New Beginnings! Today marks the start of our 2-month Agility Block. To be fair, I enjoy every block and appreciate the value of our training system. But I must say I really like the Agility Block for a couple of reasons. First, agility is a necessary component of movement competency and I always benefit from focusing on it for a while. Second, it’s totally gym based. It’s fun to spend two months training in the same place and not having to worry about remembering or forgetting gear on the go. Third, and this is something I should elaborate upon, it’s time for MICROWORKOUTS.
Microworkouts are exactly as they sound. Small doses of excellence that don’t overly fatigue you and that fit easily into your schedule. Most of the sessions we will be utilizing in December and January will last from 25-40 minutes. They are efficient and effective. We try to use a lot of exercise variety during the block so it’s always new, interesting, and challenging.
One thing to know about microworkouts is that they are a part of our Seasonality model of training. You are evolutionarily wired to do brief bouts of movement at this time of year. It’s not the time to do long grinder beatdowns. We can talk about this more in the MasterClass and on the Forum…just know that you are better off with shorter workouts right now.
I want to apologize about this week’s video in a couple ways. First, it’s a little long. I wanted to give you some visual exercise sequences to follow along with (plus some cool tunes) so that stretched the footage a bit. Second, I’m in the process of upgrading equipment and redesigning my studio. I inadvertently cut my head out of the screen for several of the exercises, but I think you’ll still figure things out. Thanks for bearing with me.
Week of 2022-11-28 (week 1 of month 1: Agility Block)
| WOW | PREP | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A X2 | Easy Cardio Free Choice Mode 10 min. Z1-2 | Strength Circuits 4 rounds 8 reps Moderate weight Squedlift Landmine Press Gobsquat BW Row | Tubing Squeezers 10-8-6 Straight sets Curls Incline Press Kickbacks | Get a pump! |
| B X2 | Isometrics 20 second hold each 2 rounds Lunge L Lunge R Pushup Situp | Mobility Flow Series See Video | Stretching Dynamic Strap 10 each Calf Ham Glute Quad OH Raise Sidebend Rotate | Get limber! |
| C X2 | Med Ball 10 each Giant Swing Thruster Slam | Alactic Intervals Bike or Row 10 x 10”hard/50”easy 5’ Z1 recovery | Footwork 10 each Box Jumps Skaters Pogo Jumps Calf Stretch | Give it hell! |
Workout A Breakdown: This is the “joint-friendly” resistance routine. Let’s talk about the moves. Just warm up with some simple aerobic training of your choice at low output. The circuits require you to do one set of each exercise to complete a round, then do 3 more rounds. You can rest as much as you like between exercises and circuits. For now we are focusing on getting really good at the movements. The squedlift is simply a deadlift that is a little “squatty”, meaning you don’t have to have a perfect hinge. Use a trap/hex bar if you have it, otherwise heavy dumbbells off blocks, 5-gallon buckets with you on a box, or sacks of dogshit work fine. #noexcuses #findaway #shutthehellupandjustgetitdone! Same idea goes for the landmine. You can use a barbell setup if you have one, but if not a band and broomstick work fine. Ye Ole Gobsquat is our goblet squat with a kettlebell (or sandbag or sack of shit) held under the chin for effective front-loading. Stand on a ramp, board, brick, or book to elevate the heels. Stay vertical. The bodyweight row works on any weight bar rack, a broomstick across two chairs, or on any suspension trainer (rope or strap over your chin bar for example). The tubing stuff is quite delightful. Emphasize the squeezing action. Straight sets mean you do all sets of the first exercise before you move onto the second.
Workout B Breakdown: Here we have a basic movemensmith flow session. In the video I perform a few reps of each movement. The goal is for you to do 2-4 rounds of the flow series, so you can just follow along with me, and then repeat as many times as you like. You don’t have to know the names of any of the moves, just mimic (or actually do better) the things I’m showing. In fact, please keep in mind that I’ve got some work to do on my mobility, especially in the shoulders, so cut me a little slack if you can. Thanks. Just plug in the vid and cruise along,
Workout C Breakdown: We’ll be using the first of several microworkouts emphasizing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and circuits. All of this is simply high-intensity training (HIT) once warmup is completed. You want to start getting your mind around doing brief, zesty workouts that leave you more energized than exhausted. Just enough work with the med ball to get ready. Then those short intervals with a 1:5 work/rest ratio. Alactic means you go hard, but short enough that you don’t have a chance to build up much lactic acid. With the box jumps, we want to jump up onto the box but then step down between each rep. Skaters have you bounding from side to side with max intent. And pogo jumps are being bouncy from the ankles.
We are also leaping into our Winter MasterClass schedule. Saturday mornings at 9am MST for group sessions. We’ll tackle movement problem-solving and go through some stimulating and innovative workouts. We’ll start with the basics and then build as we go along.
| MASTERCLASS | DAY AND TIME | MEETING INFO |
| Training and Refining Movement | SATURDAY 9:00am-10:00am MDT | Join the MasterClass |
I can’t wait to engage with you in class and in the forum. It’s awesome and so are you!