Build - The ability to move well with strength deteriorates with age, we need to continue to explore and find new spaces and angles, to help our bodies not only exist, within the same old patterns that we find ourselves forming day in and day out. One of the best ways to make changes stick is to load them. This is also a good way to even out the volume accumulated overtime. Because mobility work is done relatively light compared to a typical compound movement, and the movement itself is usually less advantageous to heavy loads, it gives our central nervous system a chance to recover and be ready for what is coming next. It is part of being able to make progress in the long term. A really hard workout that leaves you lying on the floor is not necessarily an indicator that you are going to make progress, especially if it leaves you unable, or hesitant to come back for a couple days to a week. Consistency is the name of the game, yes, sometimes it is great to have a kick in the ass, a reminder of what it feels like to push really hard, but a majority of what we do needs to be calculated and within a range that is challenging enough to create a stimulus, but not overreach. That being said, there is plenty in this new cycle to tickle the boundaries that are in each and everyone of us. Loaded mobility, heavy compound lifts, Olympic weightlifting and trying to work out the soft middle area that surrounds all the important goods.
Ignite - Really short, really hard. When doing this type of training, we want to be as explosive as possible. It will be hard in its own right, but because the duration is so much shorter, there is not as much build up of metabolic byproducts. It is not as “painful” as Charge work, but should be attacked with more intensity, knowing that the rest periods are a little longer. The weights used, should be hard for you for the rep call out, and if there is a movement piece associated with it, it should be done with as much intensity as you can muster…Every time you step up to the plate.
Grind - Threshold pacing. There is always a way to check in, for the enlightened athlete, to be able to see if what they are doing is repeatable. Check round times within an AMRAP, make sure the calories or distance is the same every minute on the erg, pay attention to rest periods, and break up sets before your body or mind forces you too. There are numerous strategies, and not adhering to at least one, can easily lead to a training plateau. Instead of just blindly going as hard as you can for the first minute and then checking out mentally and physically for the rest of the work…Go in with a plan and try to execute.
Sustain - Still hard, but less intense because the duration is stretched out. If you were running 400 meters for time…the pace and intensity would be a lot higher then if you were running 5 miles for time. They both are very challenging, both running, but totally different in approach. These workouts should be done with the intent of constant but sustainable work. Control the controllable and adapt and over come as adversity arises. As the reps climb, remember to break up your sets early if needed, and stave off muscular failure as long as possible. Limitations may arise for some and not others, but having a solid strategy of how to partition reps, will go a long way to getting through the workouts with as much dignity as possible.
Cool Down - Hips, core and shoulders.
Coach