MON: BLOCK 2 Programming Prep 

BLOCK 2 Cycle:

Monday: All Purpose
Tuesday: Strength (Jerks)
Wednesday: All Purpose
Thursday:  Strength (Front Squats)
Friday:  Muscle

Name: “Ride the Lightning”
Timeline: 2/18 – 3/31 (6 Weeks)
End of Cycle Testing: 3-Rep Front Squat and Jerk
PPB: Aerobic Power 2
(NEW) Skill Focus: Grip Strength
(NEW) Muscle Focus: Glutes & Back

Primary Lifts

To learn why we pick (1) absolute strength lift and (1) strength-speed lift every cycle, check out this installment of “Behind the Whiteboard.”

Absolute Strength: Front Squats

We would like you to head into this cycle with focus on the bottom position of the front squat.

“Create a Shelf” – Hands outside shoulders/elbows
—Why? Elevates the chest and sets scaps in the proper spot.
–Better bottom position, more upright.

“Stay Tall” – Keeps the torso vertical and hips under the bar.
—Why? Keeps the bar path vertical/balance over the midfoot/focus on quads.

Watch hips shooting up out of the hole, and shins moving back.
—Why? That’s what “up” looks like, when we don’t focus on staying tall and projecting the torso forward.

Push knees forward.
—Why? Hips stay down and under the bar, tension is maintained.

“Chest Up” (rather than elbows).
–For thoracic and shoulder focus in positioning.
—Why? Again, focus on bottom position and activation.

BOUNCE: The bounce is more detrimental to most folks because of untrained connective tissue. Learn to control your descent and drive out of the bottom rather than use momentum created from the eccentric.

Strength-Speed: Jerks

Split Jerks will be accessible by those in Level 1 Barbell Club this cycle. We want to encourage our athletes to develop their strength and skill in basic overhead work before progressing. The shoulders are a very, very complex and unstable joint, and we do not want to throw you into ballistic overhead work unless you are prepared.

“Full Grip”
–Adjust from your front squat grip so the bar is in the palm.
–Why? Safety in the transition of force, and helps to keep the bar secured to the shelf through the change in direction from Dip-Drive.

“Legs and Hips propel the bar.”
–Find language that works for you to relay the powerful explosion from the hips.
–Why? To help you understand your relationship to the bar and body movement. Legs initiate the power and finish with speed under.

“Punch through the bar.”
–Enforce remaining active through the extension and finish of the rep.
–Why? Rebounding or soft elbows/shoulders are a result of a lack of tension. We must push into the weight as we drive under to remain fully active against the load.

“Drive under.”
–The body must move under the bar. Often folks catch tall because they do not understand the torso needs to change direction as well.
–Why? The shorter the distance the bar travels, and the fast the body moves around it, the more efficient the rep.
This will alleviate pressing out, and also make the catch faster.

End of Cycle Testing

We will once more be testing our 3-rep lifts in the jerk and front squat at the end of the cycles. Three reps will be very productive because it challenges our strength, but just as important, it challenges our position since we have to maintain it for three reps. This places great demand on the core to ensure we are transferring force properly and don’t see technique breakdown in our extremities and our spine.

Personal Progress Benchmark (PPB)

The PPB for BLOCK 1 will be Aerobic Power 2 (AP 2).

10:1 Burpees
100m Run

(NEW) Skill Focus

All BLOCK long, you can expect exposure to movements that will focus on developing your grip strength. The grip is the gateway to the CNS, without a strong grip, we cannot be strong elsewhere, so think about it as developing your global strength ability that you can apply to any fitness or body composition goals.

(NEW) Muscle Focus

On Fridays you can expect a steady focus on the glutes and back throughout the entirety of the cycle. These days will feature movements that develop the aesthetics of those two muscle groups. For the glutes, we will see a lot of lunges. For the back, we’ll see many mixed movements.

–The Team

Monday, 2.18.19

For Quality
5 Deadlifts
5 Hang Cleans
5 BB Push Ups
Max Cal Bike Sprint
(x8 Rounds)
—
Finisher:
50 Floor Wipers

PHASE 1: Squat Test (Optional)