October: This Month in Training
FORCE
DEVELOPING PHYSICAL & MENTAL GRIT
PHASE IV: MONTH I / GRIT. GRIND. GO.
PHASE OVERVIEW:
October brings with it our fourth and final training phase of the year…GRIT. GRIND. GO! We spent the last 3 months building up our absolute strength in basic barbell and bodyweight movements with a very structured, linear approach. The name of the game in this new phase is going to be VARIETY. Variety in movements, workout types, time domains, etc.
For the month of October, the focus will be on developing GRIT in both our strength work and conditioning pieces. Our strength work will involve higher rep ranges (10-12) and develop your physical and mental capacities across a broad range of movements. We will revisit some of our conditioning workouts from earlier in the year and offer them up with a new twist or challenge each week. Be prepared for any and everything each day in the gym so you are capable and ready for whatever life throws your way!
NEW TRAINING SPLIT
TWO-WEEK TRAINING PROFILE
WEEK 1
- Day 1 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 2 → Aerobic Conditioning
- Day 3 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 4 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
- Day 5 → Anaerobic Intervals
- Day 6 → Gut-Check Metcon
- Day 7 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
WEEK 2
- Day 1 → Anaerobic Intervals
- Day 2 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 3 → Aerobic Conditioning
- Day 4 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
- Day 5 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 6 → Gut-Check Metcon
- Day 7 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
FLEX
INTENSIFICATION BIAS PROGRAMMING II – BUILDING LOAD & INTENSITY
PHASE IV: MONTH I / CULMINATION STRENGTH PHASE
PHASE OVERVIEW:
September is behind us, which means we are officially entering the final quarter and training phase of the year. This is the last opportunity to make significant progress, build muscle, and improve your body composition in 2024. We have two more six-week microcycles to make that happen! LET’S GO!
In September, we finished our first full-body cycle of the year. This split allowed us to hit different muscle groups in back-to-back days, accumulating quality volume over the course of the week while never putting too much strain on specific joints in just one session. We also built on a 6-4-2 pyramid rep scheme in the STRENGTH portion, finishing with a 2RM test in the Bench Press, Front Squat, Sumo Deadlift, and Strict Press. Gains were made. PRs were hit.
In October, we are returning to a more conventional upper/lower body split. The new 6-week cycle will have (2) upper body push/pull days, (2) lower body days, and (1) shoulder, arms, and core day.
This cycle will include many antagonistic supersets, which means we’ll alternate exercises that target opposing muscle groups. This will allow us to keep rest periods relatively short, allowing us to squeeze more quality reps and sets into each session. These sessions will be taxing, but that is what we want. That is how we prioritize hypertrophy over the next six weeks. Expect to see some fun new formats and rep schemes designed to take movements past the point of failure. This is going to be a BIG month for GROWTH. LET’S GO!
TRAINING SPLIT
BODYBUILDING
Alternating Week A/B Split For This Cycle
- Day 1: Upper Body Push/Pull
- Day 2: Lower Body
- Day 3: Shoulders, Arms, and Core
- Day 4: REST
- Day 5: Upper Body Push/Pull
- Day 6: Lower Body
- Day 7: REST
EMOM
DEVELOPING PHYSICAL & MENTAL GRIT
PHASE IV: MONTH I / GRIT. GRIND. GO.
PHASE OVERVIEW:
October kicks off our final phase of the year…GRINT, GRIND, GO. This phase will pull together workouts, tests, and concepts from the entire year of training. The priority in this final phase of the year will be to retest some of our favorite workouts, develop new and diabolical tests, and put out some of the most fun and exciting workouts of the year. During training, Jason is famous for saying ‘GOTTA GO, GOTTA GO!’ and this is what this phase will be all about…no time for messing around, we gotta go!
Every Saturday in October we will be seeing a two-part test – Part 1 will be a fast and furious EMOM10 combining Burpees + Cardio Sprints and Part 2 will be slower grind-style EMOM20 combining Heavy Weightlifting + Strict Bodyweight. Each week in October we will also revisit a named workout from the past (9) months. GOTTA GO, BABY.
EMOM will forever continue to be your program of ‘NO EXCUSES’ – Short on time? EMOM. Don’t have lots of equipment? EMOM. Want to keep things simple and just move? EMOM. The EMOM program is designed so that your momentum never gets to zero. Are the workouts simple? Yes..they are supposed to be. Are the workouts easy? Hell no…and we wouldn’t want them to be. EMOM is simple – show up and get after it.
COMMITMENTS
TWO-WEEK TRAINING PROFILE
WEEK 1
- Day 1 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 2 → Aerobic Conditioning
- Day 3 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 4 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
- Day 5 → Anaerobic Intervals
- Day 6 → Gut-Check Metcon
- Day 7 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
WEEK 2
- Day 1 → Anaerobic Intervals
- Day 2 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 3 → Aerobic Conditioning
- Day 4 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
- Day 5 → Full-Body Strength
- Day 6 → Gut-Check Metcon
- Day 7 → Rest, Recover, or Ruck
