Strength and Conditioning, known as S&C, echoes ominous connotations of 4am workouts and gut-wrenching circuit-style training. Many of us picture perfectly sculpted athletes dripping with sweat or barbells stacked with more plates than you'd find in most commercial gyms.

Naturally, most gym-goers can be put off by these images, and indeed the complex linguistics that accompany them. Talk of concurrent periodization, energy systems, amortization phases and training tools like Triphasic Training (TT) barely evades alphabet spaghetti, even for those familiar with strength training facilities. The vast majority of those who exercise regularly or even commit to a training program are under-informed on the tools they can (and arguably should) use, settling instead for more impotent but socially acceptable methods of training.

We want to inspire some boldness here. Methods of resistance training, particularly triphasic training are an untouched goldmine of physiological adaptation for a great number of gym-goers. 

A mass overhaul of your current training regime isn’t necessary, you just need to modify the principles of your program to meet the parameters of TT. That’s the beauty of the TT model. Its inherent flexibility means it can be implemented for beginners or advanced athletes alike, and into almost any existing strength program. Regardless of age, training experience or physical ability, there is almost certainly space for some subphase of triphasic training in your workouts, if not the whole package.

The implementation of TT protocols into a training regime can look very different, depending on the team or athlete participating. With that said, there are general guidlines for the rep durations and percentage loads which should be utilised during different subphases.

Dietz and Peterson provide an in depth framework and analysis of the rep scheme and tempo which they have found to be most effective; see the example for a two week isometric block on the left. Take the week 1, Monday session as a sample. It can be read as one set of 5 reps at 50% of the athlete's maximal weight they can lift for one reptition (known as a '1 rep max' or 1RM). 

According to this protocol, this is to be completed at a 0:6:0 tempo, meaning no particular time is prescribed for the eccentric (first number) or concentric (last number) portions of the lift, but that a six second isometric hold should be performed at the maximal range of motion for the lift.