It never ceases to amaze me how fast time goes by, sometimes it crawls by the hour, and then coasts by the day, but before you know it…colors are shifting at the change in season and everything you planned to change is the same as it was before. Whether you are where you want to be is up to you, and you alone. Don’t let more time go by without realizing what and who you want to be. You are what you repeatedly do, not what you repeatedly say. We are conscious creatures and able to put off pleasure in the moment for building in the future. If building castles of sand is not what you think can last the test of time, reevaluate your foundations and find the space where your life derives its meaning, and mine it for all it is worth. Invest in the only thing that can contribute and make a difference for others, it starts with the individual. Be the change you wish to see in others, lead in all things by example. Live, love, laugh. Life is short and we all go back to the mud in the end, don’t take yourself too seriously, but also don’t procrastinate for too long…Happiness is earned not given.
Build - Olympic lifting. We are doing one day this block geared toward the Olympic lifts. We will spend a little bit of time working through a “complex," which is just a series of movements done consecutively. Those that are more proficient can work up to a heavier weight, and those that are a little greener are welcome to stay on the lighter side and focus more on technique and building quality movements patterns. Our other strictly Build day has a long negative chin-up exercise, followed by a ballerina-like farmer carry, and front calf work. We are also doing a cross-legged rotational hinge-ish movement. We want our spines to flex, bend and do spine-type things, this movement will help with that.
Build + Charge - Work up to a heavyweight for the specified lift in the time domain….Then lift less heavy things for time and do it a couple times with rest that is incomplete. When working up in weight, do more reps when it is light. As it gets heavier, begin decreasing reps until you get to the number that is required for the day. Every Minute On the Minute. Work hard, get the work done, rest, work hard, rest, rinse and repeat. There is nice honest simplicity in the burning of muscles screaming for peace and a mind that pushes for conquering inner fragility by not stopping until every rep of every set is complete.
Grind - Two grind days this cycle. One is after a Build session, much like our classic programming format. The other day is broken into two separate pieces. Each piece is the same format, but with different exercises. With both of these workouts, we want to continue learning how to pace. Mixed model training is harder to learn than something like rowing where you get immediate feedback from the monitor. With learning how to pace a multi-faceted conditioning piece, you really want to hone in on things like transition and rest time. Most exercises have a pretty consistent tempo, the things that usually get out of control are all the variables outside of the exercise itself. So pick weights that a-line with the intention of the workout, arrange your space so that it makes it is easy to transition between exercises and you don’t waste time confused by your own lack of organization. Focus on how and when you break up sets. Be deliberate in your rest. This will make it easier to be able to increase your pace over the course of multiple rounds.
Sustain - We will be doing our last benchmark workout this cycle. It will be a long single modality suck fest. Run, row, or bike, choose the one that you have been the most consistent with for the past couple of months. Benchmarks are tests, you want to do your best. That requires applying all the pacing techniques and mental fitness that we have been training all summer. Show up, lace-up, and thank the gods that we only have one hour of class time available to “test” our aerobic fitness. In the big picture, this is barely a drop in the bucket, one hour is super short…uncomfortable, sure, but so are many other things that you avoid. You don’t come here to be comfortable, you did not sign up here to gain accomplices in your own slothfulness. You come here to be pushed. So put your big boy pants on and walk through that door with a smile on your face and a jaunty tune upon your lips. If you choose to stay home knowingly on this day, I hope it haunts your dreams for years to come.
Cooldown - Breath practice, kipping rhythm, and grip awareness. Shoulder and anterior hip mobility. And last but not least, pelvic undulations.
Coach