We need an aim. We need something that is currently unattainable that can help chart our path through the unknown, knowing that if we can get to what we are aiming at, it will be better than were we are now. We aim up. We aim at things that are transcendent. Wish upon a star, we look up for the things that give us sight, we climb a tree or a tall mountain to gain wisdom. A perspective upon things that otherwise get lost in the day to day struggle of our lives. Without the awareness that wisdom and perspective can give, it is easy to wander the forest in circles, without making any headway, only avoiding the pitfalls that can be found along the meandering path. If you were able to get ahead, get up above, and chart a path that would take you out of the valley of desolation and indecision, and make a map with landmarks, and notes of general distances, then you would be able to plot a direction, and the journey would truly be underway.
What is your aim? Once you have a direction that you truly believe is worth setting out for, waste no more time trodding where many have trodden before. Life is too short to be spent in the commons with the aimless souls shouting and pointing in aghast proclamations, that all those who think and act for the betterment of themselves are selfish monsters. Hard men create easy times, easy times create soft men, and soft men create hard times. Live, love, laugh, and continue to strive ever up, you never know who is watching.
February. Let’s Go!
Build - For the upcoming 4 weeks, we are doing some Density training. Which is just a way of saying, lifting some heavy weight in a time restrained manner. This is a great way to build muscular strength stamina, muscular capacity, and really jack up fat metabolism in a good way. The goal is to increase the weight that you use in these scenarios week to week. The first week, make sure to leave a little in the tank and make any adjustments you need, then try to go a little bit heavier every week until you find that weight that is hard but barely doable for you.
Charge - This is the energy system that bridges the gap from the anaerobic to the aerobic, it is the most painful to train. Not true pain, like I just got my asshole chomped on by a grizzly (look it up, that is how they like to eat people), but uncomfortable pain like my lungs are on fire and I need to stop doing what I am doing and go lay down. That is the correct output that we are looking for in Charge work. What you will find is that if you go about these workouts with a low intensity, they will be pretty easy, the reason for that is that there is a finite amount of really hard output we can exert before we literally have to slow down. These sessions are short enough that you can push, really, really hard, and have periods of rest, to almost fully recover before repeating them. You should be hitting close to failure right as you are finishing the last required reps of the circuit. If you are not close to failure….Go harder next time. (Not at the expense of good form and technique of course)
Grind - Aerobic threshold training. Very hard efforts, but repeatable in nature. These types of workouts will be longer than the Charge sessions from above. Because they are longer, the amount of intensity that you can bring to them to make them sustainable puts the main energy system that is used in the aerobic category. This is not cut and dry, all systems are always in use, we are just trying to target certain ones, by the way we train, to make sure we are building all things equally over time. This day consists of all conditioning work. Go hard during each section, but we want to be able to give as much energy into the first section as the last. It will be hard, but not as “painful” as the Charge work. It is just different. As you start to become more aware of your training durations and intensities, you will be able to know when you can ramp it up, or back it off a little bit to stay consistent over time.
Sustain - Aerobic base building. Mixed model, means using a variety of different tools during the workout. Dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, boxes, you name it. It is fair game. Cyclical, is a single modality, like running, rowing, etc…I believe that the more variety we can introduce in our aerobic training the better. We can use this time to build midline strength through repetitions and static stability. We can build muscular endurance in the legs, arms, and shoulders. Everything will translate to better performance outside the gym.
Cool Down - Core stamina, shoulder, and hip mobility.
Coach