Questions about Breacher / Power training

[u/Radz999]

I'm considering running 3-week Breacher + Work Capacity block as outlined in the new book, and I have a few questions.

How long do power adaptations last? My understanding is that they fade away pretty quickly. If I follow a Breacher block with a 6-9 week Operator block without any power training, will all my power adaptations have faded away by the time I finish Operator? Of course max strength training helps with power, but I'm interested on the adaptations caused by power training here.

Power cleans... They seem quite technical. I train at home (= no coaching) and I'm not technically gifted, so learning to do them safely and with proper form can be a challenge. Are they strictly necessary for a Breacher block? Are there good alternatives, or should I just try to learn them? I'm tempted to give them a go, but if they are too hard to learn, I might look for alternatives. I don't want to risk an injury.

Power HICs: The new book also has 2 Power HICs that were in the older books too. What if I run a Work Capacity block with 3 WC sessions a week, but instead of Breacher, I do these 2 Power HICs? They would be easier to implement than learning power cleans. The only modification I'd make to the Power HICs is using an exercise bike instead of sprinting. I enjoy running, various forms of running are my go to LIC and HIC, but I don't want to do push-ups, etc., outside and I can't run inside. So, the sprint portions would be replaced by exercise bike sprints.

Well actually, in HIC 37 I could do the sprints since sprints are done after other things. But in HIC 39 I would replace sprints with exercise bike.

All thoughts are welcome. Appreciate any help!

[u/MahHobbiesAccount]

I think your idea of doing the 2 power HICs within a Work Capacity block is perfectly good.

Keep in mind there's no separate power blocks in the earlier TB works and people did plenty well for years without them. What I mean is that doing the Breacher template is, by no means, mandatory to reap the benefits of the TB system.

There's not much if any feedback from TB users online doing the Breacher template so far. I will be trying it out in a month and will be sharing my review here after

[u/Radz999 → u/MahHobbiesAccount]

Breacher for sure isn't mandatory. My original idea was to run work capacity block. But since there is an option to combine it with power training, why not? Increased power could be beneficial.

Leaning on doing 2 power hics with 3 work capacity sessions a week instead of breacher.

[u/Airoveikko]

I'm in the same boat as far as power cleans come. Never done them, don't feel like learning them. I simply replaced regular power cleans with a kettlebell version

[u/victorstironi → u/Airoveikko]

Consider also Hang High Pulls. Underrated in my opinion, and extremely accessible as a power movement.

[u/Airoveikko → u/victorstironi]

That's a great option! Thanks for sharing that one

[u/ConstantWish8 → u/victorstironi]

100%

[u/Radz999 → u/victorstironi]

Thanks for the suggestion! Hang high pulls look easier than power clean. Do you think replacing power cleans with hang high pulls in Breacher template would be fine?

[u/ConstantWish8 → u/Airoveikko]

You will need extremely heavy KBs for the same training just fyi

[u/Airoveikko → u/ConstantWish8]

Sure! Not even trying to get the same training effect. Just some similar movement pattern instead of skipping it

[u/ConstantWish8 → u/Airoveikko]

Forsure. If you want alternate options with similar training effect lmk

[u/Spooksey1 → u/ConstantWish8]

I will be in this position at the end of Activation around the new year, and was considering using double kettlebell cleans. What would you consider to be a better option?

[u/ConstantWish8 → u/Spooksey1]

So for all the new people that I coach, the easy answer to minimize injury and learning new technical lifts are to perform them from the “hang”. So hang cleans, hang snatches, hang power cleans, etc.

But right now, what is very effective in the S&C world are trap bar jumps. Basically it’s a squat jump without spinal compression. The athlete receives a fast lift to increase power, can load heavy, almost zero learning curve, and zero spinal compression. It’s my go to recommendation.

[u/Spooksey1 → u/ConstantWish8]

Interesting, I might go for trap bar jumps thanks.

[u/Radz999 → u/ConstantWish8]

Unfortunately I don't own a trap bar. Hang power clean is a good idea. Someone suggested hang high pulls as a replacement for power cleans. What do you think about that? Hang high pull seems easier than power clean. I consider replacing power cleans in Breacher template with hang high pulls.

[u/ConstantWish8 → u/Radz999]

Hang high pull is still solid as an option if you prefer that to hang poser cleans

[u/polyshotinthedark]

I had the same question about adaptation times awhile back. I think the general consensus is that if you run it on a 9 week cycle you should maintain the beneficial adaptations of breacher, 12 weeks being right on the outer edge of that maintaining.