MMS Lite Finished

MMS Lite Review

Just finished the program and a one week break for a road trip. Last year I tried and got derailed toward the end. Didn’t get bigger necessarily, but I wasn’t really trying. I didn’t come in at a weight I wanted, and I didn’t want to eat “like a shark” as Dan John suggests. I don’t really need more mass anyway, but I really need more strength. So, I decided to experiment with logging all food with the CRON-O-Meter to see what I could learn, while only worrying about workouts in the gym. The food logging  was quite interesting, enough for a separate post.

What I wanted was to get stronger, and take a break from the bike. It worked. I liked the program’s focus on simple barbell training and loaded carries. I like squatting. I like Farmer’s Walks. I increased loads on all lifts over the six weeks, and in the case of the squats, load went up, and the volume stayed high. The result of that squat volume is better performance on the bike. Last year the time spent on the program definitely increased my torque on the MTB up those big CO climbs. My pulling improved, but my bench press is still really weak. I guess I need to keep at it.

What I missed was deadlifts, and after attending a MTB skills clinic, I finally “got it” concerning the hip hinge and its importance for MTB. It’s not just power to the pedals, it has to do with moving the bike most efficiently over obstacles, big and small, and pumping for speed. So while I’m sure the squat program helped, it’s time to get back to hinging as the main lower body movement. I also skipped my usual plank circuit, so that needs to come back as well. I didn’t want to completely shut down my aerobic fitness, so I added in a short run on non lifting days and some 45 min walks most days to help keep aerobic function and help with recovery. I did some light KB swings as well, until my back got a little grumpy, and I wanted to save it for the squats.

Now I’m off for a gym based 40 day program while building my aerobic base, another one Dan John’s favorites.