This template will be split into:
- Task Oriented Workouts (TAO) – These will always be done with exercises where external torque (ET) is needed. They are designed to hit the sympathetic nervous system, so you should go at them hard and with the proper mindset. No pacing here: I want 100% explosion on each rep. Put on System Of A Down or something similar, get angry and go kill ’em reps! Do not cheat yourself. If you go too light, the workout will be ineffective.
- Til You Quit Workouts (TYQ) – These will always be with internal torque (IT) exercises. They are designed to hit the parasympathetic nervous system, so I want muscle failure with each and every one of them. Pacing is welcomed, as long as you push to that last rep. I would recommend a more mellow music, as the mindset is quite different. You will push just as hard and it will hurt just as much as the TAO workouts, they will just be a different kind of effort.
- Overtraining – I believe that if you respect the order of TAO followed by TYQ, you will create a strong arch of tension within your nervous system that will allow you to increase the intensity without crashing mentally, which is what overtraining is. This way to approach workouts will change the way we train. We will train based on the affect on the nervous system more than just on the affect on muscles. You will be exhausted physically, but mentally sharp.
- Intensity Training – Any who have worked with the StrongFit templates or methodology before understand that this is the foundation. Intensity is best done in a group setting to truly push mental and physical boundaries. Beyond routine conditioning, true intensity work moves beyond the usual domains and aims to “scare” the system into rising to the next notch. This portion of the templates is not necessarily targeting the muscles, but mental fortitude and truly anaerobic threshold so don’t be let down if you can’t complete it every time. In fact, it’s designed that way. If by the end of these sessions you aren’t cursing the name of Julien, you may need to reconsider your efforts.
- Structural Work – This would be considered your accessory work and will be specifically used to ensure the structure is strong and balanced to handle both training and sport. You will use both traditional and unique exercises of StrongFit to rebuild your foundations and further grow from there.
- Mobility Exercises – Mobility work will be done through the StrongFit Openers and some additional assistance exercises.
- Static Lifts – Performed with “awkward objects” such as the sandbag, you will be prompted into more natural movement patterns that minimize risk of injury or even learning time. Barbells do not always mimic the most functional patterns due to the weight being on the outside of the body. In comparison, most of our day to day “lifting” has been done between our hands for our entire human existence. For that reason, you will use objects that will more naturally follow basic patterns of movement that will prove incredible benefits to CrossFit athletes.
- ‘Gym’ Work – These will be classic accessory exercises performed with traditional gym equipment that can be performed as a stand-alone session or in addition to another, but must be performed once or twice per week. These will be movements focused on internal rotation torque and may be followed in any order:
- Lat Pulldowns – Get a pump and feel those lats. Engage your pecs as hard as possible as you perform the rep. 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps.
- Cable Crossover – The eccentric is external torque and concentric is internal torque here. Do not do this exercise mindlessly. The point is to teach you to create tension correctly through the range of motion, which is the very definition of mobility itself. Being able to do this correctly will tremendously lessen the stress on your shoulders. 2-3 sets of 10-12 reps.
- Openers – Mobility is range of motion while maintaining proper torque. The point here is to work on mobility, not flexibility therefore tension is paramount. This is not about performance, so do not focus on how many reps you can do, the weight or how far you can go. This is about quality and finding torque, nothing else. Be patient, you will get better over time. For reference, I worked the Shoulder Opener for two sets, three sessions per week for 12 weeks before I got good at it.
- Hinge: https://youtu.be/eL2RAFOa1CE
- Shoulder Opener: https://youtu.be/C6GcYZi7G7k
- Biceps Opener: https://youtu.be/MTmUnExmBXc
- Jeffersons: https://youtu.be/pJK7LGDCgK0
- External Obliques Opener: https://youtu.be/uihlk3ki78M
- External Obliques Opener Variation Leg Raises: https://youtu.be/7FqzZFzH-UU
- T-Spine Opener: https://youtu.be/lONjflzDsu8
DAY 1
Openers
You do not necessarily need all of the Openers each session. Work on your needs, choose 2 or 3 and go at them with maximum focus.
Skill Work
Sloth Viking Press
AMRAP 60 seconds, rest 1 minute and do it again
This is about form, not reps so don’t worry about counting. This is one of my favorites to work on lat mobility. The point here is to keep tension throughout the body. Do NOT relax at the bottom of the squat, stay around parallel with as much tension in the glutes, quads and hamstrings as possible. As you lower the weight, engage your internal obliques and also feel it through your glute medius and latissimus dorsi. Pressing is internal torque, so on the way up you must engage your external obliques, the lats (teres major) and pecs as hard as possible and you can NOT shrug during this movement at any time. Shoulders should be down, lats and pecs engaged.
TAO
Sumo Deadlift TAO
Work your way up in weight and height until you find your 3 rep max
This session will be designed to work toward allowing you to pull in ET from the ground (if you already are capable of it, good for you ? Sumo is for you). Most people cannot achieve this because of a lack of mobility (range of motion while maintaining proper torque, in this case external torque)
Mobility depends on strength, since it relates to torque. Off the floor, you should be able to keep in ET and pull some decent weight. As the weights get heavier, you’ll see yourself be pulled forward and switch to IT. When this happens you will elevate the weights using blocks until you can get back to the perfect position (all ET). So forth and so on until you pull a max 3 reps from right below the knee.
Key points are:
- You are to create External torque
- Use straps if you have to but no mixed grip. It leads to very bad habits.
- No bouncing, learn to reset each rep.
- Explode up but do not rip the bar. Find tension through those internal obliques first.
- Do these barefoot
- Your shoulders should be straight over the bar, not past it.Remember this is not a Clean position but a Deadlift one.One has nothing to do with the other
TYQ
Deadlift & Sled Drags TYQ
1 set to muscle failure
Conventional Deadlift
Max reps (choose a weight where you can get roughly 15 reps with a reset on the floor each time)
Key points are:
- You are to create Internal torque so that means inside head of the hamstrings, external obliques, pecs, short head of the biceps and glutes major
- Use straps if you have to but no mixed grip. It leads to very bad habits.
- No bouncing, learn to reset each rep.
- Explode up but do not rip the bar off the floor. Find tension through those external obliques first.
- Do these barefoot
Straight into…
Sled Drag
Choose a weight (heavy) that will allow you to get around 30m.Again this is to muscle failure so if you can keep going then keep going
When do you stop? When you quit 🙂
TAO
Ab-wheel & Rear-Delt Raises TAO
EMOM 5mns of 5 reps for each exercise, both on the minute
Ab-Wheel
Create external torque for both upper and lower body. If you are able to perform a set of 5 reps, start adding weights onto your shoulders.
Ab-Wheel with weight on the back (Yaya) demo:
https://instagram.com/p/
Up to 100# and down in 25# plates increments:
Rear Delt Raises
Use dumbbells, go heavy and create external torque through your whole body. That means using your lumbar spine, yes.
TYQ
400m Sandbag Carry
DAY 2
Openers
You do not necessarily need all of the Openers each session. Work on your needs, choose 2 or 3 and go at them with maximum focus.
Skill Work
Stiff-leg Deadlift
Max reps for 2 sets with minute break in between
You are shooting for a weight that allows you to go for at least 60 sec. This should be done with weights only AFTER you are efficient at hinging. If you are not, keep working on the Opener. Once you know how to hinge, work your way up to some weight for a max reps for 60 sec for 2 sets. Keep the weight light, around 25% of your max deadlift. I am currently doing those with 60kgs and am sore for the next 2 days.
TAO
Barbell Supinated Rows & Ab-wheel TAO
EMOM 8mns, 5 reps each exercise. Both on the minute.
Barbell Rows
Max weight for 5 reps – supinated grip
Make sure you use ET on this. That means biceps (long head), latissimus dorsi, NO TRAPS, and internal obliques and glutes medius. Bring the weight to the belly button, but not higher.
Ab-Wheel
Create external torque for both upper and lower body. If you are able to perform a set of 5 reps, start adding weights onto your shoulders.
Ab-Wheel with weight on the back (Yaya) demo:
https://instagram.com/p/
Up to 100# and down in 25# plates increments:
TAO & TYQ
3 sets with 3mns rest in between
TAO
Dips with weight
Max weight for 5 reps
This is a press, so normally internal torque, but I want you to use external torque to target the lateral head of the triceps. This will disengage your pec major to a degree, this is a trade-off to work on tricep strength.
Key points
- Use bars not rings. The rings would require stabilization and thus the pec major. This is not what we are after here.
- Use weight around your waist and put the weight behind you, not in front. This will target the triceps even more (I got that one from the Chinese Oly lifters)
- External torque means strength. Go heavy.
- External torque means internal obliques and rectus abdominis. Use both on the way up.
Straight into…
TYQ
Dips
bodyweight, and if you cannot do those just scale the movement to get around 15-20 reps
Max reps
Here you want internal torque so lean forward and keep the Pecs Major engaged
TYQ
Rope Pull & Overhead Yoke Carry TYQ
1 set to muscle failure
Rope Pull
Max weight for 40m-ish
The point is to go to muscle failure, but we are shooting for that distance to get there. Again, if you can keep going, keep going. Just make sure you do not stand up. The idea is intensity, so pull as fast as possible. If you are not cramping everywhere after, you either went too light or too slow. We want MAXIMUM blood flow into the lats – this is far more important than you know.
- Your main focus should be to move your hands as fast as possible.
- Chest faces the ground. Do NOT stand up, this would cause you to use your biceps more and your lats less.
- Try not to use your hips too much.
Here is a video demonstrating rope pulls:
https://instagram.com/p/
Straight into:
Overhead Yoke Carry
Max weight for 40m-ish
Same idea here, go to muscle failure. I expect you to do at least your Snatch 1RM. This very important exercise teaches you how to properly engage your lats (teres major) in an overhead position. It will work the low traps (always very tricky), lat mobility, anti-rotation ( great external obliques work), erectors,etc. The yoke forces you to stabilize toward and away from you (frontal plane) and not up and down (sagittal plane). If the Yoke at the gym is too heavy (or they do not have one) create a yoke by drilling holes on 4x4s and stick them on an Axle bar. Put some nails at the bottom of the wood to carry weights and voila – yoke! A sandbag works as well, albeit not as well. You can use a bar with chains (not bands), but be aware that the weights moving side to side make this very aggressive on the shoulders.
TAO
Side Delt & Biceps Curls TAO
EMOM 5mns, 5 reps each exercise. Both on the minute.
Good old fashioned Side-Delt Raises
External Torque on those so go heavy and you can use that lumbar spine to provide some help (i said some help, not actually do the movement)
Biceps Curls
You can use a barbell, in which case you want a wide grip, or dumbbells
I like kettlebells. Just make sure you crank in ET. If your wrists bend it is absolutely normal. Use your lumbar spine as well (within reason).
TYQ
200m Sled Sprint