Hi all,

Welcome to October! And welcome to Week 3 of the “Foundation” cycle. FYI - I changed up the email look, but the content is in the same structure as previous weeks.

Let’s get into it.

Day 1 

Week 3 of 6 of the “Foundation” strength cycle!

• Mobility

  • Scap Push-ups

  • Up Dog / Down Dog

• Warm-up - complete 3 rounds of…

  • 6 DB Weighted Good Mornings

  • 6 Light Single DB Strict Press (6 per arm)

  • 6 Single DB Windmills

• Strength:

  • In 20 minutes, complete 5 rounds of…

    • 4 Single DB “On-end” 90 + Press (4 per side)

  • Off-time - Wall Sit (:20 unweighted / :30 weight in bear hug / :40 hands overhead)

  • Intended Stimulus - The “On-end” 90 + Press is meant to challenge your shoulders and arms to stabilize the weight without it tipping, so go light enough where you can still press with solid form, but heavy enough where you feel your shoulder working to hold that 90 the whole time you’re in the bottom part of the rep. Challenge the Wall Sit and try to jump up in variation or time elapsed on wall if you can .

  • Log a “checkmark” if you completed all 5 rounds of 4 reps of the 90 + Press (per arm) unbroken. Add Wall Sit variation in the notes.

• MetCon

  • 1RFT (One Round For Time) - capped at 10 minutes.

    • 30 Double DB Clusters (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

    • 30 Double DB Bent Over Rows (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

  • Intended Stimulus - Athletes must finish the Clusters before starting on the Bent Over Rows. One rep every ten seconds will bring you in under 10 minutes. Success on the Bent Over Rows looks like going slow after all those fast aggressive Clusters. Learn yourself as an athlete and see if you are capable of slowing down and focusing on quality in a “For Time” workout. This is a TEST so ask yourself if you achieved that definition of success today!

  • Log time it took to complete all reps, adding weights used in the notes.

• Recovery

  • Massage Gun Quads - 2 min. per side

  • T-spine Smash with Lax ball - 2 min. per side

Day 2

• Mobility

  • Boot Strappers

  • Runner Lunge (high variation)

• Warm-up - 5 minutes, continue to cycle through…

  • 12 Double DB Suitcase Deadlifts 

  • 12 Single KB Pull Throughs

  • 12 Reverse Jackknives

• Capacity:

  • EMOM30 (Every Minute on the Minute for 30 Minutes)

    • Minute One - 8 Double DB Suitcase Deadlifts

    • Minute Two - :40 Hold (Hand Plank / Forearm Plank / Inverted Hold on Wall)

    • Minute Three - 8 Double DB Curls 

    • Minute Four - 20 Scissor Kicks (hands under tailbone / no hands / weight overhead)

    • Minute Five - Rest

  • Intended Stimulus - Ascend in weight every round on the Double DB Suitcase Deadlifts until you reach a weight where form is still intact but it is a real challenge to keep lats engaged and back flat. If back starts to curve, GO BACK DOWN.

  • Log heaviest weight used for an unbroken set of 8 Double DB Suitcase Deadlifts.

• Accessory

  • In 9 Minutes, complete 3 rounds of…

    • Double DB Overhead Static Hold (:20 with light weight / :30 with medium weight / :40 with heavier weight)

    • 16 Glute Bridges (16 Double Leg Glute Bridges / 8 per Single Leg without weight / 8 per Single Leg with weight)

  • Intended Stimulus - Squeeze the abs and glutes when overhead. Point thumbs behind you and relax the upper body so your shoulders are out of your ears. Breathe intentionally as you hold overhead. On the Glute Bridges, drive through the heel until your hips are in line with your knees and shoulders.

  • Log a “checkmark” if you completed all 3 rounds.

• Recovery

  • Glute roll on Foam Roller - 2 min. per side

  • Lumbar spine smash with lax ball - 2 min. per side

Day 3

Rest Day

• Try and fit in two to three walks of 1.0-1.5 miles apiece.

• Another good option is a light jog / Stand-up paddle board / hike / slow bike / etc.

• Mobility and/or restorative yoga are other great options on rest days.

• Some is better than none.

• Getting outside in any capacity is encouraged!

Day 4

• Mobility

  • Adductor Rock Backs

  • Up Dog / Down Dog + Push-up

• Warm-up - complete 4 rounds of…

  • 6 Cossack Squats (3 per side)

  • 6 Light Double DB Strict Press

  • 6 Light Double DB Push Press

  • 3 Inchworm + Push-up

• Additional Warm-up:

  • Take 4 minutes to build into your working weight of the Shoulder-to-Overhead complex for the day

• Strength:

  • In 15 Minutes, complete 5 rounds the following Shoulder-to-Overhead complex:

    • 1 Double DB Strict Press + 5 Double DB Push Press + 1 Double DB Strict Press

    • Off-time - 8 “Tough for You” Push-ups (knee push-ups / toe push-ups / hand release or deficit push-ups)

  • Intended Stimulus - The S2OH Complex is 7 reps unbroken (do all 7 reps before putting the DBs down). This complex is meant to train your awareness of when you are using your legs versus when you are not. Really tap into your glutes as you push off the ground on the Push Press, and squeeze your quads to keep from dipping on the Strict Press.

  • Log heaviest pair of DBs used for a completely unbroken S2OH complex.

• MetCon:

  • Triple Tabata (3 Sections of 8 Rounds of :20 on / :10 off):

    • Section 1 - Tabata: AMRAP Jumping Lunges (Jumping Lunges and Forward Lunges are both OK)

    • Section 2 - Tabata: AMRAP Burpees (half burpees / full burpees / strict burpees)

    • Section 3 - Tabata: AMRAP Sit-ups

  • Intended Stimulus - Work to keep the reps from the 1st round of the Tabata as close as you can to your 8th round of the Tabata, for all three sections. Success looks like very consistent reps throughout the whole 8 rounds of each.

  • Log total reps from each of the three Tabatas in three separate entries, adding variations in the notes.

• Recovery

  • Pigeon Stretch (unassisted or assisted) - 3 min. per side

  • Child’s Pose with Thread the Needle - 2 min.

Day 5

• Mobility

  • Bottom of Squat Hold

  • Adductor Rock Backs + Thread the Needle

• Warm-up - 5 minutes, continue to cycle through…

  • 12 Air Squats

  • 12 Sit-ups

  • 12 Mountain Climbers (Left + Right = 1)

  • 12 Lateral Jumps (Left + Right = 1)

• Additional Warm-up:

  • Take 5 minutes to build into your working weight for today’s Double DB 1 ¼ Front Squats

• Strength:

  • In 15 minutes, complete 5 rounds of the following rep scheme of Double DB 1 ¼ Front Squats…

    • 7-5-3-5-7

  • Off-time - 7 Tuck-ups

  • Intended Stimulus - Today’s reverse pyramid of the Double DB 1 ¼ Front Squats is made to really challenge your core bracing on the final two rounds. Try to work up in weight during the “Additional Warm-up” section and use the same weight for all five rounds today during the Strength section if you can. At the top of the rep, inhale into your diaphragm so your belly is full of air, and hold that air as you squat down, ascend a quarter of the way up, reverse direction and squat back down to full depth, then ascend all the way up to finish. That is one rep. You will need to breathe in and out as you work through that movement, but be sure to still hold some of that air in your belly when you’re in the bottom of the squat, as that protects our spine when we have heavy weight up top on our torso. Hit those last two rounds with quality and a drive to brace the core perfectly - ending on 7 reps WILL CHALLENGE YOU. The Off-time movement is meant to be more of an active recovery than anything else.

  • Log the weights used for the heaviest set of 7 unbroken Double DB 1 ¼ Front Squats.

• MetCon

  • Burpees for Time (50 half burpees / 100 full burpees / 100 strict burpees)

  • Intended Stimulus - Yup, that’s it. That’s the thing. It’s simple but if you challenge the pace it will not be easy. This is an awesome benchmark workout to check-in on every year or two. It’s also a great one if you’re stuck at a hotel and or relative’s place with no equipment and just need to pound something out in less than 10 minutes. Pick a pace that you know is challenging but can be sustainable for you and HOLD ON! One every 4 seconds will bring you in under 7 minutes. One every 5 seconds will bring you in just over 8 minutes. Etc, etc.

  • Log time it took to complete all reps, adding variation and rep scheme chosen in notes.

• Recovery

  • Child’s Pose with Thread the Needle - 2 min. per side

  • Glute Smash with Orb or lax ball - 2 min. per side

Day 6

• Mobility

  • Up Dog / Down Dog + Push-up

  • World’s Greatest Stretch + Hamstring Stretch

• Warm-up - 6 minutes, continue to cycle through…

  • 10 Light Double DB Suitcase Forward Lunges (5 per side)

  • 10 Plank Shoulder Taps (10 per side)

  • 10 Unweighted Good Mornings

  • :30 Jump Rope

• Additional Warm-up

  • Warm-up into working weight of the Double DB Suitcase Forward Lunges and Double DB Squat Cleans.

• Long Workout Day!

  • 3RFT (Three Rounds For Time), capped at 36 Minutes

    • 50 Single Leg V-ups (aka Jackknives) (25 per side) (25 total Tuck-ups are OK too)

    • 40 Double DB Suitcase Forward Lunges (Left + Right = 2) (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

    • 30 Double DB Squat Cleans (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

    • 20 Leg Lifts (hands under tailbone / no hands / weight overhead)

  • Intended Stimulus - Take your time! The Squat Cleans alone should take you 4-5 minutes per round if you’re really pushing the weight. Take note of the options on the Single Leg V-ups - if you plan on scaling this workout you can do 25 total Tuck-ups instead of the prescribed 50 Single Leg V-ups. The forward lunges can also be walking lunges if you desire. On the Lunges, make sure you are stepping out far enough so that you shin is nearly fully vertical. Stepping out too short will put undo strain on the knees!

  • Log time it took to complete the entire workout adding weights and variations used in the notes.

• Recovery

  • Pigeon Stretch (unassisted or assisted) - 2 min. per side

  • Banded Leg Stretching (Banded Hamstring, Banded Couch, Banded Supine Twist, Banded Adductor, etc) - 4. min per side

Day 7

Rest Day

• Try and fit in two to three walks of 1.0-1.5 miles apiece.

• Another good option is a light jog / Stand-up paddle board / hike / slow bike / etc.

• Mobility and/or restorative yoga are other great options on rest days.

• Some is better than none.

• Getting outside in any capacity is encouraged!