Oh Yeah! We’re jumping into our Strength Block this week. That’s 3 dedicated months of increasing strength and muscle mass. I love all the blocks and I find each aspect of training both enjoyable and challenging. But I must admit there is something special and traditional about getting in the gym and clanging and banging.
In preparation for this block, make sure you’ve got enough weight and resistance bands. Getting some extra plates for your barbell, a heavier set of DB’s, or a couple new KB’s is great. However, if space and budget don’t make that allowable, grab two sets of resistance bands (ask me in the Forum or MasterClass for specifics) and you can rig your exercises to be more effective at a very low price point.
February gets us back into basics. Compound exercises and more volume. We are using a Push-Legs-Pull training split. This means you have 3 workouts to perform twice each in a week, if all goes well.
Here is some really important information to memorize, because we’ll be using these principles a lot over the next three months. The name of the game now is progressive overload and that’s how we actually build strength and muscle. In the other blocks, I could simply say use a “light” or “medium” or “heavy” weight and that was good enough. Not now. We need to take some of our efforts to near max in order to make gains.
We are going to be using the concept of RPE, which stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. We use a 1-10 scale, and generally exercise falls in the 6-10 range. Simply, an RPE of 6 means you give 60% of WHAT YOU GOT in the set, RPE 7/10 = 70% of max effort, and so on. Ideally, you’ll adjust weight (if you have enough) or tension (with bands) to stay roughly in the suggested rep ranges as per the table. However, output trumps recommendations in this phase. So, if you need to give a 90% effort per your estimate, but you don’t have enough weight to stay in the recommended rep range, just pile on more reps to get the effort. I’ll also be teaching you some other tricks to increase the loading effect, but that’s enough for now. Over time, you’ll get a great feel for what your RPE is in every exercise. It’s fine to guess at the start. You’ll want to ping me in the Forum and in the MasterClass to make sure we drive this stuff home rock solid.
Week of 2022-01-31 (week 1 of month 1: Strength Block)
| WOW | PREP | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A PUSH X2 | 1 x 15 Tubing Shoulder press Chest press Pressdown Kickback | 5 x 6 Progressive Add wt 1st 3 sets RPE 6-7-8-8-8 Bench Press | AMRAP To failure 1 x only Pushups w/feet elevated Push press Any implement | Bonus Jump rope 3 x 1’ |
| B LEGS X2 | 1 x 15 Med Ball Thruster Giant swing Mock throw situp 1-leg balance bridge | 5 x 6 as above Goblet Squat w/heels elevated | Plyometrics 2 x 10” each Box jump Depth drop Mtn climber | Bonus Sprint 5 x 10” RPE 8 Max rests |
| C PULL X2 | 1 X 15 Sandbag High pull Bent row Clean to sky Horizontal press | 5 x 6 as above Deadlift | Finishers KB Swings3 x 30” Assisted Pullups3 x 20” Bodyweight Rows3 x 15” | Bonus Cardio Free Choice RPE 7/10 20-30’ |
Workout A Breakdown: Here we are using primarily pushing exercises so we get a lot of extension pattern as well as emphasis on pecs, delts, and triceps. The tubing warmups are simple. Shoulder press is two hands on handle, step on tubing, press overhead. Chest press is using an anchor behind you at shoulder blade level. Pressdown is looping over your chin bar. Kickback is with a low anchor. In the bench press, you can use barbells or dumbbells. Flat bench. Ask me how to rig if you need help. In the AMRAP’s start the pushups with a book or board and then build up from there. Push press is the OHP with the leg impulse but not a full thruster. Jump rope can be invisible or real.
Workout B Breakdown: This session is mostly legs and gravitational defiance. Get activated with some basic med ball work. Your GobSquat needs a ramp or board to create that toes down foot angle. This helps you to stay vertical in your squat and not be too hinge-like (that’s a deadlift and it’s in a different workout). Front load it anyway you can with KB, DB, or Sandbag, all held under the chin. You can even push it away from you slightly as you descend to help with alignment. Go easy on the jumps and sprints. They are great for us, but we gotta ease into this. You can get hurt if you get too crazy, or lack consistency. Those are the enemies of Lifetime Athletes.
Workout C Breakdown: In this workout you are using flexing patterns and focusing on posterior chain, back, and biceps. Grip gets a challenge as well. The sandbag prep is fairly zesty for that many reps, so feel free to break it up as needed. If you don’t have a sandbag (you can read the Introductory Information and make or buy one) just use any gymbag or backpack with a load in it. As I often say, a sack of dogshit will work, so there really are no excuses. Ever. On the deadlift, a straight bar, trap bar, or heavy dumbbells on blocks (or other bells) is the best. However, you can use loaded buckets or even heavy bands. Just don’t fluff this with powder puffs. We gotta grip and rip it! The finishers will give you a nice burn if you are craving it, and a cardio sesh ending is delightful.
MasterClass sessions have been going gangbusters. Pattern enhancement through biomechanical wisdom is really working. Folks are getting stronger, faster, and more supple not by crushing themselves, but by intelligently perfecting how their bodies work. I love it!
| MASTERCLASS | DAY AND TIME | MEETING INFO |
| Training and Refining Movement Have your home gym ready to go! | SAT 9AM MT |  Join Zoom MeetingID: 87640683371 Passcode: VPyNMr62 |
I’m looking forward to training with you and seeing your gains. As one of our members likes to say “Today (and how about EVERY DAY) we are strong!” Finally, note that all the exercises in the video occur in the order that they appear in workout A, B, and C, respectively.