January, the beginning of a New Year. Along with a new year, comes a new cycle of programming. Jumping right into what we will be doing for the next 4 weeks…
Build: We have 3 days a week of Build. Two of them are less structured, work up to a heavy for the day, etc…The lifts will change week to week, but the basic theme will stay the same, leg push, leg pull, etc. The last but not least Build day will consist of a classic superset pairing or pairings. Major lift, performed at heavyweight for correct reps, followed immediately by a lighter weight movement for more reps to really ignite the fire and let the burn settle in. Two days, heavyweight, fewer reps, more rest. One day lighter weight, more reps, less rest.
Charge: This is a very uncomfortable zone to train in. It is also the one that takes the longest to recover from and can be easily overdone. That is why we do not spend a whole lot of time training in this particular system. That being said, when we do, hit it hard and fast. These types of workouts are not necessarily designed to be sustainable, no pacing, get some.
Grind: Aerobic threshold, aerobic power. This is hard work, but sustainable over time. We are doing one Grind session this cycle. It is going to be really fun. It is set up so you have an increasing amount of work to be accomplished in the same amount of time, over the course of a certain amount of rounds. So it starts off easier and gets harder and decreases in time the further you go. The more you fatigue, the more work is required, the slower you go, the less rest you will get. Learn to pace, understand how different exercises effect your ability to do work at different levels. Harden your mind, your body can do the work, stay present, and lean into the places where you find the most resistance.
Sustain: Stamina, the ability to endure, aerobic pacing. We spend a good amount of time training in this zone. This cycle we have two separate styles. One is a classic chipper, start at the top and chip away. These are big sets of reps that must be completed before moving onto the next exercise. You can make the case that these could be classified as Grind, but our energy systems are fluid in that they all work together all the time, with one working predominantly. We are labeling it Sustain for these particular efforts. Longer in duration, and should be paced and broken into sets that allow for consistent progress without redlining, keeping rests short. The second session of Sustain for this cycle is more in line with our classic aerobic day, but this will be a little bit different than anything we have done up to this point. It will include some isometric holds during the rest period. And by some, I mean the isometric holds will be the rest period. You're welcome.
Cool Down: Little bit of this, a little bit of that. What can I say, we do some core, we do some bicep curls and of course, roll around on the ground.
Coach