Imagine You are flying 30,000 feet over my programming Template for a year. We are cruising, sipping cocktails and watching a Badass Tom Cruise Movie when we come into late Summer/ Fall. The Muscular Endurance that we strive for has been met, so the long Summer hikes, trail Runs and Mountain Biking Sessions can be dominated. We have built stability and capacity out of our primary movers like the Glutes, hamstring and Quads... But Now its time to get deeper, develop an inner strength that will not only round out your strength but can get you the top end speed you want.... its time for ADDUCTION.
Adduction is the process of moving a limb or limbs toward the center of the body in the frontal plane. To practice on yourself, lay flat on your back with your legs spread wide.... then with your knees extended and heels together, close your legs... Great, you just performed Adduction!. Adduction, as many of you nostalgic fitness gurus might remember is where Jane Fonda Really made a mark with her "Thigh Master". This little sucker gave so many men and women the right to be sexually confused and oddly aroused at the mere sight of one. Over the coming weeks, the muscles that allow you to adduct are going to get a good bit of training as we jump into some UNILATERAL Exercises.
Over the next 8 weeks we will be practicing Eccentric, Tempo and Dynamic exercises that will build your stability an capacity through these specific muscles. Now these are not fast twitch muscles in the same way that the hamstrings or hip flexors might be which is why I had to build your base of Muscular Endurance first before developing this strength. Exercises like the lunge, step up, sumo deadlift and lateral line Touch require high reps and increased time under tension in order to fully capture the adductor muscles.
Because there is a great foundational principle in functional training that puts a premium on external rotation or ABDUCTION, the internal rotation or adduction is rarely given a nod unless you are training for a specific sport like Football or Hockey. Doing 3X5 in a linear progression may work week to develop size and strength to your hamstrings, it does little for teaching and growing your adductor muscles. So to summarize the past 12 weeks, we have been preparing your body to handle the rigors of 20-30 repetitions per set in order to accomplish the training needed during the unilateral training.
And you will only get stronger because of it!!
That is right, as I have noted many times before in training it is all about balance. As much as the Glutes are important in a squat, so is the Adductor Magnus one of the 'hidden muscles' responsible for holding the position of your pelvis and knees while you shoot for your PR this winter. And that is not all... If you are someone who suffers from Patella (knee Cap) pain , you could be missing strength in your adductors since the tendons connect at the medial part of the knee. With tight IT bands and hamstrings, you can be pulling your knee cap out of place and fighting a losing battle unless you take on more of the adductor training.
There is a lot of life to be lived before we drop into winter so keep up with the programming and set a goal for yourself. Not matter if it is a trail run, CrossFit Competition or Soccer game, the Program design is going to help you achieve your goals. All you need to do is show up and give each session 110%. Ill be here searching out the latest in Nutrition and training Science as it rolls out of the Science lab.
Love you all,
Eric
Programming Notes 8/27-8/31 **This week begins our next 8 week exposure cycle focusing on unilateral work. The single leg unilateral work is meant to increase coordination, agility and strength. This week on Friday will be the first exposure and it will build like the other progressions do… with tempo. There is also a 5k test on Thursday and McGhee on Tuesday so recover well and follow the warm Ups!
8/27
Baseline:
400m Run
3X
12 PVC Good Mornings
12 PVC Trunk Rotations
12 PVC Pass Thru
12 PVC Overhead Squat
12 Supine Ring Row (Feet ON Box, parallel with floor)
Rotator Cuff Series: W/ 2.5# plates . Scarecrow+ External Rotation, reverse flys, superman’s, Front Raises, lateral Raises, corkscrew, Y presses, narrow Cross Over Presses
Snatch Warm Up:
7@ Each W/ Barbell
-Snatch Grip DL
-High Pull
-Muscle Snatch
-Overhead Squat
-sotts Press
-Snatch Balance
-Hang Snatch
-Snatch
Ring Muscle Up Primer:
-Kip Swings
-Hips to Rings Pull Up
-Low Ring Transitions
-Ring Dips
-muscle Up
WOD:
EMOM 20
A- 3 Snatch *building each set (ex. 155,185,205…)
B- 5-7 Ring Muscle Ups
C- Wall Ball Shots X 25 Reps
D- :30 D Ball Hold
8/28
Baseline:
500m Row
21-15-9
Kettlebell Single Leg Deadlift (alternate half way)
Kettlebell Single Arm Bent Row (alternate Half Way)
Lateral Tuck Jumps over KB
500m Row
Hamstring Primer:
3X8
Romanian Deadlift (135/95 MAX)
Barbell Pendlay Row
WOD:
“McGhee”
30 Min AMRAP
5 deadlift 275#
13 Push Ups
9 Box Jumps 24”
Cool Down:
Banded Lateral Hip Distraction
Banded Hamstring Stretch
8/29
Baseline;
Roll Out Upper Back and Lats for 3-4 Minutes
1:00 Single Unders
20 PVC Pass Thru
20 PVC Sotts Press
1:00 High Jump Singles
15 Negative Pull Ups
15 Tempo Squat Therapy
1:00 Double Under Cadence (3/1, 2/1, 1/2 single/doubles)
10 Strict Pull Ups
10 Pistol Squats on Each Leg
Squat Flow: Squat Flow: Kang Squat, Internal Rotation, Ankle Roll Out, Bootstraps, PNF Stretch, Squat W/ T Spine Stretch
Overhead Squat:
5-5 *across Both Sets
3-3-3 *across All Sets
WOD:
3X
10 Overhead Squats 135/95
20 Chest TO bar Pull Ups
50 Double Unders
* the Goal of this workout is to be SUB 10 Minutes, Scale the pUll Ups and/or Double Unders to accomplish that.
Cool Down:
Lat Band Mob
Bully Stretch
Scapula Distraction Stretch
8/30
Baseline:
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
Challenge #1:
For Total Time,
7/5 Minute Plank Hold
*each time you fall out, Row 250m
Challenge #2:
Run 5 K For Time.
*push the pace, make it hurt.
8/31
Baseline:
5 Minutes Easy Rowing
Then,
20 Bird dogs (10 each Side)
20 Hip Swivels (10 each Leg)
20 Firehydrants (10 Each Leg)
20 Narrow Foot Stance Tempo Squats (feet together if possible )
Single Leg Exposure #1
Kettlebell Front Rack Step Downs
3X 5 (each Leg)
*these are Eccentric lowers, +:03 . Starting from the top of the box, control the descent to the floor . Use a box that allows for the knee to be above the crease of the hip at the bottom. You may bounce back up to the top position. Perform all 5 reps on one leg before doing the other.
Conditioning:
18 Minute AMRAP
35 Cal Row
2XKB Overhead Walking Lunges 50’
2X Kettlebell Farmer Carry 200’ *May go heavier than the lunges
