Military Training Considerations: Training Block #2.

For the second block of training, we introduced the use of oxidative work on Mondays and Fridays. This method is used to increase the oxidative capacity in muscle fibers (hyperplasia). Factors that lead to the process of hyperplasia are 1) amino acids 2) hormones through stress 3) free creatine 4) Hydrogen Ions (Nasedkin, Performance Training Seminar, 2007). Monday would be a developmental session with the highest volume and intensity. Friday would be considered a stimulative session, with the same exercises repeated from Monday but using only half the volume. The work done between Monday and Friday is still hard. We do not exceed the athletes anaerobic threshold (“AnT”) in any of the running sessions.

During this block the running sessions began to intensify. Hill sprints were done on Tuesday. This work is used to develop hyperplasia of the mitochondria in the glycolytic muscle fibers. This work is performed below the athletes AnT. On Saturdays we begin to do interval training, which will be also be performed under the athletes AnT. We do not exceed the athletes AnT (anaerobic threshold) in any of the running sessions. The reason for not exceeding the athlete’s AnT during any of the running sessions is twofold – first, during the selection process exceeding the AnT does not happen very often. An athlete who has developed lots of mitochondria and can sustain long efforts without exceeding the AnT will have much left in the tank and will recover faster after extensive/intensive days. Second, exceeding the AnT in the period between the Monday and Friday sessions will not allow for proper recovery and over time this could cause the candidate’s endocrine system to become exhausted.

Basic strength work during this time was continued on Mondays and Fridays, with a 5% increase in the weights used during the previous block.

After the first block of training we saw some very positive changes in his HRV tests results. The candidate’s resting HR had dropped to 39 bpm. Over the 30 day period no training days were missed and based on the readiness indicators of the HRV system he was ready for any activities for each session.

Since readiness was very high for all sessions and the athlete was not complaining of poor recovery from a muscular level we would continue to avoid implementing any recovery or regeneration methods.

Monday and Friday

Session One - Running. Do not exceed 60 minutes of running during any one session. Ensure HR remains between 120-140 bpm.                   

Week 1 - Running session 45 minutes.

Week 2 - Running session would be 10% longer then week #1.

Week 3 - Running session would be 10% longer then week #2.

Week 4 - Running session would be 10% longer then week #3.

Session Two - Strength Training

Individual warm-up

A) Dead Lift. Rest 2 minutes between sets.

Week 1 - 4 x 6 @ 70% of 1RM

Week 2 - 4 x 5  @ 77% of 1RM

Week 3 - 3 x 8 @ 65% of 1RM

Week 4 - 5 x 3 @ 85% of 1RM

B) Chin-ups. Rest 2 minutes between sets. 

Week 1 - 3 sets - 16/14/12 reps

Week 2 - 3 sets - 18/16/14 reps

Week 3 - 3 sets -  20/18/16 reps

Week 4 - 3 sets - 10/9/8 reps

C) Oxidative Squats using 30% of 1RM. For the oxidative work, two exercises will be alternated. Series 1 will be squats and series 2 will be push-ups. Each series = 40 seconds of work followed by 40 seconds of rest  = 1 rep x 5 reps. Rest until fully recuperated between each series (5-10 minutes).  On Friday’s session only do half the volume from Monday.

Week 1 - 2 series

Week 2 - 2 series

Week 3 - 3 series

Week 4 - 1 series

Tuesday

Session One  - Hill Sprints

We will now begin using hill sprints. The length of each sprint should be 30m. Rest period between each sprint will be 50-60 seconds. 

Individual warm-up

Week 1 - 30 sprints

Week 2 - 34 sprints

Week 3 - 36 sprints

Week 4 - substitute with 30 minutes of slow jogging, with HR <120 bpm.

Wednesday

Session One - Stationary Bike. 45-60 minutes each week at HR of 120-130 bpm.

Session Two - Strength Training

Individual warm-up

A) Bench Press. Rest 2 minutes between sets.

Set 1 - work up to 8 rep max (The next week you will increase the weight 5 lbs)

Set 2 - use 10% less than set 1 for 8 reps

Set 3 - use 10% less than set 2 for 8 reps

B) Push-Ups. Rest 4 minutes between sets. Keep track of total reps on all sets.

Weeks 1 and 2 - 2 sets to failure.

Week 3 - 3 sets to failure.

Week 4 - 1 set to failure. 

C)  Walking Lunges. Rest 2 minutes between sets. Increase weight by 5 pounds per week if possible.

Set 1 - work up to 8 rep max (16 total steps. The next week you will increase the weight by 5 lbs)

Set 2 - use 10% less than set 1 for 8 reps per leg

Set 3 - use 10% less than set 2 for 8 reps per leg

D) Bicep curls -  3 x 10 reps, rest 1 minute between sets

E) Tricep pressdowns or dips - 3 x 8-20 reps, rest 1-2 minutes between sets

F) Lateral raises - 3 x 12 (do not go above 90 degrees)

Thursday

Session One - Walking on treadmill with heart rate <120 bpm for 60-90 minutes.

Saturday

Individual warm-up

Interval Running. Begin and end each session with a 10 minute warm-up (slow jog).

Week 1 – Running with hard effort for 3 minutes then slow jog for 1 minute. Repeat 6x.

Week 2 –  Running with maximal effort for 75 seconds, followed by 2:30 light jogging.

Then run with maximal effort for 60 seconds followed by 2:00 light jogging. Repeat this series 3 times.

Week 3 – Running with maximal effort for 30 seconds, followed by 1:30 light jogging. For subsequent repetitions, decrease the time for light jogging by 15 seconds each time (30-90, 30-75, 30-60, 30-45, 30-30, 30-15). Repeat this entire series 3x.

Week 4 - 20-30 minutes of easy cardiac work with HR <120 bpm.

Sunday

Complete day off.