We are marching into another month in the Strength Block, and that just happens to be the month of March. It’s the second of three months in which we use resistance training to enhance our strength and muscular development. You could always listen to Sammy Hagar’s “Marching to Mars” if you need a theme song for this month’s workouts.
We get a brand new training split for this month. This one is the UB/GC/LB version. That stands for Upper Body, General Conditioning, and Lower Body days. We have three unique workouts for the week, and the goal is to try and get in two of each plus a strategic day off wherever you want to place it. I generally go A-B-C-A-B-C-OFF on Sundays but you can arrange yours however you like. The reason the GC comes before the Leg day is because that order lets us sneak in a little more quality training with possibly a slightly better recovery pattern.
Week of 2023-02-27 (week 1 of month 2: Strength Block)
| WOW | PREP | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A X2 UB | Med Ball 1×20 each Situps Supermans | 4 x 12 Bench Press Assisted Pullup Incline Row Incline Press | 2 x 15 Incline Curl Incline Kickback Spider Curl | Work on form! |
| B X2 GC | Cardio Any mode 10’ Z1 | Cardio Any mode 10 x 1’hard/1’easy (Z4/Z1) | Cardio Any mode 20’ Z2 | One mode or mix and match! |
| C X2 LB | Jog 5 min. Pogo hop L x20 Pogo Hop R x20 Pogo Jump x 20 | 4 x 6 Front Squat Deadlift Alt Back Lunge | BW Series 1 x 15 each Foam Roll Bridge L Foam Roll Bridge R Alt Split Jump Tuck Jump Sissy Squat | Be explosive! |
Workout A Breakdown: Shazam! We are driving hypertrophy pretty hard in this session. In the mains, do 4 sets of 12 reps using an RPE of 6-7-8-9 per set. This means you can increase weight (or decrease assistance in the pullup case) with each set. Rest about 90 seconds between straight sets (no circuits). Once you set up your incline bench, you use it for 5 exercises so it’s pretty efficient. On the accessories, do 2 sets each at RIR 1 (leave only 1 rep in the tank each set). For these, use the same weight and expect the second set to have a lower number of reps secondary to fatigue. Only 1 minute rest on these.
Workout B Breakdown: Kerplunk! Droppin’ the Cardio Combo Bomb! Couple things to go over here. You can use any mode for each part. For example, a Running Demon might choose to run all three segments. Someone else might do it all on the bike. I’ll probably go rower or air bike for the prep, run the main, and spin bike or walk (with backpack) the accessory. You see how this goes. Also, keep in mind that Zone 1 is super easy, Zone 4 is strong as hell (but not all-out), and Z2 is your talk test, long duration endurance gear. This will be fun to explore.
Workout C Breakdown: Abracadabra! Leg day always kicks my ass and should do the same to you. Literally, if your glutes, or quads, ain’t gettin’ sore, you ain’t doin’ shit! The meat, or beefy goodness here, lies in the mains. Straight sets, low reps, heavy loads, big rests. All sets of 6. Two warmup sets each movement. Then it’s 4 working sets of 6 reps each, all at RPE 9, adjusting weights as needed.
This month and next we’ll be featuring a mix of elements in our MasterClasses. A few guided workouts. A couple of educational sessions. And several straight up Q&A sessions. My goal as always is to give you a few fish dinners for sure, but to teach how to fish (for optimal health and performance) for yourself. The path to MASTERY.
| MASTERCLASS | DAY AND TIME | MEETING INFO |
| Training and Refining Movement | SATURDAY 9:00am-10:00am MST | Join the MasterClass |
I found last month’s training split to be challenging. Intermittent elbow and glute soreness was present. Our goal is to have a small (very small) amount of muscle soreness occasionally in the week, but to keep those joints happy! Also, down below you’ll see info for the Demons as well as an extra workout you can slip into the GC day if you like.
BONUS UPDATE FOR RUNNING DEMONS!
Try to get your max heart rate test done this week. Refer to T2 Forum for instructions if you forgot. Can use a GC day for this test. Also, make sure you start shopping for shoes (turf, track, and trail). Ping me if you need input.
And here’s that bonus session I mentioned. You can also read through the article on “Building the Backpacking Athlete” for more details. Enjoy!