Starting a New Training Cycle 1/31.

This week we are starting a new training cycle. Last week's back off week was essential for the intensity we have coming up. The human body cannot endlessly forge a head. Progress is not linear. We must utilize cycling and wave loading in order to ensure that physical adaptation continues to occur. Without back off weeks, rest periods, or other opportunities the body will not be able to recover from training loads. Consequently, gains will diminish and we plateau both physically and psychologically. Without enough rest, the body will be depleted and previous gains may even be lost.

For this cycle I am training with a student and colleague of mine, Steve Maze. Steve has been one of my TKD students for almost a decade and has earned is Black Belt. Additionally, Steve's athletic development credentials are numerous including CSCS, RKC, and USAW certifications.

He is training for a push/pull meet in early April. This is a power lifting competition where the events are Dead Lift and Bench press. Now, this cycle will have a marked change in approach to our previous training cycles.

Most of the time, I use strength training as GPP (general physical preparedness) for my martial arts performance. What does that mean? It means that we use strength as a tool to become better martial artists. What does it mean to become a better martial artist? That can be a deep philosophical question, but for our purposes now it means to move faster, hit harder, and spar more effectively.

For this cycle, strength itself is the goal. The performance we are trying to enhance are certain lifts themselves. They are no longer a tool to improve our sport performance, the lifts are the sport.

I will not be competing, but Steve will, and as we all know, or should realize, it is much easier to stay motivated and push your limits with a training partner. Additionally, I don't have any impending tests or competitions, so I can afford to stray from my normal GPP regimens.

We will also do some benchmarking of certain martial arts strikes. It will be interested to see how their power output is affected, by performing these lifts and this level of intensity.

We are going to be utilizing the following lifts, in a low set, low rep, high intensity scheme. For more information on day to day details of the program visit Steve's Blog.

Barbell Snatch, Clean, and Jerk. Bench Press, Squat, and Dead lift.

Here's the video from Monday: