The Open is over and it is time to shift our focus towards getting really strong, packing on some lean muscle mass, and burning off some body fat. You have probably noticed that the programming and class structure has been different, and it’s for good reason. This phase is based on the Conjugate Method, with some Interval Weight Training and other forms of conditioning sprinkled in. We are going to take the next two months and shift our focus on developing our strength and trying to make some muscles grow and get really strong. Your conditioning during this phase will go down a little, but that’s ok, because you will get it back and it will be better than it ever was!
Here are a few things to help you navigate this phase of training:
- Nutrition - eat a little extra (good quality food’s) while in a phase like this. Junk or low quality foods won’t make you Big and Strong, but they will make you Fat, Strong, and Feel Slow. If you need more help with this area, then sit down with one of our nutrition coaches and let them help you make the right choices for this kind of training.
- Rest Days - Get quality sleep and lots of it! This is so important to your development. It’s simple, when you are resting that is when you are growing. Take rest days. You are going to grow when you are NOT in the gym. If this is a problem area for you, then get with a coach and let us help you.
- Recovery Work - Stretch, Mobilize, Yoga, Massage, etc...Be consistent with whichever you choose as a method to say recovered and supple. This will keep you feeling good and able to train the next session, while also allowing your body grow and get stronger.
- If you are a bigger athlete and the sound of gaining size is terrifying, then you have a couple options. The most important one would be to re-read number 1 and sit down with a nutrition coach. Dial in what and how much you should eat to maximize your GAINZ. The second one you could do is add in one extra session a week that is aerobic focused. (Example - 1-3 mile run, Assault Bike 1-2 miles, or Row a 2K at tough pace.)
- Smaller athletes try and make all the strength days (Mon./Wed./Fri./Sat.), rest Tuesdays, eat lots (see #1), sleep lots (see #2), and don’t skip out on the sprint work we do on Thursdays. Sprinting short distances makes you jacked!
Here is what a week looks like for the next several weeks:
Monday - Lower Body Focus
- Max Effort Lift
- Assistance Movement for Posterior/Anterior Chain development
- Super set or Giant set focusing on Lower Body and Trunk development
Tuesdays - Metabolic Conditioning Focus
IWT - interval weight training
Classic Met-Con - couplets or triplets
HIIT - high intensity interval training
Wednesday - Upper Body Focus
- Max Effort Lift
- Assistance Movement for shoulder, tricep/bicep, upper back development
- Super Sets or Giant Sets focusing on “push/pull” movements.
Thursday - Aerobic Conditioning Focus
- Sprint Work - Run, Bike, Row, or combo.
Here is why this is important. Sprinting is the only exercise you can do that can be utilized to build power and speed, increase muscle size, shred body fat, and increase your cardiovascular capacity and muscular endurance. It is unmatched in its ability to address all of those qualities. Simply put...sprinting makes you jacked!
Friday - Olympic Lifting Focus
- Clean & Jerk and Snatch development - EMOM work at set percentages of 1RM each week.
- (Optional) Unilateral Work - lower body moves that will help with imbalances
- Explosive Exercises - all things jumping.
- Super set or Giant set focused on hip extension exercises and trunk development
Saturday - Upper Body Repetition Focus
On this day we will use the Rep Method - This method requires us to lift a non-maximal load with maximal force to fatigue.
- Push movement to failure
- Pull movement to failure
(these two will often be combined in to an emom, amrap, etc..)
- Super set, giant set, or longer met-con focusing on pressing overhead, shoulders, upper back, lats, and/or arm development.
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