Seasons Greetings Training Tribe Member! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours! We are moving into what is often an incredibly dynamic and variable time of the year. Sometimes the holidays are quiet and you find yourself with plenty of time and energy to smash some workouts. Other times there is travel, entertaining, and work at a level that challenges you to just squeeze in a few light sessions. It’s all good.
We’re going to be deloading this week as we generally do every month. That means the workouts should not be quite as hard so your body can “catch up” after all the zesty stuff we’ve done, especially last week. However, I’m going to give you some options this week. There will be 3 workouts, each with a 1-3 times per week serving suggestion. In this manner, you can select them as you need and have a lot of flexibility in getting things done. Next month starts the second month of our Agility Block and we’ll be getting a bit spicier. If you’ve been craving a tad more “heavy and fast” stuff we’ll be doing some more but the workouts will still be relatively brief.
Week of 2023-12-25 (week 5 of month 1: Agility Block)
| WOW | PREPARATORY | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A 1-3X | Gadget Work 1:00 each Disk “Y” Taps L Disk “Y” Taps R Clock Jumps FR Bridge Hold L FR Bridge Hold R FR Bridge Rep L FR Bridge Rep R FR Split Squat L FR Split Squat R Sta-ball Crunch Sta-ball Bridge | Trap Bar DL Bodyweight EMOM’s 10 reps 4-8 rounds Box Jumps Step back down 5 x 3 Max rests Jump Rope 2-4 x 1:00 | Carries 50 steps each KB Inverted L KB Inverted R KB Rack L KB Rack R DB Farmer (B) DB Suitcase L DB Suitcase R Plate Front Dead Hang ALAP Free Choice Cardio Any mode 10-20:00 | Every movement can be subbed. |
| B 1-3X | Dynamic Stretches Strap 1:00 each side Straight Leg Raise Calf Pump 90/90 Extensions Hip Flex-extend Quad | Locomotion Steady State Ruck or Jog Zone 1-2 (ish) 40-60:00 Nasal Breathing | Static Stretch Free Choice | A workout that works anywhere. |
| C 1-3X | Christmas Stroll Free Choice | Heat Exposure Free Choice | Cold Exposure Free Choice | Don’t blow this off. |
Workout A Breakdown: The Functional Festival
With this session you get to use a bunch of gadgets but everything can be subbed out with options. I’ll describe every exercise in order.
- Stand on a balance disk, BOSU ball, or couch cushion. Balance on one leg. Then picture an inverted “Y” with your right foot at the intersection of the lines. Flex your stance leg and reach as far forward as you can and tap your left toes on the ground. Return to center. Then touch the back left and return to center. Then touch the back right crossover position and come back. Go slow and really reach out, staying balanced all the time.
- Lay a hula hoop on the ground or make a circle with a rope or strap. Stand in the center and picture a clock. Keep facing the same direction and jump to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 o’clock, in and out of the circle and keep going until time is up. No need to switch directions.
- Lay on your back with knees bent and place foam roller on ground perpendicular to line of spine just in front of your toes. Place ball of one foot on roller and hold other leg up in the air. Press into the roller and lift hips, holding the bridge for a full minute. Take breaks and shake it out if you cramp. You can sub out a section of PVC drain pipe or even use your med ball if ye gots no foam roller.
- Using same position, now perform continuous smooth reps in that foam roller bridge.
- Stand in a split stance position and place back foot longways, not sideways, on the roller. Distribute your load about 60/40 front/back and rep out some split squats with your torso upright.
- Lay on your back on your stability ball, feet on ground, knees at 90 degrees, and hands behind head. Perform crunches in pursuit of both ab work and spinal flexion and extension. Lay over a pile of pillows if you don’t have the stability ball.
- Lay with your head and shoulders on ball, face up, and cross arms over chest. Stiffen and plank the bod and place the backs of heels (not soles of feet) on the ground. Bridge up and down, pausing at the top for a second every rep. Use a bench if you have no balls.
- If you don’t have a trap bar you can use heavy kettlebells or dumbbells on blocks. Another option is to go with 5 gallon buckets full of gravel and stand on cinder blocks. Sacks of dogshit always work. Every minute, on the minute, EMOM’s require you to bang out 10 reps in the deadlift. Use the remainder of the minute to recover and get ready to go again.
- For the box jumps, use any height of box you like, hit 3 jumps (up but step off slowly), then rest between each of 5 sets.
- The jump rope is excellent and you can use an invisible one if you need to. Your feet, ankles, and calves are getting so strong. This is one of the best ways to bulletproof yourself against plantar fasciitis and achilles tendonitis.
- Hold a kettlebell handle down and bell up at head level and do a walkabout.
- Then put it into the shoulder rack position (bell folds down against forearm). You can also hold this up off your body instead of cradling it if you need more work.
- Heavy DB’s or suitcases full of books work great for the farmer walk (which is 2 hands), and suitcase carry (which is 1 hand), as will the buckets.
- A weight plate or anything you can hold in front of your chest with bent elbows works fine for the front carry.
- Grab your overhead bar and dead hang (unsupported) As Long as Possible (ALAP). If you have no overhead bar, straps, rings, etc…you need to make one because this type of training is so important for a Lifetime Athlete. #getitdone #figureitout #findaway #noexcuses #createthewin!
Workout B Breakdown: The Anywhere Locomotor
City, country, treadmill, etc. Anywhere that works for ya. The strap stretches will be familiar to you and they are a great way to get things lubricated. Any form of ambulation that you like is fine. The challenge will be to go slow and easy enough that you can nasal breathe. This puts most folks in a range of 60-70% MHR. The more fit you are, the easier it will be. But don’t get discouraged…any exposure to this training is useful. Finish up with some of your pet or standard static hold stretches, such as hammies, hip flexors, calves, etc. and hold as long as you like.
Workout C Breakdown: Thermal Hormesis
This is using low dose thermal stressors to create some hormetic upregulation. There are a number of sleep, cardiovascular, immune system, and mental benefits to these types of things. Take a nice easy walk, with your loved ones to be festive or alone to contemplate…all good. Then grab some heat exposure. This could be a sauna or hot tub if it is available. Or just a hot bath or shower is fine. You can even wear two sweatsuits and a down coat and do calisthenics by the woodstove. There is always a way for a Lifetime Athlete. Then get your cold exposure. This can be a cool rinse if you are a wuss…or go outside and lay in the snow, plunge the river or cold tank…you know the drill. I didn’t give time limits on this stuff…use your judgment, have fun, and keep it safe.
MasterClass JamSesh Thursday the 28th at 9:00amMST. Also, the new TLA app is coming and should be live Jan 2 2024. I’ll be giving you all the details on how to switch your membership over from the current Tribe system to the new app, which is going to be feature-rich and easily accessible. There will be detailed instructions in next weeks member program document as well as redundant info in the daily emails. I think you’ll love the app and also the Legacy pricing of $37.99 per month. As always with everything at TLA there are no contracts, initiation fees, or any BS. Just good, solid, lifetime excellence.
I hope you have the most fantastic Holiday. Get ready for 2024 because in addition to the usual Tribe programming, the app will have tons of proprietary content, a chat feature, and quarterly courses. The first course we will be launching in January is Lean4LIFE, a no-nonsense body composition class for Lifetime Athletes. Combining evidence-based principles with common sense tactics, the course will help you to stay healthy and accomplish your goals with body composition, whether that is fat loss (ripped, shredded), muscle gain (jacked, swole), or just maintenance (lean forever). Thank you as always!