Wednesday, July 22

I understand that yesterday's extra work was very difficult for most people. Last week and especially the weekend was very difficult and if your lower back is flared up a bit you should definitely think about adding in a rest day (preferably on Wednesday) or if you do come in, taking the workout very light or scaling to something else and just hitting the squats/ MU work is plenty for today. 

Please try to listen to your bodies - When intensity work / Lactic threshold training (Read more here) is programmed and you don't "have it" it is FAR better to just call it a day, relax, mobilize or train something that you enjoy and you can put some effort into / hit some weaknesses.  We have ~3 more weeks on our cycle before our next deload, so things will continue to ramp up for 3 more weeks. Try to understand the difference between when "grinding it out" is good, and when it isn't.  Here are the best examples I can provide:
"Badger" - Grind through, do singles on the cleans, break the pull-ups, do your best to finish.

"Fran" - Don't grind through, either maximum intensity is brought, or you should scale/change the workout or go home and take a rest day.

Intervals - Go as hard as you can, rest is there to allow higher intensity.

Squats - Grind through it provided your body isn't breaking down.

Olympic lifting - Don't grind through, lighten things up/drop reps and improve form if needed.

A big part of following this blog is responsibility, communication and team work.  I am around to answer questions and tell you what is best for YOU day in and day out.  Every piece of advice I offer you is to provide you with the best training you can, all other coaches should provide the same.  Other competitors should also be there to support you or call you out.  We have to have thick skin and realize that as a community and a group we are here to make each other better. I am proud daily of all of the hard work everyone puts in - one of the proudest moments I have as a coach though is when an athlete comes in, hits a little airdyne, mobilizes and calls it a day - telling me that they "just needed a day off."  That shows maturity and an understanding of your mental and physical state.  If you don't read what I type or the instructions that I put out every day then you are missing out on much of the most important knowledge and wisdom I can provide you with. Yesterday I put this: **Rest 3 minutes after each effort - These are to be done at absolute max effort - Scale as needed to increase intensity**
Try to make sure you guys stay up on reading the asterisks and sticking to them to understand the point of the workouts / extra work. If you don't understand ask questions, I can only help as much as you let me. 

Extra work: 
Squats:
1) 4 @ 70%
4 @ 75%
4 @ 80%
4 @ 85%

2a) 5 @ 60%
5 @ 65%
5 @ 70%
5 @ 70%

2b) After each set perform a max set of Muscle-Ups.  Look back over your previous weeks and aim to improve on your sets as best you can.  We should be improving our volume of MU each week.