Thursday

Strength Endurance
3 Rounds for time:
12x Pistol squats, alternating
100yd Sprint
12x Strict pull-ups
100yd Farmer walk
12x Handstand push-ups

Note: Getting after it today with some solid bodyweight training paired with some aerobic demands. Hold yourself accountable to strict form and full range of motion on the pistols, pull-ups, and handstand push-ups! If the twelve reps, is outside your ability to keep moving through efficiently, scale the reps back. For the farmer carry use a dumbbell equal to 50% of your bodyweight in each hand for loading. Enjoy!

Tuesday

Strength Endurance

EMOM12

Odd minute - Sandbag shouldering, alternate sides every rep

Even minute - Max effort band-resisted push-ups

Note: For the sandbag cleans to your shoulder, get in as many reps as you can in the first thirty seconds. Whatever that number is maintain that rep count for the remaining sets, within the allotted minute. For the band resisted push-ups, place a resistance band around your upper back and thread each hand through one end. This will create more tension at the top of each rep. When you reach failure remain in the push-up position, arms locked out, for the rest of the minute. Work hard, be strong!

Monday

Strength

6 Rounds:

60yd sled drag 1.5x bodyweight

5x Trap bar deadlift 1.5x bodyweight 

10x Zercher squats .75x bodyweight 

Rest 3 minutes

Note: Heavy strength focus on the legs, hips and core today. Pull sled from the hips, driving through each step keeping the heels flat. Maintain as much of an upright torso as possible and brace your midline for solid core work. With the trap bar we are using a more conventional deadlift style, squatting instead of hinging at the hips. Drive through the heels and explosively open the hips by firing the glutes aggressively. For the Zercher squats hold the bar in the crooks of your elbows and squat nice and deep, keeping your trunk rock solid through every rep. You should be breathing hard on the squats making it a little more challenging to stay rigid, but push through it. Scale up or down as needed. I scaled up on the Zercher squat.

Friday

Endurance
For time:
10-8-6-4-6-8-10
Burpees
Swim 50m after every set

Note: Here's your chance to put that Thanksgiving "stored energy" to use while getting better conditioned. No sloppy burpees! Squat, don't bend over. Hips and chest touch the deck in unison, avoid the weakness of peeling yourself off the ground and press out of the push-up in a solid plank posture. Explode into the air trying to stay off the ground for as long as possible at the top of the burpee. Swim strong and smooth and have fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Endurance
3 Rounds:
50-100x KB swings 53/35lbs
Rest 2 min

Note: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Before you get wrapped up in the throws of family, food, and fellowship, get after it! Straight forward work. Push your grip and lungs as you tackle three large sets of swings. Each time go for broke. Scale loads as needed, either up or down. M/f weights.

Circus Arts, Life Skills, and Crushing Your Game!

A few days ago I wrote a note, that both what we do and don't do, matters. Today, I want to elaborate on that and get into the nitty gritty. Yes, you should roll up your sleeves, because were about to go deep. A friend of mine presented the question and concept of transferability, which will serve as the platform we're about to dive off. He wrote:

"I've been moving into circus arts over the last year and kind of backed off other disciplines. I'm curious on your take on cross training for transferability from functional to artistic movements?"

Before we go any further, I want to address "Circus Arts." Now, I am not going to pretend to be well-versed in something I have never explored myself, but I have seen a Cirque Du Soleil show so I feel confident that I have the authority to speak on such matters. Circus Arts refers to the physical practice of skill sets revolving around hand balance and balance board, acrobatics, feats of strength, body contortion, aerial expression on circus rings, ropes, silks, or trapeze, juggling, and tight-wire performed in an aesthetic presentation for entertainment/artistic purposes. Although, not necessarily truly categorized as such, I would add acro-yoga, free-running, and aesthetic gymnastics to this group of skill sets.

Essentially, what my friend is asking is how does General Training (training without a specific objective), either benefit or detract from his ability to perform during his Specific (Circus Arts) objectives? Great question! Because if we don't know why were doing something, we have no purpose and operating without purpose can be limiting and wasteful. 

Everything I coach, teach, or instruct always starts with a principle. Principles provide the foundation for Why, we do or choose to do what we do. Enter the Principle of Providing a General and Versatile Foundation for Future Specialization. Say that five times fast! Hold on, while I catch my breath. What are we talking about here? Before we begin specializing (narrowing down our focus to address a specific set of skills or abilities), it is imperative to develop a variety of general skills and abilities. Imagine trying to perform a handstand on a pair of gymnastic rings before expelling yourself through the air in a series of svelte tucks and then landing on two feet. This example highlights gymnastic ring training as the specific objective, but underneath it all, the glue that makes it all possible are the general abilities of upper body strength, balance, coordination, shoulder stability and mobility, core strength, spatial awareness, accuracy, precision, muscular endurance, proprioception, and motor control. Removing proficiency in any one of these general skills negates ability in executing the specific skill. 

In essence, developing general abilities establishes the base of our pyramid. The wider the base, the higher we can build the pyramid. If we limit ourselves to a narrow base (training finite skills and focusing on specifics too soon), we will not be able to achieve greater heights. So what are these general skills and abilities? I don't own a "debate hat" so I won't try and sell you the rigmarole you'll find plastered across the incorruptible and reputable Internet. But, I will give you the benefit of how I approach things and program training for others. These are my "Three Keys" to building a solid base (blue section of the above pyramid):

1. Mobility/Stability
Mobility is a "golden" word right now. People eat it up like cake and bacon, and other yummy things. Everyone is foam rolling, sticking lacrosse balls deep into their iliopsoas, pulling traction on joints with rubber bands, standing on golf balls, and doing other painful things to "supple-up." Nevertheless, when I say mobility I am referring to our body's ability to mobilize or move freely. Mobility is the ability of a joint to move through a given range of motion without becoming susceptible to injury. We should all be able to move freely and articulate our joints into healthy positions that allow for us to express function, form, and enjoyment. If we can't do this or have identified a deficiency, moving past this and on to other forms of training can be detrimental, inhibiting, injury-inducing, and time-wasting. Stability refers to having strength throughout those ranges of motion, that protects the joint while expressing or resisting movement at different angles of articulation. Just because you can move your arms into an overhead position doesn't mean you have the stability to support yourself inverted on your hands. 

2. Strength
There are many types of strength, especially if you ask Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell, but for our purposes we are simplifying our understanding down to: The expression of force against resistance. Resistance being anything from gravity or bodyweight, to weighted barbells or tractor tires. Our ability to apply force against these factors equates to our level of strength. Strength is mandatory in life. Every time we move we are applying strength, because we are resisting the forces of gravity. The more strength we possess the more able we are to accomplish greater degrees of work and activity, and overcome challenges. Please, note that training strength without the appropriate foundation of mobility/stability is asking for complications and setbacks (you've been warned, trust me I've been there).   

3. Endurance
Most people hear endurance and think running, Ironman, or skinny weak athletes that can last forever; wait, maybe that's just what I think. In the context of this article however, endurance is used to describe our body's ability to resist fatigue. I don't know about you, but that sounds desirable, especially when your newborn baby thinks that when the sun goes down its time to party and by party I mean cry, a lot. So we are not only talking about going long, being faster farther, or sustaining sub-maximal effort, we are including both intensity and duration. How efficient are your aerobic (oxygen requiring) and anaerobic (non-oxygen requiring) systems at producing energy throughout the performance of all activity. Remember our opening example of performing a handstand on the rings, this too is a demonstration of endurance. Your muscle fibers are fighting to resist fatigue as energy is expended sustaining an inverted and balancing position. 

Harnessing appropriate levels of mobility for each joint in the body and building the necessary levels of stability in those ranges of motion allows us to move well and safely. Developing strength, so that we can apply force while expressing or resisting movement provides us with ability to complete tasks, enjoy activities, interact with others and our environment, and tackle obstacles of various natures. Lastly, establishing greater levels of endurance ensures we can continue to operate and function in both occupational and recreational capacities while negotiating the demands of life. Proficiency in these three combined attributes establishes the base of our pyramid. The greater the degree of development in each, the wider the base we create. 

After our base is built up, we can begin to refine each of these attributes to achieve specific and focused objectives or goals. Mobility/stability can be increased to allow for advanced postures or body positions. Strength training can be tailored to develop power, speed, maximal force, or muscular endurance with specific purposes of competitive athletics, recreational endeavors, martial arts, aesthetics, career necessity, or personal desires. And endurance efforts can be oriented toward single modalities like running, biking, swimming, or diverse skill sets like fighting an opponent, conquering an obstacle course, or climbing a rock face. 

To build our pyramid up to the next level we need to train for specificity (white section of the above pyramid). Enter the S.A.I.D. Principle, Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. What did you just call me? In plain English, the body responds and adapts to the demands (training stimulus) we subject it to, therefore we need to expose the body to the appropriate stimulus in order to achieve the desired effect. If you want to increase your vertical jump, it doesn't make sense to start running long distances. Instead you need to expose yourself to stressors that induce an adaptation of explosive power in the hips. This introduces another important principle, the Principle of Specialization. To fully realize your potential in a given activity, sport, or endeavor you must fully concentrate on that single discipline. If we look at the diagram of the pyramid we can easily recognize that although the base is wide, covering a diversity of general ability, the base is shallow and in order to climb higher the range of ability begins to narrow. 

This is where my friend's question comes into context. His goals revolve around performance in the circus arts. To become proficient in tight-wire walks, ring routines, acrobatics and the like, those objectives must be specifically focused on to the exclusivity of eliminating other activities that hinder or detract from their advancement. Hence his departure from other disciplines. However, we also have learned that without a solid base of general ability he will not be able to excel in those specific skills. So the question becomes am I deficient in any of my general abilities, mobility/stability, strength, or endurance? If so, targeting that weakness and bringing it up to standard will afford greater ability in reaching specific goals. So there is value in cross training and ensuring a variety of general ability. Yet, it is equally important to focus on your chosen discipline. The key, as with most things in life, is establishing balance.

What about the rest of us who don't have dreams of eighty-foot leg-less rope climbs in an L-sit, or aspirations of twirling another human being on our feet while we lie back pressed into the ground? My recommendation is to continue to develop as wide of a base as possible. Learn as many different skills as you can. Develop proficiency in the functional human motor patterns of squatting, hinging, pushing, pulling, throwing, climbing, jumping, crawling, and moving. I am an avid promoter of gymnastics training to develop quality movement shapes, healthy connective tissue, and stability to support your frame in these positions. I advocate strength training with heavy resistance and odd objects to prepare yourself for the challenges of life. Picking up something heavy off the ground, carrying heavy awkward odds and ends, pulling yourself up on top of something, sprinting from danger, jumping to safety, rolling around playing with your kids, these are each life skills. Why, because they are the skills that allow us to overcome physical adversity in life. 

Assess Yourself
General Mobility/Stability
Can you press a broom stick overhead without hyper-extending your spine or craning your neck?
Can you squat with that stick overhead without pitching forward, hyperextending your spine, or driving your knees inward? 
Can perform a back bridge fully opening the shoulders and accessing healthy range of motion in the thoracic spine?
Can you perform a pistol squat on each leg? 
Can you extend your arms behind you past ninety degrees with ease? 
If you answered no to any of these, I highly recommend taking a serious look at your movement quality. Consult a professional coach for drills and training to address/correct your deficiencies. 

General Strength
Can you perform a strict pull-up?
Can you perform strict push-ups and dips?
Can you lift twice your bodyweight up off the ground without compromising proper body mechanics?
Can you support yourself in a handstand?
Can you carry your own bodyweight for at least 400m?
If you can't complete all of these, no crime has been committed. However, addressing the areas where you are lacking will grossly increase your ability to tackle life head on.

General Endurance
Can you run a mile without stopping? 
Can you go for an all day adventure and keep up with everyone around you?
Are you capable of sprinting to safety if chased for 100 yards?
Conditioning is not an end goal, it is a continuous practice. No matter how efficient you currently are never stop growing or pushing to progress forward.  

Please, feel free to leave your comments below. Present your perspective for myself and the benefit of others. If you are wondering, my deficiencies are found in the first group, and so I am diligently working to correct my mobility. There's no shame in addressing your weakness, only fault in ignoring it. 

Tuesday

Work Capacity
3 Rounds for time:
7x Strict ring muscle-ups
15x Double KB clean and press

Note: Today is for time, IF you are proficient in these two movements. Before we do anything for speed, we always learn the mechanics, demonstrate repeatability in applying them consistently, and then we add in intensity. If you are going for time, hold yourself accountable to full range of motion on the muscle up. Use a challenging load for the KBs - I recommend double 53 pound KBs. Post your time and weight to comments!

Monday

Strength
5 Rounds:
5x Kettlebell single leg Romanian deadlift, each leg
6x Strict ring dip w/leg raise
Dead hang from pull-up bar 30 seconds
50yd Double kettlebell rack carry, 2x 53lbs
Rest 30 seconds

Note: Grab a challenging kettlebell in your opposing hand for the single leg Romanian deadlifts. Always pivot from the hip, driving the movement from the glute. For the dips set the rings to a height so that the dips can be completed in the hollow position. When you return to full extension at the top of the dip drive your legs up to your chest as in an L-sit, this is one rep. Maintain active shoulders pulling the scapula in and engaged during the dead hang. Finally, grab two challenging kettle bells for the rack carry. Keep the elbows down and tucked to the ribs. KEEP THE KETTLE BELLS OFF YOUR SHOULDERS! Rest briefly and jump into the next round.
 

Friday

Strength
Power clean + push-press 2-2-2-2-2
Rest 90 sec between sets

Then
EMOM10
Odd min: Turkish get-up LH
Even min: Turkish get-up RH

Note: Heavy work before the weekend. Warm-up the shoulder girdle really well before getting into the session today. There is no requirement to maintain grip for the double rep clean and push-press, so use a challenging load. Catch the bar high and drive it overhead. For the Turkish get-ups choose a challenging KB or dumbbell that does not jeopardize your posture throughout the movement. As always moving well is first priority. Integrity then intensity, quality then quantity!

Thursday

Endurance
For time:
Row 5k
Run 5k

Note: Goal to work toward for this objective, testing aerobic capacity across multiple modalities, is to complete the 10k distance and transition in less than 45 minutes. Settle into a 1:40/500m split or better and then run a 7:30/mile pace. Not impossible. Possibly, not even difficult when independent events, but paired together this will surprise you. Stick with your target pace. Finish your best, and work toward the goal. Find a friend to throw down with, on this.

Food For Thought

Tonight's Grocery Spoils of War

DISCLAIMER:

I am not a registered dietician. Please, consult a medical professional for medical advice. The following information is my own opinion and stems from years of experimentation, trial and error, countless hours reading ultra-boring studies, eating things that are unhealthy for the purpose of science, abstaining from those things after feeling like garbage, and trying every new diet because I geek out on training and nutrition. 

My Thoughts On Food...

Paleo. Gluten-free. Low-carb. No sugar. High-fat. Zone. High-calorie. Keto-genic. Vegan. Pescatarian. Vegetarian. Calorie-restricted. Meat and potatoes. Primal. Eat more protein. Bacon, bacon, bacon...

Confusing? All I heard was bacon...

Try this on for size: The Principle of Individualization essentially states that we are all different. SHOCKING! What works for one isn’t necessarily going to work for another. Therefore, you and I need to eat and fuel our bodies the way that is best for us as individuals. Just because your best friend seemingly thrives on guzzling 32oz hand cannons of coffee and housing pizza all the time while staying in shape, doesn’t mean you can or even should do that. Every eating preference listed above has value to someone, somewhere. Diversity in body composition, genetic make-up, energy output, stress mitigation, sleep practice, even upbringing can all play into determining what eating style we are most adept to operating and functioning our best. But we are not meant to put ourselves into perfect little boxes of prettiness that require no afterthought.  

So before you trek off into the Wild West of greens fried in EVOO and side of canned wild caught sardines, bullet-proof coffee, bacon weave meatloaf, or shirk anything that starts with "red" and ends with "meat," lets have a discussion. 

We all need nutrients - the substances that provide nourishment to our body for continued growth and maintenance of life. These come in the form of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and fat), and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Additionally, we all need sufficient amounts of water. Things can immediately go awry here because although we all require the aforementioned nutrients, we may need varying levels of each depending on our individual characteristics and lifestyle. For now don't sweat this, you have easier things to focus on - keep reading!

Unfortunately, the current world we live in is not doing us any favors in facilitating our ability to garner the nutrients our bodies so crave. Pesticides, toxins in the air and water, soil mineral depletion from over-farming, processing, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenation, genetically modified organisms, hormone- and antibiotic-ridden live stock, grain-fed fish, and other poor food production practices have grossly reduced the nutrient availability of our foods. Leaving us in a predicament. Even an individual valiantly attempting to eat mindfully and trying to maintain their own health by following conventional wisdom of eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy is going to come up short. 

No matter what eating preference you follow and no matter what macro-nutrient profile you fall under you need to eat quality foods that will provide quality nutrients to your body. That is what every body and everybody needs! The first place to start when orienting your eating toward a goal of health, is to develop awareness of the quality of food you are eating. A vegetable is not a vegetable, a chicken is not a chicken, and an apple is definitely not just an apple - not anymore at least. 

I am not a proponent of throwing money away. In fact I like to spend as little as possible on food as I can. But food is a necessity, it is an investment in our family's and our future health. By health I mean perpetual ability to thrive while enjoying life actively and growing continuously. Therefore, I strongly, and by strongly I mean adamantly, advocate buying organic locally grown produce, grass-fed free-range, non-hormone, antibiotic free beef, free-range organic chicken, free range eggs, and wild caught fish. 

How can I do this while maintaining a budget?

BE SMART ABOUT WHERE YOU SHOP

Stop grocery shopping and start shopping for your groceries. Availability is everything. If you visit your local grocer and the organic produce section has four items then your kind of hard-pressed. Fortunately, exposure, education, developing awareness, and rising popularity are opening up the availability of quality options throughout. However, you may need to visit two, three, or several different markets to track down a diverse selection of optimal choices. 

Trader Joe's, Publix, Fresh Market and other major retailers typically now carry organic and natural foods at affordable costs. You can utilize online market options such as Thrive Market or Vitacost for pantry items like coconut flour, almond meal, nut butters, gluten-free items, canned goods, olive oil, avocado oil, non-dairy milks, and other staples. Even Amazon.com has a surprising amount of solid affordable options, and for convenience you can have them auto-shipped based on your rate of usage. 

For bulk purchases Costco can be a resource for organic frozen vegetables and fruits, organic meats and poultry, coconut oil, or nuts and seeds. Also, utilize the bulk item bins found at your grocery store. Lentils, quinoa, beans, oats, nuts, seeds, all can be found at dramatically less and you can purchase exactly how much you need. 

HomeGoods a store I only recently became familiar with has specialty items typically found at Whole Foods, but for one quarter of the cost. If for some reason, where you are residing does not afford you the liberty of accessing any of these options (then in your rural living outpost, you should grow a garden), most grocers are open to recommendations and are willing to listen to what their consumers want in-house. So step up and demand quality products.      

USE A SHOPPING LIST

Head out on your foraging adventure of hunting and gathering with a plan. Know your budget. Know the price of every item that enters your cart and deduct it from your running total. I personally budget $500 a month for groceries to feed my family of four and grocery shop twice a month. We allot $100 for fruits and vegetables, $50 for meats, fish and poultry, and $100 for pantry staples. This takes practice and tweaking to get used to figuring out where to buy what items, and learning what you use frequently, infrequently, and routinely. But as you become more aware and purposeful with your decisions it becomes a habitual positive behavior. We now have a standard grocery list that rarely changes.

BUY LOCAL WHEN AVAILABLE

Local foods support your community and cost less because they are not shipped from anywhere. When you buy produce that comes from South America or even from across the country for that matter, you as the consumer pay the cost. An added benefit is that you are able to determine the practices and methods used by your local farmers to ensure quality.

BUY IN-SEASON 

Produce that is in-season, is much cheaper than when it is not and a rare commodity. Readily available high quantity fruits and vegetables need to be sold and prices reflect this. Additionally, I am a firm believer that your body is designed to thrive on the items that are available during each unique season. Winter stock is usually more hearty and filling so you stay warm and have plenty of energy to embrace the cold. Spring and summer options are typically light and cleansing, promoting activity and keeping you cooler for the rising heat. 

LEARN WHAT TO EAT ORGANIC AND WHAT TO FOREGO

Have you ever heard of the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen? Each is respectively, a list of produce that is absolutely essential to avoid or a list of what can be eaten without concern of residual pesticide exposure. Thanks to EWG.org you now know anything on the Dirty Dozen list should be 100% avoided or purchased as an organic option. The items on the Clean Fifteen list can be purchased anywhere, as they are, without raising any red flags. Download user-friendly guides to help you stay on top of this.   

STAY AWAY FROM GMO's 

Soy and corn, which are arguably in almost all processed foods are almost exclusively genetically modified crops in the United States. So any item you purchase that has soy or corn in its ingredient list and is not an organic or NON-GMO food, put it back on the shelf, back away slowly, and send me a dollar for saving your life. Remember the goal is quality. We want our nutrients!

EAT LESS MEAT

Some of you just cheered, others want to knock me upside the head because this is ludicrous. Organic meat and proteins are the most expensive items you will need to purchase. Eating only one serving a day and taking a couple days a week off from them won't kill you - it will however breathe some life into your wallet. Substitute with plant proteins. Lentils one of my newest staple and favorite foods, provides 18g protein in one cooked cup. That's equivalent to eating three eggs. Other great sources include white beans, navy beans, split peas, pretty much all beans, chia and hemp seeds, triticale, and millet.

RELY ON CHEAP FOODS THAT ARE HEALTH FOOD POWERHOUSES

We don't need to get crazy to regularly incorporate the following foods into our diet. Fortunately, they are accessible, cost-effective, and easily convertible into delicious meals. Red cabbage, kale, collards, spinach, brown rice, lentils, walnuts, broccoli, seaweed, sea salt, dried coconut flakes, steel-cut oats, flax seed, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds.   

AVOID WASTING YOUR FOOD

It does no good to purchase a bunch of healthy items, let them sit because you don't know how to prepare them, and then lose them as they go bad. Research recipes for new vegetables you've never tried. I make it a practice to use vegan/vegetarian sites to learn new recipes (because they make delicious food) and then I just add meat. It is incredibly helpful to determine what foods your body operates best on and then make it a goal to prepare those foods in the most spectacular, diverse, and delicious ways possible.

EAT TWICE

Make a habit of preparing enough food for dinner, so that you always have a lunch the next day. This will save you money on eating out. It will save you time and effort in preparing something else to eat the next morning. And it will keep you accountable to eating meals that adhere to your specific eating preference.

Hopefully, somewhere in the mess of information you found something practical to your situation. My goal is not to promote any one source of eating preference. Nor am I able to determine the correct macronutrient ratio for everyone reading this post. However, I stand behind the fact that we each need quality nutrients to function, perform, look, feel, and operate our best. Be conscious of your choices, make informed decisions, and take care of yourself - you're worth it!

Tuesday

Resilience

Start a running clock. During the first five minutes, complete as many double kettlebell front squats as you are able. You will use one heavy kettlebell and one that weighs 10lbs less than the other. Switch sides with the loading as needed.

As soon as five minutes is up, immediately run one mile for time.

Note: For the unevenly yoked KB front squats core strength will be taxed tremendously. Use the five minutes of work to produce quality movement consistently. Methodically, attack each rep holding yourself accountable to midline stabilization, full depth at the bottom, and completely opening the hip at the top. DO NOT CHEAT the rack position by bringing the elbows up or resting the weight on the shoulders. Elbows should be tucked into the ribs creating a pocket for the bells to rest. After the squats settle into the run for the first quarter mile as your legs come back. Open up your stride, control your breathing and quickly increase the pace during the middle 800m, then go for broke on the last quarter mile. Leave nothing in the tank.

Will you bend or will you break. Resilience is the art of bouncing back. It is the ability to adapt to hardships and adversity in life. It is as much mental as physical, and therefore can be conditioned and honed through perseverance in both mental and physical challenge.

Monday

Work Capacity
For time:
20-15-12-10-7-5
Double kettlebell push-press 53lbs each hand
50yd Atlas stone bear hug carry > 100lbs*

*Looks like 20x push-press/50yd carry, 15x push-press/50yd carry, 12x push-press/50yd carry, 10x push-press/50yd carry, etc

Note: For time doesn't mean throw your integrity out the window. It means move with purpose while completing each rep with quality range of motion and form. Intensity is needed to stress the position after mechanics have been soundly ingrained. Scale the loads as needed, try to go unbroken for each set of push-press. This should not be easy! 

Here is something to consider: IF YOU ARE SUFFERING it is because you are focused on yourself. During my military training when cold, harsh, wet weather intensified the long, drawn out grind of countless calisthenics, weighted carries, sprints, and swimming, if your mind wrapped around the emotional angst of enduring the hardship - you were done. 

Individuals would feel sorry for themselves because it was cold, training was unfair, muscles ached, cramps sporadically came and went, fatigue, a poor night's sleep, not enough food, too much food, bleeding hands, and sometimes golf ball-sized calcium deposit growths would build on the feet. All these conditional obstacles only served to eliminate those who could not see past themselves. 

However, the individuals who focused on encouraging the guy next to them, pushing harder when things got tough, embracing fatigue, rain, snow, sleet, rep after rep shouting motivation, almost thriving in the middle of the pain and hardship - they understood. They understood that IT WAS BIGGER THAN THEM. 

They endure the suck, for the day when someone will need their help. The time when all comforts and niceties are out the window and the worst case scenario has manifested its face. They know that when you invest your time, energy, and focus in helping others, when its not about you then you can go the distance. Everything else is just a distraction. 

IF YOU ARE SUFFERING, stop focusing on yourself and start helping those around you. In the end you will get what you need.

Friday

Endurance

EMOM20

12 sec Run just under sprint pace

Rest remainder of minute

Note: Today's session is oriented towards conditioning your body to recover efficiently. 

Thursday

Work Capacity
Complete as many rounds as possible in 16 minutes:
Run 400m
5x Zercher squats* @ bodyweight
7x Strict pull-ups

*To complete a Zercher squat, equally position the barbell in the crooks of your elbows. Keep your fists up driving to the sky, chest up, trunk tight; squat and return to standing.

Note: Intense work awaits. How much quality movement can you produce in 16 minutes while you are aerobically tasked? Get after it on the 400m runs. Lock in your trunk when you grab the bar in the crooks of your elbows and squat with a solid midline. This will challenge your integrity as the weight crushes your diaphragm while you're sucking wind. Resist the urge to round your back or raise your hips prematurely without your chest rising in sync. Scale the load as needed. The pull-ups will keep you moving with purpose, giving your legs a second of rest. Beware of the simple!

Tuesday

Stability
5 Rounds:
3x KB Windmills LH
30sec Hanging L-sit
3x KB Windmills RH
30sec Ring support
1 minute Back bridge

Note: Be methodical and purposeful in each of the movements today, it's all about quality and economy of movement. Load the windmills as heavy as able, challenging yourself, but maintaining sound mechanics. Utilize a mature grip for the ring support by turning your thumbs outward into a supine position. Elevate the feet during the back bridge if thoracic mobility is lacking. Rest as needed between rounds.

Gaining strength is not a complicated process, you apply consistency, patience, and effort against heavy resistance while progressively increasing the stimulus over time. 

To go long and develop endurance is to condition the body to adapt to the expenditure of energy for a given activity. In time this comes simply as well.

What is not easy, what cannot be gained quickly, what can be lost and abused and neglected is mobility, joint and connective tissue health. The health of your joints and tissue comes from explicit practice, conscious effort, and continuous self-awareness directed at caring for yourself. Mobility is not glamorous, it does not seemingly win competitions, it is not worthy of a selfie... BUT IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect that receives the littlest attention. 

I firmly believe that strength is the foundation of all other facets of fitness. Nevertheless, if you don't have quality range of motion with the necessary joint flexibility, if you don't have the stability within that spectrum of movement, you are an injury waiting to happen. Be strong, last long, but most importantly be able to move first. When you can balance all three of these then you will become capable...

Monday

Strength + Work Capacity
5 Sets:
5x Deadlift, heavy
ME barbell hold at top of last rep
Rest 5 minutes

Then
Complete as many reps of burpees as possible in FOUR minutes

Note: Warm-up smartly before hitting this up today. Work up to a hard set of five deads and hold the bar at the top of the last rep for maximum time. After the first couple sets the grip quickly begins to fade. TAKE the full FIVE minutes of rest every set. After the last set rest another five minutes and then complete the burpee test. My goal is to one day reach 100x in the four minutes, as of today my best is 84x How did you do?

Friday

Work Capacity
6-10 Sets:
5x Clapping push-ups
8x KB swings 70lbs
Hill sprint 30yd minimum
Jog back to start
Rest 30sec

Note: Get outside today and embrace the natural resistance of vertical terrain. The session has been left open-ended for you to decide how many sets to do, but at a minimum get in six. For the KB swings we use Russian standards hinging at the hips and not squatting. Be explosive with the push-ups and swings and then crush the hill. Hill sprints are my favorite exercise - choose a hill that is challenging. Have fun and scale weight as needed.

Thursday

Work Capacity
5 Rounds for time:
10x DB Thrusters 40lbs each hand
50m Swim

Note: This session is courtesy of Coach Brian Kirkendall. I have switched the standard barbell thruster out for dumbbells to facilitate ability to perform this workout at your pool. Maintain solid form and full range of motion from a squat below parallel to pressing the dumbbells out to full lockout overhead. Work through the thrusters with purpose. Once in the water, attack the swim with everything you have.

It is my utmost desire that the training I post each week and the words that I extend serve to encourage each of you in some way. I write what I write because it reminds me to follow through with what I have learned. The daily training is a simple prescription of constantly varied hard work. It does not need to be followed to the "T" to gain from the principles that are embedded in each session. Here is the simplicity behind the programming:

Training is four days a week. 
Purpose: you need to train consistently

Training is continuously varied.
Purpose: interest is sustained and accommodation avoided

Training consists of weekly exposure to heavy resistance.
Purpose: heavy resistance triggers the greatest response in neuromuscular adaptation and hormone production

Training regularly incorporates high-intensity/short duration outputs.
Purpose: intensity amplifies results

Training includes intermittent endurance efforts.
Purpose: aerobic capacity is the base for all other conditioning work

Training utilizes gymnastics and bodyweight training frequently.
Purpose: everyone should be able to move their body through functional shapes and postures, regular exposure to this allows us to recognize holes in our armor

Lastly, training prescribes bi-weekly swim sessions.
Purpose: water confidence and competency is a life skill