{"id":65133,"date":"2025-10-08T08:46:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/65133\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T08:46:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:46:11","slug":"use-the-grease-the-groove-method-to-build-serious-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/65133\/","title":{"rendered":"Use the \u2018Grease the Groove\u2019 Method to Build Serious Strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve all heard of \u201cexercise snacks<\/a>\u201d \u2014 the idea that short movement breaks during the workday can deliver a range of health benefits. But another minimalist method<\/a>, used by the U.S. Navy SEALs and Marines, could also help build strength<\/a> \u2014 without training to failure or doing endless squats in your living room.<\/p>\n

Neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman recently interviewed Russian strength coach Pavel Tsatsouline on the Huberman Lab podcast<\/a>, where they discussed the \u201cGrease the Groove\u201d method. And how we can use it too. <\/p>\n

What Is the ‘Grease the Groove’ Method?<\/p>\n

The Grease the Groove method, coined by Pavel Tsatsouline, focuses on training your nervous system rather than chasing volume<\/a>. Instead of pushing to failure, you work at around 75-85% of your one rep max \u2013 and half the reps of what you could normally do \u2013 repeating several times a day (or session). By practising a lift frequently while staying fresh, the method is supposed to strengthen the neural connection between your brain and muscles, improving strength and efficiency without getting too tired.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

\u2018Traditional education and traditional strength training is based on the cramming model,\u2019 Tsatsouline says. \u2018You\u2019re studying at night and you somehow squeak by and you pass it. Then a couple of days later, you happily forget everything.\u2019<\/p>\n

By contrast, he compares the Grease the Groove method to learning a language. \u2018At every opportunity, you\u2019re just going through your deck,’ he says, ‘like,”Oh, can I translate this word?” Then next time you\u2019re in some other place, you do this again.’<\/p>\n

The key idea is that frequent, sub-maximal practice improves neural development. \u2018Every time that you activate a particular connection, a synaptic connection between the neurons, that connection becomes stronger,\u2019 Tsatsouline says. \u2018The \u2018grease the groove\u2019 is that command that\u2019s coming in from your brain to your muscles, that\u2019s the groove. And the more you use it, pretty much the more grease it becomes. So in the future, you don\u2019t have to try as hard to lift the same model weight, or you can try the same amount and lift harder.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"full<\/p>\n

Neustockimages\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a very easy and very simple way to train,\u2019 he continues, \u2018and strength comes very easily and very, very unexpectedly. To make sure that it does happen, you have to address the issue of specificity. To get stronger first of all, you need to lift weights that are heavy enough, and if you\u2019re looking at percentages of one rep<\/a>, we\u2019re looking at like 75 to 85% typically.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lifting too light won\u2019t make an impression on your nervous system, while going too heavy can lead to excessive fatigue. The load should be \u2018a weight that\u2019s heavy enough to respect and light enough not to fear,’ he says. \u2018And the second of all, and this is very surprising, is that you only do about half or fewer reps than you possibly could do. Let\u2019s say that you\u2019re lifting 80 percent of your one lift max, you\u2019re only going to do about 3-4 reps per set and that\u2019s it.\u2019<\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

He distinguishes between effort and intensity, explaining. \u2018There are times for [using more effort], but if the weight is heavy enough and you do half the repetitions that you possibly could do, you\u2019re going to get stronger, he says. \u2018It\u2019s very safe, and you\u2019re not going to burn out psychologically. It\u2019s also very easy on your body, you\u2019re trying to train moderately heavy as often as possible while staying as fresh as possible.\u2019<\/p>\n

How to Do the Grease the Groove MethodLoad: Work at 75-85% of your one rep maxReps: Do half or less of your possible reps per setSets: Spread those short sets throughout the day or session if more suitableTrain for 2 or 3 days in a row, with at least one rest day a weekCan work with minimal equipment: kettlebells, dumbbells or bodyweight, as long as the weight is the right percentageRelated Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve all heard of \u201cexercise snacks\u201d \u2014 the idea that short movement breaks during the workday can deliver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[5218,52735,2117,565,134,2116,111,139,69,52734],"class_list":["post-65133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-5db32a5d-12be-4eb6-b5f5-17905b0e7eb7","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-locale-gb","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-shorttitle-use-the-grease-the-groove-method-to-build-serious-strength"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}