Hi all,

Welcome to Week 5 of 8 of our “Longer Workouts” cycle. As we near the end of this cycle, we’ll bump up the intensity a little bit in the first three weeks and then de-load on the holiday week.

Let’s get into it.

Day 1 

• Mobility

  • Deep Squat + Arm Rotation

  • Samson Stretch

  • Child’s Pose + Lat Stretch

• Warm-up - complete 4 rounds of…

  • 10 Unweighted Split Squats (5 per leg)

  • 10 Sit-ups 

  • 10 Unweighted Cossack Squats

  • 10 Plank-ups

• Capacity:

  • In 20 Minutes, complete 5 rounds of…

    • 10 Double DB Suitcase Split Squats (5 per leg)

    • 10 “Tough for You” Push-ups (from knees or from toes / hand release / deficit)

    • 10 Alternating Double DB Bench Press

  • Intended Stimulus - Big glutes and chest press focus! Ascend in weight throughout, work to hit full range of motion with back knee slightly grazing the ground at the bottom. Push-ups and bench press should BOTH start and end with elbows FULLY locked out. Split squats are programmed without the rear foot elevated this week, but there are more reps today than last week.

  • Log weights used for heaviest UNBROKEN set of each movement.

• MetCon:

  • AMRAP8 (As Many Rounds and Reps as Possible in 8 Minutes)

    • 20 Wall Balls (<8 / 14 / 20+)

    • 20 Sit-ups (standard is the programmed option today)

  • Intended Stimulus - Keep the heart rate steady for the full time. Shoot for as many rounds and reps as possible with 2 or less sets on the Wall Balls before needing to break them up into even smaller sets than that. On the Sit-ups, go UNBROKEN THROUGHOUT. Shoot for 4+ rounds.

  • Log total rounds and reps completed, adding Wall Ball weight chosen in the notes.

• Recovery

  • Chest Opener on Foam Roller - 4 min.

  • Foam Roll Quads - 2 min. per side

Day 2

• Mobility

  • Unweighted Windmills

  • Banded Curl + Press

  • Hamstring Stretch

  • Thread the Needle

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

  • 10 Air Squats

  • 8 Single DB Goblet Squats

  • 6 Unweighted Tempo Strict Press

  • :30 Jump Rope

• Strength:

  • In 12 Minutes, complete 5 rounds:

    • :40 Double DB Farmer’s Carry 

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

  • Intended Stimulus - Work on the Farmer’s Carry to go unbroken for the whole :40 seconds, ascending in weight as long as you can keep core braced and lats engaged. On the Single DB “On-end” 90 + Press, work at a slow tempo and prioritize quality over speed or weight. You have over a minute to complete 8 reps (4 on each side).

  • Log a “checkmark” if you completed all five rounds in the allotted time, adding in weights chosen in the notes.

• MetCon:

  • AMRAP16 (As Many Rounds and Reps as Possible in 16 Minutes)

    • At 0:00, 4:00, 8:00, and 12:00 - complete the following:

      • 20 Jumps on Jump Rope (Singles or Double Unders are both OK)

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

      • 10 Lateral Jumps Over DBs 

    • In remaining time before the next milestone, complete as many Light Double DB Z-Press as possible (10s / 20s / 30s)

  • Intended Stimulus - Reach full lockout at the top of the Thrusters and the Z-Press, showing control with a .25 second pause at the top before initiating the next rep. A little weight will go a long way on the Z-Press. Breathe throughout all of the movements, working to sync your breath to the movement.

  • Log total Z-Press reps completed, adding weights and variations chosen for all movements 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

  • Low Runners Lunge

  • World’s Greatest Stretch + Hamstring Stretch

  • Samson Stretch 

  • Adductor Rock Backs

  • Wide Legged Good Mornings 

• Warm-up - complete 4 rounds…

  • 10 Single Leg Glute Bridge (5 per leg)

  • 10 Unweighted Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts (5 per leg)

  • 10 Tuck-ups

  • 10 Light Double DB Bent Over Rows 

• Strength:

  • In 30 Minutes, complete 6 rounds of…

    • 10 Double DB Bent Over Rows (5 per side) (Supinated today, so palms face UP)

    • 10 Heavier Double DB Suitcase Deadlifts

    • 15 Light Lateral Raises with fractional plates or light DBs (5-second descent)

  • Intended Stimulus - Five minutes per round, the intention here is to slow down and get stronger. Work for :60 and transition for :40 before the next movement. Make sure you do not “urge the weight up” on the bent over rows by kipping. Instead, pull from your upper back, keeping your torso perfectly still as your arms move and do the work. Isolate the movement to the upper back! More reps than last week on the heavy Deadlifts today, so compare weights between the two weeks!

  • Log the heaviest weights used for each set of unbroken movements, logging as three separate sections in the notes.

• Recovery

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

  • Foam Roll Hamstrings - 2 min. per side

Day 5

• Mobility

  • Reverse Snow Angels

  • Up Dog / Down Dog + Push-up

  • Inchworms + Push-up

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

  • 10 Air Squats

  • 10 Double DB Push Press

  • 10 Tuck-ups

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

• MetCon:

  • 5RFT (5 Rounds For Time) - capped at 21 minutes:

    • 30 Single DB Hang Snatch (15 per arm) (<25 / 35 / 50+)

    • 20 Jumping Squats (Air Squats are OK too)

    • 10 Scissor Kicks (Left + Right = 1) (hands under tailbone / no hands / weight overhead)

  • Intended Stimulus - Slow and steady. High volume on an aggressive movement = recipe for high heart rate and heavy breathing. Control the breathing and maintain a steady, manageable pace by breaking up the sets early and often. Break up the set of 30 Single DB Hang Snatches into sets of 6-6-5-5-4-4 for example. Four minutes per round will bring you in below the time cap.

  • Log time it took to complete all allotted work, adding weights and variations chosen in the notes.

• Accessory:

  • In 8 minutes, complete 4 rounds:

    • Pike Hold (:20 / :30 / :40+)

    • 8 Unweighted Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts (4 per side) (5-second descent)

  • Intended Stimulus - Try to complete the Pike Hold in one, unbroken set. On the unweighted SLRDLs, if you fly through them and finish really early, you missed the point! Slow them down with 5-second descent and slow ascent.

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

• Recovery

  • Massage Gun Quads - 2 min. per side

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

Day 6

• Mobility

  • Wide Legged Good Mornings 

  • Deep Squat + Arm Rotation

  • Samson Stretch

  • Child’s Pose + Lat Stretch

  • Scorpions

  • Bootstrappers

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

  • 10 Reverse Jackknives (Left + Right = 1)

  • 8 Tempo Single DB Pull-throughs (4 per direction)

  • 10 Light Single DB Power Cleans (5 per arm)

  • 8 Air Squats

• Long Workout Day!

  • Six Rounds For Time, capped at 32 minutes:

    • 10 Double DB Squat Cleans (<20s / 30s / 40s+)

    • 20 Single DB Push Press (10 per arm) (<20s / 35s / 50s+)

    • 10 Double DB Squat Cleans

    • 20 V-ups (Tuck-ups are OK too)

    • 10 Double DB Squat Cleans

  • Intended Stimulus - Prepare for a lot of squatting. This one will light up the quads and glutes, you’ve been warned! The prescribed weight on the Double DB Squat Cleans is lighter than normal. I recommend you heed that recommendation and go lighter than you think you want to! Budget four or five minutes per round.

  • Log time it took to complete allotted work, adding weights and variations chosen in the notes.

• Recovery

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

  • Wide Legs up the Wall - 5 min.

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!