Rules for GPP
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You won’t often see a powerlifter performing traditional long-form cardiovascular activity, and for good reason. Trudging up the Stairmaster for half an hour will tire you out and deplete glycogen. It will not improve your ability to perform high-rep sets. It will not make you more competitive at a lighter weight class. It will not help you grow a decent set of glutes. It might help to mitigate some long-term cardiovascular risk factors, but there are far more effective and efficient methods to improve your heart health.
That doesn’t mean you can just go into the gym, lift weights, and call it a day. Improving your general physical preparedness is absolutely essential for maximizing both health and performance. In this article, I’m going to explain how I program GPP for powerlifting specifically. However, I think this type of training is beneficial for literally everyone. Overuse of traditional cardiovascular exercise is the single biggest mistake I see the “average person” make. Unless you are a competitive endurance athlete, running, biking, or swimming for extended periods of time more than once per week is at best a waste of that time and in nearly every case is going to make you look, feel, and perform worse, not better.
Three Rules of Good GPP Work
If you’ve never heard the term “GPP,” check out this article for a quick introduction before reading on!
GPP training should be dynamic.
I’m using a broad term here intentionally, because I want to highlight how many different good GPP options exist outside of hopping on a cardio machine. “Dynamic” in this context can mean explosive (as is the case with plyometrics), coordinated (battle ropes, tire flips), or variable (sled and med ball work). In most cases, you’ll want to pick an open-chain movement. Here’s a list of just a few examples:
Sled Dragging — forward, backward, lateral, arms only, etc.
Plyometrics — jumps of all kinds, clapping pushups, slow eccentric pullups
Med Ball Work — throws, slams, etc.
Battle Ropes — slams, alternating waves, carries
Weighted Carries — yoke walks, farmer walks, front carries
GPP training should be repeatable.
This is where most powerlifters go wrong with GPP. They choose good movements, and then do them the wrong way. They turn sled dragging or farmers’ carries into regular-old cardiovascular work by mindlessly dragging or carrying a moderate weight until they get tired. This style of training is worthless.
Your GPP work must be repeatable. That means your first set, last set, and all the sets in between should demonstrate the same level of effort, duration, and result. For example, let’s say you’re doing sets of 3 box jumps to 36 inches with one minute rest between sets. Unless you are very short or very overweight, this should be fairly easy. As soon as you start needing to psych yourself up, take longer rest times, or lower the box height to complete a set, you’re done.
If you’re doing sled drags, you might start out using 200 pounds for 50 feet in 20 seconds, resting one minute between sets. When your drags start to take 22 or 24 seconds, you’re done.
If you’re doing ten seconds of battle rope slams EMOM, and you start off getting ten slams and then drop to seven or eight, you’re done.
If at any point you start to suck air, you’re done.
By now, hopefully you’re getting the picture. You are not doing traditional cardiovascular work. You are improving your general physical preparedness by training the energy systems involved in a 1RM attempt on the platform with less sport-specific exercise.
GPP training should be engaging.
I’ve mentioned the mistake of turning GPP into cardio several times already, but I haven’t explained why so many lifters make that mistake. I think in many cases it’s because it just feels good to get your heart rate up, break a sweat, and turn your brain off. I don’t deny that this type of cardio feels good — I just deny that it’s useful. In fact, I don’t think that any kind of mindless activity is ever beneficial, and GPP is no exception. I’ve written before about the benefits of mindfulness, and whether you’re performing sled drags, med ball throws, or anything else, you need to make sure that you’re doing so with intent.
Sometimes, that’s easy. For example, if you’re in the middle of a heavy farmer’s walk, you’ll find it difficult not to focus on your hands. I use this example intentionally because I find that in general, the best way to stay mindful is to focus on the sensations in your hands. Your hands are your primary tool for interacting with the world around you, and they transmit an enormous amount of information to your brain. Use that information to your advantage!
Three Mistakes To Avoid With GPP Work
I’ve touched on these mistakes in the above paragraphs, but I want to highlight them again briefly because I so often see lifters commit them.
Getting winded.
I sound like a broken record at this point: GPP is not cardio. If you’re getting winded, you’re not training in a way that will support a 1RM attempt. Take longer rests or modify your protocols so that your sets last no more than about 10 seconds.
Zoning out.
You won’t get much out of mindless activity. You should be focused on your body and how it moves when you’re doing anything in the gym, including GPP. If you find this difficult, try turning your attention to the sensations in your hands.
Slowing down.
GPP should not be fatiguing. When your performance starts to drop, you’re done. If you need to slow down or take more rest time to be able to complete your planned work, you’re overreaching. A good rule of thumb for GPP sessions is that you should leave the gym feeling better than when you walked in.
More Resources
I want to end with a few more good resources on programming GPP work. If you need even more help, you can always contact me for coaching!
First, a classic — one of Louie Simmons’s early articles on GPP: Deepsquatter
More on the need for GPP: Crossfit
Some good movements to incorporate in your GPP program: MASQ Training
Lastly, an article arguing in favor of cardio for strength athletes: Stronger By Science