It’s week 3 of Month 1 in our Strength Training Block. We are going to up the intensity a bit. Just a bit, though. One of the secrets of progressive overload training is that those overloads are fairly subtle. No need to shock your bod, just coax it to the next level. That’s why we’ve been working on staying consistent with the same exercises and overall workout setup.
We’re now going to make the adjustments that we talked about last week as suggestions. This week they will become strong (because this is the STRENGTH block) recommendations. We’re going to adjust the working sets in the primary section of each session. This should make total sense. Each Workout is designed to be done twice in a week. The first time you do A, B, & C, load up your 3 working sets and do 4 reps at RPE 9.5+. This is going hard and heavy. Rest 3 minutes between those sets to fully recharge. Then, the second time you hit the workouts, use a little less weight and crank out 12 reps in those 3 working sets, resting only 90 seconds.
One workout will drive CNS changes and strength. The other leans more on circulation (pump) and hypertrophy.
Week of 2023-02-13 (week 3 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-L 10 each No rest | Pump! |
When you bang out the strength sessions, you’ll need heavy loads. Ideally, this would be weights but it can also be accomplished by attaching bands to your weights, or even doing isometric holds on each of those 4 reps at midrange for 20-30 seconds to increase demand. Let me know if you need any advice.
On the hypertrophy stuff, another trick to employ is just slowing down your tempo, particularly on the eccentric phase, and thus increasing muscular time under tension.
BONUS INFO FOR RUNNING DEMONS: By request, I’ll be putting in a demon section each week in this document. Keep up with your resistance workouts and also getting that extra jog in each week. Get a little jumprope or hopping work in to improve ground contact efficiency. But here is the first assignment. Over the next two weeks, do a max heart rate test because we will be using that for come calculations soon. Outside or treadmill. Here’s the protocol. Jog two miles and finish on a long, steep hill that takes you a full minute to run up. Go as hard as you can on that hill. At the end/top, check your HR and record it. If you have a monitor (best) you are good to go. Otherwise, place two fingers on your carotid artery in your neck, count your beats in 10 seconds and multiply by 6.
Whether we are talking about the MasterClass or the Forum, that’s the benefit of being in the tribe. Instead of just a list of exercises from a 25 year-old fitness influencer, you get real actionable, results-getting information that works for you as a Lifetime Athlete.
| MASTERCLASS | DAY AND TIME | MEETING INFO |
| Training and Refining Movement | SATURDAY 9:00am-10:00am MST | Join the MasterClass |
This week will be fairly tough and that’s what we are shooting for. Next week we will deload slightly to allow our bodies to absorb the stimulus.