Grease the Groove

Greasing the groove is coined by the world-renowned fitness instructor, Pavel Tsatsouline. The goal of greasing the groove is to enhance the connection between the muscle and the neurons. Greasing the groove is a great resource to adapt your muscles and your central nervous system to the task at hand.

Why you should ‘Grease the Groove’

Greasing the groove is one of the best techniques out there for increasing the capacity for specific movements and muscle activation. If you want to get better at a specific movement like the bench press or a pull-up, this is where to start.

How ‘Grease the Groove’ works

When you perform any movement in the gym, a signal gets sent from your brain to the muscle fibers. Identical movements will lead to more of those same signals. As these signals get repeated the brain to muscle patterns becomes more efficient. When this pattern gets more efficient your muscles will activate faster and easier. In addition, the movement will become more natural. All of these changes will increase your output, increasing your capacity for whatever the movement is.

Keys for Success

Low Intensity - only do 50% of your max here. The goal is to improve the mind-muscle connection here, not to max out or even break a sweat. With this intensity you can still do the same number of sets.

Blast the Groove - on days where you aren’t doing other training it is important to blast the groove. For this you want to focus on the eccentric for your last set and do it slowly (the direction where you are letting go of the contraction.) This will result in the most benefit, but will also tire the muscle the most.

Consistency - Everyday to multiple times a day, this method should be used frequently. The more you perform the movement the more efficient you will get with it.