In an old post on practice and repetition, I mentioned a Pavel Tsatsouline method called Grease the Groove and gave some suggestions of what types of skills are well-suited to this type of training. I’d like to expand the scope of that original post a bit and discuss more of the how and why of GTG and where it can intersect with becoming a better Krav Maga practitioner.
The GTG method is explained in Pavel’s book The Naked Warrior, which focuses on developing maximal strength with bodyweight exercises through manipulations of tension and leverages. Recall from the practice post that the central concept of GTG is:
Specificity + frequent practice = success
Here’s the simplest possible example of how to use GTG: Set up a pull-up bar in your home or office (or select a proper structural support beam out back in the warehouse…). Every time you walk past it, do a sub-maximal set of pull-ups. Over the course of the day, you will easily rack up A LOT of pull-ups. Two of the biggest advantages of this approach are that you improve quickly due to the training volume and frequency, and you don’t need a dedicated workout time and place.
This seems straightforward enough, but there are right and wrong ways of employing GTG to maximize the success of your efforts.
