Hi all,

Welcome to the second-to-last week of the “Foundation” cycle - where we are focusing on Stability, Range of Motion, and Bracing even more than usual!

Let’s get into it.

Day 1 

Week 5 of 6 of the “Foundation” strength cycle!

• Mobility

  • Scapular Push-ups

  • World’s Greatest Stretch

  • Thread the Needle

• Warm-up - complete 4-5 rounds of…

  • 3 Inchworms + Push-up

  • 6 V-ups (Tuck-ups are OK too)

  • 9 Unweighted Forward Lunges (9 per leg)

• Strength:

  • In 15 minutes, complete 5 rounds of…

    • 16 Double DB Front Rack Walking Lunges (8 per leg)

    • Off-time - 8 Heavy DB Pull Throughs (4 per side)

  • Intended Stimulus - Challenge the weight on the DBs but still work to maintain great form, hitting full Range of Motion. Success on the lunges looks like the front knee just slightly in front of the front toe (nearly vertical shin) at the bottom, back knee just slightly grazes the ground at the bottom, and feet stay about hip to shoulder width apart from one another (not walking a tightrope). On the Pull-Throughs - avoid swaying in the hips and keep those hips square to the ground.

  • Log the DB weights used for the heaviest set of 16 unbroken walking lunges.

• MetCon

  • 3RFT (Three Rounds For Time)* - capped at 21 minutes:

    • 20 Pushups (from the knees / from the toes / hand release)

    • 30 Sit-ups

    • 40 Air Squats

  • *IMPORTANT: In-between each round, take a mandatory, self-timed 3 minute rest. Your score is the total time elapsed on the clock after all three rounds and the two rests in-between are over. E.g., Say you finish Round 1 at 4:00, add a three minute rest and then start Round 2, which finishes at 11:00, add a three minute rest and then start Round 3, which finishes at 18:00. Your score for the day is 18:00.

  • Intended Stimulus - Hurry up (with quality) and wait, repeat. Today is more of a sprint and recover day - so be mindful of your rep range of motion and full extension today! It’ll be easy to cut corners - but those shortcuts are roads to nowhere. You get stronger by doing the full work, all the way through the rep, every time. Push-ups: chest touches the ground at the bottom and elbows fully lock out at the top. Sit-ups: hands touch behind you and shoulders pass your hip crease at the front. Air Squats: full depth (femur breaks parallel) at the bottom and full extension of the knees AND HIPS at the top.

  • Log time it took to complete the three rounds.

• Recovery

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

  • Foam Roll Glutes - 2 min. per side

Day 2

• Mobility

  • Cossack Squats (assisted or unassisted)

  • Cat / Cow

  • Thread the Needle

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

  • 8 Single DB Goblet Squats

  • 8 Reverse Jackknives (8 per side)

  • 8 Single DB Push Press (8 per arm)

  • 16 Lateral Jumps Over a Target (Left + Right = 1)

• Capacity:

  • In 25 minutes, complete 5 rounds of the following movements…

    • Timed Double DB Front Rack Carry (:20 / :30 / :40)

    • 12 Single DB Strict Press (6 per arm) (3-second descent)

    • Timed Scissor Kicks (hands under tailbone, :20 / no hands, :30 / weight overhead, :40)

    • 20 DB Push + Pull (10 per arm) (5 forward + 5 reverse = 10 per arm)

  • Intended Stimulus - Maximizing our Time Under Tension, with holding weights or bodyweight for long periods of time. Success looks like control throughout each movement from beginning to end: On the Front Rack Carry, keep the core engaged and shoulders out of your ears. On the Strict Press, 3-count lower every time - even when you’re tired. On the Scissor Kicks, hover the heels off the ground and reach a perfect 90-angle at the top of each rep at your hip joint. On the Push + Pull, keep your hips at the same height as your shoulders (butt isn’t high in the air).

  • Log heaviest weights used for the Front Rack Carry, Strict Press, and Push + Pull in three separate entries.

• Accessory

  • In 9 Minutes, complete 3 rounds of…

    • 12 Tempo Bent Over Reverse Flies (with light or fractional plates) (2 second ascent and 2-second descent)

    • 30 Plank Shoulder Taps (Left + Right = 2)

  • Intended Stimulus - Rear delt and core burn to end the day. The slower you go on the Bent Over Reverse Flies, the more you’ll get out of them.

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

• Recovery

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

  • Trap 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

  • Boot Strappers

  • Adductor Rock Backs

  • Bird Dogs

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

  • 10 Sit-ups

  • 10 Single Leg Glute Bridges (5 per leg)

  • 10 Reverse Jackknives (5 per side)

  • :30 Jump Rope

• Additional Warm-up:

  • Take 3 minutes to build into your first working weight of Double DB Suitcase 1 ¾ Deadlifts

• Strength:

  • In 15 Minutes, complete 5 rounds of

    • 6 Double DB Suitcase 1 ¾ Deadlifts

  • Intended Stimulus - Glute and hamstring firing! Any time we are picking weight off the ground, go in with the mentality that the LEGS are the workhorse, not the back. The 1 ¾ Deadlift starts on the ground, goes to full stand, hinges down three-quarters of the way so the weight hovers right above the ground, goes to full stand AGAIN, and then ends with a final hinge back to the ground. That is one rep. That whole time, the lats are engaged and the spine is neutral. There should be a generous bend in the knee at the bottom of the rep. Success feels like your glutes are screaming (from work, not pain) but your back feels perfectly fine. If you have trouble hitting this position, do this beside a full length mirror and make sure your spine does not curve. No Off-Time movement, just rest between sets.

  • Log the DB weights used for the heaviest set of 6 unbroken deadlifts.

• MetCon:

  • AMRAP15 (As Many Rounds and Reps as Possible in 15 Minutes)

    • 20 Alternating Single DB Hang Snatches (10 per arm) (<20 / 35 / 50+)

    • 14 Jackknives (8 per leg) (8 Tuck-ups are OK too)

    • 8 Lateral Burpees over DB (Half Burpees / Full Burpees / Strict Burpees)

  • Intended Stimulus - Pace yourself early. This one is in the middle as far as time domains go, but all three movements are either moderate or high heart rate. Slow and steady to start it out, then accelerate as you approach the end of the workout. Stand all the way up with full hip and knee extension on both the burpees and the DB Snatches. Half reps don’t count! Shoot for 6+ rounds.

  • Log total rounds and reps completed, adding variations and weights used 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

  • Windmills

  • Side-to-Side Lunges

• Warm-up - complete 3 rounds …

  • 12 Single DB Push Press (6 per arm)

  • 12 Air Squats + 6 Jumping Squats

  • 12 Unweighted Forward Lunges (6 per leg) + 6 Jumping Lunges (3 per leg)

• Strength:

  • In 20 minutes, build up into a heavy set of 3 Double DB Front Squats

  • Intended Stimulus - Slow, incremental jumps in weight. Recommended timing: Use the first 6 minutes to do a few sets of 6-8 reps at lighter weight - spending 2-3 seconds per rep holding the bottom of the squat. Use the next 6 minutes to do a few sets of 4-6 reps, jumping in weight each set. Use the last 8 minutes to do three sets at heavy weight. If your set-up allows for Single DB Goblet Squats instead of Double DB Front Squats - that is another great option. Whichever variation you choose, end with a solid effort at a very heavy - BUT SAFE - set of three.

  • Log heaviest set of 3 Unbroken Squats (Double DB Front Squats or Single DB Goblet Squats). Add which variation you chose to perform in the notes.

• MetCon:

  • For time - capped at 9 minutes.

    • 20 Double DB Renegade Rows (<20s / 35 / 50s+)

    • 40 Double DB Push Press (<20s / 35 / 50s+)

  • Intended Stimulus - SPRINT! If your nutrition, sleep, and stress have all been on point this week so far, shoot for 5 minutes or less.

• Recovery

  • Chest Opener on Foam Roller - 5 min.

  • Leg up the Wall - 5 min.

Day 6

• Mobility

  • Samson Stretch

  • Wrist Circles

  • Up Dog / Down Dog

  • Runner’s Lunge (high variation)

  • World’s Greatest Stretch + Hamstring Stretch 

  • Deep Squat with Arm Rotation

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

  • 3 Up Dog / Down Dog + Push-up

  • 6 Jumping Squats

  • 9 Sit-ups 

  • :30 Lateral Jumps Over a Target 

• Long Workout Day!

  • For Time, capped at 30 Minutes

    • 100m Double DB Farmer’s Carry (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

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

    • 100m Double DB Farmer’s Carry (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

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

    • 100m Double DB Farmer’s Carry (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

    • 50 “Tough for You” Push-ups (from knees or from toes / Hand Release / Hand Stand)

    • 100m Double DB Farmer’s Carry (<25s / 35s / 50s+)

    • 50 Single DB Goblet Walking Lunges (Left + Right = 2) (<25 / 35 / 50+)

  • Intended Stimulus - Grind it out. The Double DB Farmer’s Carries are NOT meant to be unbroken. In total you will accumulate 400m carrying those weights - that’s one time around a track - so extend yourself some grace if you have to keep breaking and setting the DBs down mid-carry because your grip is lit up. That’s normal and expected. Arguably the hardest part of the workout comes early on with the Thrusters. These are meant to be challenging and heavier than you want them to be. If you do these in 3 sets or less, you went too light. Expectation is that you have to break these up into sets of 10 (or even less) reps per set. 7 sets of 7 might be a good rep scheme to get you right about at 50 reps. The Push-ups are again meant to challenge you, with you likely needing to do singles toward the end of your set of 50.

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

• Recovery

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

  • Trap Smash with LAX ball - 3 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!