This is the first day of our Foundations 2 mesocycle. In this mesocycle, you’ll see a little more conditioning as well as more total body strength training sessions.
Today you can enjoy lots of upperbody pushing and pulling with a mix of positions. The workout ends with a tough core and shoulder endurance finisher.
4 sets:
Bench press @21X1 x6-8 reps, no rest
Prone trap raise x15 reps, 1-2 minutes rest between sets
*When performing exercises to a prescribed rep range, always aim to achieve the upper end of the rep range. If 6-8 reps is prescribed and you are nearing maximum effort at 8 reps, then stay at the same weight. If after 8 reps, you feel like you could have done more, then increase the weight. If you achieve only 6 or 7 reps then hold or reduce the weight to ensure you’re still falling in the 6-8 reps range.
5 sets:
Barbell bent over row @21X1 x5-6 reps
Rest 1-2 minutes between sets
3 sets:
8-12 reps, Long sitting dumbbell press @20X1, no rest
12 reps per arm, Single-arm dumbbell row, 60-seconds rest
Accumulate 400-feet in 25-50 foot lengths of:
Weighted bear crawl
*Place a 45-pound plate on your lower back and crawl on your hands and feet ensuring to keep the plate stable on your lower back. This is an extremely challenging exercise for core stability as well as shoulder endurance.
Challenge Accepted
Motivate your friends and the hunting community at large. Share alternate or complimentary workouts. Post your sets in the comments and let us know how you feel pre/post workout.
Really appreciate these workouts. A few things if you could please respond/address on podcast.
1) Can I ask that you put substitutes in for the busy family guys at home with limited equipment? For example I only have dumbbells and TRX available to me. I don’t have trap bars or plates for weighted bear crawls, nor a rowing machine.
2) I did try the upper body push foundation block 1 workout and bombproof leg last week. I found the upper body took to long to complete all sets (well over an hour with timed breaks) and was difficult to complete the prescribed # of sets. I am not in peak condition but have been working out for about 20 years consistent. Not sure if I am really just that out of shape but there is no way I was finishing in 45 mins. Could you prescribe base level of sets to achieve and then optimal? For example, 3sets of squat variation base, advanced 5.
3) Can you also do an article on optimal/fastest way to prime (warm up) muscle groups for each workout? Including that in the workout would be even better. I am on the cusp of 40 and if I don’t warm up and stretch out at end of workout I stiffen up like a board. In order to keep these workouts achievable for time available and keep performance up this would be huge for most guys like me.
Hey Jason, great questions.
These workouts are meant to be performed at a commercial gym. I realize that not everyone has access to that type of equipment so I’d encourage you to stay connected with the community until we can provide something that can also be performed at home.
If you’re finding that the workouts are taking too long then you can plan ahead to do one less set than what is prescribed. This is the easiest way to shave down some of the time. You can also plan to skip the final piece of the workout. Workouts are organized in order of importance so even if you miss the last part, you’ll still get a lot of important work done.
I have been including brief warm-ups for some of the workouts but you can definitely do more. We have a podcast episode coming out soon where we discuss my favourite strategies for warming up. Stay tuned for that1
What does @20-1 or the like mean?
Hey Ryan. Check out the answer I gave to Murray above. Let me know if you have any other questions about the programming.
Hi Wardo, Feeling a little dumb, but What is “@21X1 x6-8 reps”, no rest? not a gym guy just a old hunter looking to better myself
Hey Murray. 21X1 is the tempo of the lift. In this case, you’d do 6-8 reps of the exercise. When performing the exercise you’ll go down for 2-seconds (2)1X1. At the bottom of the exercise, you’ll pause for 1-second 2(1)X1. The ascent of the exercise is meant to be done as fast as possible and you will pause for 1-second at the top 21X(1). Hope that helps! We have a podcast episode coming up where we discuss the benefits of training with these particular tempos. Stay tuned!