete ultimately drives into the bar to send it in the air.
This is where we can apply the Tri-Phasic Approach.
Programming
I always try to give the athlete between 6 and 8 weeks of time between the end of a Tri-Phasic block and the competition. This gives them enough time to train more specifically than the method allows and really be prepared for their competition.
The Tri-Phasic block is made up of three distinct portions. The first two weeks are all about the Eccentrics. The second two weeks are devoted to Isometrics. The last two weeks are focused on the Concentric portion of the movement. I’ve run this with deload weeks between these three portions, and without.
If you have an athlete that utilizes the jerk in competition, they should be using the jerk for their Tri-Phasic exercises. If not, then the push press works just as well.
In the first two weeks, we’re focusing on a long negative in the tempo. I usually go with 5 seconds, but I have gone as long as 7 and 10 seconds before. This negative is applied solely to lowering the bar to the bottom of the dip from the starting position. For some athletes, this is only a few inches. The key to making the most of this training is to explode out of the dip as soon as you hit the bottom.
In the second two weeks, we’re focusing on a long isometric. I usually stick with just 3 seconds, but I’ve gone to 5 with athletes that can’t seem to tell time. I think that the isometric phase of a Tri-Phasic block is another place where a big mistake is commonly made. We get so focused on the pause itself that we forget that the method works by developing the ability to absorb force. If we lower the bar slowly into the pause, then we’re reducing the absorbed force by lowering the acceleration side of the force equation.
To make the most of the Isometric portion of a Tri-phasic block, you have to lower the bar as fast as possible, but as slowly as necessary. With the bar falling quickly, you stop it violently and teach your body how to become an immovable object.
In the last two weeks of the block where you’re focusing on the Concentric portion of the contraction, the name of the game is stretch reflex. You want to combine the eccentric and isometric strengths you’ve developed and use them to facilitate explosiveness. For that, you use the reactive tempo.
As the bar falls from one rep, it initiates the dip of the next rep. In this way, you get maximal activation from the stretch reflex and force the body to redirect more force than it would ordinarily have to.
All of this work should be very heavy loads. The RPE should be between 8.5 and 9 for this work, but not so heavy that you have any missed reps. 1-3 reps per set with anywhere between 2 and 5 sets per workout.
Final Thoughts
I highly recommend getting Dietz’s book and reading through it before you try to apply these concepts to your own training. He outlines specific intensities and how to incorporate contrast training to really step your program up to the next level. He also offers a lot of insight into the requirements of the training to keep you from overloading yourself.
I’ve used this method of training in my own programs and in the programs of my clients for a couple of years during the off-season and it always yields a solid result. The benefits of applying it to the push press aren’t limited to Strongman either. I’ve seen it work for Highland Games and Sport-Specific athletes as well.
To summarize, the Tri-Phasic method focuses on targeting the eccentric, isometric, and concentric phases of muscle contraction separately. When coaches and athletes try to apply this to the press for Strongman, they make the mistake of applying it to the press which is a concentric-only movement. You can use the Tri-Phasic approach for the press in strongman, but to do so you have to focus on the leg drive, not the press itself.