The hardest part about health and wellness is that no matter how simple, straightforward, and easy it is to do, it’s easier not to do.
That’s why having a plan you believe in and realistic goals are so important.
With those two things in place, it’s much more likely you’ll stick with exercise and the accompanying nutrition long enough to have an impact.
With that in mind, I though it might be cool to see what training looks like through the first 4 phases at RCS, specifically for someone looking to just get a little stronger and healthier.
Getting Started
First, our program is broken down into phases. Each phase lasts 8-12 training sessions depending on a ton of factors but before this really goes off the rails, we’ll summarize it as your personal fitness history.
If you’re someone who exercised often in college or played sports as a kid, you’ll likely acclimate to the training quickly. It’s the law of diminishing returns: the more you complete a given workout, the more you adapt to the stimulus of training and the less effective it is at increasing your fitness.
But we don’t just want to keep changing up the workout every time you come in. There’s no clear plan and without a plan, how the hell can you know if you’re progressing?
That would be like celestial navigation except every night you pick a different north star.
We advance the movements by increasing intensity, typically through loading a little heavier.
Phase 1
Phase 1: uses a higher rep scheme and clustered exercises to get the most metabolic demand and movement capacity. $10 words for We’re knocking off the rust.
The main goal of this phase is to reintroduce correct movements and build up a little work capacity . We often see people who have never set foot in a gym before, so it especially important to introduce correct movement patterns slowly. Work capacity is just your ability to complete a given number of exercises.
If you started out doing 2 rounds of 10 squats and are now doing 3 rounds of 10 squats, you’ve increased your work capacity!
Phase 2
Phase 2: builds on your increased work capacity and incorporates similar exercises from phase 1. The big difference here is a subtle jump in intensity by dropping the repetitions of each exercise and increasing the weight.
You’re going to feel surprisingly strong after this one.
By keeping the majority of exercises from phase 1, it allows us to build proficiency in the specific movements.
Instead of squatting 2 rounds of 10, now you can squat 2 rounds of 10 holding onto a 10 pound weight!
Phase 3
Phase 3: combines both previous phases. We’re bringing the repetitions up a bit, grouping exercises together, and we’re following it up with some strength and power exercises!
You’re going to feel pretty powerful.
This is where we really start ramping up. After 24 training sessions, you’re going to feel more energy throughout the day and even sleeping better at night.
Taking advantage of this new found fitness level, we’re able to get a ton of work done in a short time by grouping several exercises in series.
Phase 4
Phase 4: This is similar to the jump between 1 and 2. We’re keeping the same goals as Phase 3, just increasing the intensity.
By this point you’ve had 36 training sessions. That’s pretty badass.
So by the end of Phase 4:
Not only are the people around you surprised by your new level of fitness, you’re surprising yourself.
Give It Time
But remember, it took 48 sessions to finish 4 phases. That’s 4-6 months of consistent and specific training sessions.
So whether you’ve already started your health and fitness journey or are just getting ready to start remember:
Find a plan you believe in and give it time to work.
Jesse
P.S. Ready to get started with phase 1? Click HERE!
