THURS: Intra Workout Recovery 101

On most every day here we will add a rest prescription as part of the workout. Sometimes it’s in the strength portion of tier one, other times it’s in the conditioning section of tier two, and today we see it in the structure building portion of the second half of the workout.

So, why rest? And why do we force it for all three examples?

Energy systems.

For example, in the strength portion of tier one we are trying to get stronger. No shit, right? The primary system we are training is the central nervous system, and in it specifically, the ATP-PCr system. That’s not super important, but what is that both need a significant amount of rest in order to repeat output within a workout. Think of this in the same manner as that carnival game where you whack the target with a sledgehammer, and the little gauge reacts to your power accordingly. If you did this five times in a row with no rest, surely the remaining few would be with far less power output. That game is this energy system in a nutshell. You guys do a great job of slowing down and appreciating the recovery in this example, so keep it up.

Here’s where folks don’t necessarily do a great job: conditioning rest prescription.

In a workout where X marks the rest, the reason the X exists is to keep us out of low level aerobic work. It’s very easy to reach 60-65% output in a fifteen minute workout and remain there. Nothing wrong with that at all, however, when X exists to mark intentional rest for us, the trade off is that in the working reps we should be going very hard. Almost like a sprint. This turns the workout into a series of fluctuating output and heart rate levels, and allows us more time spent in the anaerobic system than if we simply cruised aerobically for fifteen minutes. It’s a away to manipulate which conditioning energy system we’re in within a set time domain.

Finally, in a workout like today where rest is mentioned as part of the workout, the goal here is to build structure.  We’re performing big, total body, internal torque based movements, and that last part most specifically requires that we recover. Internal torque movements like rope pulls and sandbag squats will tax the parasympathetic nervous system which tends to make us much more physically tired in a workout, almost sleepy. By allowing yourselves time to reboot between movements, you’ll be able to stay heavy and build what we’re trying to build. Connective tissue, muscle, and our overall frame.

That’s it. That’s intra-workout recovery 101. Apply it when it’s part of what we’re doing and you’ll get more from the PSC that day.

-Dave

Thursday, 3.29.18

First, For Time:
Mile Run @CP
KOTH @PB
—
For Structure.
1 Rope Pull + Return Drag
Rest*
30″/s Unilateral Heavy Farmer Hold
Rest*
5 Sandbag Squats
Rest*
60m OH Plate Waiter Walk
Rest*
Flow Through without a target number of rounds, work dictates rest
(x20’)