FEBRUARY 2020 | BLOCK 1

ATHLETIC
WEAPON
ONLINE TRAINING - BLOCK 1

BIG GUN Starting Date:

February 1st

DURATION:
BY AC/DC
6 WEEKS

This isn’t a great song. The beat is about as simplistic as any song that has ever
been made. You can barely hear the words to the song. It’s basically a completely
idiotic song. But it’s great. It does what you need the song to do. It kicks in your
door. It knocks over your coffee table and muddies the floor with its boots. It
rattles the cage a little bit. It doesn’t try to be nice or polite or even interesting. It
kicks a little bit of ass and then it goes away. This song doesn’t mystify you or
leave you in a state of awe. This song doesn’t blow you away. It’s like a C+ rock
song from a B+ band.

Sometimes we need something kind of unrefined and somewhat forgettable.

You probably shouldn’t marry your first boyfriend/girlfriend. Somebody needs to
break you in a little bit though. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It doesn’t even really
need to be great. It needs to be serviceable.
It’s block one, people. If I make this thing anything but generic, I’m kind of an
asshole for doing so. How about we just start simple? Are you competing in the
Olympics anytime soon? Instead of coming out of the gates red hot and burning
out by week 3, how about we start appropriately?

I’ve been training since 1994. That’s 27 years. All that means is that I’ve made a
lot of mistakes, and I’ve seen a lot of mistakes. One of the most common mistakes
I’ve seen is when people try to be week 1 heroes and end up week 4 drop outs.
Human beings can do amazing things, but it takes time to build anything great.
Human beings can tolerate incredible training volume, but it takes time to get up
to that point. Trying to reach too high too soon too fast is one of the most common
errors that people make.
I’m not going to program things that way. If you’re following this, I hope you can
stick just to the program and not feel the need to try to add bits and pieces to it
because you feel like it’s not enough for you. This shit will accumulate. Allow that
to happen and see how it goes.

What Are We Going to be Doing in this Block?

1. Tempo Aerobic Training

2. Medicine Ball Throwing
3. Running Mechanics featuring Mach drills
4. Lifting Weights mainly for Hypertrophy
Tempo Aerobic Training

In Joel Jamieson’s breakdown of different types of aerobic training, he puts

tempo training into level 1, which is the easiest group of aerobic training methods.
So this type of training method isn’t meant to absolutely murder you. Don’t get this
mixed up with the idea that we won’t be working hard though. This will challenge
you. It just won’t bring you to max HR, keep you there, and then leave you in a heap
on the ground at the end.

The way we’re going to be doing this is that we’re going to pick an aerobic
modality and perform aerobic intervals on it. You will have an on phase and an off
phase with these intervals. The on phase will be 15 seconds, and the off phase will be
45 seconds. In other words, every minute on the minute (EMOM), we will be
performing 15 seconds of aerobic work.

How hard should you be going?

You’re going to be going at 65 to 70% of peak output. Charlie Francis and Derek
Hansen have featured a lot of tempo work in their programming and coaching of
sprinters. The big thing that they have tried to get across to people is that you don’t
want to make the tempo runs too fast. I’d rather have you at 64% than 71%. If you’re
working with sprinters, and they run a 10 second 100 meters,
65% of that would be to have them run 15.4 second 100 meter runs for tempo. This is
kind of where the 15 second time frame comes from.

When Kate and I do this program at Hype Gym, we’re going to be using the
Assault Bike and the True Form self-propelled treadmill for these. I don’t have an
exact top output number for these pieces of equipment. However, I have found
numbers that make sense for me on these two pieces of equipment that represent
an appropriate intensity for me for tempo intervals. I’ll hold 87 RPM, which keeps me
over 800 watts on the bike, and I’ll usually be somewhere between 12.5 and 13.5 mph
on the treadmill.

While I’m riding the bike, in my mind, I’m thinking, “Easy Power”. While I’m on the
treadmill, in my mind, I’m thinking, “Easy Speed”. Those thoughts seem to keep me
right in the sweet spot.
How are these going to be arranged? How many of them are we going to
do?

Each 15 second output is going to be considered a repetition. We are going to be

doing sets of 4 repetitions. We are going to be doing 4 sets of 4 repetitions across
this
block on every training day. This variable is going to stay constant throughout the
block.
What you will see is that most variables will start with a certain level of training
volume,
and will remain the same across the block. Other variables will change in volume.

What if you need alternate pieces of equipment?

Alternate pieces that I can think of off the top of my head that would be fine
include, a rower, Jacob’s Ladder, Versa Climber, Slide Board, a treadmill, or running
outside. I would not recommend a ski erg for this. Your triceps are going to be fried
with a ski erg.
Medicine Ball Throws

On the upper body days, there’s going to be a bunch of med ball throws. If you
don’t have a medicine ball, you might be able to use some kind of cable machine
like a Keiser Functional Trainer, but don’t use a piece of shit cable stack where
there’s slack
in the machine if you try to go fast. If you don’t have a med ball and a wall you can
throw it against, you might be training at a place that sucks. Sometimes people
complain to me about how they can’t do a certain kind of training method at the
place they work out at. Get a new place to work out. If you can’t throw a med ball
into a wall at your place, I think your place sucks. Find a new place. Why would you
want to work out somewhere that sucks?

What kind of throws will we be doing?

We really enjoyed doing Derek Hansen’s Summer Speed Camp this past year. He
had a big med ball circuit that was in that program, and we’re going to be basing
our throws off that circuit. There are chest throws, overhead throws, rotational
throws from standing, half kneeling rotational throws, seated rotational throws, and
sit up throws.

Here is the list of throws.

1. Standing chest
2. Standing overhead
3. Rotational push left
4. Rotational push right
5. Rotational scoop left
6. Rotational scoop right
7. Overhead slam
8. Squat to chest
9. Lunge to chest
10. Lunge to overhead
11. Half kneel, close leg up left
12. Half kneel, close leg up right
13. Half kneel, far leg up left
14. Half kneel, far leg up right
15. Seated rotation back to wall
16. Sit up to chest
17. Sit up to overhead
How many of each throw will we be doing?

We’ll be doing ten repetitions of each kind of throw. We’ll do ten to keep it simple,
and to not fatigue any particular type of throw locally while performing it. We’ll be
doing two sets of ten reps for each type of throw. We’ll be doing the throws in a
circuit fashion, so we’ll go from throw 1 to throw 2 to throw 3, etc. There are 17 types
of throws, with two sets of 10 repetitions, which equals 340 total throws. We will be
doing the med ball throws only on the upper body days. The medicine ball volume
will not be increasing across the block.

What kind of medicine ball should I have?

Get a bigger, softer medicine ball, rather than a smaller rubber one. Don’t use a
heavy medicine ball. I would recommend a 4 or 6 pound medicine ball. I would not
go any heavier than 6 pounds with a medicine ball ever. You can get a perfectly
good 6 pound med ball on Amazon for a very reasonable price, and it can be
shipped to you very quickly. There’s almost always a solution to your problems if you
are proactive and have a phone with an internet connection.
Running Mechanics Drills

We’ll be doing marches, A skips, and A runs, which are part of the Mach drills
used by many sprint coaches to improve running mechanics. These are simple drills
that will be helpful for improving running technique as well as keeping an element
of elasticity present in the program.

How many of these drills will I be doing?

We’ll be doing 10 yard distances of marching, skipping, and A running with these
drills. One trip of traveling 10 yards will be considered a set of each type of drill. We’ll
be doing 4 sets of 10 yards for each of these. These will only be done on the lower
body days. We will not be increasing the volume of these drills across the block.

If space is an issue, is there an alternative?

If you do not have a runway to go down, you can do tethered work. This involves
looping a big elastic band around a pole, and standing inside the band. You keep
the band around your hip and get a little tension from the band feeding back on
you. Don’t stretch it out like crazy so that you’re leaning way forward.

What kind of intensity should these be done at?

The best way to think about these is that you want to go as fast as you can up to the
point where you do not tighten up and loose a relaxed state. Your arms and legs
should be loose and relaxed when you run. You should be light and bouncy. Don’t
try to muscle up just to hit another gear. As soon as you have to get too muscular,
you know you’ve gone too far.
Lifting Weights

This will be the primary focus of this block. The volume of weights will increase
across the block. The only area where the volume will increase will actually only be
with the assistance lifts though. We are going to be featuring two sets of the main
compound movements, and this will stay the same across the block. The smaller,
single joint movements that come after the compound movements will increase in
volume via increasing sets as the primary variable across the block.

We’re going to focus on great technique and controlling the weight in this block.
Let’s work large range of motion and be very consistent about our reps. We’ll be
looking to make progress as we train, but the first step towards knowing that you’re
making progress is to standardize the repetitions. If we’re going to standardize the
repetitions, let’s first make sure that the repetitions are really amazing from a
technique standpoint.

How will the week be arranged?

The weight lifting will be an upper/lower split.

There will be two upper body days per week and two lower body days per week. We
will arrange our week as, Monday upper 1, Tuesday lower 1, Thursday upper 2, Friday
lower 2. Wednesdays and weekends will be off days.

What kinds of lifts will we be doing?

We will feature compound movements and single joint isolated movements.

For upper body, the following movements will be featured:

Vertical pushing, vertical pulling, horizontal pushing, horizontal pulling, biceps curls,
triceps push-down, lateral raises, pec flies

For lower body, the following movements will be featured:

Knee dominant, hip dominant, knee extension, knee flexion, ankle plantar flexion
We will also be utilizing tempo in some of the lifts. You will see that after some of
the lifts, it will say 3-0-3. This means the lowering phase of the lift will take three
seconds. There will be no pause at the bottom, and then the raising phase of the lift
will take three seconds. This will only happen with the compound movements on
Upper body day 1, and Lower body day 1.

We will also be using Reps in Reserve (RIR). This is a subjective appraisal of

how many more reps you could do before you would have failed in your set. If you
see if say 1-3, this means somewhere between 1 and 3 reps short of failure. In the
beginning of a block you should be closer to 3 reps short of failure, and as you make
your way towards the end of the block, you should move closer to 1 rep short of
failure.

What if you don’t have a hamstring curl machine, leg extension, or calf raise?

There’s pretty much always a way to rig up a calf raise. Even if you’re standing on the
edge of a bumper plate, or a block of wood, you can usually make it work. Hamstring
curls can feature some work arounds. You can use a physio ball or a slide board as an
alternative. Leg extension is much trickier. Sissy squats could serve as a possible
alternative.
What will be the exercises on the different days?

Upper body day 1.

A1. Vertical push 3-0-3, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
A2. Vertical pull 3-0-3, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B1. Horizontal push 3-0-3, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B2. Horizontal pull 3-0-3, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
C1. Biceps curls, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C2. Triceps push-down, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C3. Pec flies, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C4. Lateral raise, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15

Lower body day 1.

A1. Bilateral knee dominant, 3-0-3, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
A2. Bilateral hip dominant, 3-0-3, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B1. Unilateral knee dominant, 3-0-3, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B2. Hamstring curls, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C1. Leg extensions, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C2. Calf raises, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15

Upper Body day 2

A1. Horizontal push, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
A2. Horizontal pull, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B1. Vertical push, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B2. Vertical pull, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
C1. Biceps curls, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C2. Triceps push-down, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C3. Pec flies, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C4. Lateral raises, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15

Lower Body Day 2

A1. Unilateral knee dominant, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
A2. Bilateral hip dominant, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B1. Bilateral knee dominant, 1-3 RIR, 2 sets of 8 to 12
B2. Hamstring curls, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C1. Leg extensions, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
C2. Calf raises, 1-3 RIR, increasing sets of 8 to 15
Week 1

Upper Body Day 1

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 2 sets of biceps, triceps, delts, and pecs

Lower Body Day 1

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 2 sets of hamstring curls, leg extensions, and calf raises

Upper Body Day 2

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 2 sets of biceps, triceps, delts, and pecs

Lower Body Day 2

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 2 sets of hamstring curls, leg extensions, calf raises
Week 2

Upper Body Day 1

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 2 sets of triceps, delts, and pecs
- 3 sets of biceps

Lower Body Day 1

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 2 sets of leg extensions, and calf raises
- 3 sets of hamstring curls

Upper Body Day 2

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 2 sets of biceps, delts, and pecs
- 3 sets of triceps

Lower Body Day 2

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 2 sets of hamstring curls, calf raises
- 3 sets of leg extensions
Week 3

Upper Body Day 1

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 3 sets of biceps, triceps, delts, and pecs

Lower Body Day 1

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 3 sets of hamstring curls, leg extensions, and calf raises

Upper Body Day 2

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 3 sets of biceps, triceps, delts, and pecs

Lower Body Day 2

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 3 sets of hamstring curls, leg extensions, calf raises
Week 4

Upper Body Day 1

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 3 sets of triceps, delts, and pecs
- 4 sets of biceps

Lower Body Day 1

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 3 sets of leg extensions, and calf raises
- 4 sets of hamstring curls

Upper Body Day 2

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 3 sets of biceps, delts, and pecs
- 4 sets of triceps

Lower Body Day 2

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 3 sets of hamstring curls, calf raises
- 4 sets of leg extension
Week 5

Upper Body Day 1

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 4 sets of biceps, triceps, delts, and pecs

Lower Body Day 1

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 4 sets of hamstring curls, leg extensions, and calf raises

Upper Body Day 2

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 4 sets of biceps, triceps, delts, and pecs

Lower Body Day 2

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 4 sets of hamstring curls, leg extensions, calf raises
Week 6

Upper Body Day 1

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 4 sets of triceps, delts, and pecs
- 5 sets of biceps

Lower Body Day 1

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 4 sets of leg extensions, and calf raises
- 5 sets of hamstring curls

Upper Body Day 2

I. Medicine Ball Throws
II. Aerobic Intervals
III. Weights
- 4 sets of biceps, delts, and pecs
- 5 sets of triceps

Lower Body Day 2

I. Aerobic Intervals
II. Running Mechanics
III. Weights
- 4 sets of hamstring curls, calf raises
- 5 sets of leg extensions