Coaches Corner April 2026

Build’s - Strength for this block consists of working main compound lifts in the lower rep range, heavier weight and some drop sets based off of daily performance. The other strength day is hypertrophy for things that might be considered accessory movements. Many of the changes that we seek from heavier weights and less reps, are not identical to lighter weights at higher reps. We need both, not only one or the other. There is a lot of overlap, but also some distinct differences. The main one is neurological. When moving heavy weight, for lower reps, you are signaling to your body that it needs to recruit more muscle fibers. Our bodies are generally lazy, if it does not have to do the work, it will not. Lifting really heavy weights demands attention, and ensures we are using all the muscle we have to get the job done. Muscle size responds better to time under tension. So the stimulus to build the most amount of muscle is a little different. Higher reps, lighter weight. (Only lighter because the reps are higher, not because it's easy). Build muscle, recruit muscle. Recruit muscle, build muscle. Cycle it over months and years.

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Charge - We are building in pace throughout the session on this day. The goal is to get to know yourself well enough and have an understanding of where you are most likely to be able to speed up without falling off of a precipice. Learn how to pace in such a way that you are able to make incremental improvements in speed each round. Know yourself well enough that you can start out with an effort that is not so hard that you have nowhere to go but backward, and not so easy that it looks or feels like a warm up. The first round should be slightly uncomfortable, and it should progress all the way to "what the hell was that”. 

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Grind - Pacing for Grind’s should always be hard, but sustainable. You're below redline, but casually flirting. Maybe making some small talk, giving a wink or playing hard to get. Being able to manage intensity and moving loads at a relatively high output, without crossing the line into desperation.

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Sustain - This is a broad spectrum of medium to lower intensity, but again always repeatable. It is less intense than the other two categories above, but should also not be a walk in the park. We are here to work on fitness, and with that goal in mind, we are trying to train our bodies through exposure to different stresses and durations to achieve that goal. We need hard and short, medium and moderate and long and easy. But this is where the language and our associations with that language fall short. It is only “easy” from an intensity perspective, not a mental or physical perspective. It is “easy” because to do something for 40 minutes, it can not be a sprint, but it is still hard because of other factors like localized muscular fatigue, the mental taxation of doing repetitive work, and of course fighting the little voice in our heads always trying to negotiate and get out of doing the work to begin with. Longer duration cyclical, or mixed model training, is a massive part in keeping the whole system chugging along on the right tracks. 

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Cool Downs - Iso’s, core, shoulders and hips.

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Josh