All fun aside, spring is starting, the days are getting longer, the snow is melting, wedding season is coming and it's time to get ready for summer, beach fun and summer sports, which brings us to the Phase 4 Overview.
Phase 4 Overview
The theme of Q2 is fat loss, muscle definition, beach ready #1 and summer sports like surfing, stand up paddle board, beach volleyball, kiteboarding, swimming, running, biking, triathlons, obstacle course races, canoe and kayaking, tennis, golf, baseball, softball and ultimate frisbee. We'll be decreasing the reps and volume and increasing the intensity and loads. The dumbbell load for P4 is 25-45%, P5 is 20-40% and P6 is 30-50%. When you use heavy loads, you get stronger and build more lean muscle. The increased lean mass helps to decrease your fat mass, however to see the scale go down and to see the lines in your new muscle definition and curves it's what you do at the grocery store, in the kitchen, at the table and what you put in your mouth as well as what you don't. But you know that.
What's going to happen when you start using increased loads is your bag is going to get heavier, your hands are going to get stronger, your core is going to get stronger, life's going to get a bit easier and out of your way more because you're stronger. You're going to become faster because you can put more force in the ground and you're going to be able to do more skillful exercises. Basically you're going to live life more fully because you can do stuff vs. when you get weak and you can't do stuff. Just look at old people. They have trouble getting in, out or off of chairs, cars and toilet seats. Going up & down stairs is a major goal and they have to do less. Thankfully you're young and learning from your elders. You want to age being able to rock out burpees, 1-leg squats and pull ups, while doing fun recreational activities with the generations that come after you.
Now these heavier loads are going to cause something really interesting to happen. You're going to have to take brief rest periods because you'll get winded. Doing skillful exercises with challenging loads does this to you. If you have light loads, the reps will be super easy and you'll do a bazillion sets before you get tired.
Another great thing about this phase are the low reps. The low reps are to help you get stronger by using heavier loads and/or higher skilled exercises, but they also decrease the volume of your training which means the hypertrophy we worked on last quarter that conditioned your muscles and tendons and gave your muscles and body a nice pump and shape, will now get pulled in tighter (assuming you're eating to be awesome) giving you some muscle definition for that 1st day on the beach or when you want to rock out thonged flip flops and show off your sexy feet. (see what I did right there ;-)
Here's a bullet point list of things to look forward to this phase:
- We'll have 2 different workouts, A&B
- Workout Cards (see attached)
- An exercise Library (see attached)
- No formal group demonstrations after the 1st workout for A&B
- Faster pace so stations workouts are like in place team training workouts
- 4pt. Stability is now part of correctives / muscle activation warm up
- Core: reintroduces medicine balls
- New smaller & lighter hand friendly and explosive power friendly medicine balls
- Pre-set superbands to save time (1/2", 1" and 1.75")
- Power: both bodyweight (Burpee to Surf) and dumbbell (DB Hang Jump Shrug)
- More centerfold friendly core training (Squat Thrusts and Reverse Crunch progressions)
- Density circuits: both escalating time (the time you work on an exercise pair increases) and escalating intensity (the volume of work you do increases) allow you to get more total work done which helps you to be stronger, leaner and closer to the superhero you were born to be.
- Grip strength (heavier DB's, Band RDL's, TRX Row, DB Curl to Front Squat, Band Pulldown and DB BK-SLDL) to prepare the reintroduction of chin ups next phase.
- Archer push ups: because Danielson never waxed the floor or painted the fence from a push up position, so if you want to take down the Crane, you've gotta bring your Archer.
- 1-Leg Squat w/ a Lateral Slide cause we're going to do 1-Leg Squats during the summer and Pistols in the fall so we've gotta get your legs stronger unilaterally.
- Triathlon Relay returns to the baseline from the sideline and will lengthen to 3/4 court.
- Baserunning continues
- Tennis relay adds in an Ultimate and Volleyball flavor with the Power Skips (A-Skips) for Height, minus the RPB's (ready position bounce), 180 & 360 degree turns and tennis volleys.
I hope you're excited for the warm and long days ahead, the fun outdoor sports you'll be prepared to do and the self-confidence you'll earn strutting your stuff, barefoot or in your thonged flip flops at your favorite home of sea shells and sand.
Equipment You could rent equipment at the gym, hire a green trainer, take classes led by instructors that don't coach or teach, and/or try to train on your own or I can teach you how to train so you can develop a useful skill that will help you age awesomely. In order to get the most out of your time with CYBBC and not regress (if you keep doing the same things, you'll get the same results doesn't apply here because you're body will adapt and crave new stimulus' and challenges) it's time to consider investing in the following: - Power blocks: go to Gym Source in Needham (ask for Norm), check amazon, craigslist or powerblocks.com.
- A TRX or other Suspension Trainer with Anchor Point: I use an "iron gym pull up bar" on a doorway to attach my TRX. Check Gym Source, performbetter.com, trx.com, amazon or craigslist.
- A portable pull up bar: I love, love, love my Elite Portable Pull Up Bar (elite b/c it's taller). check out trapezerigging.com
- A portable bench: great for pull overs, push ups, rear foot elevated split squats, 1-leg squats, flat & incline bench press, Incline Prone Supported DB Rows, DB Rows, Incline Trap Raises, and it slips under the bed or in a closet. The one I recommend for portability is the PT Pro Portable Fitness Bench. It's light, durable and well built. If you have a designated gym, get something more heavy duty. If you're gym is also your office, bedroom, or other multi-space unit, get this.
- Superbands: get a 1/2", a 1" and 1.75". All black. Order from performbetter.com.
- Lacrosse ball. Great for those small knots and small areas like feet, calves, rotator cuffs, pecs ... that the roller can't get to.
- Heart Rate Monitor: go with polar or wait and see how apple's iWatch works.
Again. If we can learn anything from the multi-billion dollar entertainment industry that encompasses tv, movies, music and sports is that people look up to, idolize, admire, hire and pay the big bucks to people who prioritize their self care. That's what we're talking about here. When you're strong, you're not weak. When you're healthy, you're not sick. When you can you don't have to say you can't. When you can run, you don't have to say I wish I could do that. When you look great in clothes you don't have to hide stuff. When you're develop the habit of getting better you don't have to talk about how you're getting worse.
Cardio Minutes - Week 1
Time Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Total
6:00am 25 12 12 49
9:00am 25 12 12 49
6:30pm 25 12 12 49
Cabot Family Boot Camp - Reminder
7:45-8:45a, tomorrow, Saturday, March 28 @ BG
bring mat, towel & water
50min of coached cardio & core that's a super fun way to start your Saturday
Workout Card Insight
Just a reminder. We're testing the workout cards for the Quarter, but they may only last a phase. The main goal of adding them to the many benefits is to increase the time you're actually exercising by decreasing the amount of standing around listening to and watching instructions and demonstrations.
If you trained Tues, Wed, Thurs or Fri this week, thank you for your patience, openness and the extra time. Next week we train with no formal demonstrations. "Group 1 grab your workout cards and go to the Core. Group 2 Grab your workout cards and go to the Power". Everyone ready, set, go!" Then Marisa and I walk around coaching you. You are now students actively learning (think students or athletes) vs. clients passively receiving (think hair salon client or health club fitness class).
With all of this in mind, would you please share your initial insight on your workout card experience so Marisa and I can polish up on our end.
Cheers and I hope you're excited for all the wonderful things to come,
Your coach,
Mike Alves
p.s. please share your workout card feedback here.
p.p.s. if you haven't done workout A and B with us this past week, plan to be 15min early so I can go over the workout card with you and please review the attached workout card and exercise library (read it, say it, do it, remember it).
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