Week 2 of Month 1 of the Strength Block is upon us! This week we are going to apply a bit more methodology in the training system. We’ve got a good workout structure set up and it includes some excellent compound and functional movements. Now we are going to make some distinctions between strength and hypertrophy.
Strength is max force production capacity. It’s synonymous with your 1 rep max. It’s the absolute most weight you can lift one time. We currently do not have any 1 rep max lifts in the program. That’s because you can gain quite a bit of strength with sets of 4-8 reps…without the potentially greater injury risk associated with heavy singles, doubles, and triples. If we were powerlifters with years of serious, heavy training under our belts, we’d need to do the super heavy stuff in order to stimulate further adaptations. But since we are everyday Lifetime Athletes, we can do OK for now (in this first month) pumping out a few more reps. Now, here’s the one thing you need to know about strength training, IT’S ALL ABOUT INTENSITY. In other words, your intention must be maximal. If you just do your 8 reps with a so-so effort, and don’t really push hard at that 9/10 or better RPE, you won’t get stronger. Sure, you’ll tone a bit, but we are after some gains. Just make sure that on 1-2 working sets of 1-2 exercises in each workout, you give it a very strong effort.
Hypertrophy is muscle size gains. The muscle fibers actually get thicker in cross-sectional diameter with hypertrophy-focused resistance training. There are three things we are trying to accumulate: time under tension, mild fiber damage, and metabolic stress. These elements are most strongly tied to OVERALL WORKOUT VOLUME. Most of the studies suggest that if you really concentrate hard on that mind-muscle connection and do 10-15 reps per set, you can probably best stimulate hypertrophy. But doing this can get a little exhausting.
So, as you can see, we are living in a very happy middle ground. With our sets of 8 reps this month, you are getting some strength as well as some hypertrophy benefits. While I’m writing the programming to be fairly consistent, there are some tweaks you can make to the routine in which we are doing those 5 sets of 8 for all exercises in the primary.
- If you want more strength, add an additional working set to your total so you do 4 of those instead of 3 (thus 6 per exercise), add more weight, drop your reps to 6, and take longer rest periods.
- If you want more muscle development, keep the same number of sets and same weights but increase the rep count to 10 and slightly decrease your rest periods. Focus hard on getting your pump.
- Or just keep it the same and don’t worry about it. Just consistently doing that will work great.
Week of 2023-02-06 (week 2 of month 1: Strength Block)
| WOW | PREP | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A X2 Push | Tubing Chest Press x 30 Trunk Twist x 30 | Bench Press Overhead Press Pressdown | Jog 10-30 min. Zone 1-2 easy/steady | Kill! |
| B X2 Legs | Med Ball Front Squat x 15 Bridge x 15 (feet on ball) | Back Squat Step Up Calf Raise | HIT Circuit 30”on/30”off 2-4 rounds Low Box Jump MB Slam Reversing Split Jump MB Situp | Smash! |
| C X2 Pull | Low Impact Cardio Bike, row, etc. 10minutes Zone 1-2 easy/steady | Assisted Pullups Deadlift KB Swing | Iso BW Rows 3 x 30” With breathwork Drop Set Curls H-M-L10 each No rest | Pump! |
No changes in the workouts from last week. You can increase the time of cardio on A and C if you want. The Running Demons are training for the mile and they are squeezing in another jog anywhere in the week that works.
Been jamming on the Forum with a few Demons. Hope you have some questions and comments on what we are doing. I’d love to help. MC’s are smoking. I’ve been trying to make sure we drill down on an important topic (there are so many) as we get a nice workout. SAD NEWS…WE HAVE HAD A LOSS OF A CLOSE FRIEND AND I NEED TO ATTEND AN OUT OF TOWN FUNERAL THIS COMING SATURDAY FEB 11. THERE WILL BE NO MASTERCLASS THIS WEEK. THANKS FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.
The strength we build now will serve us all year. And the muscle we put on is the fountain of youth, the agent of long life, and our greatest metabolic organ. What a bargain!