Skinny Strong: How it Happens and a Technique (G.T.G.) for achieving it

Traditional weightlifting increases both size and strength. For most people this is ideal and doesn't come with any drawbacks. However, there are instances where it's more ideal to gain strength and power without the addition of extra bodyweight. This is a common situation for anyone in athletic events involving weight divisions or those working on bodyweight skills such as pull ups or vertical jumping, which are easier to perform at lower body weights. In these instances the strength of the body can be increase via neuromuscular efficiency training with little to no increase in muscle size. The technique explored in this video is known as "greasing the groove", a term coined by kettlebell guru Pavel Tsatsuoline. This technique can create amazing gains in strength, power, strength endurance and strength skill in a relatively short period of time.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:57 Two Types of Strength
2:00 Greasing the Groove
4:00 Example Grease the Groove Routines

[justincase]

This program works!

I doubled my pull ups.... from 1 rep to 2.

[MrOrthodox]

I swear this is what K Boges recommends us doing, no overtraining, keep your form tight and do them every day. Physical and physiological hygiene.

[Indacut]

Once yours muscles are familiarized with a movement, it’s like teaching the best student you’ll ever know

[tobywebb]

This is why old school labourers/builders are lean and strong compared to beefed up gym goers

[MooseyGoosey]

Most people fail because the urge to overtrain is very powerful. I used to do this will pull ups everyday and got joint problems. The amount of reps or sets you should be doing will be far less than you think it should be if you're doing it everyday.

[warwolf]

Yeah so I achieved this by accident. I was trying to get buff, not skinny strong

[russetvelvet]

This methodology has worked well for me too. The key is the consistency to do it frequently enough and the discipline to not kill yourself by overtraining.

[PT]

This is why I hate when people discredit Bruce Lee for his size

[RealMarshFitness]

Grease the Groove is so underrated. This technique deserves more attention.

[KarltonMeadows]

I love the beautiful blend of scientific and laymen terminology and illustrations

[joellittles]

The boxer you mentioned with tremendous power in a little body Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini actually killed an opponent (Kim Duk-koo) in a boxing match.

[moonwalker-if]

Lift heavy for short reps with high mecha tension for mecha strength. Move light for long/g.t.g reps with low mecha tension for neuromascular strength.

[postandghost]

Im 5'4", I bounce between 160–170lbs, I workout maybe 5–10 times a month, but I look to be about average with a flat muffin top. I can confirm, that people of average height and strong physique get absolutely confused when they see me lift or pull the same weight as them. They ask what I do for training and they get even more confused whe I tell them my 'routine'.
But my true secrets to maintaining my health without working out all the time is labor. I was a landscaper for almost a year, enough time on the job to confidentiality develop lifelong skills, and I still use them to improve my mom and grandparents. I dig up dirt and clay, planted entire 5 year old trees, moved countless bags of soil and cement, its like doing a workout for 6–8 hours with varying rest times and exercises.
Another factor that I believe plays into my strength is my mental fortitude. I spent the first 5 years of my adult life as an active duty Marine Infantryman. I was amongst one of the shortest, and aesthetically one of the smallest, so Im always putting in double effort just to keep up with the average sized Marines. Ive carried 80lbs of weight over 20 miles with overly blistered feet during battalion rucks. Whenever we did 1v1 sparring I always picked the guys twice my size just to raise the morale of my platoon and give them something entertaining to watch. I would rarely ever win, but my opponents would always become gassed out by the end of it. Ive carried average sized people over my shoulders with full gear on both myself and my partner during medevac drills. We would run 3–6 miles in stabbing, ice cold –20*F weather every winter. I essentially lived in my 30+lbs worth of gear every time we did practical training.
Ive always been of the belief that strength is determined moreso by the fortitude of your mind rather than your muscles.

[julianmartinez]

To bodybuilders this is anathema.
Repeating endlessly movements for strenght and precission is the base of traditional martial arts training, yet many people (even modern combat sports practititoners) disregard it.
Now, it seems that there's some science to back this up

[stephenmatson]

I discovered this method while locked up in prison. My body dramatically changed in a period of a few months. I didn't gain much muscle mass, but instead became very ripped and strong. Almost over night I had a perfect six pack and had incredible vascularity. I started out doing just one set of burpees after reading 20 pages of a book. Every 20 pages, I owed one rep. It quickly increased, easily to 10 reps, etc.

[DUKEHadToDoItToEm]

Build muscle memory and the connections your brain has to what little muscle you have so you can utilize more of it more effectively. Makes a lot of sense really

[eddiearmenta]

This completely made my day! I’m a boxer too and skinny strong is exactly how I’m trying to be. Peace and have a blessed day!

[frizz]

needed this because i've trying to increase my pull up reps. I went from not being able to do any, did hella push ups for 5 weeks straight, came back and could rep out 4-5 easily. now i regressed back to 2-3 and its been playing with my mind knowing i can get 4-5. definitely perfect timing for this video to show up on my recommended

[austinwebb]

I've been doing this with pull ups and push ups. I can easily do 20+ strict form pull ups and 50+ slow strict form push ups at 190lbs bodyweight.

[rahulsup]

I'm an undisciplined person in general, and don't really measure my progress, so I decided to start progressing at least with push ups and sit ups. I started with 10 push ups and sit ups on a Sunday and doing only one set, then increase the amount of sets each day until Saturday (where i'd do 7 sets of 10 pushups and situps). Then the next week, I'll drop back down to 1 set and increased the reps to 11. Each week, I'm resetting and plan on increasing the reps by one.

This has helped me stay more consistent with the routine, and has helped avoid decreased quality of reps from being overly tired.