{"id":15529,"date":"2026-01-24T02:53:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15529"},"modified":"2026-01-24T02:53:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:53:32","slug":"the-art-of-the-indicator-set-tony-gentilcore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/?p=15529","title":{"rendered":"The Art of the Indicator Set \u2013 Tony Gentilcore"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The 21st century has graced us with a bevy of technological advances:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High-speed internet.<\/li>\n<li>Telescopes that now treat us to images of Black Holes<\/li>\n<li>Nanotechnology to help improve manufacturing, healthcare, climate change, and agriculture.<\/li>\n<li>Pizza crust made out of cauliflower.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The health\/fitness sector has also benefitted. Trainers have the ability to work with clients from all over the world in real-time. We also have the capability to measure things like bar speed and heart rate variability via applications on our phone; all of which provide data to help us gauge our \u201creadiness\u201d to train on any given day.<\/p>\n<p>But seriously, cauliflower is now used to make pizza crust! Even more miraculous is that it doesn\u2019t taste like sawdust.<\/p>\n<p>Technology surely is great.<\/p>\n<p>However, when it comes to ascertaining one\u2019s readiness to train I tend to lean more toward the anti-app route, and instead rely on what I call \u201cINDICTOR SETS.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>What the Heck Is An Indicator Set?<\/h2>\n<p>The easiest way to explain is via some anecdotal observances.<\/p>\n<p>I was walking to my gym to train the other day where the plan was to show up, warm-up, crank a little Mobb Deep over the stereo, get angry enough to want to fight a tornado, and work up to a heavy(ish) triple on my deadlift (535 lb).<\/p>\n<p>On paper it looked like a done deal.<\/p>\n<p>But once I started warming up, things didn\u2019t go quite as planned:<\/p>\n<p>135 x 5<\/p>\n<p>225 x 5<\/p>\n<p>315 x 3<\/p>\n<p>405 x 1 (didn\u2019t feel horrible, but didn\u2019t feel great)<\/p>\n<p>455 x 1 (<strong>INDICATOR SET<\/strong>)<\/p>\n<p>An indicator set basically lets me know whether or not I have \u201cit\u201d that day.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, in the previous two weeks, 455 lbs (which is ~70% of my 1RM) literally flew up. Based on \u201cfeel\u201d of my bar speed, and how effortless the set felt, I knew I could make a run for a high 500\u2019s pull.<\/p>\n<p>Put another way, I gave myself the green light to go for it, and I did.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, 455 felt like absolute garbage the other day.<\/p>\n<p>It felt slow off the ground. And it felt even slower at lockout, which I normally never have any issues with.\u00a0 The indication was: \u201cTony, if you attempt to go any higher you\u2019ll run the risk of shitting your spine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So, I did the smart thing and called it.<\/p>\n<p>I re-racked the plates, turned the page, and did my accessory work:\u00a0 DB reverse lunges, a little pouting in the corner, and some pull-throughs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media2.giphy.com\/media\/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExZTBnd3c1OHpyYnN2M2V5OHBlbmN1NDl1cDlpejZhdTNhcnd2cWlraCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw\/gHodZ6EZieyhF1ucYT\/giphy.gif\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/foxtv-gHodZ6EZieyhF1ucYT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Listen, it\u2019s not a perfect system, nor is it anything remotely scientific. To be as transparent as possible: I am <em>not<\/em> anti-technology. But I <em><strong>am<\/strong><\/em> anti-technology to the point that many (not all) people tend to miss the forest for the trees when it comes to their readiness to workout.<\/p>\n<p>If their Apple watch indicates a modicum of fatigue they\u2019ll shut that shit down faster than you can say, well, apple.<\/p>\n<p>Just because your watch says you should avoid training on any given day doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you <em>have<\/em> to. Besides, I\u2019m not entirely sold on the reliability of those apps anyway. I\u2019ve had clients walk into a session feeling like a million bucks only to have their watch tell them danger, danger, DANGER, and to not even look at a barbell.<\/p>\n<p>On the flip side, I\u2019ve also had clients show up feeling like they made out with a petri dish, only to warm-up, move around a little, and then feel like Leonidas leading the Spartans to battle.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/media0.giphy.com\/media\/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExc3BvbWZnNnlvMTBsczNkeDIydWdkZ2Zlamp0aXF2dmo1YXkwd3l6ZiZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw\/1zmG8avB83Uvm\/giphy.gif\" width=\"500\" height=\"213\"\/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/giphy.com\/gifs\/battle-300-1zmG8avB83Uvm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">via GIPHY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Indicator sets help you learn to <strong><em>FEEL<\/em><\/strong> whether or not you\u2019ve got the juice on any given day.\u00a0In short: It\u2019s a form of auto-regulation that helps you to not have to rely on some algorithm.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, it\u2019ll save you a few hundred dollars\u2026\ud83d\ude19<\/p>\n<p>At least in this scenario you\u2019ll have some tangible, <strong><em>performance-based<\/em><\/strong> evidence to help you gauge things. Muscle fatigue is one thing and tends to be easier for many people to use as a metric.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re overly sore you can <em>feel<\/em> that and tweak your programming accordingly. CNS (or nervous system) fatigue is a bit more nebulous and harder to pinpoint, or even feel for that matter.<\/p>\n<p>Indicator sets help you with the latter.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>To that end, I encourage you to start utilizing indicator sets as part of your warm-up on the days you know you\u2019re going to be pushing the envelop.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Pick a weight during your warm-up that you can use to \u201cgauge\u201d where you\u2019re at that particular day. This number should be heavy enough to be challenging, but one you KNOW you can perform fast and with immaculate technique.<\/p>\n<p>(this will likely be around 80% of your 1 rep-max)<\/p>\n<p>Trust me.\u00a0 The whole mindset of lift heavy or go home \u2013 while admirable \u2013 isn\u2019t always the best approach.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/tonygentilcore.com\/2026\/01\/the-art-of-the-indicator-set\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 21st century has graced us with a bevy of technological advances: High-speed internet. Telescopes that now treat us to images of Black Holes Nanotechnology to help improve manufacturing, healthcare, climate change, and agriculture. Pizza crust made out of cauliflower. The health\/fitness sector has also benefitted. Trainers have the ability to work with clients from &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fitness"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15529\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loudhdtv.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}