Three-time Olympian Adam Nelson is the only World and Olympic Champion in the history of the shot put. 

I was helping my daughter with her math homework last week. She's a gifted student, so the only time she really makes a mistake is when she rushes her work. She knows what to do, but she does much better when she slows down. Exercise is a lot like my daughter's math homework. We're often in such a hurry to finish that we miss out on a lot of potential gains. The Tic-Toc-Tober workout challenges you to slow things down in order to improve your performance.

It works by principle called Time Under Tension (TUT), or Tempo Training - I manipulate time under tension to enhance the training effect. If you want to truly optimize your strength, speed, or general durability, understanding and integrating tempo protocols into your training can be an absolute game changer. 

I was first introduced to Tempo Training in 2003 by my mentor in strength and conditioning, the late, world-renowned strength coach Charles Poliquin. During our first workouts together, he repeatedly told me to slow down. He wanted each rep in a specific exercise performed with a 4 second eccentric phase (lowering of the weight), 0 second pause at the bottom, 1 second (or as fast as possible lifting the weight), 0 second pause at the top. I labored on each rep of every workout for the first month. And the results were amazing. In one month I lost two pounds of bodyweight, dropped a remarkable 5% of bodyfat, and saw a complete change to my body composition. That's a 13lb gain in my lean muscle mass. I was hooked. 

Tempo Training maximizes the number of muscle motor units recruited during a specific exercise. The more muscle motor units you train, the more muscle fiber you challenge. Train those muscles in the correct sequence with the correct complementary patterns, and you will begin to understand how much you've been missing out on.

In the Tic-Toc-Tober workout - as in all of my workouts - you will see a prescribed tempo for each rep of each exercise, written like this:

4123

4 = 4 seconds lowering for the eccentric phase

1 = 1 second pause between the eccentric and concentric phases (usually at the bottom of a movement like the squat or the bench).

2 = 2 seconds raising for the concentric phase.

3 = 3 seconds pause between the concentric and eccentric phases (usually at the top of a lift)

Note: A pause does NOT mean release the tension in the muscles. You must maintain the tension the entire time. 

The first time you tempo train it will humble you. Those weights you're used to blowing through will become quite challenging. The day after (or two days afterwards) you will likely be extremely sore. That's part of the process. 

In addition to the tempo, you'll notice that workout is composed of 3 distinct training days followed by 1 day off. That means you'll be able to complete SEVEN workouts in 28 days. If you're able to stick to the programming, you won't need to worry about a costume for Halloween. Just paint yourself green, put on some ripped purple pants, and go get that candy. You earned it.

Don't be foolhardy. Start with a lighter weight. If you feel yourself getting sick, you probably are. So stop.

The first time I worked out with Charles, I threw up during an arm workout. It was humiliating. 

Calibrating your maximum loads is part of the process, also. But Time Under Tension should not require Time at the Toilet. 

Access Adam Nelson's Tic-Toc-Tober workout here.
Click here for an overview of Adam's Inception training program.