It is time, Simba! Time to Kick Ass, take what’s yours, take no prisoners, and be a champion! Strong words indeed, and oh so true. We piled on the training volume last week. Now this week we test it. We’re going to be looking at a test workout, done twice in the week, with recovery filler in between. It’s spicy.
As you know, POWER is going hard and heavy, and sustaining that output without dropping off. This involves conditioning as well as mental toughness, stuff you’ve got in spades. The Power Test workout should be separated by 2-3 of those easy recovery sessions so you are really fresh when you bear down. They are labeled “test” and “rest.” Active rest is how we do it. We don’t take many totally “off” days.
Week of 2023-05-15 (week 3 of month 1: Power Block)
| WOW | PREP | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A Test 2X | Lifting 3 warmup sets 1 AMRAP set 30 seconds Heavy weight Bench Press Deadlift | Run Warmup as prefer 1 x 200m Mile pace Full rest 1 x 800m Time Trial Mile pace Or 1k on rower Or 2k on bike Zone 4+(hard) | Long Cooldown Walk and Stretch | Give it hell then walk away! |
| B Rest 2X | Tubing Classic 6 2 circuits 15 reps each Chest Press Row OHP Pulldown Pressdown Curl | Free Choice Cardio Easy Z1-2 20-40 min. Any mode | Stretching Breathwork As desired | Recover! |
Workout A Breakdown: This session won’t look like much on paper, but because you are going all out in the attacks, it’s plenty. Take all the rest you need everywhere. Be sure to do several progressive sets leading up to your power test. Use your judgement when selecting a “heavy” weight. Think of a weight you know you can do at least 10 reps with and then if you have to do a little rest-pause work to get it done…fine. Warm up well for the run, or use the alternative suggestions for rower or bike if running is not your jam. Now here is a reporting request. I know not everybody loves things…but it’s a motivator. Chime into the T2 Forum with your results.
Here’s what that should look like:
- Bench (30 seconds): 120 pounds x 15 reps = 1800 units of pure power.
- Deadlift (30 seconds): 160 pounds x 20 reps = 3200 elements of explosive power.
- Run (800 meters): 3:11 = three minutes and eleven seconds of diesel locomotive power.
Definitely chime in on this. Making things public helps us to be accountable, and supportive of each other. Not a bad idea to cue up some AC/DC “Big Gun Kick the Hell Outta YOU!” for your lifts or Iron Maiden “Run to the hills…Run for your LIFE!” before you hit the track. You want to excite and activate your sympathetic nervous system to be maximally aggressive.
Workout B Breakdown: Basic recovery sauce. The sagittal plane 6 exercises are well known and great for just getting your circulation moving. Then do some easy cardio. Finish out with some yogic behavior, trying to get super parasympathetic.
Running Demons have a bonus workout this week. Not easy, so make sure you are ready for it. Once warmed up, it’s basically running 6 laps in which you hit mile pace for the first 250 then walk to the start line and go again.
Running Demons Weekly Assignment
| WORKOUT REPS | REST INTERVALS | INTENSITY | TIP |
| 6 x 250m | 150m WALK rests | Mile goal pace | Focus on recovering rapidly |
Make sure you sign up for the Rendezvous and get that on your schedule! It’s free and everyone in our TLA community is welcome, but you need to register so we can calculate seating and food requirements.