Prior to embarking on any training programme you should seek clearance from a trusted and qualified medical professional to see if you are healthy and fit enough to partake in it. You should also seek professional coaching in order to safely learn the movements. Immediately stop all exercise if you feel dizzy or weak. It is your responsibility to safeguard against risk.
Episode 3…
Phase Two
This is where you can really start getting into it. By now a good foundation has been set to build upon, and you are going to add some serious strength onto that base. I am picking 5 exercises from the foundational stuff and am going to focus on those. Focus from purely a strength perspective. This for the most part means low reps and higher sets. Low reps being anything from 1 to 4. High sets being 6. The key to the reps is to use a load that just permits completion of the reps with no more than 1 rep in the tank. For this to be effective it is important to hit that sweet spot. Training to failure is counter-productive for this type of fitness, as is high rep endurance work. This takes some trial and modification, a good self-awareness, and some discipline.
This is a long process, lasting in my program about 20 weeks.
The first 8 to 10 weeks….
The exercises:
- Weighted Pull-ups
- Squat variations – Zercher, and pistols mostly.
- Push-up variations (weighted and leverage changes)
- Turkish Get-ups
- Swings (this is the only one that violates the low rep protocol)
These are done twice a week with two days’ rest between sessions for the first 10 weeks or so, then once per week for the remainder of the phase.
That’s the simple stuff. It’s just about putting your head into low-gear and grinding through it. Heavy weight, low reps, high sets. Simple, not easy. What is more complicated is figuring how aerobic work factors into this schedule. The first 8 weeks have two ‘easy’ workouts that comprise upwards of 70% of the training volume. There is one ‘medium’ workout that uses up 20% of the volume. And finally there is one ‘hard’ workout that fills up the remaining 10%. Because of my current geography and seasonal climate most of the easy and medium stuff will be running. I will however do any cross-country skiing or cyclocross I can, if conditions allow. The hard workout will be the mind numbing box-steps that I have written about previously. These are done with mountain boots and wearing a pack.