kettlebells
I’m experimenting with a new program that tries to combine what some of the Primal Fitness guys do with the Max-Effort Black Box style templates. I’m jokingly calling it Primal Effort Black Box, even though it’s really not either, mostly because the whole thing is just my personal pile of rip-offs from various other plans I like
It looks something like this:
Monday – Off
Tuesday – Kettlebells. Something classic like 5X(1,2,3,4,5) clean and press ladders followed by swings or snatches and swings. If you want to mix it up, short metcons, like 4 X 400 with max swings or pullups after each round.
Wednesday – Lift heavy. Warm up and then something like 5X5 deadlifts, leg press (would be squat if not for bum knee), bench press, standing overhead press, pull-ups. I’ve subbed in hang power cleans for the leg press and farmer’s walks for the pull-ups.
Thursday – Cardio time. Anything from intervals like 4 X 400 to a 5K run, or comparable time on the bike or rower.
Friday – off
Saturday – Repeat lift heavy day. It’s also chance to break up the heavy days if the full body thing gets too long.
Sunday – How do you feel? Sore? Tired? Burnt out? If you feel bad, it’s a day for a long, slow walk over mixed terrrain. If not, take a random chance and roll the die:
1,2 – Kettlebells or short metcon
3,4 – Short Cardio Intervals – hill sprints, Tabata on the bike
5,6 – LSD: 5k to 10k run if totally fresh. long slow walk if you’re not.
Stretch and do mobility work like Z Health as often as possible.
This seems almost over-ambitious – like a stealth overkill program, but it’s just the ideal week. If you miss a day, you miss a day, your body gets rest. If you don’t feel like working out, miss a day. If you can’t get to the equipment, take a day off. If you’re traveling and can’t just hike around, take the day off. If you feel worse, take the week off. Or two.
Every fourth week, back off. Take weight off the the bar, reps off the kettlebells, walk around a bit. Recover.