Wednesday, February 13th
A.
STRENGTH: Every 90 Seconds, Back Squat 5 Sets of 2 Repetitions *7 second descent, 3 second pause in bottom. This is a very slow, and lengthy squat repetition - and fully intended to be so. Leveraging time under tension to our advantage, we can pull a potent stimulus from these repetitions at controlled weights. All percentages below are based off our 1RM Back Squat. All repetitions are also taken from the rack. Set #1 - 63% Set #2 - 65% Set #3 - 67% Set #4 - 69% Set #5 - 71-74%, based on feel.
B.
METCON: 5 Minute AMRAP: 15 Bar Facing Burpees 21 Power Cleans (155/105) 27/21 Calorie Assault Bike
Rest 5:00
5 Minute AMRAP: 15 Bar Facing Burpees 21 Power Cleans (135/95) 27/21 Calorie Assault Bike
Rest 5:00
5 Minute AMRAP: 15 Bar Facing Burpees 21 Power Cleans (115/80) 27/21 Calorie Assault Bike
**If bikes are not available:
Calorie Row – 37/33
Today, have three intervals of an identical repetition scheme. What changes between the rounds is the loading on the barbell. Reducing in load over the three AMRAP's, our aim is to keep the intensity high despite the fatigue.
Finishing a full round inside these windows will be challenging. Naturally the bike will be a longer effort, given the inevitable fatigue that will be present from the previous work. Stimulus wise, we are looking for the following loads on the barbell:
Round 1 - A weight we could complete 15+ repetitions unbroken with, when fresh. Round 2 - A weight we could complete 20+ repetitions unbroken with, when fresh. Round 3 - A weight we could complete 25+ repetitions unbroken with, when fresh.
As we approach the first round, with our heaviest barbell, we still want to consider sets. Although fast singles may be the method of choice in most workouts with this loading, we want to get outside our comfort zone and string together repetitions. The sets do not need to be large, with 6-5-5-5 being a strong option. But if we turn to fast singles, the act of chasing the bar around can easily consume more seconds than we want to give up here.
The burpees and the bike are the constants of the workout. A methodical, breathing pace on the burpees is our aim, focusing on our footwork and rhythm to our breathing between repetitions. These reps do not need to be fast, but they need to be efficient. On the bike, allow a brief recovery period as we bring the bike up to speed. As the wattage climbs slowly but steadily. Sprinting as we get onto the bike often doesn't have an effect until several seconds later, despite our efforts. This is often why the "first calorie" seems to take so long. The monitor needs a moment to catch up. Let's use these moments as a brief composure period where we can recover for a faster pace as we settle in.
Much of the workout will be spent on the bike, so our intensity absolutely matters here. Even a small wattage difference over the course of this amount of calories can be a significant time difference. Using the clock to our advantage, we can make judgement call on the bike based on how much time we have remaining in the five minute window. Naturally, if we are able to make it back to the burpees, we do not want to exhaust ourselves here with a hard push on the bike. But if our round will end on the bike, it's now a matter of how hard can we push.
