Putting It All Together - Developing an Effective Program
Alright folks, now that we’ve covered the basics of training our energy systems and the basics of ‘Conditioning;’ let’s talk about how to plan and put it all together. I will list these using days of the week but know that you can cycle the days however you need to fit your schedule and I will gear this towards the average person who likely cannot train 7 days per week due to that whole having a Real Job bullshit.
I will share some basics and some foundational set-ups I use for training athletes but know that everything is dependent on what the desired task preparation is and where your strengths and weaknesses lie. For example, if you are a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner or a wrestler, you will need a solid base of everything and an emphasis on your personal weaknesses. If you are runner or a Warrior Dash/Spartan Race/Tough Mudder type; you will need a higher emphasis on the power and endurance qualities of the Aerobic System than a pure Alactic Power based training regimen. Let it be stated that these training sessions should not be used in place of your actual skill acquisition training I.E. practice; these are components of your physical preparation and Energy System Development.
Be sure to write down and keep track of what exercises and movements you use and any othe data such as weights used, times ran etc. to aid you in making progress.
5-Day High/Low System – Extremely Good for General Preparation of Most People
This is probably my favorite set-up due to its complete simplicity and ability to address all necessary development
Monday - Alactic Power/Maximal Strength (Emphasize compound movements such as Squat, Deadlift, Overhead Press etc...)
Tuesday – Anaerobic Lactic Power or Alactic Capacity (do one or the other)
Wednesday Alactic Power/Maximal Strength
Thursday – Anaerobic Lactic Power or Alactic Capacity (do the opposite of Tuesday)
Friday – Alactic Power/Maximal Strength
Pick two days out of MWF and do an Aerobic Power on one and an Aerobic Endurance on another either before or after your Maximal Strength workout. This will not only work the desired energy system, this will actually aid and amplify recovery.
4-Day High/Low System – Not as easy to plan as a 5-day but still very good
Monday – Alactic Power/Maximal Strength
Tuesday – Anaerobic Lactic Power or Alactic Capacity
Wednesday – Off
Thursday – Alactic Power/Maximal Strength
Friday - Anaerobic Lactic Capacity or Alactic Capacity
Pick two days out of MWF and do an Aerobic Power on one and Aerobic Endurance on another either before or after your Maximal Strength workout. This will not only work the desired energy system, this will actually aid and amplify recovery
3-Day Preparatory Total Body – This is the least desirable but can still be very effective with some good planning
Monday – Alactic Power/Maximal Strength + Aerobic Endurance
Wednesday – Anaerobic Lactic Power + Alactic Capacity
Friday – Alactic Power/Maximal Strength + Aerobic Power
As a basic rule of thumb when planning General Physical Preparatory training and Energy System such as this; an easy way to plan is to hit your Maximal Strength 3 days per week and hit each of the other Anaerobic and Aerobic System Methods each 1 day per week regardless of how many training days you may have.
Please send us any questions or comments you might have, everybody's planning and needs are a little different and we are more than happy to help you set yourself up for success.
-Bastion Black Performance
