UPCF Summer Training 2017
The blog is back everyone and that means you will get a look at what is to come for the next few months of training! Yes, I know that the summer heat has officially arrived, and it does play a significant role in performance so anything that is read in the blog regarding training protocols may be subject to change depending on the weather. Please hydrate and do whatever it takes to keep yourselves cool. Yes, I am mainly talking to you evening classes — hang in there. Here is what is to come in July and August:
WARM-UPS:
As we already know it doesn’t take much to get the body hot anymore. Warm-ups will remain short and sweet, but also give you a chance to focus on simple movement patterns. For example, if you struggle with overhead pressing and we ask for a barbell push press, then hold that overhead position for a couple seconds to allow your joints and tissue to open up to that movement. Also, maybe your core disengages when you are performing an overhead press; this means time to focus on keeping that rib-cage down, and hips tight. Simple movements in the warm-up are a perfect time to build and maintain healthy mechanics. Do not forget that.
We coaches understand that when we wake up every day, the body doesn’t always feel fresh and ready; a purposeful warm-up could be just what the body needs to prime you for your training day. You have an hour and fifteen minutes with us so make it count from beginning to end.
LIFTING:
From basic powerlifting to complex weightlifting, you will see it all this summer. The sumo deadlift and the bench press are back; for most, you may not have done these movements for quite some time. The sumo deadlift may come off a little strange at first, but like all lifts it does serve its purpose for developing strength, plus gives you all a little something different to tackle this summer. The back squat will have various tempos attached this time around to really solidify the idea of keeping your position as solid as possible, no matter the tempo given. As always, if you are not comfortable getting heavy with these movements, then back off the weight and keep the technique textbook. The Olympic lifts will have more of a complex style to them this time around; for example, 1 Squat Clean + 1 Hang Squat Clean + 1 Front Squat. Therefore, if there is any part of the Olympic game that needs to be worked on your end, now will be the time to address it and focus on it for the months to come. What we coaches will be looking for is fluid transitions from one repetition to the next. Not necessarily touch-n-go (although you will score style points with TnG), but understanding how to reset properly and prepare for the next repetition without hesitation — this is what we will be looking for. Strive to be as perfect as possible from beginning to end and the weight will come. That is a promise.
CONDITIONING:
First off, since the summer months are here and the heat has finally made its appearance, performance in the gym can drastically change. We only ask that you all do what you can on that particular day and stay as hydrated as possible. If you give full effort on just one piece of conditioning and that is all you have in the tank for that day, then shut it down. Some days might ask for a second dose of conditioning or interval work, but it may not be needed if your body is not feeling it. The long AMRAP’s are not over. If you feel like the longer, cruise control AMRAP’s are a weakness for you then the next few months will be a great time to build that engine. Those longer workouts will be on Fridays to end the week strong. Now that you know this, do not ignore Fridays for that specific reason. As usual a majority of our workouts will still remain anywhere from 8–14 minutes so do not worry, we will not be doing 20 minute AMRAP’s every day. Some of the days throughout the week you will find optional interval work with gymnastic movements to play with and practice. As stated above, only tackle the optional pieces if you feel like you could put some purpose into them; if not, then mobilize and cool the body down. You can still achieve a high dose of fitness with going all out on one conditioning piece, then calling it a day.
Since we are in the game of constant variance, there will be some odd object, dumbbell, and kettle bell exercises to play with and adapt to. For example, medicine ball runs, long waiter walks, double kettle bell front rack carries, etc. To add on top of all this lovely conditioning, especially after the incredible turn out for Memorial Day “Murph”, you all will get a chance to hit some Hero workouts along the way. As most of you probably know, Hero workouts have more of a “finish at all costs” vibe to them; if scaling is needed do not hesitate to do so. To end the conditioning talk, one last thing we coaches will ask of you is to not ignore your weaknesses. We know it is easy to look at the workout of the day and say, “I hate that so I’ll skip today”. You can switch the mindset and say, “I really need to practice that so I need to come today”. Most likely, the very thing you are ignoring is exactly what you need. We all have movements and workouts that create gaps in our fitness, and there is only one way to fill those gaps: show up and face the weaknesses head on. With patience, practice, and persistence you will be on the way to being a better version of yourself. We guarantee that.
Train hard and safe. Drink water. Eat well. Sleep lots.
-JOSH BORY
