Unloading week

Hang snatch: 65% x 3 x 2

Front squat: 65% x 5 x 2

Push-press (in front): 65% x 5 x 2

Snatch pull: 80% x 5 x 2

It's that time again: time to back off a little to get a lot stronger! Those of you who are new to our programming may find it a bit odd that every four weeks we actually decrease the loading, but these unloading/back-off/de-load/recovery weeks are a vital piece of our programming and key to our continued progress. We have been ramping up the volume and intensity over the first two weeks of this cycle, and if you've been consistent in the gym you're likely pretty beat up by now (if you're not, let me know and I'll adjust your numbers!). This is by design. We have to stress our bodies so that our bodies adapt by overcompensating to the training stress and become stronger (or "supercompensating"). But if we just continue to ramp up the volume and intensity without backing off at all, we just continue to beat ourselves up further and our bodies never have a chance to go through that supercompensation. Eventually if we continued on this path, we would be forced to back off due to an overuse injury, a breakdown due to overtraining, sickness, or worse. This is a way of managing recovery and ensuring that we continue to make steady progress. A lighter week this week will ensure we come back even stronger next week for the highest intensity week of this 4-week mesocycle.

Those of you who have been following our programming for a while know that even though this week is lighter than the previous two weeks, it will in all likelihood NOT be as easy as it looks! The past two weeks have been brutal, and in the state of fatigue we are all in even these lighter loads will likely be a challenge. Nonetheless, there will be plenty of time to finish everything this week, which means extra time for mobility and recovery. This is a great week to focus on these things post-workout (I think I say that every week...): lots of self myofascial release (foam rolling/lacrosse ball) and static stretching. Let's get through this week and come back strong next week for heavy triples!