Total Athlete – Sample Training Day

Pressing, Pulling, Accessory Work, & MetCon

*Required Equipment*

• Barbell 
• Dumbbells
• Pull-up Bar 

Workout Brief:

All about the push and pull today. Our main focus is some raw strength development through the bench press and deadlift. Working up to a heavy set of 5 in each, but do not sacrifice movement for load, especially in our deadlifts. Move big weights, WELL! Be sure to hit all of your warm up and prep-work, including the specific activation and pre-hab work. It’ll prime our positional movement and increase our ability to move weight while also keeping us healthy long-term. We will also take a minute to assess our current strict pulling strength for comparison at the end of our program. Don’t be afraid of a result you don’t like, it’s just a benchmark to compare our future progress against in the future! Lastly, our Finisher is a full-body muscular endurance/aerobic capacity “MetCon” workout. We’re looking for 12 minutes of repetition. How well can you move over and over while under muscular and mental fatigue? Scale everything appropriately and get to work.

Dynamic Warm Up:

1. Line Drills
   • Perform each movement for 10 continuous yards, followed by a 10 yard jog.
     • Samson
     • Knee Hug
     • RDL
     • Cradle Walk
     • Side Lunge
     • Quad & Reach
     • High Knees
     • Butt Kicks
2. PVC Upper Body Warm Up
   • 10 PVC Pass-Throughs
   • 10 Around the World’s Per Side
   • :30 PVC Lat/Shoulder Stretch Per Side
   • :30 PVC Tricep Stretch Per Side

Core, Activation & Pre-Hab

1. 3-Way Band Pull Aparts: With light resistance, perform 10 reps of each movement, twice through. Focus on complete control and full range of motion. This isn’t about speed or strength.
   • 2 x 10 each, at least 1:00 Rest between sets
2. Glute Bridge: Turning on the glutes and hamstrings with a hold of our glute bridge for 20 seconds. Focusing on actively and aggressively squeezing the glutes hard and locking everything out.
   • 2 x 20 Seconds

Pressing Strength

1. Bench Press: Climbing to a 5RM on our press. Keep those hips from leaving the bench, and make sure you have a spotter for your heavy sets. We want a great heavy set of 5, adjust as necessary.
   • 5 x 65%
   • 5 x 70%
   • 5 x 75%
   • 5 x 80%
   • Automated Workset = 5 x 85% (5 Reps = bump max up, 4 = keep max same, <4=bump max down)

Lower Body Pulling Strength

1. Deadlift Drill: Technique Work to dial in our positioning for strong pulls. Grab a pvc or empty barbell and work through our deadlift technique progression. Get 5 slow, perfect reps of each piece: top half reps, bottom half, pausing at the knee, full reps. Don’t just get through it, watch the video and pay attention towards actually improving your movement. Complete twice.
   • 2 x 5 each (top 1/2, bottom 1/2, pausing, full)
2. Deadlift: Working up in weight to a heavy set of 5 deadlifts. The goal should be “touch and go” reps with perfect form. Focus on pushing the floor away and maintaining great back and midline posture. Adjust weight as necessary.
   • 5 x 65%
   • 5 x 70%
   • 5 x 75%
   • 5 x 80%
   • 5 x 85%

Upper Body Strict Pulling

1. Strict Pull-ups:
   • We’re assessing our strict pulling strength with a quick pull up test to compare against at the end of the program. Warm up your pulling movement, then attempt a max set of strict pull ups. Only a rep with complete control and range of motion counts. Whether it is 0, or 20, log the result!

Accessory Work

1. Plate Pinch: 2 x Fail
   • Grab two plates of equal weight, one in each hand. Hold by “pinching” with the fingers and thumb only. Don’t curl the fingers or use the lip of a weight plate. Hold as long as you can.

Finisher:

AMRAP 12: 9 Push Ups 12 Lunge Jumps 15 DB Snatch (20 lbs)

Explanation & Scaling

Set a clock for 12 minutes, then attempt to complete the movements above, in order, as many times as you can. 12 minutes is a longer time domain: the idea here is movement akin to a 1.5-2.0 mile jog, not a sprint of any kind. We are working on full body aerobic capacity. Being such, we want to keep our movement strict, weight light, and pace moderate. Push Ups – Make sure we are scaling as appropriate, you shouldn’t be breaking the set of 9 reps into anything more than 2 or 3 sets, even at the end when fatigued. We prefer a scaled push up done well, over an over, as opposed to sloppy and failing push ups from the floor. Lunge Jumps – Each “Set” will be 12 total jumps – 6 on each leg. We’re looking for continuous rebounding jumps, only reset if you must. Keep the reps snappy, but keep the sets from being rushed or fast in total. Again, it’s about pacing. DB Snatch – This is a simple ground to overhead movement, alternating arms on every rep. We’re not talking true “power” movement like with a heavy barbell snatch, but rather a slower, stricter full body “strength” movement over time. A “muscle snatch” is the idea. Focus on great pulling form from the ground (flat back, push with the legs then jump and punch) even when you get tired. Yes, the reps are “uneven” per arm per round. Just start with a different arm each time!

• Weight should be light enough to move with picturesque form throughout 12 minutes. Suggested weight below, but adjust as necessary.
  • Suggested DB Wt = 18% of Max Clean