Strategic Athlete Guide & Sample Programs

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1 Strategic Athlete Guide & Sample Programs 2014 Strategic Athlete

2 Welcome to Strategic Athlete First off, thanks for taking the time to download this guide. The purpose of this guide is twofold: 1.) To give you an overview of just what Strategic Athlete is, who it is for, and just as importantly, who it is not for. 2.) To provide you a sample of our Basic and Intermediate Training Programs. There are a lot of people out there in the world promising to make you the next Navy SEAL with their training and I wanted to take a few minutes to explain how we re different, how we are unique, and how we may be able to benefit you in your future military career. So without further ado, let start with me letting you know just who the hell I am

3 About Me Hi, I m PJ Newton and I m the Founder and dude behind the programming & coaching here at Strategic Athlete. I m just a guy, like you, who spent a significant amount of time in the military (I was a Marine) and found himself sick of the standard daily PT routine So I began to search for a better way. This started this journey in 2000 when my first kettlebell was delivered to my apartment and I began down the strange path to functional fitness. At the time I was spending a large majority of my time at the Gold s gym around the corner wandering around performing all the various things one does at a Gold s. Although, I m pretty sure I never used the squat rack for bicep curls I spent the next few years making my way through bodybuilding routines (not much success for this little guy ) swinging my kettlebell, and performing the standard pull up, sit up, 3mile run type PT I knew I needed to be successful once I was officially a Marine. I believe my first PFT ever was a 235/300, not bad But I had much higher standards for myself. So I continued to surf the internets looking for new routines and different ways to improve, faster.

4 I won t bore you with the details but suffice it to say I left the Marine Corps in 2012 at 29 years old in the best shape of my life. I ran my final PFT & CFT and scored 300/300 on each of them. I could run a sub-18min 5k and still had the strength and overall conditioning necessary to get the job done. With all that said, I am by no means a phenomenal athlete. However, during that time I was able to rack up over a dozen coaching certificates, thousands of hours of coaching experience, and a passion for helping other far surpass my accomplishments and meet their goals. And this is why I m here. To help you become the best athlete you can be, give you the strength, capacity, and durability to survive the Hard Routine over the course of your career and make you generally more useful to your brother and sisters who are serving by your side. If you re still with me, let s talk about what Strategic Athlete is

5 What is Strategic Athlete? Strategic Athlete is a persistent training resource for military & tactical athletes who are looking to improve their fitness over the long term. This is not a one off training plan to get you ready for a particular event in the immediate future. The Strategic Athlete program is designed to give you the high quality training that will make you better than yesterday, each and everyday.

6 Who is Strategic Athlete for? I ll start off by saying that our program is not for everyone. My goal was to design and continually develop a persistent training program (as opposed to a one-off training plan) that will consistently progress you towards your goals as well as towards a level of physical readiness that is unbeatable by any other Military Fitness program out there. Strategic Athlete is for the military or tactical athlete (or recreational athlete that participates in military type events (i.e. GORUCK, Hiking/Rucking, etc) that needs to improve their fitness over the long term (i.e. Not looking for a quick 12-week program to prep for one specific event).

7 Who Strategic Athlete isn t for? If our program was designed for a particular group of people you can bet that there are a bunch of people who would be better off looking somewhere else for their training. Strategic Athlete is not for: - Competitive athletes: i.e. CrossFitters looking to compete at Regional/Games, competitive endurance athletes, powerlifters, & weightlifters - The average fitness enthusiast: If you just want to lose a few pounds and get fit than this program may be to hardcore for you. - Bros: If you just want to get shredded / more jacked there are better options out there for you - Plan hoppers: If you know that you can t stick with a program over the long term and will be lured away by the latest T-Nation blog post don t bother signing up. You ll be wasting your time

8 How is Strategic Athlete different? This is a great question considering no one in the fitness world currently is inventing new magical movements that will give you 6-pack abs and make you run forever. However, our program is built on a few basic assumptions, tested and refined with hundreds of athletes From your run of the mill combat arms Marine to Tier 1 Special Operations folks. Military & Tactical athletes need to exhibit the following physical traits: 1.) Strength This one is fairly self-explanatory. You need to be strong like bull but not big like bull. 2.) Work Capacity Defined in this case as the ability to move you ass over long distances, carrying large loads, quickly while still maintaining the ability to execute violent bursts of action on target. 3.) Endurance Here we are talking about cardiorespiratory endurance as well as muscular endurance. 4.) Durability You need to be able to handle a large volume of physical activity without your body breaking

9 down and quitting on you because you didn t get to sleep and have been living off of MREs. 5.) Mobility / Flexibility / Proper Motor Control We are talking basic recovery and injury prevention stuff here. You need full and complete range of motion in all of your joints in order to buffer your body from injury when something goes wrong. As far as motor control goes we are talking about build proper movement patterns & proper muscle activation sequences through those patterns. Movement is a skill, it may not be sexy, but it sure will keep you from being a broken mess, as you get older. We re not focused on your Fran time nor are we focused on our own egos and celebrity. The only thing that matters is helping our military and tactical athletes survive the next fight and survive the Hard Routine over the course of their careers. The beauty of this attitude is that we will always continue to learn, improve, and adjust the Strategic Athlete training program to give you, the Strategic Athlete the best program in the world. This program will constantly evolve based on the best science, practice, and experience we can muster.

10 With formal education in sports performance, biomechanics, motor learning / control, anatomy, physiology, and exercise science we will be constantly pulling from the latest and best research, combined with our experience coaching thousands of military, endurance, fitness, and CrossFit athletes to provide the best program we can.

11 The Strategic Athlete Program Our program, for now, will be offered in two formats (With additional programs coming in the future). 1.) Basic Training 2.) Intermediate Training Basic Training Our basic training workouts are free and will provide a very solid foundation of aerobic and muscular conditioning through body weight exercises, sprints, and the occasional longer run. These workouts are posted daily and designed to replace your standard daily PT sessions with the goal of improving your overall fitness and helping you achieve a better score on your services physical fitness test. Although these workouts can be demanding, if you have a decent level of fitness, they could also be performed in addition to your daily PT sessions (If you are not in control of them) or if you need to improve you body weight and run conditioning with out wanting to give up your normal gym routine.

12 These sessions are great for anyone prepping to go to boot camp / basic training, improve a PFT scores, or supplement a normal gym routine. These sessions are also great for those who travel frequently, have limited access to a gym or gym equipment, or find themselves stuck in the field for extended periods of time. Little to no equipment is required to perform these training sessions. A sample 2-weeks of our Basic Training can be found near the end of this guide.

13 Intermediate Training Our intermediate training is the core of the Strategic Athlete program. These daily sessions (5x per week, released 1 week at a time) are designed to improve your overall fitness rapidly through a tested, structured, functional program. The intermediate training program is broken up into 4-6 week cycles designed to ramp up, and eventually help you dominate your peers, in all things physical. Each day consists of a warm up, strength / skill session, work capacity workout, and cool down / durability work. You ll also find that two to three days per week an endurance workout is prescribed (Running, rucking, swimming). Again, these sessions are not designed to be a one off program to prepare you for a specific event in the near future. We wanted to design (and continually improve) a program that you can follow over the course of your career and continue to see solid progress. These workouts require a fair amount of equipment; generally anyone with access to a CrossFit facility or

14 similar training facility will be able to complete each of the training sessions. A sample 2-weeks of our Intermediate Training can be found near the end of this guide.

15 The Future of Strategic Athlete The Strategic Athlete program will continue to develop and be refined over time We ll never be done improving and you shouldn t be either. As mentioned before we are developing an advanced program with additional coaching services for those looking for direct feedback from a coach, would like their movement analyzed, or are looking for a supplemental program based on a particular weakness. We re also open for any and all suggestions from you You ve got boots on the ground and are directly connected to the changes and unique problems a military or tactical athlete faces so don t hesitate to reach out and let me know how we can improve the program.

16 Basic Training Sample Week 1 Workout Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 15:00 Dynamic Death By Pull Ups Min 1 1 Pull Up Min 2 2 Pull Ups Min 3-3 Pull Ups Cont Until you cannot perform the required reps in the minute given Rest 5:00 30m Run Min 1 30m Sprint Min 2 60m Sprint Cont 15:00 Dynamic 4 Rounds 50m Walking Lunge Steps Run 400m Rest 5:00 3:00 Hollow Rock (Rest in Superman position) 15:00 Dynamic For Time 1 Mile Run 800m Run Backwards 400m Run 200m Run Backwards 100m Bear Crawl 15:00 Dynamic 5k Run Stop every 800m and perform: 10 Burpees 20 Air Squats 10 Push Ups 15:00 Dynamic PT Test Perform you services Physical Fitness Test Cool Down 5:00 Easy run 5:00 Shoulder mobility work 10:00 Anterior Hip Stretch 5:00 Stretching Calves 5:00 Smashing feet with LAX Ball 10:00 stretching / mobilizing posterior chain 10:00 Stretching / mobilizing your biggest problem areas

17 Basic Training Sample Week 2 Workout Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 15:00 Dynamic As Many Rounds As Possible in 20:00: 5 Burpees 10 Jump Squats 200m Run 15:00 Dynamic RUN 4 x 400m Recover 2:00 between efforts 4 x 200m Recover 2:00 between efforts 4 x 100m Recover 2:00 between efforts 15:00 Dynamic 5 Rounds 30 Push Ups 20 Knees to Elbows 15:00 Dynamic 5M Run immediately perform: 100 Walking Lunge Steps 15:00 Dynamic Team Workout (3 Person Teams) As Many Reps as Possible in 10:00 Partner 1 Pull Ups Partner 2 Plank Hold (Vary Positions) Partner 3 Run 200m (Rotate positions when runner returns) (Score is total number of Pull Ups) Cool Down 5:00 Walk 5:00 stretching hamstrings 10:00 Stretching calves & Ankles Accumulate 7:00 hanging (active & passive) from a bar 5:00 Walk 5:00 Stretching / Mobilizing Anterior hips 10:00 Stretching / mobilizing your biggest problem areas

18 Intermediate Training - Sample Week 1 Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Strength Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Back Squat In 10:00 work up to 1RM 5 x 90%+ Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Power Clean 10 x 70% 1RM on :60s Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Front Squat 10 x 65% 1RM on :60s Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Deadlift In 10:00 work up to 1RM 5 x 90%+ Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Old School Strength Friday Spend 20:00 working through your choice of traditional bodybuilding strength movements Workout As Many Rounds As Possible In 20:00 Of: 5 Pulllups 10 Pushups 15 Air Squats Cleans (135/95) Ring Dips 3 Rounds 400m Run 21 KBS (53/35) 12 Pullups For Time: 100 KB Swings 75 Push Ups 50 Sit Ups As Many Rounds As Possible In 15:00 10 x Bench Press (135/95) 200m Run

19 Endurance OFF Run 10 x 100m Recover :60s OFF Ruck 4 x 7:00 on, 4:00 off 40-50# OFF Durability 5 x Max Reps Push Ups 100 x Lunge Steps 5min Barefoot Jump Rope 100 x Ring Rows 100 x Air Squats 75 x Sit Ups 75 x Back Extensions Recovery Shoulder Banded Overhead distraction Psoas/Hip Flexor Release on KB Posterior Chain Lenging Lumbar spine mash w/ lax ball + feet on elevated surface Pec release w/ lax ball Triceps tack and stretch on lax ball Overhead Tspine mash w/ peanut Quad mash on foam roller 10:00 Working on your issues!

20 Intermediate Training - Sample Week 2 Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Strength Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Back Squat In 10:00 work up to 1RM 5 x 90%+ Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Power Clean 10 x 70% 1RM on :60s (On your last set perform as many perfect power cleans as you can in the :60s) Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Front Squat 10 x 65% 1RM on :60s Drop load by 50% & perform 50 Front Squats Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Deadlift In 10:00 work up to 1RM 5 x 90%+ Dynamic Warmup Shoulder Prep (PVC Dislocates + Band Pull Aparts) Hip Mobility Drill (3xSide) 5-10min Workout Specific Movement Prep (Focus on your issues based on today s workout) Old School Strength Friday Spend 20:00 working through your choice of traditional bodybuilding strength movements Workout 4 Rounds 50 Weighted Step Ups 20 box (45#) 400m Run As Many Rounds As Possible In 20:00: 10 Push Ups 20 Sit Ups 30 Double Unders For Time 30 Back Squats (BW) 1 Mile Run 6 x :30s on, :30s off KB Swings Pull Ups Back Extensions (Perform :30on, :30off for each movement) For Time 100 Pull Ups 100 Push Ups 100 Sit Ups 100 Squats

21 Endurance OFF Run 70% effort OFF Run 12 x :30on, :30off OFF Durability 5 x Max Rep Pull Ups 5 x 10 Glute Ham Raise 2:00 Max Rep Push Ups 2:00 Max Rep Sit Ups 150 x Air Squats Tabata Squats Recovery Posterior Chain lenging 4/side x4-position standing windmill Wrist mobility work Standing arm circles (egoscue) for 3-5min T-spine mash w/ foam roller Standing quad stretch Determine your thoracic mobility and perform 3 of the drills of your choice from This Link Give this stuff a shot and if you have any questions about what to do, or, why you re doing it don t hesitate to reach out to me directly at pj@strategicathlete.com If you like what you see above and would like to get more great training and programming you can Click Here to get a 30-Day FREE TRIAL (Intermediate or Advanced)

STRATEGIC ATHLETE THE STRATEGIC ATHLETE BASIC TRAINING 51 FREE WORKOUTS + 9 BONUS TEAM WORKOUTS

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