Oh yeah! Week 3 of Month 2 in the Agility Block is here! This means it’s time for a bit more intensity. We’ve been using a high degree of variety but now we are going to pull that back a little and concentrate on effort in a few applications.
We’ve talked about how agility is comprised of mobility, stability, reactivity, and fluidity. This week we’ll put some emphasis on being reactive. We will be doing some exercise combinations often termed giant sets and complexes. A loose interpretation of a giant set is simply doing several (3-4 in this week’s case) exercises as a group before taking a rest break. A complex usually pairs a strength training movement with an explosive plyometric.
You’ll also notice that there are 6 unique workouts. Each offers a small dose of intensity and has a free-choice cardio finale. This gives you the ability to go through the week adjusting output and recovery for best results. The primary section features the intensity experience and you’ll notice most of those are relatively brief. Just a reminder…select weights that are a little on the light side and just work on pump and conditioning. Don’t make yourself too sore. Enjoy this style of training because next month when we bear down on resistance training it will be a much different experience.
Week of 2024-01-15 (week 3 of month 2: Agility Block)
| WOW | PREPARATORY | PRIMARY | ACCESSORY | TIPS |
| A 1X | MB Rainbow Slams 3 x :20 :40 rests | GIANT SET 6 reps per exercise 6 rounds 1:00 rest after each round SB Front Squat SB RDL SB Clean to Sky | Cardio Any Mode 10-30:00 Zone 1-2 | Dominate the bag. |
| B 1X | Banded Rotations 2 x 15 each side | COMPLEX 3 reps + 1 jump 10 X each complex Unlimited rests DB Thruster + Drop/Sink DB Thruster + Drop/Stick DB Thruster + Drop/Pop | Cardio Any Mode 10-30:00 Zone 1-2 | Work on elasticity. |
| C 1X | Slide Mtn. Climber 2 x :30 1:00 rests | ALACTIC HIIT Hill Reps Outside or Treadmill :10 strong @10-15% grade :50 easy walk 10 rounds | Cardio Any Mode 10-30:00 Zone 1-2 | Strong and quick but not ugly. |
| D 1X | Walking Lunge Bodyweight 1-2:00 | GIANT SET (Beach Pump) 8 reps each 8 rounds 1:00 rests DB Skull Crusher DB Close Grip Bench DB Seated Curl DB Cheat Kickback | Cardio Any Mode 10-30:00 Zone 1-2 | Squeeze those reps. |
| E 1X | Jump Rope 2 x 1:00 1:00 rests | COMPLEX 3 reps + 1 jump 10 X each complex Unlimited rests DB Clean + Drop/Sink DB Clean + Drop/Stick DB Clean + Drop/Pop | Cardio Any Mode 10-30:00 Zone 1-2 | Refine your springs. |
| F 1X | KB Alt Swings 3 x :30 :30 rests | THRESHOLD WORK Any Mode 3 x 5:00/3:00 Zone 3/Zone 1 | Cardio Any Mode 10-30:00 Zone 1-2 | Shoot for steady output. |
Workout A Breakdown: Those rainbow slams get you working in all three planes. The sandbag lifts are not meant to be super-heavy but they get you moving both your body and the weight through some compound functional patterns. The rest period is not too long so you will feel lightly worked by the end.
Workout B Breakdown: Trunk twists with elastic resistance in an athletic stance are great for quickly revving up your system. The thruster is a full front squat with an overhead press finish, performed smoothly like a piston. Hit 3 of those, put the bells down, and step onto a low box. First rep you drop to the ground and sink slowly, absorbing into a mid-depth squat. Next time you stiffen and stick the landing with less flexion. Finally, bounce quickly and pop up off the ground. Don’t use too much height and just work on appreciating these different mechanical patterns.
Workout C Breakdown: Almost any smooth surface with socks or rags will work for those mountain climbers. The hill reps, indoors or out, have you going at about an 8.5 RPE (adjust as needed) up the hill for 10 seconds, then cruising very easily until next rep. You can run, ruck, power hike – whatever works best for your joints.
Workout D Breakdown: Walking lunges loosen up your legs, especially after yesterday’s hillwork. Do them slow and with a “stretching” emphasis. Everybody deserves an Arm Farm day and a Lifetime Athlete is no exception. Try to pick a set of DB’s that you can use for everything and still get a pump. It’s OK if you need to use a little momentum on the kickbacks as you finish up each giant set. 256 reps of excellence.
Workout E Breakdown: You probably notice I’m often using the “invisible jumprope.” My ceiling in the studio is too low for my rope! I’ll film in the garage one day just to break out the rope. We’re back to that jumping complex but now we are doing DB cleans. While you could pull from the floor, I like to recommend you do this off blocks. You can use cinder blocks with a towel on them or even stack two pairs of DB’s to get them off the floor a bit. Feel free, as always, to use your judgment and imagination. That clean is almost like a cheat curl with a catch. Put your signature on it.
Workout F Breakdown: Be a tiny bit careful as you perform the alternating KB swings to safely switch hands and avoid dropping your bell. The intervals you will be doing are often called “tempo or cruise” intervals and they help to improve your lactate threshold. Research suggests that we are at the lower end of productive stimulus with 5:00 bouts, but I think that’s a great place to be for this week’s programming. “Comfortably hard” is the term you are looking for during your work efforts.
You’ll have a lot of fun going through this week’s sessions. Feel free to move the order around and also to skip a workout and substitute in some very easy recovery stuff if you need it. This month is a 5-weeker so we’ll keep killing it a bit next week with even more delightful elements.