We get a lot of new questions every time we launch a new cycle.
How do we come up with them?
Why do we program them the way we do?
So, since we just launched Cycle 36, I figured it would be a cool to give you guys a deeper behind the scenes look at the secret to our programming. (Ok, it’s not really a secret – and definitely won’t be after this email).
Our Micro Cycles are 6 weeks long.
Our Meso Cycles are 13 weeks (2 Micro Cycles+1 Deload).
There are 4 Meso Cycles inside of one Macro Cycle which makes a perfect 52 week Macro.
When programming, every cycle has a different focus. It allows the body to go through the adaptation phase that it needs to promote growth but also at the same time enough variety to prevent plateaus and boredom.
When looking at training goals, there are generally 3 areas of focus:
Aesthetics
Performance (Strength/Aerobic/Sports Specific)
Movement/Mobility (Yoga, Pilates,etc)
Here at FunctionalLifestyles our goal is to try to find the perfect blend between all 3.
Performance is our primary area of focus.
Mobility is our foundation.
Aesthetics are our by-product.
Inside of performance – strength is at top and aerobic is second.
When designing any workout program, you always have to think about the objective for your training - there should always be a why!
For most people in the gym we’re trying to look better, be stronger/faster, improve health/energy and most importantly feel better! So, we keep our focus on these goals as we’re programming.
To be lean and more importantly stay lean, you have to build muscle!
Muscle is the metabolic machinery that keeps you burning more throughout the day, basically your body is working for you! Problem with aerobic-centric training for aesthetics, is that you only get the caloric burn during the time of training and depending on the amount you could even be burning muscle off.
Then you look skinny fat! #noonewantsthat
Functional Performance training allows us to move better, be stronger/faster, improve your capacity and use your body for things outside of the gym.
We program our workouts where every day is different but every workout repeats itself 6x over the course of 6 weeks.
There is a golden rule in the strength & conditioning space called the "Rule of 45", which basically states that you should spend 45 days on a workout program and 45 mins in the gym training. 45 days on a program has been shown to be the time where the body has peaked and begins to round the corner of progress.
This isn’t an absolute rule. I’ve been on cycles as long as 16 weeks before.
So that is why we switch it up every 6 weeks.
Weeks 4-6 is where the body peaks and on week 6 most people are bored and ready for something new anyways LOL.
The reason we repeat the workouts 6x is because we need to provide enough of the same stimulus to track progress. If we do something different every day we are missing a huge phase of adaptation.
For your body to get good at anything in life – you need repetition!
This is WHY we track your numbers.
It gives us a view into your weekly progress and where you’re at and progressively overload the stimulus as much as possible.
In order to grow in any area of life you need repetition, and you need to track. Always switching from thing to thing is a recipe for failure. Measure only the areas you want to improve and try to slowly, progressively overload every week, or when your body is feeling like it can *cough (depends on how good your recovery is).
I can probably type another 10 pages of programming advice, so I’ll leave it at that.
Hope you enjoy the new cycle. We’re all going to be strong as we are entering 2022!
-Corey
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