A perfect phase for our time pressed heroes.
Our next 12 week block in our Human Performance Program is going to be perfect for busy responders and tactical populations. We are going to use a programming method often described as strength circuits. This type of training isn’t just haphazardly thrown together movements in order to just get us tired. Each training session is structured and progressed over these 3 months to train speed, power, strength, or hypertrophy. Due to the training structure we will also build some aerobic capacity on our strength training days, and will also provide options for two additional conditioning days during the week if your schedule allows.
General Outline for First 4 Week Phase is below. The screenshots are how it appears on the train heroic app when you subscribe to our Human Performance Program prior to starting the session and entering your working weights as you train:
Day 1
Lift 1- Lighter loads, moved with a purpose, one minute of rest between movements
This can be seen as your “primer” day, as it will “wake up” the body for the rest of the training week. You’ll start with a dynamic warm up that is provided (with video) for you to first break a sweat and get the body ready for the training session. Then you’ll move to your first lift, rest a minute or so, then your next lift, and then repeat until the session is complete. The rep ranges provided will be on the lower end to ensure high quality movement and speed as you move through each set. Remember, each day you’ll move from exercise to exercise...your heart rate will stay somewhere in zone 2/3 for the session, which should take you anywhere from 40-60 minutes depending on how strong you are and how long it takes you to warm up to your working sets.
Day 2
Conditioning 1- Loaded Aerobic/Zone 2 Focus
I provide a few options for you to choose from based off your preferences and equipment availability. Here is one option below if you have access to a sled.
Day 3
Lift 2- Heavy Day- Heavy(ier) loads, longer rest periods, lower overall volume
This day we start to push into heavy(ier) strength work. We will spend most of our time in the 75-80% range while varying our rep ranges. This lets us work with some heavier weight with higher quality movement. Although the rest periods will be a little shorter than traditional strength work, due to the layout of the session you’ll still get plenty of time between each lift because by the time you rested between the other lifts you’ll be doing.
Day 4- Off or Aerobic
Day 5
Lift 3- Heavier Hypertrophy (Muscle Building)
You’re still going to use a strength circuit. What you’ll do on this day is you’ll first warm up with the dynamic warm up, then you’ll start your warm up sets for each movement, done in a circuit. The idea is to ramp up to challenging set of 6-8 reps for each movement. Then do one more set with that weight. The following week try to get both of your working sets to 8 reps or more with the same weight. Once you accomplish that, up the load slightly.
Day 6
Conditioning 2- Higher Volume Conditioning 45-90 Minutes
For those that have schedules that allow for this longer training day, I provide some options they can be used on this day. One example below:
Closing
This will be an exciting change for what you have been doing these past 12 weeks if you’ve been with us. If you haven’t been doing our training, jump in with a free trial and see if we are a good fit for you. We are only a message away if you need help with a modification or are confused about anything. Once you get a feel for using “strength circuits” I think you’ll be hooked. Any questions, reach out.
