I hope everybody enjoyed the two-week prep cycle.  By now, you all should have a good feel for the daily training rhythm.  As always check in with me through Facebook or the website if you have any questions or comments.

 

This week we’ll be starting the first true cycle that will carry us through the entire first quarter.  We’ll be keeping our main themes of intensity (which you all seem to be “enjoying”) and transition.  It’s essential that we put our feet to the fire and use intensity in our training as a way to transition in moments of stress and monitor our internal conversation.

 

A few notes on the daily training:

 

STRENGTH:

 

• We’ll be staying with an RPE (rate of perceived exertion) of 7 for nearly the whole cycle.  This means you should feel like you have around 3 reps left in the tank for your set.
• We are going to move our focus from pauses (like we did with Front Squats previously) to tempo.  Tempo means using a solid and controlled rhythm in the movement.  
• Think about positional feedback over momentum.  For example, in the bench press, we look for an extended back with locked in lats that stabilize our motion.  Don’t just bounce off of your tissues at end range.  This will apply to ALL of our tempo movement patterns.

 

CAPACITY:

 

• Look for lots of couplets and triplets.  This means two or three exercises paired together in rotating sets.  We’ll expand outside of this pattern later, but these simple set ups will lay a foundation for maintaining consistency later.

 

AEROBIC EFFICIENCY:

 

• We are going to introduce breath holds during work.  This forces us to decrease the intensity and puts a governor on our output so we increase positional awareness.  It also highlights the internal conversation!
• You’ll also see the gear getting prevalent in our interval work.  We’ll focus on exhalation as a skill to learn how to manage fatigue as the work builds.  
• Watch the video for a more thorough understanding of the below interval!

 

AEROBIC EFFICIENCY EXAMPLE INTERVAL: 

 

3x 9 Minute Interval

 

3:00 GEAR 3 (75% EFFORT) 

3:00 GEAR 4 (85% EFFORT)

3:00 GEAR 4 SUSTAINED 

 

REST

 

As always, stay active in the community with your experiences, and don’t be shy to reach out with questions.  We are here to help!