Coaches Corner June 2026

There is no magic rep scheme, no magic workout, no magic style of training. The magic is in consistent application over time. 

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There are many ways in which training is prescribed, advertised and delivered. Not all training is equal, some good, some bad and some just fine. But even if you consistently did bad training you would get better results then someone who had the perfect program but only occasionally did it.

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Novelty is good for consistency, too much novelty is a detriment to improvement. We can not just do something one time and expect change. We must give the body many touches to elicit a response. The response we get is related to the effort and intensity in which we did the thing in the first place. To get stronger we must show the body that we need to recruit and build more muscle by lifting heavy. To build capacity we must push the limits of breathing and muscular endurance by taxing the system to uncomfortable limits. To get better aerobic fitness we need to do things for long periods without resting, or control the controllable for long enough to show the body that resources need to be allocated to shore up the holes we expose.

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The body is lazy, it does not want to build new and better systems, it would rather continue on its path of entropy until the final days. But training consistently in and of itself is the magic. It is the best antidote to the woes of the human condition.

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Build - This cycle we are doing some new rep schemes (for novelty sake). Contrast Loading, not to be confused with Contrast Training. We are alternating between near maximal 1 rep, and lighter 6 reps sets, moved as fast as possible. The exercise is the same, but the weight on the bar is different. The central nervous system is being pulled in two different directions and having to stay wired to keep up with the demand. Lift heavy, move fast. The 1 rep must be heavy, and the higher rep set is also heavy, but should be moved as fast as possible, allowing for great form and precision. The isometric should be heavy for the short time, almost unbearable, and the longer hold should be lighter but the same for the duration. Cluster sets allow for more reps at higher weight. Different solution to the same problem. Getting less weak. 

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Charge - The specifics are not as important as the intensity. The nuance of what exactly the movements are is not the massive driver here, the effort is. The main reason certain exercises would be better or worse would be driven by a direction for sport or application. If your sport demands competence in certain areas then those areas would need to be directly addressed in practice, if not, then picking the best modalities to elicit the stimulus is the best option. Go really hard. But do not sacrifice range of motion or technique for ego. The ego is shallow and feeds only short term dopamiain. The pursuit of excellence is not measured only in today’s workout, but who you become after many, many battles. 

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Grind - Same as above, but a little bit more manageable and a little bit longer at hard effort. Grind is threshold, not above. It sucks, but is sustainable. Intensity is high, but below the line that crosses the launch sequence of no return. The answer is to be self aware, be present, do not overestimate ability, do not sacrifice movement integrity, work to build the mental and physical qualities that give you the resilience to sit with uncomfortable but sustainable effort required to grow into a better and more robust specimen of physical prowess. 

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Sustain - Same as above, but more responsible in approach. Sustian efforts are aerobic in nature. Which means that intensity is lower, because the efforts are longer. Within these sessions, the hard part is staying in the hurt locker longer. The mind becomes the solace in which you want to hide, you are able to manipulate effort to be a little bit easier, to slide into a pace in which you feel “very” comfortable. The hard part of training aerobically is balancing building and testing. Building should be done in a range that is matched to the stimulus programmed. Testing should be done in a zone that makes you nervous. Nervous for the amount of mental and physical anguish that you will require to push out of your comfort zone and explore the dark side of your shadow. Maybe you will come up short, maybe you will find some new corners that you have not been to before. But either way you will know yourself better. And either way you will grow. Expand in ability, stretch the tight and shallow ruts in which you function. Walls and obstacles are mostly built from within, not imposed from without. Constraints need to be challenged and tested, then slowly overtime, pushed further and further out to mark new boundaries and consistently tread to keep the creep of entropy at bay. 

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Cool Down - Shoulders, mobility and core. 

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Josh