Hi all,

Welcome to the 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 6 of 6 of the “Foundation” strength cycle! Today we’re repeating a workout we did almost exactly 7 months ago (April 1st, 2024), but this time without a partner - have fun!

• Mobility

  • Scapular Push-ups

  • World’s Greatest Stretch

  • Thread the Needle

• Warm-up - complete 4-5 rounds of…

  • 12 Single DB Goblet Forward Lunges (6 per leg)

  • 12 Light Double DB Push Press

  • 6 Half Burpees

• Strength:

  • In 10 minutes, complete 4 rounds of…

    • 6 Unbroken Double DB Power Cleans, ascending in weight throughout

  • Intended Stimulus - Ascending in weight throughout until you get to a heavy set of 6. Aim to be quick on the elbows underneath the DBs. Catching with your hips lower will allow you to stand more weight up with your legs, instead of needing to pull harder with the upper body to catch the clean. The heavier you go here, the lighter the below MetCon will probably feel. Just be SAFE and catch with a generous bend in the knees.

  • Log weight used for your heaviest set of 6 Unbroken Power Cleans.

• MetCon

  • “Oh No Curtis P (modified)” - (60 reps of Curtis P with <20s / 80 reps of Curtis P with 30s / 100 reps of Curtis P with 40s+)

    • Workout is capped at 26 minutes

    • *1 Rep of Curtis P with Double DBs is a: 

      • Power Clean (from the floor)

      • Front Rack Forward Lunge Left + Front Rack Forward Lunge Right

      • Push Press

  • Intended Stimulus - Pace yourself early. This is a muscular endurance workout. Elbows high on the catch and brace the core (flex your abs and glutes). Make sure you sync your breath to the movement (exhale as you ascend in the clean, as you come out of each lunge, and as you press in the Push Press). Add breaks throughout where necessary.

  • Log total time it took you to complete the workout, adding number of reps and weight used in the notes.

• 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

  • Reverse Jackknives

  • World’s Greatest Stretch + Hamstring Stretch 

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

  • 10 Unweighted Box Step-ups (5 per leg)

  • 8 Tuck-ups

  • 6 Jumping Lunges (Left + Right = 1)

• Capacity:

  • In 28 minutes, complete 7 rounds of the following movements…

    • 10 Double DB Suitcase Weighted Step-ups (5 per leg) (<12” box / 20” box / 24”+ box)

    • 10 Tempo Leg Lifts (3-second ascent and 3-second descent) (hands under tailbone / no hands / weight overhead)

    • :30-:40 Wall Sit (hands on thighs / bear hug weight / hands overhead)

  • Intended Stimulus - Slow and smooth. Challenge yourself on the step-ups to work with the stepping (lead) leg. Work to stand fully up with that single leg before pulling the other leg in for support. If you do not have a plyo box to step-up onto, Double DB Suitcase Reverse Lunges are another great option. On the Leg Lifts, honor the 3-second tempo in both directions. On the Wall Sit - challenge yourself to get your hip joint to perfectly 90-degrees BEFORE bumping up the intensity. Holding a 45 pound plate (for example) but not having your hips anywhere near level with your knees is more of an “ego wall sit” and less of a real challenge. You have about 80 seconds per movement to get through all 7 rounds (4 min per round), so there is not need to rush.

  • Log a “checkmark” if you completed all 7 rounds, adding weights used and variations in the notes.

• 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…

  • 8 Unweighted Good Mornings

  • 16 Plank Shoulder Taps (Left + Right = 1)

  • 8 Single DB Power Cleans (4 per arm)

  • 8 Single DB Romanian Deadlifts (4 per side)

• Strength:

  • In 15 Minutes, complete 5 rounds of

    • 10 Single DB Romanian Deadlifts (5 per leg)

  • Off-time - :20-:30 Inverted Plank Hold

  • Intended Stimulus - Ascend in weight throughout. Control and stability is the name of the game. Use weights that you can successfully lift with that single leg for an unbroken set of 5 on both sides. A few points of performance: make sure you have a very slight bend in the planted leg’s knee. Put all your weight on the planted leg before hinging. Hinge so that the shoulder falls at the same rate that the back heel rises. Point your toe straight toward the ground of the “non-planted” leg to get extra hamstring work in. The Inverted Plank Hold is meant to do two things: First, to polish off the glutes (as if they needed more work haha). Second, to open up the fronts of the shoulders. Play around with the angle of your fingers and/or sway side to side slightly while in the inverted position to get as much opening in the shoulders as you can.

  • Log the weight used for the heaviest set of 10 Unbroken Single DB Romanian Deadlifts (5 per leg).

• MetCon:

  • 4RFT (Four Rounds For Time) - capped at 15 minutes:

    • 12 Single Arm DB Snatches (Left Hand) (<25 / 35 / 50+)

    • 12 Single DB Goblet Squats (<25 / 35 / 50+)

    • 12 Single Arm DB Snatches (Right Hand) (<25 / 35 / 50+)

    • 12 Lateral Burpees over the DB (half burpees / full burpees / strict burpees)

  • Intended Stimulus - Approach this one as a steady burner. You have to do almost 50 DB Snatches per arm (nearly 100 total), so the rep volume is on the medium to higher end. Pick a weight where you are CONFIDENT you could theoretically do the first round completely unbroken (that does not mean you have to or should, it just means that you COULD with the weight you picked). Recommended pacing is to break the snatches into two sets from the get-go (7-5 or 8-4 are both good options). Go-getters should aim to come in under 12 minutes (45 seconds per movement throughout the whole workout - or one rep every 4ish seconds).

  • Log total time it took you to complete the workout, adding weights used and variations in the notes. Also add into the notes any imbalances between one arm and the other during the snatches

• Recovery

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

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

Day 5

• Mobility

  • Unweighted Windmills

  • Side-to-Side Lunges

  • Deep Squat + Arm Rotation

• Warm-up - complete 3-4 rounds…

  • 15 Air Squats

  • 10 Scapular Push-ups

  • 5 Side-to-Side Lunges (Left + Right = 1)

• Additional Warm-up:

  • Take 3 minutes to build into your first working weight of Single DB 1 ¾ Goblet Squats

• Strength:

  • In 18 minutes, build up into a heavy set of 6

    • Single DB 1 ¾ Goblet Squats

  • Off-time - 12 Single Arm DB Bent Over Rows (6 per arm)

  • Intended Stimulus - Control throughout, using the core bracing to keep the torso proud throughout the whole range of motion for 6 unbroken reps of the Single DB 1 ¾ Goblet Squats. If you can keep the torso proud (chest up, eyes forward) and continue to hit full depth (femur breaks parallel), push that weight! On the Single Arm DB Bent Over Rows, work to avoid any “kipping” to ‘urge’ the weight up. Instead, drive solely from the upper back, sending your elbow to the sky.

  • Log the weight used for the heaviest set of 6 Unbroken Single DB 1 ¾ Goblet Squats and the heaviest set of 6 (per arm) Single Arm DB Bent Over Rows.

• Accessory:

  • For quality - 3+ rounds, capped at 12 minutes.

    • 8 Tempo Is / Ys / Ts Raises with light DBs or fractional weights

    • 8 Tempo Single Leg Glutes Bridges (8 per leg)

  • Intended Stimulus - Slow and controlled. Pretend you’re playing a game of “Red Light, Green Light” i.e. When someone says ‘Green Light’ you move, when someone says ‘Red Light’ you must immediately stop. If you’re still moving after someone calls ‘Red Light’, you have to go back to the beginning of the rep scheme and start over. Silly example, but you get the point. Your body on any tempo movement should be 100% in control of itself and the weight at all times, able to stop on a dime.

• 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

  • Cat / Cow

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

  • 150m run (200m row or bike)

  • 6 Push-ups (from the knees and from the toes are both OK)

  • 9 Light Double DB Squat Cleans

• Long Workout Day!

  • AMRAP32 (As Many Rounds and Reps as Possible in 32 Minutes)

    • Run / Row / Bike as far as possible

    • At the top of every 4 minutes, starting at 0:00, do the following before getting back to the cardio machine:

      • Double DB Haymakers (4 reps at <20s / 5 reps at 35s / 6 reps at 50s+)

      • One Haymaker is: Double DB Renegade Row + Pushup into a Double DB Cluster.

  • Intended Stimulus - pick a rower, assault bike, or a treadmill to use for the day and make sure the monitor is set to meters. The cardio machine is intended to be at a pace that is sustainable, but not conversational (you are out of breath enough to not really be able to chat with someone, but you’re not killing yourself on that machine). If you don’t have access to a cardio machine, run for about 2 minutes and 45 seconds (maybe just past a 400m out and back - but you pick the distance that is “not conversational” for that time frame) before doing the Haymakers.

  • Log total distance covered in the allotted time, adding weights used and variations in the notes for the Haymakers.

• Recovery

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

  • Foam Roll Quads - 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!