Diesel Free Ebook Auto Regulation

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts
Copyright 2010 Diesel Crew, LLC, All Rights Reserved.

http://www.dieselcrew.com
1
Original Post from
Dieselcrew.com
Be Like Water
Bruce Lee’s Strength Training

Bruce Lee’s physique and his dedication to strength training has long
been documented. In fact when he traveled, he had his training
equipment shipped to him so he could train on location. (3)
Bruce built his legendary strength (holding a 100lb barbell at arms

length for several seconds, thumb push-ups, 1″ power punch, just to
name of few) and power with a combination of martial arts, isometrics,
weight training, calisthenics, cardio fitness and stretching, hand
grippers and hill running. (1) He knew that if he engaged in a variety
of modalities it would give him the most “functional” strength. It would
not be gained by just weight training alone.

2
“If you’re talking about combat — as it is — well then, baby
you’d better train every part of your body!” — Bruce Lee (from
the video, Bruce Lee: The Lost Interview)
He trained every day in some form or the other.
But, he also knew the importance of periodizing intensity. He knew

you couldn’t go day in and day out with a high intensity for your
workouts.
“Since weight training involves repetitions, a great deal of

energy must be exerted. Therefore, weight training should be
practiced only every other day.” – Bruce Lee
Training as “the art of expressing the human body.” – Bruce

Lee
It is an ongoing process that must be monitored and assessed

everyday.
This is of great importance when discussing strength training for

fitness enthusiasts and athletic preparation.
Be Like Water

3
“Be Like Water” Bruce was famous for saying when talking about
fighting and moving when facing an opponent.
“Empty your mind, be formless.

Shapeless, like water.”
For the application of strength training, I could liken this statement to
two things.
1. Flow or mobility – as we have talked about previously, flow and

mobility is essential for long term health, feeling and moving
better AND getting the most out of your workouts
2. Real-time adjustments in your workout dependent upon your
current state of recovery
For the purposes of this article, we will “be like water” in how we
approach and execute our workout.
The Shit Workout
We’ve all had them. You walk in, the weights feel heavy, we never get
warmed up and we just go through the motions to finish the workout. I

4
hate these workouts, you hate these workouts and they pretty much
suck.
Let’s break down the actual workout, here is an example:
Bench Press, 4×15
DB Clean and Press, 3×12
Pull-ups, 4×8
Face Pulls, 3×20
DONE
So, you start with the first set of bench press and it is just a grinder.
Each rep feels bad. Shoulders aren’t feeling great, your lower back is
tightening up from bracing and you can’t find the bar path you want.
In a normal workout, you’ll just go to the second set of 15 reps and

repeat.
WHY!!!!
Because it is written down on your sheet. You have to do it to

“complete” the workout.
Let me offer an alternative.
That is the old way of doing things.
Auto-regulation and You
You hit a wall and smash into it right? Or do you absorb the impact
and “flow” around it? Auto-regulation means making “real-time”
adjustments in your workout to make each one the most productive it
can be.
Like we talked about, each time you go into the gym you must account
for the sleep you got the last couple of nights, how intense your last
workout was, how your nutrition has been and just basically how you
are feeling right now.

5
You can’t just go into the gym and hit 4 sets of 15 just because that is
what you wrote down. It doesn’t have to be that way and it can’t be
that way.
So how does it work?
Let’s say you go into the gym and hit your warm-up and your first set
feels horrible. Think about what the goal of the workout is? Upper
body and strength or lower body conditioning or whatever… Try to
reach that goal a different way OR try to set yourself up to reach your
goals for the next workout.
Step away from that exercise and / or workout and find an

alternative.
If you were hitting bench press, switch to ring push-ups…
If you were hitting high rep squats, switch to sled dragging…
If you were hitting 85% + of 1RM, switch to 50-70% of 1RM and

increase the reps slightly…
Advanced Techniques
If you were hitting high reps of any exercises, lower the reps for each
exercise and add in mobility or foam rolling BETWEEN EXERCISES.
Get away from straight sets of one particular exercise and add in a
variety of DIFFERENT modalities per set.
Regardless of the techniques you use, the purpose of this article is to

show you that 4×15 does not mean 4×15.
Adjust, adapt and improve.
Jim Smith, CSCS
NOTES:

6
The goal of these replacement auto-regulatory workouts is to not only
activate, deload and prepare your body for the next workout, but also get a
good training session in even after your workout started so bad in the first
place. Use this when you go into the gym and the workout that you had
written down feels horrible.
Notice we didn’t perform 3-4 sets of one exercise in a row. We perform a

strength movement, followed by a stretching or activation movement and
then finished with either a conditioning movement or another activation /
SMR movement. Strength training is not always about straight sets.

7
“Stop thinking of strength training as finishing or completing a fixed workout
with straight sets and fixed reps. Think of it as achieving a small goal for that
session and there are many ways to achieve a goal.” – Jim Smith

8
3 Sample Workouts
Advanced Auto-Regulation
Workout 1 – Upper Body

Mini-Superset 1
1a) DB Bench Press – 12 reps
1b) Posterior Flyes – 12 reps

9
1c) Foam Rolling – Upper Back, Lats, Triceps – 3 minutes
Repeat 2-3 times
Mini-Superset 2
1a) Bodyweight Dips – 12 reps
1b) Band Shoulder Stretches – 1-2 minutes each shoulder
1c) Diesel Face Pulls, 20 reps
Repeat 2-3 times
Mini-Superset 3
1a) Two DB Clean & Press – 8-12 reps
1b) Pectoral Wall Stretches – 1 minute each shoulder
1c) Jump Rope - 2 minutes
Repeat 2-3 times
DONE
Workout 2 – Lower Body

Mini-Superset 1
1a) Backward Lunges from a Deficit – 8-12 reps each leg
1b) Seated Glute Stretch – 1 minute each leg
1c) Tin Man – 1 minute each leg

10
Repeat 2-3 times
Mini-Superset 2
1a) Cossack Squats – 8 reps each leg
1b) Striders – 8 reps each leg
1c) Foam Rolling – Hamstrings, IT Band, Quads – 30 seconds – 1 minute each

muscle group
Repeat 2-3 times
Mini-Superset 3
1a) Back Extensions – 10 reps
1b) Glute Bridging into Shoulder Bridging – 10-12 reps
1c) Treadmill Walking with motor turned off – 2-3 minutes
Repeat 2-3 times
DONE
Workout 3 – Full Body

Mini-Superset 1
1a) Deadlifts – 6-8 reps
1b) Pull-ups – 8 reps
1c) Rotator Cuff “Y” – 12 reps

11
Repeat 2-3 times
Mini-Superset 2
1a) Barbell RDL’s – 10 reps
1b) Seated Rows (at end of video) – 8 reps
1c) Lat Stretches – 2 minutes
Repeat 2-3 times
Mini-Superset 3
1a) Jump Rope – 2 minutes
1b) Plate Pushes – 30 seconds
1c) Foam Rolling – Full Body – 3-5 minutes
1d) Push-ups from Blocks – AMRP*
For Mini-Superset 3, only do ONCE
DONE
*AMRP – As Many Reps as Possible
Conclusion
If you make the assessment that your workout is going to be a grinder for the
day, then build yourself one that will be even better; one that listens and
makes real-time adjustments according to your needs for that day.
How do you build an auto-regulatory workout? Here are some very simple
tips.
Tip 1:
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Mix and match any of the following for mini-circuits, your new auto-
regulation workout doesn’t adhere to any rules. Its goal is to help you reach
your goals.
- Strength training
- Conditioning
- SMR (foam rolling)
- Activation
- Stretching
- Bodyweight exercises
- Mobility work
- Core strength
- Elastic resistance training
Tip 2:
Do not over exert yourself. If you are in need of a workout adjustment, then
you are most likely overtrained or in need of some lower intensity training.
Stay light, work on form and weaknesses.
Tip 3:
Have fun!
Jim Smith, CSCS, CFT, USAW is the co-founding member of the Diesel
Crew. Jim is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning
ABOUT JIM SMITH Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
(CSCS), the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) as a
Certified Fitness Training (CFT) and USA Weightlifting (USAW) as a Club
Coach.
He dedicates himself to studying, developing and enhancing athletic
13
performance through the utilization of conventional, non-conventional
strength training protocols. Helping athletes of all skills levels attain
their goals and “Achieve Beyond Potential”, Jim is also a lecturer, author
and member of the EliteFTS Q&A Staff. Jim is an expert contributor for
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15

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Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

Copyright 2010 Diesel Crew, LLC, All Rights Reserved.

Bruce Lee’s Strength Training

Bruce built his legendary strength (holding a 100lb barbell at arms

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

He trained every day in some form or the other.

But, he also knew the importance of periodizing intensity. He knew

“Since weight training involves repetitions, a great deal of

Training as “the art of expressing the human body.” – Bruce

It is an ongoing process that must be monitored and assessed

This is of great importance when discussing strength training for

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

“Empty your mind, be formless.

1. Flow or mobility – as we have talked about previously, flow and

The Shit Workout

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

Let’s break down the actual workout, here is an example:

Bench Press, 4×15

DB Clean and Press, 3×12

Face Pulls, 3×20

In a normal workout, you’ll just go to the second set of 15 reps and

Because it is written down on your sheet. You have to do it to

Let me offer an alternative.

That is the old way of doing things.

Auto-regulation and You

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

So how does it work?

Step away from that exercise and / or workout and find an

If you were hitting bench press, switch to ring push-ups…

If you were hitting high rep squats, switch to sled dragging…

If you were hitting 85% + of 1RM, switch to 50-70% of 1RM and

Regardless of the techniques you use, the purpose of this article is to

Adjust, adapt and improve.

Jim Smith, CSCS

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

Notice we didn’t perform 3-4 sets of one exercise in a row. We perform a

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

Workout 1 – Upper Body

1a) DB Bench Press – 12 reps

1b) Posterior Flyes – 12 reps

Auto-regulation – 3 Sample Workouts

Repeat 2-3 times

1a) Bodyweight Dips – 12 reps

1b) Band Shoulder Stretches – 1-2 minutes each shoulder

1c) Diesel Face Pulls, 20 reps

Repeat 2-3 times

1a) Two DB Clean & Press – 8-12 reps

1b) Pectoral Wall Stretches – 1 minute each shoulder

1c) Jump Rope - 2 minutes

Repeat 2-3 times

Workout 2 – Lower Body

1a) Backward Lunges from a Deficit – 8-12 reps each leg

1b) Seated Glute Stretch – 1 minute each leg

1c) Tin Man – 1 minute each leg

1a) Cossack Squats – 8 reps each leg

1b) Striders – 8 reps each leg

1c) Foam Rolling – Hamstrings, IT Band, Quads – 30 seconds – 1 minute each

Repeat 2-3 times

1a) Back Extensions – 10 reps

1b) Glute Bridging into Shoulder Bridging – 10-12 reps

1c) Treadmill Walking with motor turned off – 2-3 minutes

Repeat 2-3 times